In response, Mark testified his father did not change and their relationship remained the same. There was one occasion where he made comments about how attractive younger girls were at the pool. It had been nearly four decades since Jonelle Matthews was kidnapped from her home and murdered. WELD COUNTY, Colo. Steve Pankey was found guilty by a jury of felony murder and second-degree kidnapping on Monday in the 1984 death of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end", Louisiana's health care deserts put women, babies at risk, doctors say, How a tall Texan became an unlikely Australian rules football star, Second convoy of U.S. citizens fleeing Khartoum arrives at Port Sudan, ISIS chief killed by Turkey's intelligence agency, Erdogan says, General Mills issues Gold Medal flour recall over salmonella concerns, Investors sue Adidas over Kanye West Yeezy deal, Tornado flips cars, downs trees after touching down in South Florida, Shaquil Barrett's 2-year-old daughter dies in drowning accident. Despite Viorsts difficulty advancing in his examination, Yosts testimony revealed the following information about Drake: In 1989, Yost had an interview with Greeley Police Detective Keith Olson in which she made statements that Drake looked at young girls in binoculars. Authorities last week searched the Twin Falls home of 68-year-old Steve Pankey, serving him a warrant that said investigators had probable cause to believe he kidnapped and killed Jonelle Matthews in 1984. She recalled Pankey had a change of heart about Christy after Pankey was asked to leave the church. Authorities searched a home in Twin Falls, Idaho. 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. Steve Pankey trial: Matthews family denies knowing Pankey He was described as immature, hung out with a younger crowd and focused on partying. The first trial ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a unanimous She described being forced to listen to news accounts about Jonelle's disappearance, and she told jurors about finding a piece of paper in Pankey's trash. The strategy of the defense Wednesday in the trial of Steve Pankey, the 70-year-old man accused of kidnapping and murdering 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews in 1984, focused on introducing evidence regarding an alternate suspect in the case. Anthony Viorst: So, here's what I'll say It's our position that it was divulged by law enforcement. As currently indicated, Karl Banke was the youngest child of Stephen Banke. However, Olson said he called and left a voicemail after obtaining the first letter. And furthermore, Viorst told the jury that Pankey wasn't the only person who knew about those raked footprints. Kelly Werthmann: I think it's, it's her word against his. The best home improvement jobs deserve the best materials. As investigators struggled to find answers, they focused initially on Jonelle's father Jim Matthews. He claimed that he had contact with somebody who had information about Jonelle's disappearance. DA MICHAEL ROURKE: The evidence in this case will prove that the defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree and second-degree kidnapping. When Drake woke up the next day, he came upstairs and asked if the Daviets had heard about Jonelles disappearance. Before stepping down from the stand, Pankeys sister confirmed she refused to talk about the case with police on April 15. WebThe Pankey family name was found in the USA, and the UK between 1840 and 1920. Drake didnt return home until between the hours of 2-4 a.m., according to her testimony. The trial for Steve Pankey, the 70-year-old man accused of kidnapping and murdering 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews in December 1984, began Wednesday with opening statements addressing his obsession with her case, his Aspergers condition and his confessions to involvement and knowledge surrounding her disappearance. Viorst began his examination by asking if Pankey had the right to defend himself during this trial, receiving a yes response from Hicks. Due to his business buying used cars and parts to sell to customers, Pankey would be in possession of several different cars. The retrial of Steven Pankey is scheduled for October 4, 2022. Anthony Viorst: I can't answer that because I can't get into his head but, but I do think it's a combination of sort of obsessive-compulsive behavior and you know, perhaps even mental illness. "48 Hours" tried to get our own interview with Pankey. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. DA ROBERT MILLER: How long were you driving as you flipped stations looking for news stories about Jonelle Matthews? It was December 1984, just days before Christmas, when 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her family home in Greeley, Colorado. The detective said there was very little record of the investigation. "It was just me trying to be a big man, be in the case, OK? He testified that in the past he had lied about his knowledge of the case. Politician Lord Frost is one of the most prominent figures in the English government. (Courtesy of Angela Hicks) The 71-year-old was a person of interest in the case over the course of three decades. Im trying to be transparent, he said. Drake became noticeably upset by questions regarding the hold-back evidence and said he felt bad because he didnt see anything and he was right there.. They never released the information about the rake. ANTHONY VIORST: Mr. Pankey, I'm gonna ask you to answer my questions a little more directly if you don't mind. Kelly Werthmann: To not have that definitive answer It's frustrating. In 2019, Hicks and Pankey also had several phone calls throughout August in which her ex-husband requested her not to speak with police if they reached out about the Matthews case, Hicks said during her time on the stand. Pankey said he had brushes with the law in Colorado before Jonelles disappearance that led police to mistrust him. Sakulenzki confirmed she reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2009 about Pankey, and to the Greeley Police Department in 2019. By After being charged, he left the position. Lowery will never forget the moment police told her that her son Trevor had died. Kelly Werthmann: I mean, as a reporter, you start lookin' around tryin' to do some searching of who this person is. Viorst tried to contact Hicks several times by phone call and text message, including leaving voicemails, according to Viorst. Police might have been closer to an answer than they knew. When police arrived, Lowery was still upstairs on the phone with 911. Instead, he called a lawyer, according to Olson. For the record, the Constitution Party denies Pankey or anyone