Richard Schlesinger: And you drove off thinking what? We were very involved in our church. She further stated Pankey seems to want the attention.. In August 2019, nearly 35 years after Jonelle vanished, Gloria and Jim Matthews were finally able to lay her to rest. he's ran for governor two times. The day before the He said she lived across the street from his mothers home, according to Daviets testimony. Darla Jentzsch: It was such a mystery, this whole thing happened. Daviet further testified that Norris told her about a scenario he thought might have happened to Jonelle. Owner of Andersens Sales & Salvage for 62 years, Kenny Andersen took the stand to testify about a customer who was causing problems at his establishment in the mid-1980s. This type of car fire is unusual, according to Andersen. Viorst said Hicks met with prosecutors and completed multiple interviews with police, but she never talked to him. Richard Schlesinger: I know that you're a politician and not a priest, but did he seem in need of an exorcism? PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN [March 7, 1985]: I learned about Jonelle Matthews of Greeley, Colorado. During Olsons time as an investigator at the DAs office, he testified he received three letters from Pankey, but told Wells he made no reports on this. Pankey depicted this notion of enemies when he made Christy the villain in his fiction writings, according to assistant district attorney Robb Miller. STEVEN PANKEY: In the little jail cubicle before coming up here, I was praying and I was thinking, God, maybe I shouldn't testify Because I'd be just telling more lies. Marshals Service and Montgomery County Police. The attorney also told her she had to say what she reported to Olson in their 1989 interview while testifying on Wednesday, to create reasonable doubt in this case. It was December 1984, just days before Christmas, when 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her family home in Greeley, Colorado. He is a political candidate run Top 10 Highest Paid Female Model In The World. Cross-examination from Wells highlighted there were no matching shoe prints between the Drake residence and the Matthews residence to the prints found in the back of home. That night, Daviet and her brother Dave were home, while Drake borrowed Daves truck to go to his mothers house. Her remains were discovered on July 24, 2019, and the trial for her murder began. STEVE PANKEY ["Unfound" podcast]: She was 23 years old. Viorst claims that he is Jonelle's killer. Pankey was even unaware of the gender and names of her children, according to a statement he made in January 2021, Miller said. Jim Matthews: We knew that we wanted to give her a dignified burial and I'm not a real emotional person. But by then, defense attorney Anthony Viorst had silenced his chatty new client. 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Hicks described their relationship as bitter enemies.. Or was he one that just surrounded himself with strange, bizarre behavior for years? Incriminating statements, lack of physical evidence again at Mayor John Gates: My assignment that night was going around the neighborhood, knocking on doors asking them if they had seen or heard anything suspicious that evening. Throughout Yosts testimony, Deputy District Attorney Lacy Wells made several objections to Viorsts remarks about Drakes interest in young girls. Anthony Viorst: Mr. Pankey likes to talk. The friend, Rochelle Davy, formerly known as Rochelle Baxley, said the car startled and agitated Jonelle. Kelly Werthmann: To not have that definitive answer It's frustrating. Mayor John Gates: I do. That was our sign that she made it inside and everything's fine. There were no fingerprints and if there was DNA, law enforcement was still several years from being able to analyze it. Mayor John Gates: I had met him in about the mid-1970s. This timeline indicated the family was watching The Cosby Show from 7-9 p.m. Olson testified he checked the TV guide and confirmed the times match up with the statements. The grand jury did find him guilty of false reporting. Ryan Horsley: I was kind of confused because our local sheriff actually went to our church. Pankey's defense offered a different theory. Norris Drake died in 2007, but many thought Viorst's theory about him helped Pankey's case. Richard Schlesinger: He wanted to run against a fellow church member? It's believed she's the victim of a kidnapping. He maintains the sex was consensual. Gloria Matthews: Everywhere we went I was always looking for her I always had hope that I would find her. After prosecutors finished up their direct examination of Pankeys ex-wife Angela Hicks, defense attorney Anthony Viorst had his chance to speak with the witness on Tuesday. However, the grand jury found him guilty for false reporting only as he walks free. DA ROBERT MILLER: How long were you driving as you flipped stations looking for news stories about Jonelle Matthews? I believed, at the time, he might have involvement, Olson said. Pankey himself would take the stand. Steve Pankey allegedly killed a 14-year-old girl from Greeley, Colorado in 1984. So, Pankey said, he decided to speak publicly now, because of his concerns about law enforcements ideas about him, and because he is a public figure in light of his runs for office. What Happened During Steve Pankeys So, the defense clearly has to prove, yes, he's an admitted liar but he's not lying now. Mayor John Gates: I remember that night like it was yesterday. Steve Pankey trial: Ex-wife describes behavior Pankey became a suspect in Jonelles murder the same year her remains were discovered, after Greeley police investigators took steps to modernize the case. Pankey was on the stand for two days giving testimony that was often rambling and hard to follow, and sometimes head-scratching. Pankey had an interesting next move: he ran for sheriff again. Kelly Werthmann: This was a moment that this community had been waiting for a long time. STEVEN PANKEY: It was a polite way of flipping them the bird. I mean . The boys body was discovered in a storage unit in the 5000 block of E. Pankey As investigators struggled to find answers, they focused initially on Jonelle's father Jim Matthews. The case drew national attention. According to his own website, his father was a Youth For Christ Leader. I said listen, "I have been very honest, I've been accessible to you any time you wanted, but I'm getting sick of this because I am innocent.". The detective said there was very little record of the investigation. He spent years insisting he had vital information about what happened to Jonelle Matthews. In the interview played in court, Olson was the first one to bring up the shoe prints. Jonelle Matthews was laid to rest nearly 35 years after her disappearance. Hicks testified to Pankey forcing her to cut off communication with her own father, making her stay home with the kids and not letting her drive a car, in addition to other examples of his overbearing nature. SUBMIT A CORRECTION EastIdahoNews.com Deanna Ross: That I'd see her the next day, at school. Additionally, there was no mention of Drakes shoe size in Olsons writings, and he couldnt remember the shoe size from memory during his testimony. Pankey said he also has volunteered to take a polygraph test. Jim Matthews: You have to go on with life. That was one of many lies, says Pankey, meant to target people he hated, like his father-in-law, and Mayor John Gates. He just does, for whatever reason. DA MICHAEL ROURKE [to reporters]: It is with great honor today that we announce that the grand jury indicted an individual named Steven Dana Pankey for the kidnapping and murder of Jonelle Matthews. And I think my jaw probably hit my desk, and I said, "What?". Greeley was much smaller then and Pankey was known around town. Ryan Horsley: To halt any investigation, to halt him getting arrested. Pankey The man, who tried to threaten Justice Brett Kavanaugh with his life, was arrested with the joint efforts of the U.S. ANTHONY VIORST: Mr. Pankey does have a mental illness. Kevin Schneider: He couldn't take his dad. The Statesman reached out to the Greeley Police Department for comment on Thursday and did not receive an immediate response. Its the new home of High Plains Bank in Wiggins. In July 2019, Jonelles remains were found at an oil and gas site in rural Weld County, and it was determined she died from a gunshot wound to the head. Jim Matthews: I just kept telling him, I said, "Listen, I'm telling you the truth. When police arrived, Lowery was still upstairs on the phone with 911. Steve Pankey's ex-wife describes his behavior in the days