48 Hours - Who Killed Jonelle Matthews? - Encore

Episode Date: August 7, 2022

A former candidate for governor is accused of kidnapping a 12-year-old girl. Does his decades-long fascination with the case mean he’s a true-crime junkie or a murderer? "48 Hours" correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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ConstantContact.ca Where's janelle you know where janelle is i wonder what happened to that 12 year old little girl everybody was looking for janelle what happened and why nearly 37 years after a young girl vanished from her home in Greeley, the trial underway in the Janelle Matthews murder case. Ladies and gentlemen, for 37 years, justice for Janelle has been denied. That change is beginning today. Let's talk about December 20th, 1984. My mom was going to California to visit her family for Christmas and I had

a basketball game that night. My dad dropped my sister off at the choir concert and he came and watched my game. Janelle needed a ride home so she hopped in our truck and we took her home. My dad waited until he saw her flick on the light that was our sign that she made it inside and everything's fine. I came home and you could tell Janelle had been there. I yelled out, hi Janelle. Janelle, are you there? No answer. I got home probably between 9.30 and 10. Jennifer, do you know where Janelle is? And I said, no, she should be here. Was there anything out of place in the house? Not to me. I'm starting to feel real uneasy.

I called the police and told them that my daughter was missing, and they did uncover some footprints. I called home, and he said, I just have to tell you something. I called home and he said, I just have to tell you something. We can't find Janelle. I just had a sick feeling to my stomach. Tell me a little bit about Janelle. Just sweet, bubbly, fun.

So kind, so nice. Always seemed to kind of be the life of the party. And you always knew Janelle was around. Years go by. Five years. Ten years. Twenty years. Thirty years.

The police were working like hell to get this case cleared. We just had to wait 35 years. Janelle was finally found. A bulldozer operator uncovered the bones. More than 20 miles from her old home. I didn't want that to be Janelle. I really wanted to not know. The discovery of her body was not the end of the story.

This is Steve Pankey. Pankey is a person of interest in a homicide out of Colorado. I've never met Janelle Matthews. He's run for governor. Never met her, never talked to her. He ran for sheriff. Never heard of Janelle Matthews. He likes to talk. He's a talkative guy.

I voluntarily gave my DNA. But he's not a murderer. I want to hear what he has to say about that night. Could you please state your name and spell your last name? Stephen Dana Pankey. When you heard that Pankey was going to take the stand, how did you react? I was so surprised. And CBS 4's Kelly Werthmann is watching the trial as it all unfolds and joins us now from the newsroom. You don't often have a person who is being charged with murder to take the stand. I did some things that were wrong. Did you ever think this case would end this way?

I didn't. I did not see this coming. We, the jury, find the defendant Stephen Dana Pinky. Субтитры создавал DimaTorzok The evidence in this case will prove that the defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree and second degree kidnapping. It had been nearly four decades since December 20th, 1984, when Janelle Matthews, just 12 years old, was kidnapped from her home and murdered. And now her parents were finally in a courtroom desperate for answers. She could have been lured out of the house and gullible because she's 12 years old. This was a moment that this community had been waiting for a long time.

Kelly Werthmann is a reporter and anchor for Denver's CBS station KCNC. People were ready, but it was intense. It's a case that has haunted the small Colorado city of Greeley. We all lived with our front doors open. We rode our bikes a lot around town. Janelle Matthews' friends Darla Gench and Deanna Ross remember growing up with Janelle. We had sleepovers, birthday parties, we just had a big group of friends. Greeley is the kind of town Realtors like to call a great place to raise kids. I'm so fortunate that we were neighbors. But just five days before Christmas, Greeley learned it could not hide from evil.

Twelve-year-old Janelle Matthews disappeared from her Greeley home. It's believed she's the victim of a kidnapping. It was such a mystery, this whole thing happened. Just like that, Darla lost her childhood friend. Do you remember being afraid? Oh yeah, I remember being afraid. As a community, it rocked Greeley. Janelle Matthews will turn 13 in two weeks.

