COLORADO 1984 Cold Case Solved After 36 Years — Her Killer Ran for Governor

#ColdCase #Colorado #truecrimecommunity In December 1984, 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews vanished from her family's home in Greeley, Colorado, hours after singing in a Christmas concert with her middle school honor choir. Outside a window, police found footprints in the snow and marks where someone had tried to rake them away. Jonelle became one of the first missing children pictured on milk cartons, and President Reagan spoke her name. For decades, the case went cold. 🔔 Subscribe to Cold Case Reckoning for cold cases, overlooked evidence and investigations that refused to be forgotten. In July 2019, nearly 35 years later, a pipeline crew uncovered Jonelle's remains in a field in rural Weld County. By then, investigators had turned their attention to Steven Pankey, a former Greeley resident who had run twice for governor of Idaho. For decades, Pankey had inserted himself into the case. He wrote letters, demanded immunity, and even mentioned the location of her body in a 1999 Idaho Supreme Court filing. Pankey was arrested in October 2020. His first trial ended in a hung jury. In October 2022, nearly 38 years after Jonelle disappeared, a second Weld County jury convicted him of felony murder and second-degree kidnapping. This is the story of a Colorado cold case solved without DNA, the secret detail police kept hidden for 35 years, and the man who could never stop talking about it. #ColdCaseReckoning #JonelleMatthews #ColdCaseSolved #MilkCartonKids #Greeley #Idaho #TrueCrime 📚 REFERENCES & FURTHER READING Greeley Police Department — Jonelle Matthews investigation Weld County District Court — Steven Pankey indictment and trial proceedings The Colorado Sun — investigative reporting on the case and Pankey Greeley Tribune — original and anniversary coverage, trial reporting Denver Gazette — trial testimony and verdict coverage Idaho Statesman — reporting on Pankey and the investigation Associated Press — investigation and court coverage CBS News, 48 Hours — "The Kidnapping of Jonelle Matthews"