Who Abducted And Killed Jonelle Matthews? And Are They The Same Person That Killed JonBenet Ramsey? UPDATED On October 15th, 2020

UPDATE: October 15th,2020. Former person of interest, Steve Pankey, was arrested in Jonelle's murder. His information is at the bottom of this article.

UPDATE: August 19th, 2020. Yesterday the 19th Judicial District grand jury announced that they will work with the Weld County District Attorney's Office and the Greeley Police Department in the investigation into Jonelle's death.

Jonelle Renee Matthews

Jonelle was born on February 9th, 1972 at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California to 13-year-old, Terri Vierra-Martinez. A month later she was adopted by Gloria and Jim Matthews. The couple had a daughter name Jennifer before they adopted Jonelle.  The family then move from California to Northern Colorado, where they settled in 1978 so Jim could take an administrator job at Dayspring Christian School, now Dayspring Christian Academy, in Greeley, Weld County, Colorado. 

Back then, Greeley was a conservative, close-knit city set 60 miles north of Denver on Colorado's High Plains. It was a safe place, where front doors remained unlocked and kids rode their bikes on dirt roads past farmers’ fields, explored ravines and sold Girl Scout cookies door to door.

By 1984, Jim had taken the principal post at Platte Valley Elementary School in neighboring Kersey. 

Together the family all lived in a four bedroom bi-level house on the 300 block of 43rd Avenue Court in the Pheasant Run subdivision in Greeley.

Jonelle loved her adopted family, but she also wanted to find her biological parents some day. She was strong physically and she was strong-willed. All throughout her life, even when Jonelle was a little girl, she knew what she wanted and she let you know. She was happy and outgoing. Her and her friend, Deanna Ross, rode bikes all over the place in the summers. They hung out and did a lot of sleepovers. Jonelle loved to sing and act in church skits. She was a member of the Franklin Middle School’s choir as well as the Sunny View Church of the Nazarene’s choir. Jonelle's favorite music band was Menudo.

On Thursday, December 20th, 1984, Jonelle was 12-years-old and a 7th grader singing carols live on TV with Debra and her school's choir. They stood on a staircase decorated with garland at Intrawest Bank in downtown Greeley. Jonelle’s mother, Gloria, was visiting Jonbelle's ill grandfather in California. And Jonelle's father, Jim, was watching Jennifer, Jonelle’s older sister, play with her high school’s varsity basketball team. 

When the concert was over Jonelle's friend, Deanna and Deanna's father Russell, drove Jonelle home, arriving around 8:15 p.m. It was one day before Christmas vacation and Jonelle was excited to go to school the next and give her friends the cross-stitched presents she'd been working on. 

"She was talking about Christmas, she was all excited," Russell recalled.

Jonelle got out of the truck and told Deanna, 'I'll see you tomorrow!'"
Russell watched as Jonelle went safely into the empty house and flipped on the light to let Russell know she was in. She didn't know it, but a Cabbage Patch Kids doll was waiting among the presents under the family's Christmas tree. Gloria had braved the department store crowds and waited in line to buy her the coveted doll. Shortly after 8:30 p.m., Jonelle spoke to a co-worker of Jim's on the phone. His colleague needed him to substitute for her the next day. This was the last time anyone heard from Jonelle.

At 9:30 p.m., Jim arrived home to find the garage door open. The TV and lights were on and Jonelle's shoes and a shawl were near a the portable heater in the family room, where Jonelle often sat. Jim yelled "Hi, Jonelle," but got no response. Jim thought that maybe Jonelle was in her room and didn't hear him, so he didn't think much of it. He wrapped one last Christmas present before walking upstairs and peeking in Jonelle's bedroom. She wasn't there.  Jennifer got home at 10:00 p.m., but had not seen her. Jim then called Russell to ask him if he or Deanna had heard from Jonelle. Russell shook Deanna awake to see if she knew anywhere Jonelle might go, but she didn't. Jim then called the the family's pastor, Jim Christy, for advice, who encourage him to call police.

A worried Jim called police and by 10:15 p.m., police were swarming the house. They found footprints in the garage and in the snow by the windows, as if someone had been peering in. They dusted the walls for fingerprints trying to find any signs of foul play.

As the search began for Jonelle, authorities scoured the area, including the fields near the house. Neighbors reported seeing a black car that had been in the neighborhood for several hours. The driver of the car was tracked down, but he was not a suspect.

Jonelle's family knew she wouldn't run away. They said she was too dramatic to do that without leaving a note to explain as to what had made her so upset to do that. Her family weren't the only ones that thought that way.

