Presentation Summary

Sgt. David Byington and his partner, Sergeant Evan sailor, were the lead investigators in the Newport Beach Police, Hawks Homicide investigation. Byington will discuss how in November 2004, Tom and Jackie Hawks of Newport Beach placed an advertisement for their 55-foot boat named “Well Deserved” for $440,000. They wanted to spend more time with their new grandchild in Arizona.

Skylar Deleon and his wife Jennifer masterminded a conspiracy which involved everybody from gang members from the Long Beach Insane Crips to a former Orange County jailer to brutally murder the Hawks by taking them out at sea, overpowering the couple with tasers and forcing them to sign over transfer of title documents for the yacht. Once the paperwork was completed the suspects tied the Hawks, who were handcuffed and blindfolded, to the boats anchor, and ultimately threw them overboard alive.

This case has been featured on 20/20, Dateline, 48 Hours, and has been the subject of one completed and one pending novel.