West

'Yacht Killer' got taxpayer-funded sex change while on death row after Harris' 'behind the scenes' policy work

Published

1 year ago

October 19, 2024

Press Room

'Yacht Killer' got taxpayer-funded sex change while on death row after Harris' 'behind the scenes' policy work

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

A California serial killer who tied an Arizona couple to an anchor and drowned them in the Pacific Ocean to raise money for a sex-change operation finally got one while sitting on death row – with taxpayers footing the bill thanks to left-wing policies pushed under former state Attorney General Kamala Harris, now the Democratic 2024 presidential nominee, according to a new report.

Skylar DeLeon, 45, is a former child actor, born John Jacobson Jr. in 1979. DeLeon was sentenced to death in 2009 for the 2004 murders of yacht owners Thomas and Jackie Hawks and was separately convicted of the 2003 murder of an associate named Jon Jarvi from Anaheim.

In a letter to the Washington Free Beacon published Tuesday, DeLeon wrote about receiving “gender affirming surgery and breast augmentation” on April 5, 2023. The killer had been taking female hormones since first arriving on death row in San Quentin on April 16, 2009.

The condemned inmate told Fox News Digital that “the media is saying things that are factually inaccurate.” DeLeon declined to go into specifics but claimed to have obtained a legal name change to Skylar Sophia DeLeon 20 years ago. The killer, however, used that name while outwardly identifying as male for years.

HARRIS ONCE BOASTED OF ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ WORK TO GET ‘EVERY’ TRANS INMATE ACCESS TO GENDER SURGERIES

A photo of Skylar Deleon is displayed at Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, California, on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016. (Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

“I am sorry, but I can’t talk with you,” DeLeon wrote. “One thing though, quit calling me John Jacobson – that is not my name. My legal name is Skylar Sophia DeLeon. It has been changed since I was much younger, way before my arrest.”

DeLeon had planned to use the victims’ money to fund a sex-change operation as early as 2004, Orange Coast Magazine reported back in 2015.

According to court documents, DeLeon and then-wife Jennifer Henderson pretended to be interested in buying the 55-foot yacht, named “Well Deserved,” from the Hawks couple.

Ryan Hawks holds a photo of his missing parents, Thomas and Jackie Hawks, who were reported missing after they sold their boat. The photo was taken on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004 at the Newport Beach police station. (Robert Lachman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

DeLeon and two male accomplices attacked them with stun guns during a test drive. They forced the couple to sign over power of attorney. They handcuffed the victims, duct taped their eyes and mouths, and tied them to an anchor before shoving them overboard 55 miles offshore. Their bodies were never found.

Harris initially opposed taxpayer-funded transition surgery while representing the state as attorney general in court in a battle with a trans inmate who was seeking a sex change. State and federal courts would later establish precedents requiring procedures in other cases, and California corrections officials later set their own guidelines for prisoners in the Golden State.

In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on “Special Report” Wednesday, the vice president was asked if she “still supported” spending taxpayer money on prisoners and detained illegal immigrants seeking trans treatments.

“I will follow the law,” she said. “And it’s a law that Donald Trump actually followed.”

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at Trenton-Mercer Airport in Mercer County, New Jersey, on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 en route to a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

However, during her failed 2020 campaign, she took credit for securing access to sex-change drugs and operations for California inmates in an interview with the National Center for Transgender Equality.

3RD-STRIKE ‘TRANS’ RAPE SUSPECT PROMPTS REBELLION AGAINST CA LAW AFTER ATTACK IN WOMEN’S PRISON

“When I was attorney general, I learned that the California Department of Corrections, which was a client of mine – I didn’t get to choose my clients … they were standing in the way of surgery for prisoners,” she told the organization in a 2019 interview.

“And there was a specific case. When I learned about the case, I worked behind-the-scenes to not only make sure that that transgender woman got the services she was deserving – it was not only about that case – I made sure that they changed the policy in the state of California so that every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access to the medical care that they desire and need.”

