Lawyer added to yacht case

An attorney for one of two men facing the death penalty in the slaying of a Newport Beach couple on their yacht said he plans to ask for the trial date to be pushed back today in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.

Skylar Deleon and John F. Kennedy are accused of forcing Tom and Jackie Hawks to sign transfer of title documents for their yacht before lashing the couple to the anchor of the vessel and dropping them in the ocean somewhere between Newport Beach and Santa Catalina in 2004. Deleon also is charged with hiring someone to kill his father, who is a potential witness in the case.

The couple’s bodies were never found. Deleon’s wife, Jennifer Henderson Deleon, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the couple’s death in November 2006 and awaits sentencing Oct. 5.

Kennedy’s attorney, Beverly Hills-based lawyer Winston K. McKesson, said the trial date will be pushed back because of the addition of Charles L. Linder, of Santa Monica, as co-counsel for Kennedy.

McKesson, who will continue to be Kennedy’s primary legal counsel, has represented such high-profile defendants as Los Angeles Police Department Officer Rafael Perez in the Los Angeles Police Department Rampart scandal.