In light of what we know now - was he watching her ? Was the open garage too good to pass up? #8 and the rake - I don't know how he would have known that. (the Indictment).
JMO
Found Deceased CO - Jonelle Matthews, 12, Greeley, 20 Dec 1984 *arrest 2020*
- Thread starter SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
- Start date
- Status
In light of what we know now - was he watching her ? Was the open garage too good to pass up? #8 and the rake - I don't know how he would have known that. (the Indictment).
JMO
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 8,843
- Reaction score
- 44,051
If anyone can't bear to watch SP for an hour (I couldn't), bumping @Gardener1850 's excellent summary from last year (in 4 parts):
My summary of this very long interview (My opinions/personal reactions in parentheses):
- He spells his name "S-T-E-V-E P as in Paul A-N-K-E-Y".
- Reporter asks him to "start at the beginning" and SP starts with where he was and what he was doing on Dec 20, 1984. (Seems like he is alibi building from the beginning)
- He was at home with his then wife and 5 year old son.
- Their car was parked in their driveway; they lived on an acre just outside of town.
- The car was parked in the driveway (I wonder why he repeats that info about where his car was twice?) and it was "packed to the max" to go to Big Bear Lake, CA for Christmas to visit SP's folks.
- They were going to bed early and had put the little boy to bed early. (He repeats himself again saying the phrase "we were going to bed early" twice, I'm sensing a pattern here)
- They had no radios, no TV's on.
- SP looked out the front kitchen window to see the snow fall to make sure their 2 wheel drive car could get out early the next morning; they were going to leave 6-7-8 hours later.
- An "unmarked Sheriff's car and a pickup" pulled into their driveway, turned around and left. (I wonder how he knew this unmarked car was a sheriff's vehicle? Also pretty strange to recall random vehicles turning around in the driveway while SP claims he was not aware anything had happened until 6 days later)
- Next SP starts to say "I have had..." then changes and says he has a "gay background" - "It's all over the internet, it's well known" (
I'm confused on what this has to do with the night Jonelle disappeared)
- He goes on to say he had had "multiple problems with local law enforcement" And he was thinking another "arbitrary charge" was coming. (I'm still confused-- apparently he expected to be arrested that night? Wonder why he thought that?)
- The vehicles in his driveway "flashed their lights" towards his house and the house next to his and then they just turned around and left. (I'm not sure if he means headlights or if they turned on a police flashing light without siren? Or did they have flashlights they shined through the car windows towards the house?)
- SP thought nothing of it at the time; they went to bed, got up at 3 or 4 AM; got the little boy up; got in the car; his wife and son were sleeping so there was no radio on as he went to CA. (Noting this is his 2nd mention of no radio being on)
- SP says they "had a wonderful Christmas" with his parents. (As he says this his voice falters, he swallows hard and almost seems to be choking back tears? I'm not really buying he had a wonderful Christmas for some reason... It's at about 2:06 if anyone else wants to review this line)
(I find it incredible that SP has a lot of detail of very mundane events but the day he supposedly heard about Jonelle when he returned to town is rushed through and less detailed in the telling. Every time he repeats something twice I think it is because it is a carefully rehearsed line that he wants his audience to remember-- It's important to him that we believe: 1. His car was already packed and in the driveway 2. He went to bed early and 3. He heard no news on the radio for 6 days. He also seems to be trying very hard to paint his 1984 self as a victim who had been falsely accused by the police in the past and also an average family man who did nothing other than go away with his family for a Christmas vacation. MOO.)
- Dec 26 1984, six days later, they were returning to Colorado and they heard on the news that there was a missing girl; that was SP's "first knowledge of it"; they went home, unpacked, went to bed.
- The next day, Dec 27th SP's father-in-law came over; SP was not on speaking terms with his FIL so he was surprised that he came there.
- FIL was groundskeeper at the cemetery; FIL told SP "a cop had come to him and said he had a body that needed to be buried in a casket and it would look bad for Steve".
- SP says it was weirdest conversation he had ever had so he asked FIL if he was wearing a wire for the police; FIL said no and left.
- SP called his attorney but his attorney's secretary told SP that his attorney was in Israel and would be back next week (This is again a very specific detail and I'm unsure of the relevance other than it means SP is saying he was not be able to get legal advice right way and thus delayed contacting LE-- in other words more alibi building)
- After SP couldn't get a hold of his attorney he searched his acre and his neighbor's acre where the cops had flashed lights the week before (
- SP's FIL never said the name Jonelle Matthews nor anything about a child, a man, a woman, anybody
- SP got a copy of the newspaper and "the Jonelle Matthew's thing was all over it"; "It was the only murder in the area at that time"; He quickly corrects and says "disappearance" -- it was the only disappearance at the time that was talked about (So he thought it was "a murder" back then in 1984-- major slip of tongue there?)