Skylar DeLeon talks to attorneys at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, California, on March 4, 2004. (Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The Golden State’s lenient treatment of trans inmates has prompted an uproar more than once. One inmate who claimed to be a trans female, Tremaine Deon Carroll, was transferred out of a women’s prison after being indicted on two rape charges.

BIOLOGICAL MEN ARE NOW WELCOME IN CALIFORNIA WOMEN’S PRISONS: ‘AN AGENDA FOR FEMALE ERASURE’

The James “Hannah” Tubbs case in Los Angeles also prompted a deputy district attorney to come forward with whistleblower allegations after the convicted child molester and killer was released from a prior sentence in an adult male prison to juvenile custody in LA, where he began identifying as a female and joked about gaining access to underage girls.

He is currently being held in a men’s prison after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge for beating his friend to death with a rock over $100.

Newport Beach Detective David Byington, wearing booties and gloves, walks through the kitchen area of the yacht Well Deserved in Newport Beach, California, on Tuesday, March 3, 2009. (Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Amie Ichikawa, the executive director and a founding member of Woman II Woman, a Christian rehabilitation group for women re-entering society after prison, told Fox News Digital that she had feared for DeLeon’s ex-wife back in 2021, when trans inmate transfers to female prisons picked up.

“She was among the women who I feared for the most – the ones with ex-husbands who decided to transition,” she said, arguing that women’s facilities are inherently less secure.

Jennifer Henderson DeLeon is seen in this undated handout picture. (REUTERS/Orange County Sheriff’s Department)

“There is no equivalent security level to men’s death row in any women’s prison,” she said. “[Central California Women’s Facility] is basically the same as a men’s level 2 as far as staffing, safety and funding is concerned.”

Fox News’ Alec Schemmel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read the full article from Here

Denver, CO

Denver Barkey scores first career goal as Flyers take down Oilers

Published

17 minutes ago

January 3, 2026

Press Room

Denver Barkey scores first career goal as Flyers take down Oilers

Item 1 of 33 Jan 3, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers right winger Garnet Hathaway (19) skates on the ice during the pre game warm up as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Philadelphia Flyers before the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images

[1/33]Jan 3, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers right winger Garnet Hathaway (19) skates on the ice during the pre game warm up as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Philadelphia Flyers before the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

January 3 – Denver Barkey’s first NHL tally highlighted a three-goal first period for the Philadelphia Flyers, who beat the host Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Saturday.

Travis Sanheim and Bobby Brink also scored in the first, while Nick Seeler and Owen Tippett each posted a goal with an assist and Sean Couturier added two helpers for the Flyers, who finished a 3-2-0 road trip. Dan Vladar made 22 saves for Philadelphia, which allowed 13 Edmonton shots on goal in the first period, but just 11 the rest of the way.

Connor McDavid extended his point streak to 15 games with his 25th goal of the season and Evan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers, who have dropped two straight and three of four.

Philadelphia made its mark early in the first period. Tippett passed the puck into the slot for a streaking Barkey, who beat Oilers’ Calvin Pickard (24 saves) for his milestone goal just 7:16 into the contest.

Barkey’s marker essentially set the tempo, as the visitors made it 2-0 with 9:29 left in the first when Sanheim beat Pickard from the right circle.

Philadelphia then extended its lead a little over four minutes later when an Edmonton turnover led to the puck deflecting into the net off the heel of Brink’s skate off a shot from Cam York.

Vladar, meanwhile, was solid by stopping 12 shots in the first period. However, he couldn’t prevent McDavid from scoring on a breakaway, which came off a Sanheim turnover in the neutral zone, with 3:52 remaining before the first intermission.

The Oilers made it 3-2 on the power play with 10:06 remaining in the second period. With an assist from McDavid, Bouchard unloaded a successful slap shot from the left point to give Edmonton at least one goal on the man advantage in nine of the last 10 games.

