The 26 Reasons Steven Pankey Was Indicted in Jonelle Matthews Murder
MICHAEL ROBERTS | OCTOBER 14, 2020 | 9:12AM
In August, the Weld County District Attorney's Office revealed that a grand jury "has accepted the investigation into the death of Jonelle Matthews," a twelve-year-old who vanished from her Greeley home in late 1984 — although her remains weren't found in a rural Weld County field until 2019.
Attention immediately turned to Steven Pankey, who had been named a person of interest in the case by the Greeley Police Department. Pankey was a resident of Idaho, and a prominent one, having twice run for governor of that state, in 2014 and 2018.
Now, the 69-year-old Pankey has been formally indicted on five counts related to Matthews's death: murder in the first degree after deliberation, murder in the first degree/felony murder, second-degree kidnapping, and two crime of violence charges.
The indictment takes the unusual step of listing the 26 reasons that the grand jury came up with those indictments. Some of the items are accusations, while others offer circumstantial evidence — but those circumstances are jaw-slackening. They include excerpts from unrelated court documents in which Pankey argued that if the court didn't rule in his favor, "he would get the death penalty for revealing the location of Jonelle Matthews's body," and details provided by his former wife, Angela Hicks, about an unexpected trip immediately after the girl vanished, plus the dumping of the family's dogs, an unexplained excavation in their back yard, and a vehicle that inexplicably burst into flames.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation cold-case page on Matthews offers heart-rending details about the girl, noting that she stood five-foot-two and had a scar on her chin, pierced ears and braces. Its summary of her disappearance: "On the evening of December 20, 1984, twelve-year-old Jonelle Matthews was dropped off at her parents' home by her friend's family at approximately 8:30 p.m. When her parents returned home later that night, they discovered that Jonelle was missing. She was last seen wearing a red blouse, dark gray sweater vest, charcoal gray skirt, light blue ski jacket, and house slippers."
The page also includes a photo of what Matthews would have looked like had she grown to be an adult — but she never got the chance. On July 24, 2019, pipeline workers stumbled upon her remains, and that September, Greeley police revealed that they were actively investigating Pankey, who lived two miles from the Matthews home at the time of her disappearance; he later relocated to Twin Falls, Idaho.
While Pankey reportedly gave the cold shoulder to Greeley cops who'd traveled to Idaho to speak with him, he was considerably more talkative with select members of the news media. In the weeks after his name was publicly linked to the Matthews case, Pankey gave an extensive interview to the Colorado Sun in which he denied any wrongdoing but claimed intersections with several of those in the girl's orbit. Pankey told the Sun that he had been a youth pastor at a church her family attended, and added that he'd later been accused of raping the piano player there. He also insisted that Russ Ross, the man who'd taken Matthews home on the night Matthews disappeared, "assaulted him in the 1970s over Pankey's attempt to start a union at the 7UP bottling company where they worked."
Pankey was even more loquacious during a sit-down with Idaho television station KTVB, which posted nearly an hour's worth of unedited conversational footage:
Back in August, the Weld County DA's office wouldn't say if Pankey was the target of the grand jury inquiry. A spokesperson noted that no further information about the grand jury's work could be offered "due to this being an open investigation and because of Colorado grand jury secrecy laws."
Now, suspicions have been confirmed. Pankey is currently in custody at the Ada County Jail in Idaho, presumably awaiting extradition to Colorado; no court date has yet been set.
Here's the 26-item list of accusations against Pankey from the indictment:1. Steven Dana Pankey took Jonelle Matthews from her family home, 320 43rd Avenue Court, without her consent and against her will on December 20, 1984 between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
2. Steven Dana Pankey was armed with a firearm.
3. Steven Dana Pankey shot Jonelle Matthews during the course of the kidnapping.
4. Steven Dana Pankey shot Jonelle Matthews intentionally and after deliberation.
5. Steven Dana Pankey watched school children walk home from Franklin Middle School where Jonelle Matthews went to school.
6. Steven Dana Pankey demonstrated intimate familiarity with the neighborhood where Jonelle Matthews lived when he stated that two police officers lived in the same block as Jonelle Matthews during an interview in March of 1985.
7. Steven Dana Pankey attended the Sunny View Church of the Nazarene until approximately June of 1978. The Matthews family joined this church in the summer of 1978.
8. Steven Dana Pankey knew of, and discussed, a crucial piece of evidence from the Matthews house withheld from the public by law enforcement; specifically, a rake was used to obliterate shoe impressions in the snow.
9. Upon completion of an autopsy by a forensic pathologist, Jonelle Matthews's cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was homicide.
10. Steven Dana Pankey owned a firearm in 1984.
11. Steven Dana Pankey intentionally inserted himself in the investigation many times over the years claiming to have knowledge of the crime which grew inconsistent and incriminating over time.
12. Steven Dana Pankey filed pleadings in many cases, both civil and criminal, that contained both direct and veiled statements about Jonelle Matthews.
13. In a 1999 pleading filed with the Idaho Supreme Court, Steven Dana Pankey argued if the Court ruled in a certain fashion, "it is reasonable for the appellant to believe he would get the death penalty for revealing the location of Jonelle Matthews' body."