- The very next week when SP's attorney got back SP called him and said "I may have some info" but wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the Jonelle Matthew's case; The attorney said he would be concerned about "obstruction of justice" without going into it; SP owed his attorney a lot of money and the attorney's voice wasn't very friendly about this, so SP thanked him and got off the phone;
- SP then called the Fort Collins FBI because he had a bad relationship with the Greeley Police Dept. The FBI agent SP talked to said he could meet with SP the next day. SP told the agent on the phone "I want to avoid an obstruction of justice charge"; SP didn't want to have a problem;
- The FBI agent called SP the next day and asked to meet at the Greeley Police Dept; SP met the FBI agent there, SP told the FBI agent he had talked to his attorney and "if you get rough with me I'm going to lawyer up and that will be the end of it";
- SP told the FBI agent that "somebody had talked to me about a body"; they never mentioned Jonelle Matthew's or any name, but SP thought the conversation was weird and he didn't totally trust the person that said it; on sleeping on it/thinking about it SP told the agent that if the person came to him again he would refer them to him
- SP says the FBI Agent listened intently and then asked questions such as "Did the conversation have anything to do with Jonelle's older friends?"; SP denied knowing anything about her friends (Yikes-- what a sneaky way to subtly victim blame JM and simultaneously suggest alternative suspects; I've not heard anywhere else that Jonelle had older friends and I can't see an FBI Agent suggesting this either)
- Next SP says the FBI Agents asked if the conversation had anything to do with drug dealing in the neighborhood; SP denied knowledge of "that neighborhood" and denied knowing anything about drug dealing (Once again SP is pointing towards ominous other possible suspects by bringing drug dealers up-- a very strange suggestion too since I think I read earlier in this thread Jonelle lived in a really safe neighborhood)
- Third, SP says the FBI Agent brought up "people she knew who didn't like her" and SP replied he "didn't know anything about any of them"; SP knew the man and his daughter who were the last ones to see Jonelle; SP knew that man very well and SP had won a national laborer's lawsuit against him; (How very clever of SP to make at least 3 suggestions of other possible vague suspect pools... and make it seem as if the FBI made those suggestions not SP; then he also brings up that he had to sue the man who saw Jonelle last)
- "That was the end of it" (I notice he likes that phrase)
- A Greeley detective came in and asked SP what his story was; SP told the detective he had a bad relationship with the Greeley Police but he had talked to the FBI Agent and they could talk to him; Then SP left. "That was the end of it" (there's that phrase again)
- SP: "That's the total of my knowledge of the disappearance of Jonelle Matthews"
- SP: "That's it; There ain't nothing more"
I'm going to have to break my summary into several parts as that is all I have time for tonight. My head is spinning and I'm not even half way through this interview.
- (Gosh, I'm only 9:10 minutes into the interview and he talks for another 40 minutes?! Supposedly about nothing to do with Jonelle? I haven't listened to it yet but I'm not inclined to believe him about not knowing anything more... MOO)
Reposting the video for future reference:
Continued Summary of Long SP interview (My opinions/reactions in parentheses)
Starting around 9:10 minutes in:
- On Aug 19th SP "voluntarily, voluntarily" gave his DNA and he thought that would be the end of it. (He does not clarify if he means this year but I assume he is talking about Aug 19, 2019)
- SP has said that he is willing to take a "voice stress test"; they didn't want to do that.
- SP said he is willing to take a polygraph test; they don't want to do that.
- SP says "I flat don't know anything" and when he has been talked to about this nobody seems to want to know-- to hear anything bad--that a cop might be involved in it
- SP used to be Youth Pastor at Sunnyview Church of the Nazarene where the Matthew's family went, so "I knew their trusted adults" (I'm not clear on which adults he is talking about here-- the Matthews family or just trusted adults in the church in general)
- He goes on to say he didn't want his 5 year old at church because of some of the things he knew about "them"; (I think "them" is referring to the people he calls trusted adults but, again this is so convoluted and vague)
- SP has all along had suspicions but suspicions aren't facts; his suspicion is that there was a confrontation with a "trusted adult"; it ended in injury, death, whatever. (I almost think he is implying he thinks the Matthews family harmed Jonelle and he didn't want his son going to church with them anymore after that but he doesn't outright say that; I suppose he could be referring to someone else from the church too)
- SP thinks under the circumstances because there was a close relationship with the police, there was "a city worker going to the church and all..." (then SP seems frustrated and to be struggling for words and doesn't finish this thought)
- The Reporter asks what Jonelle's parents did for work; SP replies by saying "according to the news media her father was a principle of a middle school". (Actually her father was principle of an Elementary School)
- Reporter asks if SP knows what the mom did for a living; SP says he doesn't know, he has never met them, he has never talked to them, he has never seen them, "I've never any of that", he doesn't know them (that's a lot of "nevers" and he seems defensive IMO)
- Reporter asks about SP being youth minister at the church where the Matthews went and whether Jonelle was in the youth group (good question, reporter)
- SP answers question about the youth group with: "No, no! In 1977.. now you have to keep in mind that I had left the gay lifestyle when I got kicked out of the army in 1976, then I became-- I repented for that and became the youth pastor. A girl, I was 26, a 23 year old a woman in the church who was single, her and I were dating; she was in the choir, she played the piano; we were having sex together. She got pregnant. She went to England and had an abortion and uh... she came back like a month later and er 6 weeks later and she and I had sex again and I told her I was going to tell the church that she got an abortion, you know without asking me, and the next thing I was arrested for date rape. And that was dismissed, ok. Cause I mean, frankly it was consensual. So that was 1977. So when you are a youth pastor and you get accused of date rape, I'll tell you, you are no longer youth pastor and you are not wanted in that church. So I was out of there." and then SP laughs.