No one knows where she'll spend her birthday. You'd be the last people to whom something like this would happen, I would think. Yeah. Jim and Gloria Matthews had moved to Greeley just six years earlier to raise their young daughters, Jennifer. We were happy. And Janelle. Were you a close family? Definitely. Gloria was working at a restaurant and I was an elementary principal. We were very involved in our church and we just had a very full life.

At least they did until that night, December 20th. That's when Janelle went to sing in a school choir concert. She was interested in any kind of performing thing. Afterwards, she got a ride home with Deanna Ross and Deanna's father. That was about 8 p.m. And you drove off thinking what? That I'd see her the next day at school. I came home by myself. Jim Matthews recalls arriving home at about 9.30 p.m.

and found that his daughter wasn't there. Did it occur to you that maybe she had run away? No, because I know my daughter well enough that, number one, it's Christmastime, she loves presents, she just loves the whole festivities of Christmas. At first, he thought Janelle was at a friend's house, but after calling around

and waiting about a half hour to an hour, Jim says he called police. They sent two or three detectives out and started searching the house for clues. I remember that night like it was yesterday. Greeley's mayor, John Gates, was 27 years old at the time and a police officer. He was called to the scene. My assignment that night was going around the neighborhood knocking on doors asking them if they had seen or heard anything suspicious

that evening. No one had seen or heard anything and the Matthews home which was now a crime scene offered few clues. The only physical evidence were those footprints in the fresh snow. They were found just outside the house, and there was something odd about them. Whoever did it tried to rake their footprints. And he was using, what, a garden rake? Yeah, right out of my garage. Oh, to cover them up? Yeah, yeah. Peculiar, huh? Yes. There were no fingerprints, and if there was DNA, law enforcement was still several years from being able to analyze it. With nothing else to go on, investigators focused on Jim Matthews himself. What was it like for you to be considered a suspect in your daughter's disappearance?

For the longest time, I knew exactly what they were doing and I respected it. He even agreed to a lie detector test with an FBI agent. The number one interrogator west of the Mississippi. Jim says the agent told him he failed. I just kept telling him, I said, listen, I'm telling you the truth. I'm telling you everything I know. Then, I'm telling you the truth. I'm telling you everything I know. Then I had another one with the local police. That's when I started losing it. I said, listen, I have been very honest. I've been accessible to you anytime you want it,

but I'm getting sick of this because I am innocent. Matthews was eventually cleared, James innocent. Matthews was eventually cleared, leaving no suspects or leads. A group of Greeley residents worked hard to keep Janelle's story alive. The Rescue Janelle Committee made all kinds of things happen. They made headlines. Janelle became one of the first missing children whose photo appeared on milk cartons across America. I learned about Janelle Matthews of Greeley, Colorado. And even President Ronald Reagan got involved.

He mentioned Jonelle in a speech about missing children. Five days before Christmas, Jonelle disappeared from her home. But Jonelle's family and friends could only attract that kind of attention for so long. With no real evidence of what happened to the 12-year-old, the case went cold. But Janelle was far from forgotten. Everywhere we went, I was always looking for her. I always had hope that I would find her. In my dreams, she always came home. You know, she always came home. I love this picture.

But in reality, there was no sign of Janelle. I like that picture, too. It's a major development to tell you about and a mystery that is more than three decades old. And then on the 23rd of July 2019, nearly 35 years after Janelle's disappearance, police finally had that breaking news to share. Wow. It was a complete shock. A crew digging a pipeline in a remote stretch of land just southeast of Greeley had discovered human remains with a gunshot wound to the head.

They were confirmed by the coroner to be those of Joan L. Matthews. It was agony for Janelle's mother, Gloria, who could no longer hope her daughter would come home. We are going to know that she was murdered. The question was, who killed Janelle? I heard that a girl was missing from Greeley, Colorado. Police might have been closer to an answer than they knew. I lived in Greeley, Colorado. This man, Steve Pankey, was once a candidate for governor of Idaho. I am one of the people who wants to represent you. He was a person who sure was interested in the case.

