Jeffrey Skelton: Lake Minnetonka Murder, Guilty Plea, and Appeal

The Jeffrey Skelton murder case involves a Minnesota man who shot and killed his wife’s lover, Michael Delmore, inside Delmore’s home in Mound, Minnesota, on June 19, 2005. Skelton pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder and was originally sentenced to 396 months in prison. He later won a partial victory on appeal when the Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered an evidentiary hearing on his claim that his trial attorney failed to investigate a mental-illness defense. He is currently incarcerated at MCF Lino Lakes with a projected release date of March 6, 2030.¹

What Happened on Lake Minnetonka and in Mound

The killing followed a marital dispute that began two days earlier. On June 17, 2005, Jeffrey Skelton and his wife, Marilyn Skelton, were boating on Lake Minnetonka when they argued about her relationship with Michael Delmore. Skelton threw his wife, who could not swim, into the lake. He drove the boat away briefly, then returned, pulled her from the water, and left her on shore.² Marilyn Skelton then took refuge at Delmore’s home in Mound.³

On the morning of June 19, Skelton broke into Delmore’s home. Marilyn Skelton was in the shower when she heard gunshots. She went to the kitchen and saw her husband standing over Delmore with a gun pointed at him. She retreated to the bathroom and locked the door, but Skelton pushed it open, pointed the gun inside, and demanded Delmore’s cell phone before fleeing. She then called police.² Delmore, 53, had been shot five times, in the head, heart, groin, and foot, and died from his injuries.³

Later that afternoon, Skelton contacted a Hennepin County deputy and said he “had done what he wanted to do” and would turn himself in. He surrendered to Mound Police the same day.⁴

Who Michael Delmore Was

Michael Delmore had worked as a field supervisor at Xcel Energy for more than 25 years and was a longtime Mound resident. At his funeral, friends and family described him as generous and devoted to those around him. His sister Sue Delmore said he was a mentor, and his brother Dan called him a “tireless uncle and friend.” A friend, Dan Hessburg, said Delmore “cared so much he was blinded to his own safety.”⁵

Charges and the Guilty Plea

Skelton, 50 at the time of his arrest, was initially charged on June 20, 2005, with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of making terroristic threats.² The charges were later upgraded to two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree burglary, and one count of terroristic threats.⁶

Skelton posted a $750,000 bond on June 27, 2005, but was returned to jail after he violated the conditions of release by contacting his wife. Prosecutors then asked that his bail be raised to $5 million.³

On December 5, 2005, Skelton pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder under Minnesota Statute § 609.19. He admitted in court that he broke into Delmore’s home knowing Delmore was having an affair with his wife and that he shot Delmore six times after an argument. He was sentenced to 396 months, or 33 years, in prison.⁴

The 2009 Appeal and Mental-Illness Defense Claim

In August 2007, Skelton filed a petition for postconviction relief. His central claim was that his trial attorney had been constitutionally ineffective for failing to investigate or discuss a potential mental-illness defense before he entered his guilty plea. He supported the claim with an affidavit from psychiatrist Barbara J. Houk, M.D., who evaluated him in March 2007 and concluded he suffered from a physical brain illness that produced a mental illness directly related to his conduct at the time of the shooting. The Hennepin County District Court dismissed the petition without a hearing, citing a pretrial competency evaluation that had found Skelton competent to stand trial.⁶

On June 2, 2009, a three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed on that issue and sent the case back for an evidentiary hearing. The court noted that the pretrial competency evaluation addressed only whether Skelton could participate in legal proceedings, which is not the same as his mental state at the time of the killing. An earlier evaluator, Dr. Karen Bruggemeyer, had described Skelton as having a “paranoid edge” and “gross impaired judgment,” but no one had investigated whether those conditions could support a mental-illness defense before the plea. The appeals court directed the district court to decide whether trial counsel’s failure to explore the defense was reasonable and, if not, whether it rendered the plea involuntary under Strickland v. Washington.⁶

Two other arguments were rejected outright. Skelton had argued that the Minnesota Legislature exceeded its authority by criminalizing the killing of a spouse’s lover, and that charging him with multiple crimes for the same incident violated double jeopardy. The appeals court called the first “without merit” and the second “without sufficient merit to warrant discussion.”⁶

Where Skelton Is Today

Skelton is currently incarcerated at MCF Lino Lakes. The Minnesota Department of Corrections lists his sentence as 144 months with a projected release date of March 6, 2030.¹ The gap between the original 396-month sentence imposed in 2005 and the 144-month term now on record suggests that the remanded postconviction proceedings or a later resentencing produced a significantly reduced sentence. The specific resolution of the evidentiary hearing ordered by the appeals court is not reflected in the available records.

1
Minnesota Department of Corrections. Offender Details, Jeffrey David Skelton
2
TwinCities.com. Police Chief Says Cooperation Key to Arrest of Mound Murder Suspect
3
SWNewsMedia. Shooting Victim Remembered for His Generosity
4
TwinCities.com. Skelton Pleads Guilty to 2nd-Degree Murder
5
TwinCities.com. Shooting Victim Remembered for His Generosity
6
Minnesota Court of Appeals. Skelton v. State, Case No. A08-0572