- (Holy carp! Is this just a long winded way to say he wasn't youth pastor at the time when Jonelle went there? Why does he feel the need to air his dirty laundry to answer this simple question? He seems to be justifying every sordid detail of his past. I was so aghast I had to listen several times to quote it word for word above. )
- SP goes on to say that "according to online information given by Jim Matthews" the father or step-father said the Matthews family started going to that church in 1978, so "they were a year after me."
- SP repeats "I've never met any of the Matthews family, never talked to them."
- Reporter asks why SP had a bad relationship with the Greeley Police dept. (another good question)
- SP answers that he had been charged with 20 misdemeanors and one felony-- date rape; SP says that is a very serious charge and he would rather have been accused of murdering a man than raping a woman. (
Huh? What a bizarre thing to say. Has he murdered a man somewhere? )
- One of the 20 charges included a Credit Union Manager who was gay and a friend of SP; The Credit Union Manager accused SP of harassing him and it went to a jury trial.
- SP's aunt accused him of making harassing phone calls to her, that went to a jury trial.
- SP was also charged with driving 60 MPH in a 25 MPH zone which was a misdemeanor; all three of those went to jury trials. (I'm not sure of the relevance of this but he seems to really want us to know those cases went to Jury trials).
- All three cases the jury heard the evidence, picked a foreman and ruled SP not guilty within 45 minutes;
- SP says he had been told things like "once a queer, always a queer"; speaking to the reporter directly SP says, "you have to keep in mind, sir, this was before your time. It was different then." (
- Reporter asks what SP was doing for work in 1984. The reporter misspeaks at first and says 1983 and SP looks confused and asks "1983?" but the reporter corrects himself and says, 1984 when Jonelle went missing (thank you, reporter, for trying to get the conversation back on track!)
- SP answers that in 1984 he had a "wholesale dealer's used car license" and it was winding down, at the end of the year in December it would expire; SP only had one car left; and "that was another part of this, I was driving on a dealer tag"; SP crossed multiple states on a dealer tag so the car was subject to confiscation. (What? Er, was that really illegal back then? Is he going to claim he didn't tell police he went out of town at first because of the dealer tag? )
- SP was watching his p's and q's and not looking for any problems with law enforcement.
- Reporter starts to ask about the talk with the Fort Collins FBI, SP interjects and says he knew very little, Reporter asks when was the next time SP heard about the case and was brought in by LE.
- SP answers that in 1989 they moved to Ketchum, ID and then Shoshone, ID. In Shoshone he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. SP had a "rocky marriage" and when they were talking about "families live forever" it sounded good to him. When he got the ordination and became baptized the Bishop asked SP if there was anything he wanted to confess. SP said that when he lived in Colorado there was this girl who disappeared and he had "a weird conversation" about it and it bothered him (SP).
- The Bishop told the State President in Carey and there was a Police Lieutenant with the Sun Valley Police Dept also in Carey. The State President contacted SP, this would have been 1992 or 1993, and asked SP to talk to the Lieutenant. SP talked with the LEO and said he was concerned. He said he had a conversation that was weird and every once and a while he "would call Greeley and check". when he left the FBI Agent he "slept really good" because he thought if it was kids that did this to another kid, kids crack really easily. It bothered SP that it wasn't solved.
- The LEO contacted the Greeley Police and got a huge file on the case the next time they talked. SP says the LEO's attitude toward SP was either that SP is crazy, wanting attention and made up this whole thing or that SP did it. SP laughs and repeats that he "had a conversation and that's it".
- (I'm inclined to agree with that LEO's assessment, because this is all very strange. Okay my WS friends, I only made it 10 more minutes through this convoluted interview. I'm up to 20 minutes in but the rest will have to wait for later. )
Long Interview Summary Part 3 (My opinions/reactions in parentheses)
Starting about 20 minutes:
(I think that is where I'm going to have to stop again, this takes us up to about 36:20 in the video. Hopefully I can finish the interview in my next installment here. This is really painful to listen to. MOO.)
- The Reporter asks SP "When an officer from Greeley knocked on your door here in Twin Falls with a Twin Falls Deputy, did that surprise you, did that shock you?"
- SP answers: Yeah! They had, had conversations before that. On Apr 8th a detective with the Greeley Police Dept had called and talked to SP's sister-in-law in Arizona. The detective told SP's SIL that SP's name was all over the Jonelle Matthew's case;
- The detective asked the SIL if SP was mentally ill. She said "what?" and gave the phone to SP's brother;
- SP's brother is an ex-San Bernardino County Deputy Sheriff;
- The detective said the same thing to the brother; SP's brother told the Greeley detective that SP has no mental problems, "he's eccentric but he's not crazy"; (SP is having a good long laugh over the idea of LE thinking he is mentally ill)
- SP's brother "naturally" called him to tell him and SP called the Greeley Police Dept, he looked up the number on their website, he called and left a voice message for the detective.
