Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Before gubernatorial candidate Steve Pankey was linked to the brutal murder of year-old Jonelle Matthews, he displayed odd behavior and inserted himself into the investigation.
Over the course of his life, Steve Pankey has been defined by many labels: husband, father, used car salesman, failed gubernatorial candidate and, most recently, convicted killer. In , he was found guilty of kidnapping and killing year-old Jonelle Matthews decades earlier. Jonelle disappeared from her Colorado home on December 20, after coming home from a Christmas concert that she'd performed in with her school choir. It would take years before Pankey — who lived nearby with his family at the time of the abduction — would be linked to the crime.
So, just who is the man who took Jonelle's life? In , Pankey was a married father living in Greeley, Colorado, in a home about two miles from the Matthews residence, according to an indictment in the case obtained by Oxygen. He was also no stranger to run-ins with law enforcement. Three years after Jonelle disappeared, Pankey moved with his family to Idaho, according to the Idaho Statesman.
He also vowed on the campaign poster to protect second amendment rights and he promised not to take donations from lobbyists. But his message failed to resonate with voters. Pankey earned just 1. Although no DNA evidence has ever linked him to the case, Pankey initially became a suspect in Jonelle's murder largely because of his odd behavior and the fact that he continually inserted himself into the investigation.
According to an affidavit, Pankey — who briefly attended the same church as the Matthews family — had a habit of watching children walk home from the middle school where Jonelle was a student. He also owned a gun at the time of the kidnapping. Jonelle died from a gunshot wound to the head, but by the time the body was discovered, authorities were unable to recover any usable DNA from the body.