I contacted the case. And made himself a person of interest. I told the FBI, I want to talk to you. It may or may not have something to do with the Janelle Matthews case. Matthew's case. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin,

was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military and when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS.

Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing The Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk-takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because

Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. In September 2019, just weeks after discovering the remains of 12-year-old Janelle Matthews, the case that had been so cold for so long quickly heated up. Authorities searched a home in Twin Falls, Idaho. They've got full SWAT gear on. They've got rifles, and they're pointing them at me.

It belonged to Stephen Pankey. Tonight's top story. His house was searched by the Twin Falls Police Department. In a matter of days, the search was all over the news, but not because police were talking. Don't spit in my face. Don't accuse me. It was Stephen Pankey who started talking. I've never met Janelle Matthews.

To just about anyone who would listen. I've never met anybody in her family. Including CBS affiliate KMVT. Make sure the viewers hear that I voluntarily gave my DNA. I offered to take a polygraph. Police won't directly confirm any of that. I'm Kelly Werthmann. Here's a look at today's top stories. Kelly Werthmann interviewed Panky for Denver's CBS station over FaceTime. If I gave my DNA, that would be kind of like a knockout blow. Did you kill Janelle Matthews?

Absolutely not. We tried to get our own interview with Pankey. Would you let us talk to your client? No, I will not. But by then, defense attorney Anthony Viorst had silenced his chatty new client. Mr. Pankey likes to talk. He does. To some extent, we're going to just have to face that. Janelle's father, Jim, says the fast-breaking news about Pankey surprised him.

We had never heard the name Steve Pankey. We were totally clueless about this guy. But as it turns out, when Janelle vanished in 1984, Panky lived in Greeley, about two miles from the Matthews' home. At the time, I was married, and I had a five-year-old son. Greeley was much smaller then, and Panky was known around town. I had met him in about the mid-1970s. You remember that?

I do. Yeah, he worked for my father. So I remember meeting him. Greeley Mayor and former police officer John Gates knew Stephen Pankey and says he was not considered a person of interest in the early days when Janelle first disappeared. Was Pankey questioned at all in the early days of this investigation?

Not to my knowledge. Where was he the night Janelle Matthews disappeared? Anthony Viorst says his client has an alibi. He was at home that night with his wife and child. Pankey says the morning after Janelle disappeared, he and his family left Greeley for five days. We went to California to be with my parents for Christmas. On the 26th, we were driving back, and I heard on the car radio that a girl was missing from Greeley, Colorado. Of course, you know, you think that's terrible, but lots of kids go missing, you know. That's what he says he thought at first, but a month after Janelle's disappearance, Panky suddenly inserted himself directly into the middle of this case.

I contacted the Fort Collins FBI office. And volunteered some information about Janelle's disappearance. I said, I want to talk to you. It may or may not have something to do with the Janelle Matthews case. Steve Pankey claims that seven days after Janelle disappeared, his father-in-law, a groundskeeper at a Greeley Cemetery, shared some disturbing information. He told me that a cop had contacted him and said that he had a body he wanted to be buried. Pankey told KMVT that he shared the information with the FBI because he feared that somehow,

someone might be trying to implicate him in Janelle's murder. I want to at least be on record that I talked to you so I don't get possibly an obstruction of justice charge. It's a wild-sounding story, and 48 Hours can't confirm it or even that he went to the FBI. Law enforcement records show that Pankey had other unrelated run-ins with Greeley police. They describe mostly minor and non-violent allegations like creating a nuisance and harassment. In fact, the day before Janelle disappeared, Pankey was arrested at a bank for harassment and criminal trespass. He argued with a bank teller and the police were

