Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Silverman: Expect the quest for justice for Jonelle Matthews to continue and improve

It was a shocking crime at Christmastime. A Colorado girl snatched at night from her family home. Jonelle Matthews, age 12, vanished on Dec. 20, 1984. America went looking for her, encouraged by a concerned President Reagan. Nearly 35 years later, Jonelle’s clothed and decomposed remains were found at a rural Weld County field, 20 […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, News

Trial of man accused of killing 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews in Greeley ends with hung jury

GREELEY — The trial of a former longshot Idaho gubernatorial candidate charged in the killing of a 12-year-old Colorado girl ended Thursday with jurors unable to reach verdicts on the most serious charges against him. Jurors found Steve Pankey guilty of false reporting but could not reach agreement on murder and kidnapping charges. Weld County […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, News

Weld County trial begins for man accused in 1984 cold case killing of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews

By Patty Nieberg, The Associated Press  A former longshot Idaho gubernatorial candidate on trial in the 1984 killing of a 12-year-old Colorado girl wasn’t even remotely considered a suspect to law enforcement until his obsession with the crime and incessant visits to talk with police about it provided clues that turned him into the suspect, […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, News

Weld County grand jury indicts man in 1984 Greeley cold-case murder of 12-year-old girl

Nearly 36 years after 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her Greeley home, a Weld County grand jury has indicted an Idaho man for her death. Steven Pankey, who lived in Greeley at the time of Jonelle’s disappearance and had ties to the family’s church, was indicted on Oct. 9 on five charges, including first-degree murder […]

Posted inColoradans, Crime and Courts, News

After haunting Colorado for three decades, there is new hope in the Jonelle Matthews case

Before 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews went missing, Greeley was half the size it is today.  Kids rode their bikes on dirt roads past farmers’ fields, explored ravines and sold Girl Scout cookies door to door. On the night Jonelle was last seen, Christmas presents were already tucked beneath trees and holiday lights blinked from rooftops and […]