Deleon Found Guilty in Yacht Murders

An Orange County jury has found Skylar Deleon, 29, guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and special circumstances for financial gain and multiple victims in the deaths of three people.

According to the jury, Deleon murdered three people, including a couple who were tied to an anchor and thrown off their yacht off the California coast. The penatly portion of Deleon's trial will start on Wednesday.

Tom and Jackie Hawks, whose bodies were never found, were thrown from their yacht in 2004 during a cruise to show the vessel to Deleon, whom they thought was a prospective buyer.

Prosecutors say that Deleon feigned interest in buying the boat and went on a test cruise where he and two other men overpowered the Hawkses, forced the couple to sign over ownership of the boat, tied them to the anchor and dropped them into the Pacific Ocean.

Deleon, who changed his name from John Jacobson Jr., his wife Jennifer Deleon, 24, Alonso Machain, 22, Myron Gardner Sr., 33, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 40, were accused of playing roles in the murder of the Hawks' to take their boat and life savings.

Deleon was also found guilty of murdering John Jarvi, of Anaheim, in 2003. According to prosecutors, Deleon met Jarvi in a work furlough program while serving jail time for burglary, and murdered him in Mexico after Jarvi gave him $50,000.

OCSD: Suspect Attempts Jailhouse Mutilation

In a more bizarre jailhouse happening, a man awaiting trial on charges of killing a couple and disposing of their bodies at sea in a plot to steal their pleasure craft tried to cut off a part of his body in jail.

According to authorities with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, suspect Skylar Deleon, 29, somehow managed to obtain a razor and "tried to saw off his penis" while in his cell.

An OCSD spokesman said the attempt was unsuccessful, however there was a lot of blood present. The suspect reportedly stopped the effort when he could not carry out the procedure on his own or was stopped by a guard.

Deleon was reportedly taken to a hospital and the body part was re-attached.

Deleon and John F. Kennedy, both prior Long Beach residents, are accused of murdering Jackie and Thomas Hawks, an Arizona couple, in November 2004 to obtain their cabin-cruiser. Deleon and Kennedy are set to go to trial later next month. Deleon's wife, Jennifer, was convicted for her role in the alleged plot and was sentenced in October to life in prison without parole.

Skylar Deleon is also accused of murdering Jon Peter Jarvi of Anaheim in December 2003 along a highway in Mexico and swiping $50,000 in cash.