Found Deceased CO - Jonelle Matthews, 12, Greeley, 20 Dec 1984 *arrest 2020*

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves

New Posts

Status
Not open for further replies.
Onaliv said:
Ok... sticking point for me is that she was last heard from when taking a call from her father’s business associate - details might be buried somewhere in this thread but I wonder if this guy came forward and told LE that he called the house (for her Dad) and she answered, making it the last contact anyone had? Doesn’t seem logical that this guy would have been calling JM herself. Not accusing this person but it just seems strange. Very sad case.
Click to expand...
JM's dad was an elementary school principal. The 'business associate' was a female teacher calling in sick for the next day. JM took a note for her dad.
 
Our suspect, if still alive, has gotten away with murder. For thirty four (34) years, and seven (7) months. Let us ask the universe to assist LE in nailing this guy. And in the meantime, I hope this scoundrel is quaking in his boots since this discovery. If he happens to still be alive of course. All IMHO as nothing linked.

ETA I wonder if LE has been keeping an eye on anyone?
 
YESorNO said:
Jonelle Matthews investigation: Chronicling the 34-year search for missing Greeley 12-year-old
The vivacious 12-year-old disappeared in 1984. Her remains were found this week.

July 26, 2019

"Five days before Christmas 1984, Jim and Gloria Matthews and their two daughters were all going in different directions.

Gloria flew out of state to spend time with her father. Jennifer, then 16, played basketball in the Greeley Central High School gym. Jim took 12-year-old Jonelle to Franklin Middle School, where she got on a bus and rode to a nursing home to sing Christmas carols. After Jonelle’s outing, a friend watched her enter the front door of her home.

It was the last time anyone ever reported seeing Jonelle until Tuesday, when her bones were discovered buried by a work crew excavating in a rural part of Weld County near County Road 49 and County Road 34½, Greeley police said. The coroner’s office has confirmed the remains were those of Jonelle. Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams said his deputies are treating Jonelle’s death as a homicide.

The following is an account featured in The Denver Post’s Colorado Cold Cases blog in November 2012 chronicling developments in the search for Jonelle Matthews based on dozens of news stories over a span of 28 years:..."

Colorado Cold Cases: Jonelle Matthews vanished after singing Christmas carols at a nursing home
Click to expand...
From the article:

“There were no signs of a struggle, but there are indications of possible foul play, which I can’t disclose …,” Lt. Paul Branham told a former Denver Post reporter in 1984. “We are regarding this as a possible kidnapping.”

Possible foul play? Perhaps blood? Can we speculate on why this was reported as a possible kidnapping?

I hope they can bring justice for this young child. 12 years was way too short a time. I truly wish she could have a do-over. Sorry for OT, but this was another gut punch. Sigh.
 
Legally Bland said:
JM's dad was an elementary school principal. The 'business associate' was a female teacher calling in sick for the next day. JM took a note for her dad.
Click to expand...
So from the time of that call, and her father & sister returning home, was the window of time our perp had to act upon. I believe that would provide some time extrapolations for LE to work out. I think?
 
They need to look at the nursing home patient list. A lot of patients family members will attend a holiday function at the nursing home. It makes me wonder if a family member of a nursing home patient saw her and knew she was going to be dropped off. When one of my kids was in choir all the parents hung out and sat in the same general area. It would be normal to overhear conversations about after concert activities. It would have easy to slip out of the event early and not be noticed.

Another thought was perhaps there was an neighboring adult living in their parents basement nearby. Those type homes are called split levels. The basements are usually finished off with a general room, a bedroom, a bathroom and laundry area. The other half of the basement was the garage. You could come and go from the lower level and no one upstairs would be aware. A neighbor could have easily slipped in after watching her be dropped off. I doubt the garage door or even a side door was locked in 1984.

The perp went out the back, it was dark and cold, no one would have seen them slip into a vehicle. Once it was cranked up perhaps someone would have heard it. Did the footprints in the snow lead them to a vehicle? Where there tire tracks freshly made in the snow?
 
Do we have any idea of what offenders may have lived in this same neighborhood? Of course there wasn't a sex offender list at the time. Is there a way to gather the names of the people that lived near by and find out if anyone committed crimes against girls after this took place.
 