called. The police and court records of what happened with the charges are no longer available. That's the kind of thing that's happened to Mr. Pankey over the years. He's had periodic, sort of spats with people because he is an irascible, prickly guy. But police clearly thought it was more than that and were looking closely at Panky's past, possibly including a case from 1977 when a 26-year-old Panky was charged with sexually assaulting a woman he met in church. Steve, welcomed Unfound. In 1977, I was a youth pastor at the church. Panky claims he was dating his accuser. She was 23 years old. There was a sexual encounter and she later said it was non-consensual. The woman eventually asked that the case be dismissed. It has nothing to do with this

case, nothing. He's a firm adherent to the Ten Commandments, which include thou shalt not kill. But Jim Matthews, who joined that same church not long after Pankey left, says there's another commandment Pankey seems to be having trouble with. Thou shalt not bear false witness. He was not a youth worker at our church. He was the janitor. Do you believe that he was a threat to children in that church? We don't know. Anthony Viorst says he isn't worried. There's no physical evidence whatsoever to connect Mr. Pankey to this crime. Zero physical evidence, okay? John Gates knows the evidence is circumstantial, but he believes it is as strong as it is strange.

This is some of the most bizarre stuff I've ever heard, and I've been around the block. About two years after 12-year-old Janelle Matthews vanished from her home in Greeley, Colorado, her family made the painful decision to pack up and leave town. You have to go on with life. You can't let this consume you. Around that same time, Stephen Pankey, his young son, and his wife, who was pregnant with their second son, also left Greeley. The Pankey family bounced around from state to state for a while. 1989, they settled in Idaho.

But Pankey admits he could not stop thinking about Janelle. It would be in the back of my mind about this case. So I called the guy who lived next door. I just asked, did they ever resolve that Janelle Matthews thing? And he said, no, not to his knowledge. But Pankey might have been more than just curious. In 1999, he told the Idaho Supreme Court after a conviction for once again causing a scene in a bank, that the conviction, which was dismissed years later, was in part an attempt to force him to become an informant in Janelle's disappearance.

He also wrote that he feared he might get the death penalty for revealing the location of her body. See, that's weird. I mean, why would he say that if he didn't know where Janelle Matthews was buried? Well, here's what I'll say, Richard. I agree with you that it's weird. It just makes zero sense. It's just he is a strange guy. And we submit that he never knew where the body was because he didn't do this. But over the years, there was even more strange behavior. Moments that authorities believe add up to circumstantial evidence. What did you think of him? How did he seem to you?

Very odd. Kevin Schneider says he met the Pany family when they first moved to Idaho. His son was friends with Panky's son, Mark. Did your son ever see any unusual things at the Panky house when he was over there? Yes, he did. One time, I guess, their family dog was doing a lot of barking, and it was irritating Stephen, and he took duct tape and wrapped it around the dog's muzzle. Oh. Panky denies he ever did that, but Kevin says Panky's son Mark was so unhappy living at home that the Schneiders took him in for about six years.

He couldn't take his dad. In 2001, Panky's wife filed for divorce and he moved to Shoshone, Idaho, where in 2004, without any experience with law enforcement, other than being arrested, he ran for sheriff. He lost, but Panky still wanted to be sheriff somewhere. In 2008, he thought about running in Twin Falls, where he went to church with Ryan Horsley, a political consultant. I was kind of confused because our local sheriff actually went to our church. He wanted to run against a fellow church member? Yeah, it just seemed really weird that he didn't have a grievance against our local sheriff. It just seemed like he was just running just to run. Pankey might have thought better about running in Twin Falls. In 2008, he ran for sheriff in

Shoshone once again. And once again, he didn't come close to winning. My name is Steve Pankey. But his political ambitions grew and he became a serial candidate. He's ran for lieutenant governor once. He's ran for lieutenant governor once. He's ran for governor two times. I humbly ask for your vote on May 15th. One of the times he ran for governor was a real dumpster fire. What made that campaign a dumpster fire?

