It’s as if Skylar Deleon’s childhood were separated into two very different worlds.
In one world, when he lived with his father, John Jacobson Sr., relatives testified Deleon was constantly beaten without provocation and was told he was worthless.
Held up to an impossible standard, Deleon consistently fell short in the most trivial of ways, such as not properly tucking in his shirt, and he would pay dearly for it.
In the other world, away from Jacobson, who was in prison for a few years, family testified that Deleon was loved. He was shown right from wrong, laughed and was polite.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys for the 29-year-old Long Beach man continued to present their black-and-white images of Deleon’s childhood Tuesday in Santa Ana’s Central Justice Center, each side hoping their version of his childhood will be at the forefront of jurors’ minds when they weigh whether to sentence him to death.
Deleon was convicted Oct. 20 of killing Newport Beach couple Tom and Jackie Hawks in 2004 by tying them to an anchor aboard their boat, Well Deserved, and throwing them overboard when they were still alive. Their bodies were never found.
He was also convicted of the 2003 slaying of John Jarvi, whom he robbed of $50,000 before slashing his throat in the Mexican desert. The nature of the killings has prosecutors seeking the death penalty.
Deleon’s relatives testified Tuesday. Many of them still know him under his birth name, John Jacobson Jr., and still call him “Little Johnny.”
Lynette O’Daniel last saw her son, Skylar Deleon, about five years ago. It was on his wedding day.
Tuesday, O’Daniel saw that her son was skinnier, shoulders slumped over, and a convicted killer.
Defense attorney Gary Pohlson asked O’Daniel to fill out much of the previous day’s testimony, when other relatives first introduced the wide-range, violent abuse Deleon suffered at the hands of his drug-dealing father, including alleged, and unproven, molestation.
As a baby, the senior Jacobson would hit his son with a wooden spoon on the legs, butt, back and arms, breaking several of the spoons in the process, O’Daniel testified.
Many mornings, O’Daniel told jurors she would snort cocaine while making Deleon breakfast, and at night, participate in orgies and do drugs with friends in their home after putting her son to bed.
He was no older than 2 at the time.
