[Unmasked 08] Girl On The Milk Carton: The Killer is a Gubernatorial Candidate | Jonelle Matthews

in 1984 a 12-year-old girl mysteriously disappeared with no clear Clues to help the search the police offered a $20,000 reward for information related to The Disappearance they then asked for help from the FBI but the investigation made no progress the police were so stumped that a program called girl on the Milk Carton was established accordingly the missing girl's image and information were printed on milk carton to spread widely across the United States in the hope that she could find her way home or someone would provide useful Clues to the police this was also the first missing child case mentioned by President Ronald Reagan in his speech on March 7th 1985 many years later a republican politician and gubernatorial candidate was arrested for murdering and hiding the girl's body Janelle Matthews a 12-year-old girl vanished from her home in 1984 and it wasn't until 35 years later that her remains were discovered by Road workers about 15 miles away from her house Janelle was born in 1972 and was adopted by Jim and Gloria Matthews when she was just 6 weeks old she lived lived with her family in gy Colorado on the evening of December 20th 1984 Janelle performed with her school choir at a Christmas concert that night Gloria had to leave home to care for a sick relative and Jim went to watch his older daughter's basketball game after the performance Janelle got a ride home from her friend's father arriving at 8:15 p.m. by 8:30 p.m. Janelle answered a phone call and left a message for her father this phone call was the last time anyone spoke to her Jim returned home at 9:30 p.m. to find the garage door open the lights and TV still on but no one inside Janelle's socks and scarf were near the fireplace in the living room where she usually sat her sister arrived home at 10 p.m. and also had no idea where Janelle could be worried Jim called the police police found shoe prints in the snow indicating that someone had been watching the house through the window and walking around outside there were no signs of forced entry or struggle with the snow on the ground Jim thought it would be difficult for Janelle to go far without wearing shoes the gy police couldn't find any valuable Clues at the scene in the weeks following Janelle's disappearance they secretly monitored Janelle's biological mother suspecting she might want to reclaim her child however they found that she was unaware of the situation and didn't even know where Janelle was living at a dead end gy police offered a $20,000 reward and then sought help from the FBI but the investigation made no progress as leads dried up Community continued to search Distributing Flyers to 4,000 stores to ensure Janelle wouldn't be forgotten their Relentless efforts caught the attention of the White House with President Ronald Reagan mentioning Janelle in a speech on March 7th 1985 supporting a national campaign to print images of missing children on milk cart Donell was also mentioned in the Congressional Record of the US House of Representatives on April 2th 1985 jonell was one of the first missing children to have her photo and information printed on milk carton spreading awareness Nationwide in the hope that she might find her way home or someone might provide a clue to the police Janelle remained missing until 1994 a decade after her disappearance when authorities declared her deceased in 2018 a detective who was a former classmate of Janelle's sister was assigned to resolve the Cold Case vowing to uncover the truth reallyy police reconnected with Witnesses and applied the latest forensic science advancements to the investigation at this time a woman named Angela Hicks came came forward to share her story she said she had lived for decades with dark suspicions enduring silence and fear Angela revealed that her ex-husband 67-year-old Steven Panky had exhibited behavior that led her to believe he was involved in Janelle's Disappearance in 1984 the couple lived about 3 m from the Matthews home Steven had also been a minister at the church the Matthews family attended Angela stated that they left town on December 2 2 1984 2 days after Janelle's disappearance to spend Christmas with relatives in California trip that was unplanned on their way back to gy on December 26 she noticed Steven's unusual interest in the case as he searched for news about Janelle on the radio stopped at a grocery store to pick up newspapers with articles about her from a few days earlier and then had Angela read them to him in the car soon after returning home St began digging in their backyard around that time a car in their garage mysteriously caught fire and was abandoned in a lot months after Janelle's disappearance Steven attended church where he heard a pastor declare that Janelle would be found safe Angela claimed to have overheard her husband muttering in response calling the pastor a false prophet in 2008 Steven son was murdered the funeral Angela heard Steven say I hope God didn't let this happen because of jonell Matthews police noted that Steven had long been on their radar due to his odd behavior and obsessive interest in the case as early as 1999 he had inserted himself into the investigation repeatedly claiming to know about the crime and offering deals with law enforcement for immunity in exchange for information he even wrote letters to the police detailing his Alibi and stating that he knew about the case from a confession in church following Angela's Revelations police officially considered Steven a suspect lacked sufficient evidence on July 23rd 2019 instruction workers discovered human remains while installing a pipeline near an intersection in a rural area about 15 M from the Matthews former home based on DNA evidence authorities identified the remains as jonel's still dressed in the same clothes she wore when she disappeared forensic report listed the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head on September 4th 2019 twinfalls police executed a search warrant at Steven's apartment after he had moved to Idaho he refused to answer investigators questions authorities seized Steven's electronic devices and found thousands of searches related to Janelle's case dating back long before he was considered a suspect prosecutors noted that Steven had kept up with the case for years despite having having moved multiple times on September 13th 2019 the gy police department announced that Steven was a suspect in Janelle's abduction and murder Steven denied knowing Janelle or her family and claimed only to have heard about them after her disappearance he stated that he was home with his wife on the night of the incident according to Steven his family planned to leave town the next day and had already packed the car contradicting Angela's account on October 13th 2020 Steven was indicted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping according to the indictment Steven knew that a rake had been used to cover up tracks left in the snow at the crime scene a detail that had never been disclosed to the public in the trial that began on October 14th 2021 Steven was accused of using a gun to force Janelle out of her home before killing her although there was no DNA evidence the prosecution argued that Steven's behavior and statements incriminated him in the murder however the defense claimed that Steven's obsessive interest in the case might be due to Asperger's Syndrome form of autism leading insert himself into the investigation to feel important after a month-long trial the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the two serious charges against Steven convicting him only of providing false statements to authorities on retrial divon was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering jonell on October 31st 2022 he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years the true motive behind Steven's act may never be known but Robert cash a detective involved in the case has his theories Robert believes that to Steven Janelle was nobody she was just collateral damage as a result of his anger against his church one he despised all of this was done in retribution of people who in his mind had wronged him Robert explained I think it highlights the callousness of the crime absolute lack of empathy or humanness in Steve and I think that's what makes it even more tragic she got in the way of a monster that even in his act had so little emotion as far as introducing or inserting himself into the case I just think it goes to his Neurosis his feeling that he has to be fed the information this was his way I think that he was able to play the game I think to him this was all a game if Steve Steven had said nothing and not inserted himself into the case then we probably would still be investigating The Disappearance of jonel Matthews Steve Steven revealed himself and it's not unusual that suspects and crimes do this I want people to understand that it's never too late Robert with the right connection with the right intentions cases like this can be solved [Music] do you have any new comments about this case please comment below so everyone can know more information please like share the video and subscribe to the channel to follow more famous cases that we will release in the near future m