OCT 11, 2022
One of the last people to hear 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews’ voice took the stand Monday afternoon in the second trial for Steve Pankey, 71, the man accused of kidnapping and murdering the child ba…
www.greeleytribune.com
One of the last people to hear 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews’ voice took the stand Monday afternoon in the second trial for Steve Pankey, 71, the man accused of kidnapping and murdering the child back in 1984.
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After Jonelle was driven home from the concert that night, but before she was taken from the home, she spoke to Sandi Eckert, previously known by her maiden name Sandi Snapp, on the phone.
Eckert recalled the phone call with Jonelle during her testimony Monday, stating the 12-year-old girl many previous people testified as being bubbly, outgoing and strong, sounded “distracted” and similar to a first-grader.
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But what stuck out the most to Eckert, according to her testimony, was how Jonelle sounded, estimating at the time she thought she was speaking to a five-to seven-year-old child. Eckert said she asked Jonelle to write down a message for Jim, but she didn’t seem to grasp what she was telling her.
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During the testimony of Jennifer Mogensen, Jonelle’s older sister, she shared with Rourke that her parents taught their children to always do what someone says if they have a gun. Later in cross-examination, she also shared that the parents had a rule for the two girls that they should never answer the door if they were home alone.
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Greeley Police Officer David Mathis, who took the stand Monday, responded to the home following a call from Jim.
“In this case, it was something really out of the ordinary,” Mathis said about Jonelle’s disappearance.
In particular, Mathis had suspicions this case was “more than a runaway” based on disturbing facts: The home was unsecured at the time of her suspected kidnapping, the pantyhose and shoes she wore to the concert were in the garden-level living room and shoe prints between the sizes of 11-11 1/2 were found in the snow outside the front and back of the home.
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On Monday, Mathis noted during Rourke’s examination that the prints seemed to stop in front of the window looking into the garden-level living room — where Jonelle seemed to be located at one point before she went missing. The stairs located at the back of the residence that led to the home’s landing also had shoe prints in the snow.
Along with collecting the pantyhose, Mathis said he collected other items that stood out: two pieces of red thread found near the front entrance and couch, a jewelry box, a picture frame of Gloria and Jonelle found out of place, facing down in a wicker basket, pieces of fibers found throughout the house and a rake from the garage.
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In addition, the rake remained a significant piece of evidence in Jonelle’s case because the shoe prints located outside appeared to be raked over — a sign someone was trying to destroy the evidence. The interior of the garage also had a large oil puddle that someone stepped in because police found two prints that matched the other trends inside and nearby the oil puddle.
However, Mathis did not locate any wet or oiled shoe prints inside the home, neglected to take fingerprints of the rake and never checked if the door on the landing was unlocked, Harris pointed out.
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A neighbor to the Matthews family, Jason See, age 15 at the time of Jonelle’s disappearance, provided information to police the following day after she went missing, according to his testimony Monday. He said his family’s dog, who rarely barked at people and only occasionally barked at animals in the backyard, began barking at something around the timeframe Jonelle was suspected to have been taken from her house.
See testified that his dog’s barking “intensified” for 15-20 minutes around 8:42 p.m. nearby the fence between their two homes. When See looked outside, he said didn’t see anything because of his family’s privacy fence and how dark it was that night.
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Russ Ross and his daughter Deanna Ross — the last people suspected of seeing Jonelle alive other than her killer — took the stand Monday to recount driving her home the night she went missing. Both testified they never saw anything or anyone suspicious on the drive, including no cars following them home.
During redirect, Deputy District Attorney Lacy Wells questioned if a 12-year-old would be paying attention to cars following her dad’s vehicle, and Deanna replied that she didn’t.
... Russ testified he pulled into the driveway of the house with its garage door mostly opened. When Jonelle hopped out, Deanna recalled Jonelle saying she would see her tomorrow.
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Jonelle then flicked the front porch light on and off when she was inside the home — an indicator or “code” between the family friends to know someone is safe and sound inside before driving away, according to Russ.
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The alternate suspect in the first trial, Norris Drake, was once again introduced by the defense in Trial 2. Drake stayed with his mother who lived across the street from the Matthews family on the night of Dec. 20, 1984. The defense argued he left the home in time to kidnap and murder Jonelle.
In opening statements, Harris said Drake babysat Jonelle at one point, but this claim was shut down by Mogensen during Rourke’s examination. She said Drake never babysat for their family, and she never knew him or saw him at his mother’s home.
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