Dead Reckoning

Extensively Revised And Updated!

“Rother gives readers compelling insight to an unthink- able American nightmare. A gripping read . . . frank and frightening . . . it sizzles.” —Aphrodite Jones, host of True Crime for Investigation Discovery Network

Tom and Jackie Hawks loved their life in retirement, sailing on their yacht, the Well Deserved. But when the birth of a new grandson called them back to Arizona, they put the boat up for sale. Skylar Deleon and his pregnant wife Jennifer showed up as prospective buyers, with their baby in a stroller, and the Hawkses thought they had a deal. Soon after a sea trial and an alleged purchase, however, the older couple disappeared and the Deleons promptly tried to access the Hawkses’ bank accounts.

As police investigated the case, they not only found a third homicide victim with ties to Skylar, they also uncovered an unexpected and unusual motive: Skylar had wanted gender reassignment surgery for years. By killing the Hawkses with a motley crew of assailants and plundering the couple’s assets, the Deleons had planned to clear their $100,000 in debts and still have money for the surgery, which Skylar had already scheduled.

Now, in this up-to-the-minute updated edition, which includes extensive new material, New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother presents the latest breaking developments in the case. Skylar, who was ultimately sentenced to death row for the three murders, transitioned to a woman via hormones while living in the psych unit at San Quentin prison. Recently, she legally changed her name and gender to female, apparently a strategic step in her quest to obtain taxpayer-subsidized gender confirmation surgery and transfer to a women’s prison. Combined with Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent moratorium on executions, this only adds insult to injury for the victims’ families, who want Skylar to receive the ultimate punishment for her crimes.

New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored 10 books, including THEN NO ONE CAN HAVE HER, I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU, NAKED ADDICTION, LOST GIRLS, POISONED LOVE, DEAD RECKONING, DEADLY DEVOTION, BODY PARTS, TWISTED TRIANGLE, and MY LIFE, DELETED. She also has released three Kindle shorts of crime collections in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, titled, A COMPLICATED WOMAN, DEAD ON DELIVERY and KILL HIM SOME MORE. These three shorts are also now available as a box set collection, titled, LOVE GONE WRONG. In September 2016, DEAD RECKONING will be re-released with 20 new pages of case updates about notorious killer Skylar Deleon, who was sent to death row at San Quentin as a man, and is now living there as a woman in the psychiatric unit. Now that California has a controversial policy allowing transgender inmates to apply for state-subsidized gender reassignment surgery, she is still hoping to get the operation that was a motive for murdering Tom and Jackie Hawks (she needed money to pay for the operation), but it is no sure thing by any means. Her latest book release, THEN NO ONE CAN HAVE HER (Kensington/Pinnacle, 2015), is a story of blood money, sex addiction, manipulation and murder in a small mountain town in Arizona, and a roller coaster ride to justice. This complex legal tale involves a deep love gone wrong between Carol Kennedy--a peaceful, loving mother of two, artist and therapist--and her "soulmate" ex-husband Steve DeMocker, an investment broker. DeMocker's family believes he was wrongly convicted for Carol's murder, which occurred just 35 days after their divorce was finalized. (Kensington/Pinnacle). Rother's debut crime novel, NAKED ADDICTION (WildBlue Press, 2014), unveils a lethal confluence of sex, drugs and the murder of young-beauty school entrepreneurs that oozes into the wealthy beach community of La Jolla. Undercover narcotics detective Ken Goode confronts his own demons as he investigates these homicides, which are complicated by a drug ring, an escort service, a seductive witness, and fears that his missing sister could be the next murder victim. UPDATE: An audio book of this title was just released in October 2015. I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU is the true story behind the cold case murder of multimillionaire entrepreneur Bill McLaughlin in Newport Beach, Calif., by his femme fatale fiancee, Nanette Johnston Packard, and her NFL-linebacker lover, Eric Naposki. (Kensington, 2014) BODY PARTS is the true story of Wayne Adam Ford, a serial killer who killed four troubled women, then did the rare deed of turning himself in before he could kill again. (Re-released by Kensington, 2013) Rother's most controversial true crime book is LOST GIRLS, a behind-the-scenes account of the rape and murder of San Diego area teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois by sexual predator John Gardner (Kensington, 2012). Her NYT bestseller MY LIFE, DELETED, is the inspirational memoir of former NFL player Scott Bolzan, who rebuilds his life after suffering a brain injury and losing his entire long-term memory. She co-authored the book with Scott and his wife Joan. (HarperOne, 2011) The updated POISONED LOVE (Kensington, 2011) adds 20 pages of new developments in the Kristin Rossum case, in which the beautiful San Diego toxicologist was convicted of poisoning her husband with powerful narcotics she stole from her lab at the county Medical Examiner's Office, then staging a suicide scene by sprinkling red rose petals over her husband's body. Before writing books full-time, Rother worked for 19 years as an investigative reporter for daily newspapers, covering issues ranging from addiction, suicide, mental illness and murder to politics and corruption at City Hall and in Congress. She now writes books full-time, teaches writing and works as a book doctor, writing/research/promotions coach, publishing consultant, speaker and event planner.