Hi! This is my first post, but I have lurked at Websleuths for years. I grew up just a couple of miles from JM's house. I was just a couple of years behind her in school. The town was pretty small back then and her disappearance affected all of us. It changed the way we were raised.

There are a couple of points I want to highlight:

1. The press has indicated she was singing at a nursing home. That is incorrect. She was singing at a bank. My recollection was it was at 10th Ave & 10th Street in Greeley, CO, but I could be fuzzy on the specific address. There is footage online taken from the bank.

2. JM was said to be headstrong and bold and was not small for her age. One of my teachers (who also taught JM at the time of her disappearance) said there was no way JM could have been carried out of the house unless she was completely incapacitated. My teacher always believed JM walked willingly or was already deceased.

3. The area where JM was found was truly rural at that time. I don't believe the burial was done by a drifter. It was someone familiar with the area.

4. The burial site isn't far from Kersey, where JM's dad was a principal. I don't suspect her dad, but I do wonder about business associates and friends.

5. JM handed out Christmas gifts to her friends a day early. If I remember correctly, she said she wouldn't be at school the next day. That is one of the reasons I always wondered if she had a plan to meet with someone that night. Someone she trusted.

There have been a lot of discussions and theories in the area over the last 34.5 years. JM is a part of who we are and how we raise our kids. We want her killer to be found.
 
I wonder if the City of Greeley or Weld County libraries have copies of old City Directories? BYU has some, but not for 1984. Or maybe Greeley has criss-cross directories by addresses for that year.
 
dblsj, thank you for posting this information , and welcome to Websleuths. Your item 5 is very interesting. Actually, your whole post in interesting.

It's sad that Jonelle's death cast a pall on everyone. Horrible that it happened, and horrible that it has had a lingering effect all these years. Hopefully the murderer will be apprehended using some of the new technologies available. Pray for DNA.

For Jonelle ~ RIP, pretty girl.
 
dblsj said:
Hi! This is my first post, but I have lurked at Websleuths for years. I grew up just a couple of miles from JM's house. I was just a couple of years behind her in school. The town was pretty small back then and her disappearance affected all of us. It changed the way we were raised.

There are a couple of points I want to highlight:

1. The press has indicated she was singing at a nursing home. That is incorrect. She was singing at a bank. My recollection was it was at 10th Ave & 10th Street in Greeley, CO, but I could be fuzzy on the specific address. There is footage online taken from the bank.

2. JM was said to be headstrong and bold and was not small for her age. One of my teachers (who also taught JM at the time of her disappearance) said there was no way JM could have been carried out of the house unless she was completely incapacitated. My teacher always believed JM walked willingly or was already deceased.

3. The area where JM was found was truly rural at that time. I don't believe the burial was done by a drifter. It was someone familiar with the area.

4. The burial site isn't far from Kersey, where JM's dad was a principal. I don't suspect her dad, but I do wonder about business associates and friends.

5. JM handed out Christmas gifts to her friends a day early. If I remember correctly, she said she wouldn't be at school the next day. That is one of the reasons I always wondered if she had a plan to meet with someone that night. Someone she trusted.

There have been a lot of discussions and theories in the area over the last 34.5 years. JM is a part of who we are and how we raise our kids. We want her killer to be found.
Click to expand...
The local paper has a map which says:
Jonelle Matthews performed at an honor choir concert at IntraWest Bank, located at 1025 9th Ave. earlier in the evening the night she went missing.
Click to expand...
Remains of Jonelle Matthews discovered in rural Weld almost 35 years after her disappearance in Greeley

It's pretty much 10th and 10th on their map.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_2019-07-28-10-51-50_kindlephoto-121403988.png
    Screenshot_2019-07-28-10-51-50_kindlephoto-121403988.png
    169.9 KB · Views: 38
dblsj said:
Hi! This is my first post, but I have lurked at Websleuths for years. I grew up just a couple of miles from JM's house. I was just a couple of years behind her in school. The town was pretty small back then and her disappearance affected all of us. It changed the way we were raised.

There are a couple of points I want to highlight:

1. The press has indicated she was singing at a nursing home. That is incorrect. She was singing at a bank. My recollection was it was at 10th Ave & 10th Street in Greeley, CO, but I could be fuzzy on the specific address. There is footage online taken from the bank.

2. JM was said to be headstrong and bold and was not small for her age. One of my teachers (who also taught JM at the time of her disappearance) said there was no way JM could have been carried out of the house unless she was completely incapacitated. My teacher always believed JM walked willingly or was already deceased.

