WE
WE HAVE
WE HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN JONELLE AND WE NEVER WILL.
HUGE DEVELOPMENTS
OUT OF A COLD CASE IN
COLORADO.
FORMER IDAHO
GUBERNATORIAL
CANDIDATE STEVE PANKEY
IS ARRESTED AND
CHARGED IN
CONNECTION TO A
MURDER MORE THAN
THREE DECADES AGO.
THE VICTIM -- 12-YEAR-
OLD JONELLE MATTHEWS
-- WENT MISSING FROM
GREELY, COLORADO BACK
IN 1984.
PANKEY LIVED IN
COLORADO AT THAT TIME
OF HER DISAPPEARANCE.
TODAY -- A COLORADO
GRAND JURY INDICTED
HIM FOR MURDER.
THE GIRL'S REMAINS
WERE FOUND LAST YEAR
BY A CONSTRUCTION
CREW.
OUR JOEY PRECHTL FIRST
TALKED WITH PANKEY
MORE THAN A YEAR AGO
ABOUT THIS CASE.
AT THAT TIME -- HE
DENIED ANY
INVOLVEMENT.
JOEY IS AT THE ADA
COUNTY JAIL-- WHERE
PANKEY IS CURRENTLY IN
CUSTODY.
CUSTODY.
THEY
THEY DO
THEY DO KIM. THEY BELIEVE HE IS THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR
KIDNAPPING AND
MURDER OF JONELLE
MATTHEWS.
PANKEY'S FACING TWO
FIRST DEGREE MURDER
CHARGES-- TWO VIOLENT
CRIME CHARGES AND A
KIDNAPPING CHARGE.
IN OUR INTERVIEW LAST
YEAR -- PANKEY NOT ONLY
DENIED KILLING
MATTHEWS.. BUT ALSO
SAID HE THINKS HE'S
BEING FRAMED BY THE
POLICE.
HER PICTURE AND
IDENTIFYING
INFORMATION WAS ONE
OF THE FIRST TO BE PUT
ON THE MILK CARTONS
THAT WERE PUT OUT IN
ALL OF THE SCHOOLS
NATIONWIDE BY THE
NATIONAL CHILD SAFETY
COUNCIL.
JONELLE MATTHEWS HAS
BEEN MISSING OUT OF
COLORADO FOR MORE
THAN THREE DECADES.
ON TUESDAY -- WELD
COUNTY COLORADO
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
MICHAEL ROURKE
ANNOUNCED THEY'VE
FINALLY ARRESTED A
SUSPECT.
STEVEN PANKEY, A
FORMER GUBERNATORIAL
CANDIDATE IN IDAHO.
THE GRAND JURY
INDICTED AN INDIVIDUAL
NAMED STEVEN DANA
PANKEY FOR THE
KIDNAPPING AND
MURDER OF JONELLE
MATTHEWS.
HE WAS ARRESTED AT HIS
HOME IN MERIDIAN...
INSIDE OF THIS GATED
SUBDIVISION.
ACCORDING TO COURT
DOCUMENTS -- PANKEY
KIDNAPPED 12 YEAR OLD
MATTHEWS FROM HER
GREELY HOME THE NIGHT
OF DECEMBER 20 -- 1984.
CHARGING DOCUMENTS
ALSO ACCUSE HIM OF
SHOOTING MATTHEWS
DURING THE KIDNAPPING.
THE DISTURBING
DEVELOPMENTS...
PROVIDING CLOSURE FOR
THE COMMUNITY.
TODAY'S PRESS
CONFERENCE IS 36 YEARS
IN THE MAKING. FOR OVER
3
3 DECADES
3 DECADES THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JONELLE MATTHEWS HAS
LEFT OUR COMMUNITY
MANY UNANSWERED
QUESTIONS AND A VOID
THAT HAS NOT BEEN
FILLED.
PANKEY SPOKE WITH ME
ABOUT THIS CASE BACK IN
SEPTEMBER OF 2019.
DURING THAT INTERVIEW
HE TALKED ABOUT WHAT
HE KNEW-- AND DENIED
INVOLVEMENT.
42:45 I HAVE SAID THAT I
AM WILLING A VOICE
STRESS TEST. THEY DIDN'T
WANT TO DO THAT. I SAID
I'M WILLING TO TAKE A
POLYGRAPH TEST. THEY
DON'T WANT TO DO THAT.