- SP said in the voice message that his "family has a long history of homosexuals and hellfire and brimstone Baptists" and back in 1946 he had an uncle who was arrested on a consensual homosexual charge and killed in police custody. SP's family is very divided on this and on SP's past. SP asked the detective not to contact his family.
- About 2 hours later SP got a call from the District Attorney's office in Weld County. The call hung up so SP called the phone number back and a lady answered "District Attorney's Office" SP then hung up on her. Then the same number called SP back again and it was the Greeley detective.
- It was obvious to SP that he was "on voice box" and other people were in the room. He could hear papers shuffling and papers being passed
- The Greeley Detective asked SP about it and SP said he didn't know anything. (I'm assuming by "it" he means the Jonelle Matthews case)
- Then the Greeley Detective asked SP about his relationship with RW? (the man who dropped Jonelle off at her house that night-- I'm not going to post his name) and SP said it was a very bad relationship but that was in 1978 or 1979, it was years before then.
- The Greeley detective said he wanted to come to Twin Falls and interview SP about RW and the people in the church.
- SP replied that without a lawyer present he wasn't going to-- the Greeley police charged him with date rape and with 20 misdemeanors -- SP told the detective: "You're scary people."
- SP said he admitted to the detective he has a homosexual background, but he's not going to talk without an attorney present; the detective called SP's attorney and they did some back and forth; SP's attorney said "we're going to have some ground rules here and all that stuff" but the Greeley Police Dept wouldn't go along with that. "That was the end of that."
- The Reporter asks for clarification of the date and SP says all the back and forth with detectives happened on Apr 8th of this year.
- Then SP says on Aug 16th or Aug 15th all of a sudden on his intercom he gets a call and somebody is at his front door; it was the Greeley Detective on his intercom and at his door.
- SP was surprised and said to the detective "You were told not to talk to me."
- SP thought the police couldn't talk to him if they had been told to talk to his attorney.
- The Greeley detective said he wanted to talk to SP and he had another Greeley Detective with him. There were not any Twin Falls police with them. SP said he wanted to call his attorney, he called his attorney who said "don't talk to them."
- SP asked his attorney to talk to the police on the phone. The Greeley detective supposedly asked on the phone what law says they can't try to talk to whoever they want to talk to. They handed the phone back to SP and the other detective got really close to SP and said "We need to talk to you,"
- SP said it was "really intimidating" like "that old school good cop bad cop".
- One detective was studying SP really closely as it was the first time he had ever seen him in person; the other detective's card said he was "a gang something." (SP finds this really funny for some reason and is laughing)
- The detective got right in SP's face and said he needed to talk to him and SP said "Please don't contact my relatives anymore."
- SP talked to the detectives again about his uncle being killed and said he "didn't want to get into this," and "If you have anything to say to me, talk to my attorney." (I noticed that SP's nose is very itchy throughout this, just an observation he is also VERY repetitive throughout this story)
- One of the detectives got in SP's face again and started spitting through gritted teeth saying "Steve I need to talk to you right now."
- SP said "It's like really arrogant, like a bar room brawler," SP says the police wanted to talk in his living room but he wasn't going to bring them into his living room with them spitting on him;
- SP says he told the detectives they could "work out a deal" with his attorney; Then one of the detectives pointed his finger at SP (SP demonstrates this in the video) and said "If you need a deal then you get it," in response to that SP said he wasn't talking anymore and he turned and walked away. (Very strange-- it sounds to me like police were trying to say they would offer him a deal but SP took that as aggressiveness or accusatory?)
- SP told his attorney about it and after thinking about it over the weekend, on August 19th, which was a Monday, SP called the Twin Falls police...because he had told the Greeley detective that he was willing to take a lie detector test, he was willing to take a voice stress test...
- SP called the Twin Falls Police Dept Aug 19th and offered to give his DNA.
- The Twin Falls detective who had been in communication with the Greeley police asked SP if he was willing to voluntarily give his DNA and SP said, yes because he thought he would save Idaho taxpayers and Greeley, CO taxpayers a lot of money if he just gave his DNA.
- SP asked the Twin Falls detective if he was recording their conversation and the answer was yes;
- SP said "aren't most cold cases solved these days through DNA?"
- SP said he would give his DNA and they could put his DNA in CODIS and then we're done with it.
- SP went in to the Twin Falls police, the detective swabbed SP's mouth on both sides, said "you're free to go" and SP left.
- This was on Aug 19th and SP was thinking "this is the end of it. There'll be no more."
- Then on Sept 4th about 9:30 in the morning SP got a call from the Twin Falls detective saying that when they took his DNA, there was some paperwork that should have been filled out that he didn't do.
- SP asked the Twin Falls detective if he had an "ulterior motive" and what was going on.
- The detective replied that SP needed to come down to his office by 10 o'clock to do paperwork.
- SP asked a second time if the detective had an ulterior motive and "his voice went up again the second time when he said no."
- SP told the detective he needed to shave and shower and he would be there between 10:30 and 11 AM.
- SP shaved, showered and called his attorney who said not to go to the police office but to come see him in his office and if the police have paperwork they can send it to him and SP can do it in the attorney's office.