3. The area where JM was found was truly rural at that time. I don't believe the burial was done by a drifter. It was someone familiar with the area.

4. The burial site isn't far from Kersey, where JM's dad was a principal. I don't suspect her dad, but I do wonder about business associates and friends.

5. JM handed out Christmas gifts to her friends a day early. If I remember correctly, she said she wouldn't be at school the next day. That is one of the reasons I always wondered if she had a plan to meet with someone that night. Someone she trusted.

There have been a lot of discussions and theories in the area over the last 34.5 years. JM is a part of who we are and how we raise our kids. We want her killer to be found.
Click to expand...

Hello - I also grew up in the area. I have seen conflicting reports of the timeline. Some say her father and older sister came home together, some say her father got home at 9:30 and her older sister got home at 10.

Jonelle Matthews disappearance anniversary: Timeline of events
 
Legally Bland said:
I was wondering how JM's father could be a suspect if he came home with Jennifer.

Thanks for posting that.
Click to expand...
A study of the case by the university journalism school said he came home at 9:30 and wrapped some Christmas gifts thinking Jonelle might have gone to neighbors and didn't raise alarm til her sister got home from game. Official time lines published by authorities only mention father returning at 9:30. Still don't suspect him myself.
 
I had family and some really good friends in Greeley up until about 3 or 4 years ago. I have been all over this city as a teenager and young adult.
This is my opinion about her disappearance and murder. Let us remember she was taken at the end of December in Colorado. This means the ground was frozen and stayed that way for at least four months! I don't believe she was killed that day or even that month. Unfortunately, it's my belief that she was kept by someone. Whom ever took her buried the body and not just a few inches. Of course this is just my opinion nd nothing more
 
I also was thinking about the frozen ground. Greeley is a weird climate and the temperature and snow levels vary year to year.

I don't remember the temperatures in 1984, but there was snow on the ground that year.

The burial location was in the middle of nowhere -- it would have been exposed to all elements on the surface. But it sounds like below the surface was pretty dry (the clothing didn't decompose after 34+ years).

I believe she was killed fairly quickly, since she was found with clothing from that night. But I'm not confident she was buried that night -- it would have been tough in a field, off road, in the snow, with no lighting. The ground may have been frozen, as previously mentioned.

However, if the person doing the burying had regular access to the land and some digging/construction equipment, it may have been much easier. That area of town was primarily farms and ranches -- the person involved may have been used to working the land in winter weather.
 
the garage door being open.

imo the perp was in the house when she arrived home.
maybe watched her for a bit and then decided to abduct her. on the fly so to speak or...
I am curious about neighbours.
if the father thought JM may have wandered off to the neighbours and didn't panic there must be some form of relationship amongst the street foke.
perhaps a snoopy neighbour took advantage of an accidental left open access point (garage door ) to have a look around the house maybe steal some easy pickings....and suddenly busted by the bosterious confident JM.
panicked, it escalated quickly into a no return situation.

rip Jonelle.
hope resolution is found now of what happened.

my opinion and speculations only
 
k-mac said:
the garage door being open.

imo the perp was in the house when she arrived home.
maybe watched her for a bit and then decided to abduct her. on the fly so to speak or...
I am curious about neighbours.
if the father thought JM may have wandered off to the neighbours and didn't panic there must be some form of relationship amongst the street foke.
perhaps a snoopy neighbour took advantage of an accidental left open access point (garage door ) to have a look around the house maybe steal some easy pickings....and suddenly busted by the bosterious confident JM.
panicked, it escalated quickly into a no return situation.

rip Jonelle.
hope resolution is found now of what happened.

my opinion and speculations only
Click to expand...
In today's world I could totally see this way if thinking. Let us remember it was the 1980's. This was the beginning of the latchkey kids. I was one of these Children that came home to an empty house and was alone for hours. I don't ever remember locking the doors after we, my younger sister and I, got home from school. I also remember garage doors being left open. It was a different world and this was a fairly well off neighborhood.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 109 more.
Total: 1,662 (members: 110, guests: 1,552)

Online statistics

Members online
110
Guests online
1,552
Total visitors
1,662
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
600,050
Messages
18,103,093
Members
230,976
Latest member
jessiw1234
Back
Top