Authorities believed that there was someone already in the house when Jonelle had arrived home from the concert. And that she was interrupted while watching TV. While dropping her off, Deanna and Russelle had noticed that the garage door was slightly open. Since there was not signs of a struggled or forced entry, it was also believed that Jonelle knew her abductor.

Just to be safe, a police officer drove Jennifer to school the next day. When she arrived, the school was already buzzing about Jonelle's disappearance.

Jim and Gloria spoke with newspapers, a Rescue Jonelle committee was formed and Jonelle's picture was everywhere.

Jonelle's family set a place for her at the table during the family's Christmas Eve dinner in case she walked through the door. When Christmas had came and gone, Jim and Gloria left Jonelle’s Christmas presents wrapped and under their tree in hopes that Jonelle would come home.

On Jonelle’s 13th birthday, over 600 volunteers searched 4000 miles with sign of her.

On March 7th, 1985, President Ronald Reagan mentioned Jonelle in a speech to the National Newspaper Association.

Jonelle's missing poster was printed on the side of milk cartons.

In front of Franklin Middle School, fellow classmates planted a chokecherry tree in memory of Jonelle. The tree is now gone, along with a plaque inscribed with Jonelle's name.

By Christmas of 1985, Jonelle's family unwrapped the Christmas presents squirreled away in Jonelle's bedroom closet. Her Menudo posters would come down as well, as Jim and Gloria turned Jonelle's room into a guest bedroom. They also dead-bolted their door and installed a new garage door system that locked.

On the tenth anniversary of Jonelle’s disappearance, her family and friends held a memorial service for her at Sunny View Church. More than 250 people attended the service. The family also had Jonelle declared legally dead. Jim and Gloria then retired to Costa Rica.

1997, to their surprise, Jim and Gloria a received a letter from Jonelle's biological mother.

“My name is Terri Vierra-Martinez. On February 9th, 1972, I gave birth to a baby girl at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, Calif. A search consultant recently helped me locate the baby I gave up for adoption. After extensive efforts, it was found that her name is Jonelle Matthews. … I hope that your hearts will be open for a possible reunion sometime in the future.”

Due to the adoption privacy laws, Terri didn't know that Jonelle had been missing for sometime. So, Jim and Gloria wrote her back explaining what happened to Jonelle.  After receiving the heart-wrenching letter, Terri flew to Colorado and met with them. There, she found out that she had been under surveillance for over a month after Jonelle went missing. However, Terri is not a suspect and became good friends with Jim and Gloria.

At 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019, excavators installing a pipeline discovered human remains in a oil field, in the remote stretch of unincorporated Weld County, about 15 miles southeast of Jonelle's home. Among the remains were a skull with intact, braces-lined teeth, just like Jonelle's, and scraps of blue and red fabric that could have came from the red blouse, grey skirt and navy blue sweater vest that Jonelle had been wearing the night she  disappeared. Based on DNA evidence, the Weld County Coroner’s Office positively identified the remains as Jonelle Matthews.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation  has not released any information about how Matthews might have died, but have stated that the case is being treated as a homicide. 

In August, Jonelle's remains were set to rest in at Greeley's Linn Grove Cemetery. Her gravestone had a big rainbow and hearts at either end, like pots of gold. "Beloved Jonelle Renée Matthews," it reads. "Feb. 9, 1972-Dec. 20, 1984."

On September 13th, Greeley Police Department announced a "person of interest" of Jonelle's abduction and murder. His name is Steve Pankey. He ran for governor in Idaho in 2014 and 2018, and for lieutenant governor in 2010. His home in Colorado was searched under a warrant. Pankey and his former wife lived only 2 miles away from the Matthews home where Jonelle was last seen. Allegedly, Pankey had made repeated efforts to speak with detectives about the Jonelle's case, but after detectives traveled to Twin Falls Idaho on August 15th, 2019, Pankey refused to answer questions. He claims he is being framed. Pankey has not been charged with Jonelle’s murder, but he is being investigated in relation to her death. Besides being contacted by authorities in Jonelle's kidnapping and murder, allegedly, Pankey was also contacted in the JonBenet Ramsey case.

Every year since Jonelle went missing, her family celebrates her birthday, and still have the Christmas ornaments she made in elementary school. They hang them on the tree each Christmas.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Detective Robert Cash at 970-350-9601 or a case tip line at 970-351-5100.

A New Witness Came Forward In Rodney Reed's Case. Will His Execution Be Stopped So He Can Have A Fair Trial.

The new witness is a former Bastrop County deputy who claims he knew Stites and her fiance, Jimmy Fennell. He said Fennell told him Stites was having an affair with Rodney.