- SP pulled into his attorney's office and two "unmarked minivans" pull in; cops come out with full SWAT team, with rifles standing there pointing at him; SP was standing by his car door looking at them; it was "total shock and awe, if they wanted to catch me off guard they succeeded,"
- The cops asked if SP had any guns on him, SP said no. The cops asked if they could search him; the cop searched SP, nothing there. The cop asked for SP's cell phone and car keys and SP gave them.
- Then the cops hand SP a warrant for his phones and computer and also a search warrant (the warrants were on two pieces of paper).
- SP gave them the codes to get into his place and the police searched it.
- The police took the CD disks from his son's funeral.
- The police took papers, they took pictures of SP's family.
- The police took his tax things, they took stuff that has absolutely nothing to with-- (he cuts himself off and doesn't finish this sentence but it's implied that he means nothing to do with Jonelle's case).
- SP told the police that the only two things that he owns today that he had when he lived in Greeley is his SS card and "a dull letter opener". (I hope LE found the letter opener.)
- "They took a lot of stuff", SP says he is amazed and wonders why they don't do things "the easy way" and serve him with Grand Jury Testimony, they could have a Grand Jury impaneled in Greeley, CO and with technology ask him to testify at the Twin Falls courthouse over a screen; SP says he could be under oath and answer all the questions they want. (This is really convoluted thinking again. I can't figure out why he thinks that a Grand Jury would be easy? If he is willing to testify, why not go to the police with his attorney and offer to answer their questions?)
- SP says he doesn't understand this "Little Hitler" type way of dealing with it, why they are doing this. (Um, it's called following the law? They served search warrants. They didn't throw SP in a death camp. He wasn't even arrested.
)
- SP says he is "a 68 year old man with trifocals" and all these police come at him, if they are trying to make it easy for SP to talk to them this isn't the way to do it.
- SP has been told that there are 300,000 missing kids in the US; SP says "if that's true, if these are the police methods that they are using, no wonder they are not caught..." (Not caught? Is this another slip of the tongue? Not all the missing kids cases are murder cases but SP seems to only being thinking that way)
- SP says the one thing that no one seems to want to know about is what he was told by his FIL, that it was a cop who came to him; SP didn't ask his FIL which cop but there were "city employees" in the church that she (Jonelle) went to.
Long Interview Summary Part 4-- the FINAL PART (My opinions/reactions in parentheses)
Starting around 36:20 in the video:
(That's the end of the interview.)
- SP says "Another thing that bothers me, this was 1984 and I can tell you from my personal background homophobia and racial prejudice, the two go hand in hand. Jonelle Matthews was adopted. She was biologically Hispanic."
- SP goes on to ask why the Greeley Police Dept do not have Hispanic detectives. (More specifically, he seems to be implying that a Hispanic detective should be on this case.)
- SP asks why isn't "The United States Attorney for the District of Colorado" checking this out.
- SP says it's the one thing that nobody wants to talk about that a cop could be-- He cuts himself off on this thought and says he is not accusing the cop of doing whatever caused her demise.
- SP is saying that "under the circumstances back then" a cop could have been involved;
- "They lied a lot to me."
- The Reporter asks SP what made him decide to go public (by approaching the Statesmen first).
- (SP seems completely taken off guard by the question and hesitates in his answer) Finally he answers: "Because... If this... if this is the way missing and exploited children are handled, okay? It's not the way to win friends and influence people and no wonder they are not get-- a whole lot of them are not resolved, okay?"
- SP thinks there needs to be a national conversation about that.
- Then SP says "Number 2. I didn't know Jonelle existed or disappeared until 6 days after the fact, okay?"
- SP says any information he has, which is simply from one conversation, "it revolves around a cop."
- "Nobody seems to want to know anything about what a cop does."
- "You don't cross the blue line."
- SP has never seen the affidavit that they have but he thinks it is probably baloney; they won't give it to him or his attorney;
- SP repeats again that the only knowledge he has, "which may have nothing to do with anything, is that a cop is involved."
- SP says "If they can get a search warrant they can get an arrest warrant, okay?"
- SP says that if they put him in Weld County jail and all of a sudden he was strangled to death the truth could get out. (Or he might have said the truth wouldn't get out? I'm not sure. I find his many conspiracy theories disturbing and nonsensical. Weld County better watch SP carefully for suicide attempts if they arrest him).
- The Reporter asks about SP's comments on online stories. One comment was "Who? Why?" SP also wrote: "Without a deal this may never be resolved."
- SP confirms those are his comments and the reporter asks what he means by "Without a deal this may never be resolved."
- SP says "Just that, without a deal it may never be resolved."
- The Reporter asks SP what kind of deal would he be looking for.
- SP responds, "Well not necessarily for me.. I mean.. it is...My son was murdered in 2008. A deal was made to avoid a jury trial. And that's how it's done. Deals are done all the time."
- SP continues by saying if you read all the comments he did say "Who, Why," and "you have to keep in mind I've had a child murdered."
- SP: "When they're talking about... um, uh... this whole rigamarole-- this whole mess, when I had the conversation with my FIL, I've always wondered about it, okay? I don't know. That's why I went to the FBI agent."
