NOV 2, 2021
Steve Pankey trial Day 15: Jury in deliberations after closing arguments – Greeley Tribune
The three-week trial for Steve Pankey, the 70-year-old man accused of murdering 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews, came to a close Tuesday as the jury headed into deliberations.
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Most of the evidence highlighted Pankey’s involvement and knowledge of Jonelle’s disappearance poses the question: “How would he know that if he didn’t do it?”
In August 2013, Pankey sent a letter to the DA’s Office stating he knew a blanket or a comforter was taken from the Matthews’ house. In pictures from the scene of the crime on the night Jonelle disappeared, a blanket was shown out of place in the home.
In previous statements, Pankey said he knew Jonelle died before she crossed 10th Street in Greeley and that people shouldn’t be giving the Matthews family hope. In addition, Pankey’s house, at the time, happened to be in the 6000 block of 10th Street
“How did he know that?,” Miller asked. “Because he did it.”
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Miller went through his views of what happened the night Jonelle disappeared, noting “there is a lot of evidence in this case.”
Miller asked the jurors to use their common sense when going through the evidence against Pankey and deciding on a verdict.
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Pankey has said the two have “bad blood” and claimed Ross was an “abusive supervisor.” Meanwhile, in Ross’ testimony, Pankey meant nothing to him, according to Miller.
Due to the grudge Pankey held on Ross for past issues, Miller believes Pankey followed Ross to the Matthews’ home, where he saw Jonelle alone. Miller said Pankey may have tried to frame Ross since he was the last to see her that night, providing Pankey with a motive.
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Viorst criticized circumstantial evidence and prosecutors’ closing arguments. Despite the connection between Ross and Pankey, Viorst argued that prosecutors were unable to show Pankey had a relationship with the Matthews family, proving there was no connection or motive.
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Prosecutors made it clear no one knew if Pankey could have buried Jonelle the night of her disappearance or if it was later. But Pankey did make previous comments that he knew the area where her remains were found was not previously an active oil and gas site, indicating he knew the area, they argued.
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A long list of examples and evidence that attest to Pankey’s involvement in the Jonelle case was presented again to the jury, including his Jan. 17, 1985 call to Detective Jack Statler of the Greeley Police Department.
On the call, Pankey claimed to have information about Jonelle’s case through his pastoral privilege. He asked Statler to give him information law enforcement had in return for information Pankey gained as an ordained minister, which has been proven to be a false title.
At this time, Pankey stated she was abducted and most likely dead, while the rest of Greeley and Jonelle’s family were holding out for hope that she just ran away, Miller argued.
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Before the victim’s remains were discovered, Pankey told an Idaho officer, “I have buried more people than you’ll ever know,” according to the officer’s testimony, adding the bodies were in Colorado.
Miller said Pankey’s “incriminating and inconsistent” statements over the years were solely ways to taunt law enforcement. In 1999, Pankey referred to himself as a “master manipulator” and stated the state cannot solve the cold case without his help.
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Two Greeley detectives, Robert Cash and Mike Prill, came to Pankey’s house to interview him about the case in 2019. Directly after their encounter, Pankey began making documents and a timeline on his laptop.
One of his folders was called an “Action Plan,” where he claimed the police department was isolating him, how law enforcement needed to release controlled evidence and plans to humiliate the DA’s office and the police. In the folder, Pankey never wrote anything along the lines of telling officers he was innocent in Jonelle’s disappearance, Miller said to the jury.
Miller argued the court can look at Pankey’s involvement in the investigation with three phases: claims of pastoral privilege, seeking immunity and then going rogue.
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A list of evidence from Hicks shows Pankey is responsible for the murder of Jonelle, according to Miller:
- He dumped the dogs. Perhaps, the dogs were smelling what he buried or something in his car, Miller said.
- The family had never traveled before, but decided to go on an unannounced trip after Jonelle’s disappearance.
- She had to flip through stations and get newspapers regarding Jonelle, despite the family’s ban on TV, radio and news. Hicks’ sister confirmed there was a ban, and she experienced it when she visited, according to her testimony.
- She saw him burying something in the yard immediately upon their return home from the California trip. Later that week, she saw a burning car on their property.
- By 1999, she asked him why rent hadn’t been paid yet, and he said he spent the money on trying to gain immunity in the Jonelle case. He told her, “You don’t think I could hurt her? You look just like her.”
- Pankey rambled about rake marks in the snow outside the Matthews home.
- Pankey said, “I hope this didn’t happen because of Jonelle Matthews” over his son’s urn.
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The evidence involving the shoe prints raked over in the snow was not available to the public, and multiple sources testified to this during the trial. Miller said in his closing argument that he understands how a neighbor or co-worker could figure out the evidence held back from the public, but Pankey would have no way of finding it out.
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When he took the stand last week, Pankey said a law enforcement gave him the information regarding the shoe prints and raking. He also claimed Lockwood took his DNA from a soda can, which was not possible at that time in DNA technology. Lockwood was unaware of the raked over prints evidence, Miller said.
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To observe the full display of guilty mind, Rourke referred to five dates involving Pankey:
- Dec. 22, 1984: The unannounced and unpacked trip to California.
- Dec. 26, 1984: The radio and newspaper searches for information on the case.
- April 8, 2019: Cash called Pankey, and then he immediately started searching the case online.
- July 23, 2019: Pankey conducted several online searches about Jonelle, including the night he didn’t sleep searching for what police knew.
- Aug. 15, 2019: After Cash and Prill interviewed him, Pankey started searching the internet more.
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