14. Steven Dana Pankey wrote, "without a deal, this case will never be solved."
15. Steven Dana Pankey repeatedly demanded immunity in exchange for information he claimed to possess about the murder of Jonelle Matthews.
16. Steven Dana Pankey asserted in an April 2003 pro-se court pleading, "the family should be informed that Jennell (sic) died before crossing 10th st. (sic), and not to give the family hope."
17. Steven Dana Pankey stated in a letter dated August 15, 2013, "about a week after the face I realized a blanket, or comforter, or quit, also disappeared from the Matthews house.... Some experiences are hard to forget. But I must realize justice isn't always served and move on."
18. Steven Dana Pankey sent an "alibi" document to law enforcement in 2013. The letter detailed plans for a family trip to California commencing on December 21, 1984, the morning after Jonelle Matthews went missing. The document contained false statements and superfluous details.
19. Angela Hicks described the family trip commencing two days after Jonelle Matthews' disappearance (December 22, 1984) as unexpected. She described that Steven Dana Pankey "dumped" their family dogs prior to this trip and they were never seen again. On the drive home she stated he uncharacteristically listened to the radio, searching for news accounts of Jonelle's disappearance. Upon arriving back in Greeley Steven Dana Pankey forced her to read the newspaper accounts about Jonelle to him. Angela Hicks stated when they finally arrived home on December 26, 29184 he immediately began digging in their yard, and approximately two days later a car on their property burst into flames, which Steven Dana Pankey then disposed of at a local salvage yard.
20. During a church service in early 1985, Steven Dana Pankey began muttering "false prophet" when the minister announced Jonelle Matthews would be found safe and returned home according to his then wife, Angela Hicks. He grew increasingly agitated and had to be removed from the church by parishioners.
21. In 2008 Angela Hicks heard Steven Dana Pankey say at his murdered son's funeral, "I hope God didn't allow this to happen because of Jonelle Matthews."
22. Steven Dana Pankey told Angela Hicks in 1999 that the Sun Valley Police refuse to believe he has information related to Jonelle's disappearance and they refuse to give him immunity in exchange for that evidence. Noticing Angela's confused expression Pankey remarked, "You don't think I could have hurt her, do you? She looked just like you."
23. Steven Dana Pankey repeatedly searched for information about Jonelle Matthews on the internet.
24. Subsequent to contact by Greeley Police detectives in 2019, Steven Dana Pankey attempted to delete all evidence of these searches from his electronic devices.
25. Steven Dana Pankey lived approximately two miles from Jonelle Matthews on December 20, 1984.
26. Steven Dana Pankey lived at 27965 Weld County Road 47.5 in 1980, approximately 10 miles due north of the recovery of Jonelle Matthews' body.
Click to read the Steven Pankey indictment.
Jonelle was missing until July of last year when her body was tragically found in an oil field. Pankey was then named as a person-of-interest a couple months later. This story stood out as weird from the beginning due to his political involvement (though he didn't attain great success in any of his runs for office). It got weirder when Pankey claimed in October of last year that he was being set up by prominent businessmen and law enforcement officers in Greeley (KTVB, "Steve Pankey, person of interest in Colorado murder cold case, claims he's being framed by police", 2019/10/05):
In the statement, Pankey states that Matthews disappeared from her Greeley, CO home and that it was found in July 2019, “in an area known and regularly patrolled by law enforcement.” The statement continues with him saying the community deserves to know who did this, and why.
He then lists some persons of interest. He has four names on his list starting with Russ Ross, Greeley Mayor John Gates, GPD Chief Mark Jones, and himself. He then begins to mention the events that happened to him on the night Matthews vanished.
“On December 27th, Steve’s father in law related a cop needed a body to be buried. On or about January 3, 1985, Steve made a statement to Fort Collins FBI Special Agent Lyons in order to avoid a possible obstruction of justice charge,” the statement reads.
Pankey claims he's innocent, and in his statement, he said he believes police are manipulating evidence to make him look guilty. One example he said is the probable cause affidavit for police to search his Twin Falls home.
"It states that I am associated with that property that she was found on where they're doing the gas drilling and gas digging near Lasalle and that is a blatant lie,” he said. “I don't think they have a really good suspect, and I'm somebody they don't like so I think that's it.”
His full statement, outlining his view of the purported conspiracy:
Hispanic 12 year old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her Greeley, Colorado home on December 20, 1984. Her body was miraculously found July, 2019, in an area known and regularly patrolled by law enforcement. Whether her death was First Degree, Second Degree, or Third Degree murder, she tragically lost her life. The innocent: Jonelle and birth mother Terry Martinez. In August 2019, Jonelle was buried with human dignity.The community deserves to know who? Why?
Persons of interest: Russ Ross, Greeley Mayor John Gates, GPD Chief Mark Jones, and Idaho Governor candidate Steve Pankey.