Philadelphia found some breathing room with 10:51 remaining in regulation off Seeler’s wrister for his first goal of the season. Tippett added an empty-netter as the Flyers scored at least five goals for the third time in their last six.

McDavid, meanwhile, has 14 goals with 22 assists in the last 15 games.

–Field Level Media

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Source link

Seattle, WA

What does the Buccaneers beating the Panthers mean for the Seahawks?

Published

23 minutes ago

January 3, 2026

Press Room

What does the Buccaneers beating the Panthers mean for the Seahawks?

We’ll have to wait one more day to learn who takes the NFC South crown.

The Buccaneers, losers of seven of their last eight coming into today, were able to piece together a tough, 16-14 win in bad weather against the Panthers. It was a calming three hours for the Bucs and their fans, who had seen their team go from theorized Super Bowl contender in the early months of the season to bottomless freefall.

Had the Panthers found a way to win today, the NFC South, and the #4 seed in the NFC, would have been determined. Instead, we’ll have to wait another day, as a matchup between the two NFC South rivals who are eliminated from the postseason entirely will now determine everything. Certainly ironic, but great for drama.

The New Orleans Saints travel to the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow to wrap up their respective seasons, and while they’re not playing for much more than pride, both the Buccaneers and Panthers will be watching with great interest. If the Falcons win, today will prove to be little more than a minor setback for Carolina, and they’ll win the division regardless.

However, should the Saints get the road upset, everything gets flipped. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were seemingly skidding towards a shocking early offseason, would be awarded the division on tiebreakers. Their Week Eight 23-3 victory over New Orleans, at the time seemingly innocuous, would end up salvaging their playoff spot.

Both Atlanta and New Orleans are on hot runs right now, the Falcons winners of three straight and the Saints on a four game streak. It’s a surprisingly compelling game given that both teams are guaranteed losing records on the season.

And this is very relevant to the Seattle Seahawks, because depending on tonight’s result in San Francisco, the NFC South division winner will either possibly, or definitely, be the team they play in their first playoff game.

If Seattle prevails tonight and takes the top seed in the NFC, it is entirely possible that their Divisional Round opponent is whoever comes out on top here. As the top seed, they play the lowest remaining seed, which would be either Carolina or Tampa Bay if all three home teams win on Wild Card Weekend. I wouldn’t bet on it, but it’s entirely possible.

On the other hand, if the Seahawks drop their game tonight and end up the #5 seeded NFC squad, then they’re drawing the winner of the NFC South in the first round for sure. Seattle has already played both teams this year, dropping an early-season bout to Tampa Bay 38-35, and just last week handling Carolina 27-10.

Of course, the Buccaneers were a far better team in that Week Five matchup, and the Seahawks have changed radically over the last three months as well, so it’s a matter of debate which team Seattle matches up better with. I imagine most Seahawks fans would feel good about either opponent, but there’s probably a preference somewhere in there.

Regardless, we’ll be waiting one more day to find out who the opponent will be, by which Seattle will already know if they’re watching the first round of the playoffs on a bye, or facing off against the south’s winner on the road.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

11 from Point Loma High get All-CIF sports honors

Published

29 minutes ago

January 3, 2026

Press Room

11 from Point Loma High get All-CIF sports honors

Eleven members of Point Loma High School sports are among the All-CIF honorees announced recently in the San Diego Section, including a Coach of the Year.

Here are the Pointers selected:

Football

First team

Romeo Carter, wide receiver, senior

Mateo Correa, linebacker, senior

Second team

Brandon Bartocci, defensive line, senior

Owen Ice, defensive back, senior

Teams are based on a vote of media members and the Coaches Advisory Committee.

Girls cross country

Coach of the Year

Keith DeLong

DeLong guided Point Loma’s girls team to its best finish in school history this past season, placing second at the CIF Division III State Championships after winning the San Diego Section Division III title.

First team

Isabella Ramos, senior

Second team

Kelly McIntire, junior

Nicole Witt, senior

Sara Geiszler, senior

Teams are based on finishes at the San Diego Section championships.