During Rodney's trial back in 1996 of the slaying of Stacy Lee Stites, attorneys argued that Reed was having a consensual affair with Stites and that Fennell killed her.

But prosecutors in the case still believe Reed is guilty and argue the two were not having an affair. They point out that none of these witnesses came forward with this information at the time.

After 9 appeals and an delayed execution, 52-year-old Rodney is sentenced to be executed on November 20th of this year. Many people, including the Innocence Project, believe that Rodney deserves a retrial before it's too late.

After researching Rodney's story, i believe that his trial was unfair and he at least deserves a new one. 

What do you think?

Did Rodney Reed Murder Stacey Stites? Or Is An Innocent Man About To Be Put To Death?

Will Jodi Arias Get A New Trial For The Horrific Murder Of Her Ex-Boyfriend Alexander Travis?

Last year Jodi announced she was going to try to appeal her murder conviction in the horrific slaying of her boyfriend, Alexander Travis. She was claiming that the "circus-like" atmosphere prevented her from receiving a fair trial. Her attorneys were also claiming prosecutorial misconduct.

Jodi Arias Court of Appeals Hearing on Oct 17th, 2019

Law & Crime Network

She is now 39-years old and 6 years into her sentence of life without parole. And we're still waiting on the judges ruling about the appeal.

Travis Alexander was a salesman who was murdered by his ex-girlfriend, Jodi Arias, in his house in Mesa, Arizona. Alexander sustained multiple knife wounds and a gunshot to the head. Arias changed her story on what happened to travels several times. First she claimed that she wasn't even with Travis when Alexander was killed. Then she said that two guys broke in and killed him. At trial, prosecutors said Arias killed Alexander in a jealous rage after learning he was planning a trip to Mexico with another woman. Arias claimed it was self-defense, but the jury didn't buy it. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder on May 8th, 2013, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on April 13, 2015.

Was it really self defense? 

Arias purchased three 5 gallon gas cans, so she could travel through the state of Arizona, without having to stop, which would make it harder to prove that she was there.There was a handgun, knives and condoms found inside her rental car.

Alexander was murdered, naked, in the shower. Pictures were found on Aria's camera, that was hidden in the washing machine, of Alexander moments before he was killed.

Jodi Arias and the Violent Murder of Alexander Travis

You Probably Didn't Know That Vice Admiral Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov Saved Our World.

Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov

He was a Soviet Union Naval Officer who prevented the launch of a nuclear torpedo during the Cuban Missile Crisis and therefore possibly a nuclear war.

He was a very shy and modest person, intelligent and smart, very polite. He was always in touch with the modern world. Vasili was born on January 30th, 1926 into a peasant family in Staraya, Kupavna.  At the age of 16, he enrolled into Pacific Higher Naval School and participated in the Soviet–Japanese War in August 1945, serving aboard a minesweeper. The Soviet Union's defeat of Japan's Kwantung Army in the Soviet-Japanese War helped in the the termination of World War II.

Later, Vasili transferred to the Caspian Higher Naval School where he  graduated in 1947. Right after graduation, Vasili served in the submarine service aboard boats in the Black Sea, Northern and Baltic Fleets. 

K-19 "Hiroshima"

In July 1961, Vasili was appointed deputy commander and also acted as the executive officer of the submarine K-19. It was a first generation nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear ballistic missiles. It was also one of the first two of the Project 658 class and was hastily built as a part of the arms race against the United States.

As the crew conducted exercises off the south-east coast of Greenland, an extreme leak in the reactor coolant system of the submarine was detected. On July 4, 1961, the leak eventually caused cooling system failure and also damaged the radio communications systems. 

Unable to make contact with Moscow, Commander Nikolai Vladimirovich Zateyev ordered the entire engineering crew to come up with a solution to avoid nuclear meltdown. This entailed them to work in high radiation levels for extended periods. After Vasili helped to stop a mutiny, the engineering team was able design a secondary cooling system,  preventing the reactor from a meltdown. The crew survived, but they were all exposed to high levels of radiation. The exposure to high radiation caused the deaths of all the members of the engineering team, as well as their divisional officer, within a month of the incident. 15 more members of the crew died during the next two years, and Vasil later developed kidney cancer. He also received a medal for his loyalty, bravery, and calm demeanor.

The tragic story of of K-19 and the crew was adapted into a 2002 movie called "K-19: The Widowmaker." It stars Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson and Peter Sarsgaard. The most significant difference between the plot and the historical events is the scene that replaces an incident where the all the submarine's small arms were thrown overboard out of concern about the possibility of a mutiny; the film instead portrays an actual attempt at mutiny.