He ran under the Constitutional Party. I know you don't like me. At their state convention, he claimed that they tried to do an exorcism on him. I'm sorry, did you say an exorcism? Yes. I know that you're a politician and not a priest, but did he seem in need of an exorcism? It just seems strange. I was just kind of glued to the headlines this whole time on just his stories,

that they just didn't make sense. For the record, the Constitution Party denies Pankey or anyone else was exercised, at least by them. I humbly ask for your vote on May 15th. In 2018, Pankey made a second attempt at becoming governor. And to no one's surprise, he lost. Ryan Horsley says that's when Pankey started collecting guns. Out of the blue, he began purchasing firearms and later found out that Greeley Police Department

had been contacting him regarding this murder investigation. And six weeks after Janelle's remains were discovered, authorities were at Pankey's front door with a search warrant. They searched this place. They took my laptop. Pankey had an interesting next move. He ran for sheriff again. Vote Steve Pankey for sheriff. I think that was his last-ditch effort, honestly. To do what? To halt any investigation, to halt him getting arrested. It didn't work.

It is with great honor today that we announce that the grand jury indicted an individual named Stephen Dana Pankey for the kidnapping and murder of Janelle Matthews. On October 12, 2020, police arrested Stephen Pankey for kidnapping and first-degree murder. To the Matthews family, I pray that this news brings you some closure and hope as we continue to pursue justice for Janelle and your family. Defense attorney Anthony Viorst says the case against his client is just a weak and circumstantial collection of strange behaviors. I don't like to divulge my defense, you know, on national television, but I don't think it's going to be any surprise when I tell you that they've got no motive whatsoever for this crime. There's absolutely no indication

Mr. Pankey knew this girl, knew where she lived, had any desire to kill her. But the district attorney's office felt they had enough evidence to go to trial. Please be seated. And on October 13, 2021, a jury was seated. Steve Pankey is innocent. And ready to hear the case. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman.

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that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from pitcairn when there's nobody watching nobody going to report it people will get away with what they can get away with in the pitcairn trials i'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. In August 2019, nearly 35 years after Janelle vanished, Gloria and Jim Matthews were finally able to lay her to rest.

Gloria and Jim Matthews were finally able to lay her to rest. We knew that we wanted to give her a dignified burial. And I'm not a real emotional person, but the floodgates opened up for both of us. But there was no rest for the Matthews. But there was no rest for the Matthews. They had to wait a little more than two years until October 2021 for this moment. The search for justice for Janelle begins today. Opening statements in the trial of Stephen Pankey. The evidence in this case will prove that the defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree and second degree kidnapping. Greeley Mayor John Gates was on the witness list.

What were the challenges facing the prosecution? Well, I think from a law enforcement perspective, the fact that the case was 37 years old. The big thing in policing now is DNA. That, of course, doesn't exist. The problem is there's no physical evidence. Right. So you've really got to believe these prosecution witnesses to convict this guy. No question.

Of course, the prosecution also has Panky's own words. He spent years insisting he had vital information about what happened to Janelle Matthews. He wasn't a person of interest and yet he picks up the phone and he calls Detective Jack Stotler and he identifies himself as a ordained Baptist minister. He claimed that he had contact with somebody who had information about Janelle's disappearance but he didn't give up the information. We interviewed Panky's attorney, Anthony Viorst, as he was preparing for trial. Why would he interject himself into the case? I can't answer that because I can't get into his

head, but I do think it's a combination of sort of obsessive compulsive behavior and, you know, perhaps even mental illness. Mayor Gates thinks there's plenty of evidence against Pankey. The most strong evidence to me is the way Mr. Pankey conducted himself from the time this happened up until his indictment. The bucket of bizarre means a lot to me. It builds a really, really strong circumstantial case in my mind. Well, at some point, your name came out of that bucket of bizarre. Yes, it did. And that's why Gates

became a prosecution witness. He testified about a call he got back in 2019 about a bizarre claim Pankey made in a letter to the media. I was sitting at my desk one day some time back and had a call from a journalist in Idaho that told me that I'd been named as a person of interest, in this case by Mr. Pankey, and I think my jaw probably hit my desk and I said, what? In another jaw-dropping move, in that same letter, Pankey also named himself as a person of interest, while still insisting he's innocent. Mr. Pankey loves the limelight. He just does, for whatever reason. It's a hell of a way to get the limelight, isn't it? It's not a good way. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. For Pankey, it might have started getting a little hot under

the limelight, if you will, when the state's star witness took the stand. My name is Angela Hicks. She is Stephen Pankey's ex-wife. Describe what happens on December 21st at your house. That was just one day after Janelle disappeared. Angela Hicks says her then-husband came home and seemingly out of the blue announced they were leaving on that trip to California. And they were leaving quickly. He said, get us ready to go.

