PommyMommy
#ShinelikeShanann
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Prosecutors on Thursday introduced evidence defendant Steve Pankey requested immunity in exchange for information about the 1984 disappearance of Jonelle Matthews nearly 35 years later, inciting the investigation that resulted in Pankey’s indictment.@PommyMommy - I found this article for yesterday Day 5 - but need a subscription to read it - I see you can read it per your post regarding Day 4.
Could you give me the witnesses who testified please? TIA!
Steve Pankey trial Day 5: Prosecutors present phone call initiating Pankey as suspect
“If I reveal circumstances in my life, I need to have an ironclad deal,” defendant Steve Pankey said in a 2019 phone call with Detective Robert Cash.www.greeleytribune.com
I know that Keith Olson is back on the stand yesterday.
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Greeley Police Detective Robert Cash, who took on the case in 2013, made an April 2019 phone call to Pankey that changed the course of the investigation, according to his testimony to Weld Assistant District Attorney Robb Miller on Thursday morning.
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Four people testified about their involvement with Jonelle’s remains, which included collecting evidence from her body and determining the cause and manner of her death. Weld County Coroner Dr. Michael Burson testified Thursday that Jonelle’s death was deemed a homicide and caused by one front-to-back, downward gunshot wound to the head.
Forensic Anthropologist Diane France said Jonelle’s body was buried by someone and appeared to be between the ages of 12-13, but she couldn’t determine the exact date the burial happened.
Prosecutors played a recording of the phone call between Cash and Pankey for the court, highlighting suspicious statements about Pankey’s knowledge of the case, his requests for immunity in exchange for giving out information and his relationship with Russ Ross, the family friend who dropped Jonelle off the night she went missing.
Cash initially called Pankey to find out more about Ross after learning from the caseload that the two had a “dynamic,” Cash testified. Former testimonies revealed Pankey hated Ross, the two had a few “run-ins” and Ross was the manager of Pankey at a 7 Up distribution company while Pankey was actively suing the company and its former manager.
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Pankey also told Cash he learned Jonelle went missing six days after Dec. 20, 1984, while driving home from California — an assertion he repeatedly made during the call. Defense attorney Jessica Brazil, one of two representing Pankey, argued his assertion about when he gained knowledge of her disappearance has been a “consistent assertion” since 1984.
Pankey then conveyed during the call that on the night Jonelle disappeared, he, his wife and their son were packed up and ready to leave for California the next morning. Directly after, he made a comment that “something unique” happened in the driveway the night of Dec. 20.
Cash was confused by the statement, but Pankey never clarified what he meant. Brazil cleared up this portion of the call with Cash, who testified Pankey later indicated police came to his house and pulled into his driveway on the night Jonelle went missing.
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At one point, Pankey started to respond about his relationship with Ross and the two dates, but he requested a “firm deal” before going further.
“If I reveal circumstances in my life, I need to have an ironclad deal,” Pankey said.
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Frequently throughout the call, Pankey changed the subject to discuss other cases, including asking if Jonelle’s case had any connection to the 16th anniversary of a Zodiac Killer victim. While prosecutors argued Pankey inserted himself in Jonelle’s case since Day 1, Brazil emphasized the other cases Pankey has been invested in.
Cash testified Thursday that Pankey made comments about other cases, but he wasn’t sure if he would classify that as inserting himself in them.
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Shortly after, Pankey started inquiring Cash about a Channel 9 story on the 34-year-anniversary of Jonelle’s disappearance. When Cash misspoke and said the case is 35 years old, Pankey quickly corrected him on the exact year.
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Although Pankey asked for immunity, he made it clear he had no information about the case, Brazil argued. Her cross-examination received a confirmation that Cash hung up with a lack of “evidentiary value.” Additionally, she mentioned her client didn’t have to cooperate in 2019 by calling Cash back or answering questions, but he voluntarily did.
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Brazil asked Cash why Drake, who died in 2007, was ruled out.
Cash answered the timeline simply didn’t match. He said Drake’s mother gave statements back in 1984 that her son left around 9:30 p.m., when Jonelle was already missing from her home. However, the defense argued the vagueness of the time, since his mother said “around,” while also stressing that Drake’s sister said he left between 9-10 p.m.
But what really confirmed Drake’s alibi, according to Cash, was his family’s statements that he watched the Cosby Special with them, which aired from 7-9 p.m. They also said he left right before the 10 p.m. news came on.
Since the weather was snowy and shoeprints were found outside in the front- and backyards of the Matthews home, Cash said, the lack of shoeprints leading from Drake’s mother’s home to the Matthews house excluded Drake as a suspect.
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