- SP: "If you look at those comments that I made online, I also said that I think that the United State Attorney for the District of Colorado needs to get involved in this.
- Reporter asks again "What made you comment on those stories?"
- SP "'Cause I think it needs to be resolved."
- SP says he was fortunate when his son was murdered, they know who did it, they know what happened.
- The reporter asks "Can you tell me why you want to see it resolved?" (Go reporter! He's not letting SP off the hook on this one)
- SP "So its, so its, so it's resolved. So it's over with. So that family has the same closure that I have."
- (
I think he is referring to his son's murder, but that last statement could also have a double meaning and be construed as talking about Jonelle-- as in maybe SP has closure in Jonelle's case because he already knew what happened to her? Please SP if you know, then give Jonelle's family that closure too. MOO.)
- The Reporter continues this line of questioning and asks if SP can talk about, wouldn't he like to have it resolved to have his name cleared?
- SP "Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Without a doubt."
- The reporter asks SP if the police told him he is a POI or their prime suspect?
- SP replies, "They haven't said that. They have acted very strange."
- One of the reasons that SP contacted the Statesmen is that when a SWAT team goes and searches somebody's house eventually it ends up in the news media.
- SP says there's two issues that go on; There's a court battle and there's a public perception battle. You hear about people all the time, their place has been searched, the "police say they're a person of interest, they're a suspect, they're this or that."
- SP says that when the suspect/POI says "no comment. no nothing" they look guilty.
- SP thinks if he simply states the truth-- he "didn't know she existed or disappeared until 6 days after the fact. Once that's established, I had this short conversation."
- SP repeats he would like to have his name cleared; they have all of his stuff; "They have really screwed up my life by taking all of that stuff. I don't think they are going to find anything, but I think they are going to leave this shadow of this appearance of evil with me"
- SP: "Am I going to go to church and people going to hide their kids?"
- SP: "There are easier ways to do this-- impanel a Grand Jury, put me under oath. Ask me questions. Be done with it. They've got my DNA. Give me a polygraph. Give me a voice stress test.
- Reporter asks: "Have you heard from Greeley Police since they searched your condo here?"
- SP: "I haven't heard anything from them."
- Reporter asks: "They haven't tried calling you or you haven't heard anything thru your lawyer?"
- SP: "No"
- Reporter: "Ok well unless there is anything else that you wanted to say, that should be it."
- SP: "I would like the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, I would like uh a special prosecutor to be involved to look at the whole gambit of possibilities, not just focusing on me. Thank you."
- Reporter asks "One last thing, did you hear earlier this summer that her body was exhumed or found I should say?"
- SP: "Yes, I saw that online. That's a totally legal thing to do is to look online."
- SP says that when a Greeley cop accuses you/wants to talk to you about this it's a pretty prudent thing to go online and check the updates.
- Reporter: "What was your reaction when you found out they found her body?"
- SP "Oh, I felt great. I was happy for the Matthews family."
- SP says that in the beginning of the case there was a lot of talk about possible trafficking, that she might have been forced into prostitution or something like that.
- SP says that when you are a parent and you know what happened to you child, like with his son's murder, it's bad enough but when you have a girl and these rumors going around... that would be a horrible thing for the Matthews' to live with... a horrible thing for anyone.
- SP continues to say at least they know for sure that she's gone. They've gotten her remains and buried her with dignity in a cemetery. He is very happy for her.
- That's when he did the who "Who, Why" post because he thinks getting the United States Attorney involved in here...when talking about making deals... (He seems to be losing his train of thought and rambling off his talking points for the sake of getting them out there one more time).
- SP says his relationship with the Greeley Police is just "in your face all the time".
- SP says from the Idaho side "It's either you're crazy or you did it."
- SP "It's just two polar opposites, that's not the way it is." (I can't make sense of his rambling at all)
- The Reporter asks "What year did you move away from Colorado?"
- SP "I left in uh, I believe it was late 1986 or early 1987."
- The Reporter asks if that was when he moved to Ketchum.
- SP: No. They moved while his then wife was pregnant with his second son, the one who was murdered later. They moved to South Texas. Then they moved to Big Bear Lake, CA. Then they moved to Portland Oregon. Then they moved to Ketchum.
- Reporter: When did you move to Twin Falls?
- SP: (After thinking) 2016.
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2018
- Messages
- 20,134
- Reaction score
- 119,060
He knew that because he did the raking. In one of his numerous interviews, (posted here way back on the thread) he mentioned that the police shined their headlights on his house the night they were searching for Jonelle. He said he got up and looked out the window to see how much snow there was or something to that effect. I remember thinking, and posting here, that nope, he wasn’t checking on the depth of the snow. He was checking to see if enough snow had fallen to cover his tracks.
My suspicion is, now that we know more, is he abducted her, tied her up and left her in that extra car, just long enough to go attempt to smooth out his footprints in the snow. He then likely assaulted her in that car, shot her, loaded her up in the family car, then disposed of her where she was found. The next morning he surprised his family with a trip, packed the car himself, left town for a few days, thus hoping to create an alibi.
ooh that's very good @PayrollNerd - and burned it to cover the bullet hole/blood? his wife said he was burying things I wonder if the gun was buried? I really need to refresh myself on this case.