I FLAT DON'T KNOW
ANYTHING.
ROURKE SAYS PANKEY
BECAME A PERSON OF
INTEREST IN THE CASE
BACK IN 2018.
HE LIVED ABOUT TWO
MILES AWAY FROM THE
MATTHEWS FAMILY IN
GREELEY COLORADO AT
THE TIME SHE WENT
MISSING.
AND HE ALSO INSERTED
HIMSELF INTO THE
INVESTIGATION ON
MULTIPLE OCCASIONS.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF
STATEMENTS THAT HE HAS
MADE OVER THE COURSE
OF TIME. BOTH TO
COURTS, TO LAW
ENFORCEMENT IN
UNSOLICITED LETTERS IN
WHICH HE INDICATES
SOME INITIATE
KNOWLEDGE IN THE
COMMISSION OF THE
CRIME. INFORMATION THE
GENERAL PUBLIC AND THE
MEDIA WAS NOT PRIVY
TOO.
SPECIFICALLY --
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT A
RAKE THAT WAS USED TO
COVER FOOT PRINTS IN
THE SNOW THE NIGHT
MATTHEWS WENT
MISSING.
BUT PANKEY'S LAWYER --
ANTHONY VIORST ISN'T
CONVINCED.
130 MY REACTION IS I'M
ACTUALLY SURPRISED AT
THE FACT THAT THEY
INDICTED HIM ON THESE
CHARGES. I'M REALLY
AWARE OF ZERO EVIDENCE
THAT CONNECTS HIM TO
THIS CRIME.
AGAIN I'M REALLY
SHOCKED. MR. PANKEY
HAS ALWAYS MAINTAINED
NOT JUST HIS INNOCENCE
BUT HE'S ALWAYS
DESCRIBED EXACTLY WHAT
HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT
IN QUESTION, TALKED
ABOUT HIS
WHEREABOUTS, TALKED
ABOUT HIS CONTACTS,
TALKED ABOUT BEING OUT
OF TOWN EARLY THE NEXT
MORNING WITH HIS
FAMILY HEADING TO
CALIFORNIA. 311
PANKEY TOLD ME THE
SAME STORY LAST YEAR.
33:58 THE CAR WAS
PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY.
...IT WAS PACKED TO THE
MAX TO GO TO
CALIFORNIA...BIG BEAR
LAKE CALIFORNIA FOR
CHRISTMAS TO VISIT MY
FOLKS. 34:10
BUT THE INDICTMENT
CONTRADICTS THIS STORY.
WITH PANKEYS EX-WIFE
SAYING THAT TRIP DIDN'T
TAKE PLACE UNTIL TWO
DAYS AFTER MATTHEWS
DISAPPEARANCE.
BUT VIORST THINKS HIS
CLIENT CRAVES
ATTENTION THROUGH
INTERVIEWS WITH THE
NEWS.
546 HE TALKS A LOT BUT
HE DOESN'T REALLY SAY
ANYTHING ABOUT THIS
HOMICIDE BECAUSE HE
DOESN'T KNOW
ANYTHING ABOUT IT. HE
DIDN'T DO IT. 552
935 AS I UNDERSTAND IT,
ALL OF THE EVIDENCE IS
CIRCUMSTANTIAL AND IT'S
REALLY AS FAR AS I CAN
TELL VERY WEAK
CIRCUMSTANTIAL
EVIDENCE.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. 734 I THINK ONCE THE
FULL STORY IS PORTRAYED
IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR
JURY, THE ULTIMATE
CONCLUSION THAT MR.
PANKEY IS INNOCENT WILL
BECOME VERY CLEAR. 748
PANKEY
PANKEY IS
PANKEY IS BEING HELD
WITHOUT
WITHOUT BOND IN THE ADA COUNTY JAIL. THE PLAN IS TO
EXTRADITE HIM TO
COLORADO-- WHERE
HE'LL APPEAR IN COURT
ON THESE NEW CHARGES.
KIM, BACK TO YOU.
PANKEY WAS
CONSIDERED A LONGSHOT
CANDIDATE.
HE RAN AS A
CONSTITUTION PARTY
CANDIDATE IN 20-14 AND