else was exorcised at least by them. Once youre accused of something like date rape, youre forever stigmatized, he said. Daviet recalls sleeping on the couch right by the front door when Drake arrived home past midnight to go to his room in the basement. And I think my jaw probably hit my desk, and I said, "What?". Richard Schlesinger: The problem is there's no physical evidence. He said he was charged over his years in Colorado with as many as 20 other arbitrary misdemeanors, such as battery and harassment by phone, and went to trial multiple times. Richard Schlesinger: See, that's weird. He had abducted her on Dec 20th, 1984 from her home after she came home from a Christmas concert. And she got really concerned when she found a note in the trash. Mayor John Gates: I remember that night like it was yesterday. STEVEN PANKEY: I wanna back up a little bit. He had a friendship with a younger girl, but Yost said she didnt believe there was anything romantic between the two. ANGELA HICKS: He wanted me to read each article out loud to him. As a follow up, investigators interviewed people including Drake, his mother, his sister, his first wife, possibly his first wifes father, Connie Daviet, who was his roommates sister, Dave Daviet, who was Drakes roommate, and Yost. In a four-hour episode of the "Unfound" podcast recorded in November 2019, Pankey claims he was dating his accuser. Ken Blum and Jud Johnston are the editors. On the night Jonelle went missing, Pankey said, he was home with his then-wife. Jonelle's father Jim says the fast-breaking news about Pankey surprised him. When Steven Pankey swore to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, Gloria and Jim Matthews were hoping to finally get to the truth, about their daughter, Jonelle's, murder. Steve Pankey Afterwards she got a ride home with Deanna Ross and Deanna's father. LOCAL NEWS REPORT: 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her Greeley home. JUDGE TIMOTHY KERNS: I realize the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the other counts and that is a perfectly acceptable way for a trial to conclude. Jonelle became one of the first missing children whose photo appeared on milk cartons across America. It was pure hatred on my part. A recorded video was conducted during the Nov. 19, 1989 interview of Drake, and fragments of the video were played Wednesday morning. Their son, Carl, was murdered in Phoenix in 2008. If Pankey didn't kill Jonelle Matthews, then who did? At trial, Viorst told the jury that Pankey was a true-crime junkie. STEVE PANKEY [to KMVT]: They've got full SWAT gear on. The ex-wife of Steve Pankey, the man accused of killing 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews in 1984, testified in his murder trial Monday and Tuesday. Anthony Viorst, Pankey's former attorney, says Pankey craves attention but is not a murderer. And he took duct tape and wrapped it around the dog's muzzle. Richard Schlesinger: What were the challenges facing the prosecution? Pankey, 71, is on trial for the second time for her kidnapping and murder. Last year, his first trial ended with a hung jury on the kidnapping and murder charges, but he was convicted for false reporting after he admitted to lying to law enforcement about the case during his testimony. The case drew national attention. Former candidate for ID governor investigated in 1984 Colorado I think to this day he harbors a grudge to Russ Ross, Hicks said on the stand. Kelly Werthmann interviewed Pankey for CBSDenver over FaceTime. Anthony Viorst: He argued with a bank teller and the police were called. Jim Matthews takes the stand in the trial of the man accused of the kidnapping and murder of his 12-year-old daughter Jonelle. MAYOR JOHN GATES: I was sitting at my desk one day some time back. Sakulenzki remembers asking who he was talking about when he made the statement. In the matter of the burning car, Pankey allegedly told Hicks he knew the car was going to catch on fire, so he moved it to the back property. She reported seeing Drake sit in his vehicle for a while, as if he was staring at something. But Jonelle's family and friends could only attract that kind of attention for so long. Richard Schlesinger: And he was using, what, a garden rake? But he didn't give up the information. Drake and Yost lived together from 1985-1987. Jordan Kinsey, Elizabeth Caholo and Lauren A. And yet he picks up the phone. [Update] Steve Pankey has been arrested for the 1984 murder of I just wanted to not be married to him anymore, she said. Pankey Name Meaning & Pankey Family History at Ancestry.com It's exhausting. That's when Jonelle went to sing in a school choir concert. Viorst questioned how Drake knew about Jonelles disappearance that morning, with it being unlikely he contacted his mother after leaving her house that night or before coming upstairs the following morning. Fred Smith knows real estate. The day before the service, Hicks and Vanessa Sakulenzki, Hicks half-sister, were standing near the urn when Pankey approached. he's a firm adherent to the Ten Commandments, which include thou shalt not kill. STEVE PANKEY [to Werthmann]: If I gave my DNA, that would be kinda like a knockout blow . After an Aug. 13, 2013, phone call with the suspect, he still did not make a report, but Viorst said Olson wasnt in charge of investigating Pankey. Pankey made an unusual witness in his own defense. In a matter of days, the search was all over the news, but not because police were talking. Anthony Viorst: There's no physical evidence whatsoever to connect Mr. Pankey to this crime. Like his father, Pankey also believed in these viewpoints, according to Hicks. STEVEN PANKEY: I had never imagined Angie would be as big a liar as I am. "And one of the things notated in his handwriting on this piece of legal paper was snow outside the Matthews house was raked," she told jurors. On December 20, 1984, a 14-year-old girl, Jonelle Mathews was kidnapped from her home in Colorado, never to return. The search, Pankey said, came about a month after he gave police a DNA sample. It was December 1984 when 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews vanished from her family's Greeley, Colorado home. After the two-and-a-half hour interview, Drake indicated he would return back to discuss the case more, but he never did. On November 2, 2021, the jurors got the case. We just had a big group of friends. The defense attorney strived to bring this evidence into Pankeys defense from the testimony of Andrea Yost, the ex-wife of Drakes roommate in 1984 and a woman with whom he developed a romantic relationship. "One lie leads to another.". Steve Pankey found guilty in 1984 murder of Jonelle Matthews