In 1984, a 12-year-old girl named Jonelle Matthews went missing in Greeley, Colo. The spacious, modern Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Steve Pankey trial: Ex-wife highlights defendants fixation on Jonelle Matthews case, Weld DA announces community relations director position opening, seeks qualified candidate, Weld County could get hit with a legal challenge for not complying with a 2021 redistricting law, Florida was the most prized swing state for decades. In 2002, Hicks and Pankey finalized their divorce, and on July 4, 2008, their son Carl was murdered. Based on DNA evidence, the Weld County Coroner's Office positively identified the remains as being those of Jonelle Matthews. Brought to you by Prairie Mountain Publishing, Sexually violent predator moves into Greeley community, Greeley police shoot, kill armed 24-year-old man Saturday, Windsor announces lineup for Movies in the Park and Summer Concert Series, Greeley, Weld County Death Notices for April 30, 2023, Greeley, Weld County Death Notices for April 29, 2023, Avalanches Stanley Cup defense sputters to end in Game 7 of first round vs. underdog Seattle Kraken, 'We're doing it for these families': Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity celebrates double home dedication, Broncos still have holes to fill on roster with 2023 NFL draft in the books, Greeley, Weld County Death Notices for April 28, 2023, Weld RE-1 School District principal named best of the year at middle school level, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. It was around six and a half years later, on December 20, 1984, that Jonelle vanished from her Greeley home. Close to 8:30 p.m. Jonelle answered a phone call from a substitute teacher contacting her father to call out sick. After decades of marriage to a controlling man, years of worrying he would figure out she spoke with law enforcement about him and testifying in two trials, Hicks finally felt safe. He was charged with first-degree murder in 2020, following the discovery of Jonelle's body. Copyright 1999-2023 AncientFaces, Inc. All Rights Reserved. What is Carl's ethnicity and where did his parents, grandparents & great-grandparents come from? Fred Smith knows real estate. Second, the verdict gave the family and community closure. He is a suspect but the heat has not been confirmed by a trial or jury. For Hicks, Pankeys involvement in the case seemed more cut and dry, Hicks said, but the jurors were unaware of many compelling details she couldnt testify about due to rules of evidence. She said she confronted Pankey about the situation, who responded that he needed the money to pay legal fees. The 12-year-old was missing for more than three decades. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Hicks felt she had to walk on eggshells around Pankey. BY ANCESTRY.COM. In 2018, Pankey made a long-shot bid for the Republican nomination for governor of Idaho, but that would be the beginning of his downfall. (Staff/Morgan. This file is auto-generated */!function(c,l){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(l.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage);else if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(!t);else if(! Hes a little bit of an odd guy, true? Harris asked Hicks regarding that comment. Jonelle was adopted in March 1972 by James "Jim" and Gloria Matthews, a married couple with a daughter, living in Greeley, Colorado. or visit Help / Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) to discover more about the community. The jury found him guilty on making false reports to authorities, but they were deadlocked on the other kidnapping and murder counts. [21], Pankey knew he was a person of interest in September 2019 when he was interviewed by the Idaho Statesman. There he found an interest: politics. And so to me, that was the single most significant telling of what she recalled that really, to be honest with you, put me over the top in terms of charging him in the first place.. Until a man living in Twin Falls Idaho, Steven Pankey, became a person of interest. Once home, Pankey changed into coveralls and galoshes and said there were issues with the septic tank. After almost 38 years, the mystery of what happened to Jonelle Matthews on Dec. 20, 1984 has been put to rest. [26] It's official: Jamal Murray, Nuggets are in Phoenix's heads now. Steve Pankey, a politician, a Christian, and Jonelle's murderer, acted in a bizarre and disturbing way in the time leading up to the death of 12-year-old Jonelle, immediately after it, and in . The selection changes often, but if you love good Buying or selling a home is the largest financial investment most people ever make. "[13], Jennifer Mogensen, Jonelle's older sister, said her family experienced "some closure" when they learned that Jonelle was murdered and she considers Pankey's arrest "another gift to our family". "It was just me trying to be a big man, be in the case, OK? The 22-day trial ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision on the kidnapping and murder charges, though they did convict Pankey of one count of false reporting to authorities. AncientFaces is a 100% free and family-friendly community to share memories and connect with others to discover more about Uncovering Our Shared Memories: An Introduction to the Community Standards at AncientFaces A crew was excavating the area to install a pipeline and discovered the human remains about 15 miles southeast of Matthews former home. He has lived in the Aurora/Southeast Denver Metro area since 1965 and is an expert Getting ready for a yard project? a It charged that "he took Jonelle Matthews from her family home " and "shot Jonelle Matthews during the course of the kidnapping.". The jury voted to convict Pankey on a single misdemeanor count of making false statements to police, but was unable to come to a unanimous verdict on the kidnapping and murder charges. (r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); Millers questioning opened by asking about Pankeys controlling nature during his marriage to Hicks. An optical flaw was found within weeks of launch but was fixed within three years. Saddam Hussein's forces had previously invaded the sovereign state of Kuwait and the focus of the operation was to remove his Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Harris argued during cross that Pankeys comment was strange, but it didnt lead to any kind of evidence. Pankey repeatedly claimed to have knowledge of the crime and had asked "for immunity in exchange for information". I was terrified because I was thinking, What am I going to do if they asked him something? Hicks said. He does not believe in gun control of any kind and hoped that all gun laws would be repealed. On Dec. 20, 1984, according to a grand jury indictment, Mr. Pankey, armed with a gun, took Jonelle from her family's home and killed her during the course of the kidnapping. The ride to California was silent, but on the way back to Greeley, Pankey forced Hicks to flip through the radio stations in search of news about Jonelles disappearance. In February 1985, before the couple moved out of Greeley, they attended a church across the street from their home. Colorado lawmakers "belly flop" on water crisis, opting for further study of Colorado River over action, experts say, Colorado property tax relief: Polis, lawmakers reveal plan to ease skyrocketing tax bills, Kiszla: Avs embarrass themselves with silence about Valeri Nichushkin's mysterious absence following reported 9-1-1 call, Images, suicide note released in mall massacre, Avalanche's Stanley Cup defense sputters to end in Game 7 of first round vs. underdog Seattle Kraken, Kraken-Avs Game 7 Quick Hits: Philipp Grubauer gets last laugh on Colorado fans, Avs, Ask Amy: A gentleman ponders gender salutations, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. He noted that Drake had been at his mother's house that night but was missing for a number of hours the same night. The name of that college is unknown. Require gun training? [2], Years after Jonelle's disappearance, her parents moved to the Philippines. The jury found him guilty on a charge of false reporting", "Steve Pankey's Defense Poses Theory That Another Man Killed Jonelle Matthews In 1984", "Steve Pankey found guilty of kidnapping, felony murder in Jonelle Matthews case", "Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Jonelle Matthews' 1984 Murder", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Jonelle_Matthews&oldid=1145793361, December 1984 events in the United States, Pages using infobox person with multiple organizations, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Member of Sunny View Church of the Nazarene and Franklin Middle School Choir, Jennifer Mogensen (sister), Terri Vierra-Martinez (biological mother), This page was last edited on 21 March 2023, at 01:02. Pankey was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Investigators searched the Matthews home, but the only physical evidence they found were shoeprints in the snow that someone had tried to eliminate with a garden rake. [22][23], On October 13, 2020, Pankey was indicted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in Jonelle's death. She had three mothers. But it just was unnerving.. In the 1980s, Pankey prohibited Hicks from driving, reading newspapers, watching TV or listening to music. She then learned Pankey had gone to multiple law enforcement agencies over the years. Help paint a picture of Carl so that he is always remembered. Since Pankey told her about his attempts to gain immunity, she decided to go to the Sun Valley police. [16] She appears in the International Center for Unidentified and Missing Persons' database. Defense attorney Peter Harris brought up the burning car with Hicks, asking if she knew the make, model or color. He stopped her on news coverage about a 12-year-old who had gone missing from her Greeley home. Hicks noted they sat in silence for the whole ride there and back, but about halfway home to Greeley, Pankey asked for her to find a radio station. Pankey and his former wife lived about three miles from the Matthews home and he had been a youth pastor at the church the Matthews family attended. But Viorst went on to say that Pankey only knew about the rake because it was divulged to him by law enforcement. Angela Hicks, Pankeys former spouse, took the stand for her second day of testimony Monday morning. Pankey is being represented by the public defender's office after private defense attorney Anthony Viorst withdrew as counsel, citing a lack of time and energy to potentially go through another trial. Pankey testified he didnt know Hicks took any of these measures back in the 90s. Jonelle Matthews, 12, disappeared from her Greeley, Colorado, home on December 20, 1984. Pankey further explained that Sun Valley, a city in Idaho, was persecuting him because he wouldnt give them the information they wanted about the Jonelle case unless he received immunity first. For decades, her devastated family wondered what happened to the sweet 7th grader, whose disappearance cast a pall over Greeley. [13] Steven Pankey was 69 years old at the time of his indictment. [7][8][9] Her father was at his other daughter's basketball game[9] and her mother had traveled out of state to be with Jonelle's ill grandfather. [27] He received a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. Nobody ever came to me to ask, Hey, your husbands coming in and saying this, what do you have to say about it?. After hearing testimony from multiple witnesses, Steven Pankey took the stand. In 2010, the Greeley Tribune published another summary of the case. At the time of Jonelle's disappearance, Steven Pankey lived in Greeley, Colorado. Various other incidents over the years incriminated Pankey in Matthews kidnapping and murder. But in 2021, the jury convicted Pankey, and he now sits behind bars for at least 20 years, until hes 91 years old. Keeler: Avs fans, could we please skip Valeri Nichushkin, Nazem Kadri revisionist history? The Matthew family didn't know Pankey. The Biography section is collaborative, where we work together to present the facts. Kiszla: One-hit wonders? The selection changes often, but if you love good Buying or selling a home is the largest financial investment most people ever make. 22 birth records, View The Greeley Tribune contributed to this report. A photo of Carl Pankey with his mother, Angela. As investigators struggled to find answers, they focused initially on Jonelle's father Jim Matthews.
Check From Auditor Of State Of Arkansas,
Articles W