The Cold War And The Cuban Missile Crisis

As World War II ended the Cold War began. The Cold War was an ongoing series of largely political and economic clashes between the United States and the Soviet Union.

During this time, a Latin American country openly allying with the Soviet Union was regarded by the US as unacceptable. So, when leftist revolutionary leader Fidel Castro aligned himself with the Soviet Union, the United States was less than thrilled. 

By October 1st, 1962, Vasili was the commander of an entire submarine fleet of four diesel-powered, nuclear-armed Soviet Foxtrot-class submarines. The fleet left the base on the Kola Peninsula and was carrying nuclear weapons that the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, had agreed to secretly place in Cuba.

The Kennedy administration had previous launched a failed attack on the island, the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, and Castro and  Khrushchev hoped the missiles would deter further U.S. attacks.

On October 14th, Vasili, aboard the flagship B-59 and acting as its second-in-command to Captain Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, reached the Caribbean the day Tropical Storm Ella hits. Trailing him are a B-4, a B-36, and a B-130. They were all diesel-powered and became saunas in the tropical waters.

Also on the 14th, a pilot of an American U-2 spy plane making a high-altitude pass over Cuba, photographed a Soviet SS-4 medium-range ballistic missile being assembled for installation.  

The fact that the nuclear-armed Cuban missiles were being installed, just 90 miles south of Florida meant that they were capable of quickly reaching targets in the eastern U.S. This didn't sit right with Kennedy and ExCom and they wanted to orchestrate their removal without initiating a wider conflict–and possibly a nuclear war. The Joint Chiefs of Staff unanimously agreed that a full-scale attack and invasion was the only solution, but Kennedy was skeptical. He didn't want U.S. allies thinking of the country as "trigger-happy cowboys". However, less than a month before the crisis, Kennedy had promised the American people, "if Cuba should possess a capacity to carry out offensive actions against the United States... the United States would act," so he had to do something.

Kennedy decided he would employ the U.S. Navy to establish a blockade, or quarantine, of the island to prevent the Soviets from delivering additional missiles and military equipment. He also raised the country’s defense readiness condition (DEFCON) from 4 to 3 (in readiness for war), a first in its history.

On the 15th, Moscow ordered Vasili and his fleet to leave Cuban waters and head east to the Sargasso Sea. With no more messages arriving from Moscow, the fleet relies on American radio broadcasts for information. They heared about a U.S. invasion of Cuba, the launch of U.S. warships and planes, and the possibility of Soviet submarines in the area.

On the 24th, By October 24, the U.S. is on DEFCON 2, the final step before a nuclear war, and the Soviet fleet neared the line of U.S. vessels enforcing the blockade. 

The air conditioning in the vessel that Vasili and his men were in failed and temperatures rise to 65°F. In the diesel section, it was over 70°. Since they never arrived at Cuba, they were short on supplies and men were limited to one glass per man a day. High levels of carbon dioxide were also present in the submarine.

The fleet stayed hidden just below the surface to charge their batteries and hoped not to be detected.

On the 27th, an U.S. reconnaissance plane was shot down over Cuba, and a U.S. invasion force was readied in Florida. 

Also on the 27th, Vasili and his fleet of ships were discovered by a group of eleven United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph. They began dropping non-lethal depth charges to encourage the Soviet submarines to surface. The submarines were submerged too deep to even hear the radio communications of the U.S. ships and the crew of B-59 thought they were witnessing the beginning of a third world war. 

Unknown to the U.S. forces, the Soviets had a ten kiloton nuclear torpedo on board and the officers had permission to launch it without waiting for approval from Moscow. Temperatures in the B-59 exceeded 120 degrees and the batteries were about to go out.  They had to do something soon or perish. Two of the vessel’s senior officers wanted to launch the missile, but all three senior officers on board had to agree to deploy the weapon. Vasili refused to sanction the launch of the weapon and calmed the captain down. The torpedo was never fired. 

They contacted the the U.S. ships, who gave them permission to surface, then they were ordered back in to head home. One of Vasili's superiors told him that it would have been better had he died.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vasili commanded submarines and later submarine squadrons. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1975, and became head of the Kirov Naval Academy. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1981 and retired in the mid-1980s.

He settled in Kupavna (which was incorporated into Zheleznodorozhny, Moscow Oblast, in 2004). He died there on August 19th, 1998 from kidney cancer. Vasili Arkhipov leftt behind his wife, Olga and their daughter named Yelena.

Nikolai Vladimirovich Zateyev died nine days later. Both Vasili and Nikolai were 72.

Vasili received the first "Future of Life Award," which was presented to his family in 2017. The award recognizes exceptional measures, often performed despite personal risk and without obvious reward, to safeguard the collective future of humanity.