Fifth suspect faces charges

Marisa O’Neil

The wife of a man charged with murdering a retired couple appeared in

court Monday, also facing murder charges that could carry the death

penalty.

Jennifer Henderson DeLeon, 23, of Long Beach, is charged along

with her husband and three others with the murder of Tom Hawks, 57,

and Jackie Hawks, 47. The Hawkses were reported missing in November,

after meeting with prospective buyers for their 55-foot cabin cruiser

Well Deserved.

Police now say that while at sea on a test drive with one or more

of the suspects, Tom and Jackie Hawks were overpowered, handcuffed,

weighted down and thrown overboard while still alive. Their bodies

have not been found, but they are presumed dead.

DeLeon, a hair stylist, briefly appeared in court Monday,

handcuffed and wearing a green t-shirt. A couple identified by her

attorney as friends from her church were in the courtroom to watch

the proceeding.

She is scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning, along with her

husband, 25-year-old Skylar DeLeon. Alonso Machain, 21, and Long

Beach residents Myron Gardner, 41, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 39,

are also charged with the murders of Tom and Jackie Hawks and with

special circumstances that make them eligible for the death penalty.

“Jennifer DeLeon was charged with two counts of murder and two

special circumstances,” prosecutor Matt Murphy said after Jennifer

DeLeon’s court appearance Monday. “She’s charged with the same thing

the other people are.”

Jennifer DeLeon’s attorney, Michael Molfetta, said that he would

ask for a separate trial for his client.

Murphy declined to discuss Jennifer DeLeon’s alleged role in the

Hawkses’ disappearance.

Skylar DeLeon initially told police that he had paid $400,000 cash

for the Hawkses’ yacht, but police say the transaction never took

place. He was arrested in December, the day after police found the

Hawkses’ car in Ensenada, Mexico.

Detectives arrested Jennifer DeLeon Friday afternoon when she went

to visit her husband in the Orange County Jail. She had with her

their 15-month-old daughter and 7-week-old son, Moletta said.

Police allowed Jennifer DeLeon’s father to take her children out

of the room before they arrested her, Molfetta said. She has been

checking in from jail with her parents, who are caring for the

children, Molfetta said.

“All she talks about is her children,” Molfetta said.

Prosecutors say the Hawkses were killed for financial gain.

The couple had been living on the Well Deserved in Newport Harbor

until their disappearance.

Tom Hawks, a retired probation officer from Arizona, and Jackie

Hawks, who lost her first husband to a drunken driver, long dreamed

of retiring on a boat. But after the birth of their first grandson,

they wanted to be closer to family.

Family members said they were trying to sell their yacht to buy a

smaller one and a home in San Carlos, Mexico. They reported the

couple missing in November and prosecutors filed their first murder

charges in the case last month.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil @latimes.com.