The Abduction Case of Jonelle Matthews | True Crime Story

[Music] Mery 34 years later and it is still unclear what happened to Janelle Matthews police say no body has ever been found no suspect ever arrested it was a dark winter evening the kind where the Silence of snow muffles even the sounds of your own home then in the slip of a moment that feeling of security is shattered someone you love walks out the door and they simply vanish and for decades all you have are questions an endless loop of what ifs and the suffocating fear you'll never truly know what happened in this true crime episode we explore the astounding story of Janelle Matthews a 12-year-old girl from grey Colorado who disappeared without a trace on December 20th of 1984 despite a massive investigation spent decades her case has frozen cold until a shocking twist emerged recently Janelle Matthews wasn't just a name on a missing poster she was a bright spirited girl in the midst of her childhood born in 1972 her energy filled the Matthews Colorado household with pride she was involved in her school choir loved playing with friends and brought joy to her parents Jim and Gloria and her older sister her life was a mosaic of ordinary childhood moments school plays holiday cont concerts and the simple happiness of those early years the night she disappeared Janelle had just performed in a Christmas concert this is one of those cases that never closes uh it'll be there until we we do resolve when a family friend dropped her off at home around 8:00 p.m. Janelle stepped into an empty house as her parents wouldn't be back for another hour during that seemingly unremarkable gap of time the trajectory of Janelle's life shifted irrevocably what happened during that time remains one of the most haunting Mysteries of the case the bubbly girl who had filled her home with laughter was gone she was kidnapped there were no signs of forced entry and no apparent struggle Janelle Matthews had seemingly vanished Into Thin Air the discovery of Janelle's disappearance was only the beginning of the nightmare as police arrived at the Matthews home an unsettling feeling lingered because the house appeared eerily undisturbed yet there were subtle details adding to the uneasy puzzle footprints in the snow LED away from the house but abruptly stopped a heating vent left open something was decidedly off the quiet small town streets of gy erupted in both fear and a desperate hope to find Janelle posters with her smiling face blanketed the community Candlelight vigils flickered in the winter Darkness the search stretched far and wide spanning months and even years with every lead raising hopes only to be followed by heartbreaking disappointment the investigation seemed to hit a standstill police combed through tips and interviewed countless people but none led to Janelle Janelle's Story haunted the news it became a chilling reminder that danger didn't always arrive with a crash and a scream 12-year-old Janelle Matthews disappeared from her grey home one month ago today it's believed she's the victim of a kidnapping she has not been seen or heard from since December 20th authorities and the girl's parents still have many Avenues open to them in their search but the Matthews family feels their white as Avenue is prayer years bled into decades and with each anniversary of Janelle's disappearance the case resurfaced still the mystery seemed unsolvable a ghost story whispered among the streets of gy then in July of 2019 a horrific Discovery sent shock waves through the community construction workers laying a pipeline stumbled upon human remains in a rural field the heartbreaking truth was undeniable Janelle Matthews had been found the discovery was both answer and a new wave of questions the painstaking examination of the remains confirmed it was indeed Janelle and the way she died was finally determined a gunshot wound to the head but the identity of her killer remained elusive the mystery that had haunted gy for decades suddenly took a dark new turn who was ruthless enough to slay a child only to vanish back into their own life for years meanwhile hundreds of miles away in twinfalls Idaho lived a man named Steve Panky on the surface office he appeared an unremarkable figure a former politician and Minister this former grey resident ran for governor in Idaho in 2014 in 2018 and for lieutenant governor in 2010 but beneath this facade lurked a fascination with the Janelle Matthews case from the very beginning interestingly enough at the time of Janelle's disappearance Steve lived about 3 miles away from the Matthews home and he was in fact her Sunday school teacher Panky wasn't just a casual follower of the news he inserted himself into the investigation repeatedly offering unsolicited information and displaying an unusual fixation on the details of the crime probably most people don't realize in the 300,000 or how many missing exploited children there are across the United States there are a lot of people that are victims in it it goes The Rock in the pond his many rings it just keeps going out there's a lot there's a lot here I am not against them solving it okay I'm for solving it it was as if he were drawn into the mystery not by a desire for