JMO
Swedish Sleuth
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2019
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 329
I had forgotten about him looking out the window and the snow story. There’s so many things SP has said it’s hard to wrap your head around it all.
I pray Jonelle’s death was swift. I pray she wasn’t out there scared, in pain and terribly cold for too long.
I’ve also wondered if it was premeditated and he had a grave dug ahead of time. I would assume digging in frozen ground would be difficult.
As far as the car goes I think he used a different car for all of it and that was the one he set on fire. I’m pretty sure I remember he was selling cars on or next door to his residence.
Swedish Sleuth
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2019
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 329
I can’t even imagine what all he rambled about when questioned by the grand jury. Once again “HE” made it public that he was subpoenaed by them.
My hope is he will come clean. In a statement this past week Jonelle’s sister commented she would like to know why Jonelle? I hope the family gets their answers.
I’m also happy for Mr. Matthews that he has this shadow of doubt erased. He knew he didn’t do this but I would imagine he lived knowing there were people who thought he did.
My hope is he will come clean. In a statement this past week Jonelle’s sister commented she would like to know why Jonelle? I hope the family gets their answers.
I’m also happy for Mr. Matthews that he has this shadow of doubt erased. He knew he didn’t do this but I would imagine he lived knowing there were people who thought he did.
I didn't remember about the scalp being found so did a search. All I could find was the hair on the scalp find wasn't hers. Did LE retest it? If it wasn't hers, I wonder if the new DNA testing could identify it? Maybe there is another victim out there?
'The following May a farmer found a partial scalp on his farm in southwest Weld County. It was a piece of skin and hair. Gloria Matthews knew it wasn’t Jonelle’s remains because the hair was the wrong color.
“I wasn’t really prepared emotionally to look at the scalp, but it was a job that had to be done,” she told a former Denver Post reporter. “I felt a great sense of relief when I realized it wasn’t Jonelle.”
35 Years After Jonelle Matthews Went Missing, Workmen Made A Grisly Discovery At A Pipeline Site
Colorado Cold Cases: Jonelle Matthews vanished after singing Christmas carols at a nursing home
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
- Messages
- 6,081
- Reaction score
- 52,215
Some photos of Jonelle at her Christmas Choir Concert
Jonelle Matthews, 12 years old
Abducted and Murdered 20 December 1984
Cute. Full of life.
SP, you had no right. None.
Glad your ramblings caught up with you.
JMVHO.
Swedish Sleuth
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2019
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 329
Greeley tribune this morning:
Jonelle was pronounced dead at 6:48 p.m. July 23, 2019, according to the report. Michael Burson, a forensic pathologist, and Karen Jazowski, autopsy assistant, performed the postmortem examination. The unredacted report offers an analysis for a single gunshot wound to the skull. “Internal structures” were not available for examination due to the prolonged postmortem interval and decomposition.
A bullet entered the left frontal bone of the skull, about 1.3 inches below the top of the head and about 1.4 inches left of the midline. The bullet exited out of the left occipital bone, downward at the back of the head. Based on the trajectory of the wound, the bullet perforated and lacerated the entire left cerebral hemisphere, from the frontal lobe to the occipital lobe.
“Based on the history provided and the autopsy findings, the cause of death is a gunshot wound to the head,” the report states. “The manner of death is homicide.”
Pankey is being held without bond at the Ada County Jail in Idaho, where he will await extradition to Weld County to face charges for first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree felony murder and second-degree kidnapping, as well as sentence enhancers for using a weapon in the commission of a violent crime. According to online Idaho court records, Deputy Public Defender Erin Johnelle Heuring is representing Pankey in his extradition hearing. A review hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 23.
Jonelle was pronounced dead at 6:48 p.m. July 23, 2019, according to the report. Michael Burson, a forensic pathologist, and Karen Jazowski, autopsy assistant, performed the postmortem examination. The unredacted report offers an analysis for a single gunshot wound to the skull. “Internal structures” were not available for examination due to the prolonged postmortem interval and decomposition.
A bullet entered the left frontal bone of the skull, about 1.3 inches below the top of the head and about 1.4 inches left of the midline. The bullet exited out of the left occipital bone, downward at the back of the head. Based on the trajectory of the wound, the bullet perforated and lacerated the entire left cerebral hemisphere, from the frontal lobe to the occipital lobe.
“Based on the history provided and the autopsy findings, the cause of death is a gunshot wound to the head,” the report states. “The manner of death is homicide.”
Pankey is being held without bond at the Ada County Jail in Idaho, where he will await extradition to Weld County to face charges for first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree felony murder and second-degree kidnapping, as well as sentence enhancers for using a weapon in the commission of a violent crime. According to online Idaho court records, Deputy Public Defender Erin Johnelle Heuring is representing Pankey in his extradition hearing. A review hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 23.
There must have been a lot of blood for him to clean up?
Swedish Sleuth
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2019
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 329
Or burn up
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2019
- Messages
- 12,350
- Reaction score
- 63,551
I was thinking, he reminds me of someone...who? And then it hit me, stepmother in the GS case.
