Two-time gubernatorial candidate Steve Pankey is likely to remain behind bars, at least for his trial, after Colorado authorities charged him with the 36-year-old abduction and murder of Jonelle Matthews. Pankey, now 69, was a youth pastor at the church the Matthews attended in Greeley, Colorado.
Jonelle, then 12, vanished in December 1984. Pankey’s behavior after her disappearance disturbed his then-wife. He reportedly took an unexpected vacation the day after authorities announced their search. Around the same time, he scrapped a vehicle stored on their property at a salvage yard after it inexplicably caught fire.
Police say that Pankey tried to insert himself into the search for years, going so far as to attempt to pin the crime on another individual while sharing information about the case. Information the authorities never made public.
Law&Crime further reports:
A status conference in the case is set for December 30.
Pankey, who ran for Idaho governor as a Constitution Party candidate in 2014 and as a Republican in 2018 (and never got close to winning), was indicted in October for first-degree murder, felony murder, second-degree kidnapping, and two counts of crime of violence. Authorities maintain he engaged in bizarre and incriminating behavior over the years, and even wrote court filings professing knowledge of the case, such as the location of the child’s remains. According to officials, the defendant’s ex-wife said he engaged in strange behavior amid the disappearance of Matthews on December 26, 1984. This included suddenly getting rid of their dogs, and disposing of a car on their property that had burst into flames. In the claims, his wife said he made multiple references about the case over the years.
“I hope God didn’t allow this to happen because of Jonelle Matthews,” he allegedly said after his murdered son’s funeral in 2008.
Excavators found Jonelle’s remains in 2019 while laying a pipeline 15 miles from her childhood home. She had died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The post Ex-Gubernatorial Candidate’s Bond Set at $5 Million After Being Charged With 12-Year-Old’s Murder appeared first on American Action News.
from American Action News https://ift.tt/2VQEfpG
https://ift.tt/eA8V8J