We're leaving before daylight tomorrow morning to go to Big Bear for Christmas. Hicks says on their way back to Greeley, Panky insisted she turn on the radio. She says that shocked her because Panky had forbidden radio and television use in their house about a year earlier. No more music, no TV, no radio, no newspapers. This is going to be a godly home. But Angela Hicks says that day her ex-husband was obsessed making her flip the dial in search of news about Janelle's disappearance. How long were you driving as you flipped stations looking for news stories about Janelle Matthews? I mean several hours. Once back in Greeley she says Panky drove right past their house straight to the grocery store,

where he made her buy the local papers and search for news about Janelle. He wanted me to read each article out loud to him. Hicks says Panky over the years would bring up Janelle or react strangely when others did. And she got really concerned when she found a note in the trash. And one of the things notated in his handwriting on this piece of legal paper was snow outside the Matthews house was raked. Remember those footprints in the snow that somebody, possibly Janelle's abductor, tried to conceal using a garden rake? Prosecutors

say only the Matthews family, investigators, and presumably the killer knew about them. But apparently Panky knew. He even mentioned them in a 2019 conversation with investigators. with investigators. That is arguably the one piece of evidence that arguably ties Mr. Pankey to the crime. Arguably? They never released the information about the rake. So here's what I'll say. It's our position that it was divulged by law enforcement.

All right? By the police? Yeah, they told him. All right? And furthermore, Viorst told the jury that Pankey wasn't the only person who knew about those raked footprints. Norris Drake, ladies and gentlemen, knew that the footprints were raked. Norris Drake. Viorst claims that he is Janelle's killer.

In the years after Janelle disappeared, Drake was arrested on multiple unrelated misdemeanor charges. Norris Drake murdered Janelle Matthews. I mean, as a reporter, you start looking around and start trying to do some searching of who this person is. Kelly Werthmann and others covering the trial had never heard the name Norris Drake before, but unlike Pankey, Drake had been questioned by police about Janelle's disappearance. His mother and sister lived across the street from the Matthews' home, and he was at his mother's house the night Janelle was taken. There were no signs of a struggle inside the Matthews' home.

He could have been someone that Janelle had either seen before, or she might have willingly opened the door, let him in she might have willingly opened the door, let him in, might have willingly gone with him if he had said something happened to your family, come with me. So that's why there was no struggle, all right, because Norris Drake got her to leave the house. On the night Janelle vanished, Drake was unaccounted for for several hours. But when did he go missing? Police stopped investigating him when his mother told them Drake was still with her in her house at the time Janelle is believed to have disappeared. But it raised some significant and I think important questions.

And Viorst had more based on testimony by a former girlfriend of Drake's. Norris Drake had an interest in young girls who had recently reached puberty. Exactly what Janelle wants. Exactly. Norris Drake died in 2007, but many thought Vior's theory about him helped Panky's case. But the most talkative person in this case had yet to be heard from. Panky himself would take the stand. The truest thing you've ever said is you're a master manipulator. Right?