Both married with children at one point, similar rambling, narcissistic, toxic personalities, both will be going on trial for violent murders of children.
I wonder if their psychiatric diagnoses would be similar?
Both married with children at one point, similar rambling, narcissistic, toxic personalities, both will be going on trial for violent murders of children.
I wonder if their psychiatric diagnoses would be similar?
Swedish Sleuth
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2019
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 329
Tonite The Greeley Tribune has printed a very lengthy article on SP.
Steven Dana Pankey arrest: What we know about the Idaho man accused of kidnapping, murdering Jonelle Matthews in 1984
This article mentions a stay in a mental facility. It also mentions he was in the army but only for one year.
Thought you might like to look at it. Not a lot new but still enlightening
Steven Dana Pankey arrest: What we know about the Idaho man accused of kidnapping, murdering Jonelle Matthews in 1984
This article mentions a stay in a mental facility. It also mentions he was in the army but only for one year.
Thought you might like to look at it. Not a lot new but still enlightening
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2018
- Messages
- 20,134
- Reaction score
- 119,060
Too much to copy due to TOS and I looked at downloading it into a PDF but it's 13+ pages long and a few pages come out garbled.
Steven Dana Pankey arrest: What we know about the Idaho man accused of kidnapping, murdering Jonelle Matthews in 1984 – Greeley Tribune
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2013
- Messages
- 45,186
- Reaction score
- 463,666
Sorry, I also tried to share the entire story as pdf but the file deemed too large for WS upload.
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
- Messages
- 6,081
- Reaction score
- 52,215
Try this link.
I waved my magic wand and converted it to a .pdf.
It's not perfectly formatted, but it is legible.
SP_Article_10_17_20.pdf
I waved my magic wand and converted it to a .pdf.
It's not perfectly formatted, but it is legible.
SP_Article_10_17_20.pdf
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2003
- Messages
- 94,434
- Reaction score
- 322,187
Steven Dana Pankey arrest: What we know about the Idaho man accused of kidnapping, murdering Jonelle Matthews in 1984 – Greeley Tribune
October 17, 2020
Steven Dana Pankey intentionally inserted himself into the investigation of Jonelle Matthews’ disappearance over the years and claimed to have knowledge of the crime that grew inconsistent and incriminating over time, according to the Weld County Grand Jury’s indictment of Pankey.
Pankey, 69, of Meridian, Idaho, was indicted this month on kidnapping and murder charges. He was arrested Monday and awaits extradition to Weld County to face the charges. The Greeley Tribune reviewed records on Pankey, as well as public statements he’s made, to find out more about his background, his time living in Weld County and any connections to Jonelle’s disappearance the night of Dec. 20, 1984. The Tribune tried contacting Pankey in February as a person of interest before his arrest, but Pankey refused, saying, “I don’t think your paper is very fair to me.”
[.....]
According to online Idaho court records, Deputy Public Defender Erin Johnelle Heuring is representing Pankey in his extradition hearing. A review hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23.
An article on everything on Pankey if you want to get familiar with what he is about.
October 17, 2020
Steven Dana Pankey intentionally inserted himself into the investigation of Jonelle Matthews’ disappearance over the years and claimed to have knowledge of the crime that grew inconsistent and incriminating over time, according to the Weld County Grand Jury’s indictment of Pankey.
Pankey, 69, of Meridian, Idaho, was indicted this month on kidnapping and murder charges. He was arrested Monday and awaits extradition to Weld County to face the charges. The Greeley Tribune reviewed records on Pankey, as well as public statements he’s made, to find out more about his background, his time living in Weld County and any connections to Jonelle’s disappearance the night of Dec. 20, 1984. The Tribune tried contacting Pankey in February as a person of interest before his arrest, but Pankey refused, saying, “I don’t think your paper is very fair to me.”
[.....]
According to online Idaho court records, Deputy Public Defender Erin Johnelle Heuring is representing Pankey in his extradition hearing. A review hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23.
An article on everything on Pankey if you want to get familiar with what he is about.
Swedish Sleuth
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2019
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 329
In the last Greeley Tribune article I found the following paragraph (like most) really odd:
Wouldn’t it be great if LE found it? With Jonelle or maybe when they dug in the yard.
Did he burn it with the car?
I haven’t heard anything in any articles mentioning a blanket etc missing. Hoping LE have some type of concrete evidence that isn’t circumstantial.
- In an Aug. 15, 2013, letter, he stated, “About a week after the fact I realized a blanket, or comforter, or quilt, also disappeared from the Matthews house. … Some experiences are hard to forget. But I must realize justice isn’t always served and move on.”
Wouldn’t it be great if LE found it? With Jonelle or maybe when they dug in the yard.
Did he burn it with the car?
I haven’t heard anything in any articles mentioning a blanket etc missing. Hoping LE have some type of concrete evidence that isn’t circumstantial.
- Status
Similar threads
Deceased/Not Found
Elizabeth Bromfield
Found Deceased
Jennifer Tanner, 27, Bonnie Doon , 10th Nov 1984
Staff online
-
TriciaManager Websleuths.com
Online statistics
- Members online
- 119
- Guests online
- 2,778
- Total visitors
- 2,897