justice but by an unsettling Obsession his behavior raised eyebrows over the years after the discovery of Janelle's body investigators Dove back into the Cold Case their attention drawn to the strange figure who had always seemed to linger at its Edge Steve Panky the puzzle pieces began falling into place panky's Fascination morphed into suspicion as inconsistencies in his story and years of bizarre behavior became impossible to ignore for example Panky possessed an unusual knowledge of details never shared with the public such as the specific type of rake used to obscure footprints in the snow near the Matthews House Additionally the police noted how he repeatedly offered unsolicited advice to them demanding immunity deals and exchange for information and making oddly cryptic statements about the crime in media interviews his actions went beyond mere curiosity he went on unprompted trips to gy around significant anniversaries of Janelle's disappearance he volunteered DNA without prompting and engaged in what seemed like self-promotional interviews with various media Outlets regarding the case even more disturbingly he had once spoken about burying a body in a remote location eerily similar to the circumstances of Janelle's eventual Discovery these details painted a doge picture transforming panky's interest into something far more Sinister as if he were a shadow hovering over the case for a long time for decades suspicion swirled around Steve Panky like a slow-moving fog but in 2020 after a Relentless Pursuit Steve Panky was arrested charged with first-degree homicide second degree kidnapping and two counts of crime of violence in the death of Janelle Matthews Panky was 69 years old at this point the news was a stunning twist after Decades of Darkness finally a potential answer to the question that Haun haunted an entire Community nevertheless the Quest for justice in the Janelle Matthews case was far from over and the trial that followed was both captivating and frustrating prosecutors outlined panky's obsession with the case his cryptic statements and the numerous inconsistencies in his accounts over the years however a lack of physical evidence cast doubt in the minds of some jurors so in 2021 the trial ended in a hung jury that dealt a blow to Janelle's family and the community Panky even gave a interviewed to a magazine and said he was being framed by the police because of his sexuality identifying himself as a celibate homosexual that's a Twist perhaps nobody saw coming despite the setback prosecutors pursued a retrial determined to hold Panky accountable this time panky's ex-wife Angela Hicks took the stand and her statements painted a chilling picture of his character she described him as controlling manipulative and possessing a fascination with true crime stories she said they decided on a trip in December that year towards California 2 days after Matthew's disappearance she also said this trip was unexpected and that for some reason they returned to gy on December 26th Hicks noted how Panky took an unusual interest in the case she said that on their return trip Panky uncharacteristically listened to the radio searching for news of the girl's disappearance he even forced her to read to him newspaper articles concerning the case as per Hick's testimony shortly following their return turned AG gy Panky started digging in their yard at about that time a car stored on their property caught fire and was disposed of at a salvage yard and here's another bizarre occurrence panky's son was killed in a homicide in 2008 at the funeral Hicks reportedly heard Panky say I hope God didn't allow this to happen because of Janelle Matthews in 2022 he was found guilty of the charges after what seemed like an everlasting second trial the aftermath of this Twisted case continues to Ripple through gy for the Matthews family there is a measure of relief yet a sense of lingering grief that will likely Shadow them forever Jennifer mogenson Janelle's older sister said her family experienced some closure when they learned that her sister was dead she further stated that she considers panky's arrest another gift to our family she further said that while there had been sibling rivalry between her and her younger sister The Disappearance eliminated the possibility for the two siblings to grow closer now behind bars details of panky's possible motives begin to surface so it's over with so so that family has the same closure that I have okay that's and also I mean talk about uh wouldn't you like it resolve to maybe have your name cleared or oh absolutely investigators theorize his obsession with the Matthews case stemmed from a deep-seated resentment towards authori as it turned out Janelle's Father Jim Matthews had a respected position in the police department while Panky himself held failed political aspirations some believe he saw the crime as a way to undermine law enforcement and gain notoriety while Justice was achieved the unanswered questions and lingering grief in Janelle's case are wounds that time may never fully heal thank you for watching drop your thoughts on this chilling story in the comments below and don't forget to Subs subscribe to our channel for more daily true crime stories