Maybe. What do you make of the defense's alternative suspect theory? See more of the investigation into Jonelle's disappearance at 48hours.com. Hot shot Australian attorney

Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's at 48hours.com. major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. The testimony you give will be the truth, the whole truth. When Steve and Panky swore to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, Gloria and Jim Matthews were hoping to finally get to the truth about their daughter Janelle's murder. Hopefully we will know the scenario of what happened that night. But Panky has never been a man with clear answers In the little jail cubicle before coming up here I was praying and I was thinking, God, maybe I shouldn't testify

Because I'd be just telling more lies Now under oath, Panky said it was time to say truthfully that he was a liar. Until now. The truth is, I made a lot of stuff up out of bitterness. Like that story he once told law enforcement about his father-in-law. He told me a cop had contacted him and said that he had a body he wanted to be buried. I had told so many lies. That was one of many lies, says Pankey, meant to target people he hated, like his father-in-law and Mayor John Gates. It was a polite way of flipping them the bird. It was pure hatred on my part. Is that in any way believable to you? It's not to me, Richard, but keep in mind I'm a 26-year-old law enforcement veteran, so I might be a little more cynical than the average person. It was just me trying to

be a big man, be in the case, okay? I had no knowledge. Pankey made an unusual witness in his own defense. One lie leads to another. Pankey says it was lies that led to him being charged with murder. But not his lies, his ex-wife Angela Hicks' lies, fueled by her need for revenge. I had never imagined Angie would be as big a liar as I am. Pankey refuted his ex-wife's claim that their trip to California two mornings after Janelle disappeared was sudden, insisting it had long been planned.

A month, three weeks, two months, I don't know, before December. He agreed they were listening to the radio on their way back to Greeley. That's the first time I heard that there was a missing child. But denied, he was obsessed with the news. I think it's her word against his, so the defense clearly has to prove, yes, he's an admitted liar, but he's not lying now. Pankey was on the stand for two days giving testimony that was often rambling. I want to back up a little bit. Mr. Pankey, I'm going to answer my questions a little more directly if you don't mind. And hard to follow and sometimes head-scratching. I spent a couple of hours in the basement jail area with my attorney,

and he was talking to me about my testimony. Mr. Viorst was saying to me, because I would give certain things, and he'd say, well, that's a good answer, and then I'd say other things. He'd say, well, that's *** good answer. And then I'd say other things. He'd say, well, that's, nobody's going to buy that. He lives in a world of conspiracy, paranoia, and low self-esteem. In his closing argument, Viorst, who's a lawyer and not a psychiatrist, raised serious questions about his client's mental health. Mr. Pankey does have a mental illness. Pankey's defense lawyer told me that he thought his client might be mentally ill. If that's the theory of the defense, did Pankey's time on the

stand help him or hurt him? I could see that going either way. But the state saw it going their way. He's not someone that has a mental health disorder. He is a master manipulator. On November 2nd, 2021, the jurors got the case. Two days later, they were back. As the jury reached the unanimous verdict on count number four. Count four, making false reports to authorities. We, the jury, find the defendant, Stephen Dana Pankey, guilty. I think that part might have fit into the no-brainer category.

The other counts were far more complex than that, in my opinion. On those other counts, the actual murder charges, the jury deadlocked and could not come to a unanimous verdict. I realize the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the other counts, and that is a perfectly acceptable way for a trial to conclude. The judge declared a mistrial, and as of now, nobody has been convicted of murdering Jonnell. The jury likely was conflicted on, was Mr. Pankey in fact someone that kidnapped

and murdered Jonnell Matthews, or was he one that just surrounded himself with strange, bizarre behavior for years? For the family of Jonnell Matthews, the news was so devastating, they didn't want to discuss it. To not have that definitive answer. It's frustrating. It's emotional. It's exhausting. And they may have to do it all again. Prosecutors have announced they are ready for a new trial because they still believe Janelle was killed by Stephen Pankey. What do you think happened to your sister? I don't know specifics, but he took her and he shot her.

And then he buried her and went on with his life. And she could not go on with hers. A small town living in fear. The Circleville letter writer who knew everyone's secrets. Anonymous accusations of terrible acts. Affairs and even murder. Do you think you know who wrote those anonymous letters? Yes, I do.

48 Hours, next on CBS. if you like this podcast you can listen ad-free right now by joining wondery plus in the wondery app before you go tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com survey