On December 20, 1984, an unmarked WCS police car and a pickup pulled into Steve Pankey’s driveway at 6086 W 10th St. The Pankey family was at Big Bear Lake, California from December 21 through December 26. On the late evening of December 26, Steve Pankey first heard Jonelle Matthews existed / disappeared from his 1980 Toyota Corolla radio. Steve’s only knowledge of Miss Matthews is from media reports. On December 27th, Steve’s father in law related a cop needed a body to be buried. On or about January 3, 1985, Steve made a statement to Fort Collins FBI Special agent Lyons in order to avoid a possible Obstruction of Justice charge. In 2019, police dug holes on Pankey’s former property and found no evidence. July 2019, Miss Matthews's body was found in a remote area that had no connection to Steve Pankey.
(Now defunct) White Nationalist cult Sunny View Church of The Nazarene member Russ Ross and his daughter were the last known people to see Jonelle enter her home. Russ had special, specific knowledge that Jonelle was to be home alone for a specific period of time. Russ Ross was Steve Pankey’s abusive supervisor at Greeley 7UP.
Major John Gates parents used to own Greeley 7UP. In 1979 Steve Pankey’s wife was pregnant with their oldest child. GPD officer Gates tried to get Pankey fired from 7UP because of a failed 1977 date rape charge. Gates / Ross filed a failed misdemeanor charge against Pankey. Gates and Ross had an ongoing thing for Pankey.
Mayor John Gates promoted GPD officer Mark Jones to Chief of Greeley Police. Jones has consistently made sure only culpable white Detectives handle the Matthews case, and exclusively focus, manipulate evidence, to make Steve Pankey’s past an issue, and appear guilty.
And there is no particular reason to believe him, but some of the names and circumstances he talks about do check out. He was in a labor dispute at the 7 Up bottling plant at which Russ Ross was his supervisor (National Labor Relations Board, Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board, Volume 261 (1982), p.894):
7 Up Bottling Company and Steven Pankey, Case 27-CA-6764
May 14, 1982
[...]
Pankey, the Charging Party, was hired in December 1978 to deliver premix and postmix, to load the several delivery trucks for their next day's runs, and to repair fountain equipment for customers as needed. [...] Pankey remains on the payroll.
In charge at Greeley when the events in issue began to unfold in the fall of 1979 was Terry Sillasen, sales manager. Effective February 1, 1980, he exchanged positions with Russell Ross, who had been an area manager in Respondent's Denver operation. Ross actually began fulltime work in Greeley on January 7, with Sillasen staying until February 1 to assist in his orientation. Under Sillasen and then Ross in the Greeley supervisory hierarchy were Randy Illingsworth, route supervisor, and Bill Weber, warehouse manager. Greeley being a branch of the Denver operation, the Greeley sales manager reported to Carl Ten Pas, Denver sales manager. Ten Pas in turn reported to John Howell, overall Denver Manager. It is undisputed that all of those named in this paragraph were supervisors for purposes of the Act.
And the former owner of the 7 Up plant was indeed the father of John Gates, though the obituary claims he sold it a decade prior to Jonelle's disappearance (obituary of Gid W. Gates):
Gid Gates, 95, of Greeley passed away at Grace Pointe Assisted Living on June 1, 2015. Gid was born in David City, Nebraska to Arch and Rose (Styskal) Gates on December 22, 1919. Gid married Fran Timbers on February 4, 1942 in San Luis Obispo, California and they celebrated 64 years of marriage before she passed on March 14, 2006.
Gid graduated from high school in David City, Nebraska and went on to college at the University of Nebraska where he met his wife, Fran. In 1938, while in college, he joined the National Guard. He was called to active duty on December 21, 1940 during World War II. He served on Iwo Jima and was a captain in the army until his discharge in 1945.
After the war Gid and Fran settled in Alliance, Nebraska. In 1948 they moved to Greeley where they owned the 7up Nesbitt Bottling Company until they sold it in 1975. Later Gid went to work for Wheeler Realty selling commercial real estate.
Gid was a Greeley City Councilman from 1971-1975. He served on the Board of Directors for United Bank for 16 years and was president of the Board of the Greeley Country Club. He was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Greeley Elks Lodge #809, American Legion and Lost Patrol, VFW, a 70-year member of Masonic Lodge #190, and a 50-year member of El Jebel Shriners.
Gid enjoyed traveling, fishing, and oil painting. One of the highlights of his life was the recent trip he took as part of the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.
Gid is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Nancy and Abran Quevedo of San Diego, California; son and daughter-in-law, Greg and Leslie Gates of Atlanta, Georgia; son and daughter-in-law, John and Patty Gates of Greeley; three grandchildren, Cameron Quevedo of Austin, Texas, and Erin Gates of New York City, New York and Matt Gates of Atlanta, Georgia. He is also survived by two nephews and two nieces, Tom Morgan of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mary Sneller of Lincoln, Nebraska, Susan Steggs of Parker, Colorado, and Tom Timbers of Alliance, Nebraska.
Hard to know exactly what to make of Pankey as a suspect, but it is definitely weirder than it seems on the surface. I hope that Jonelle's family gets justice for what happened to her, and that includes making sure the right person or people are held responsible.