What happened to Jonelle Matthews' killer Steven Pankey and where is he now?

Alex Phillips explains why she is against true crime dramas

The chilling true-crime documentary The Girl on the Milk Carton, soon to be released on Hayu, delves into the case of convicted murderer Steven Pankey.

His victim, 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews, vanished in the week leading up to Christmas 1984 and her face became one of the first to feature in America's dairy industry's missing child campaign. However, the police investigation went cold and the case unsolved for 35 years.

Pankey's ex-wife Angela Hicks played a crucial role in his eventual capture, although it took her two decades to come forward with her detailed suspicions. In late 2022, the 71-year-old Colorado native was finally brought to justice for his crimes and sentenced to 20 years to life behind bars.

He was charged with kidnapping and murder a year earlier, but the jury couldn't reach a consensus and a mistrial was declared. Prosecutors highlighted Pankey's expulsion from the Sunny View Church of the Nazarene, which the Matthews' also attended, and previous criminal offences involving a fellow congregant.

Pankey lost his job at the church in 1977, where he'd worked as the janitor, reports the Daily Star.

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Hicks testified in court about her ex-husband's odd behaviour after Jonelle's story made headlines. A report from The Greeley Tribune read: "Pankey acted suspiciously in the days following Jonelle's disappearance, including making their family leave town, fixating on the news coverage and digging a hole for hours outside their house. One of his cars was also engulfed in flames on their property around that time."

The murderer shockingly embedded himself into the investigation, dropping hints that he possessed knowledge which "grew inconsistent and incriminating". After the tragic loss of his own son Carl in 2008 in a fatal shooting, Pankey was seen whispering to the urn: "I hope God didn't allow this to happen because of Jonelle Matthews."

At his Halloween 2022 sentencing, Pankey maintained his innocence with a succinct statement to the court, asserting: "This is not justice for Jonelle."

Speaking to The Independent at the time, Jonelle's sister Jennifer Mogensen branded Pankey as "an evil person", adding: "I think he can't let go of things and holds grudges and doesn't like people in authority over him. I don't have a complete understanding of what he did that night, but if you are so driven by anger towards another sector, like a church or people in the church, that you are willing to commit a crime... that says something about you."

Following the discovery of her remains by workers installing pipes in 2019, it was confirmed through an autopsy that Jonelle had been killed by a gunshot wound to the head.

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Mogensen expressed her relief at justice finally being served, yet refused to make Pankey a second victim by harbouring resentment against him. Pankey won't be eligible for release until 2040, by which time he will be 89-years-old.

He is currently held at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility.

The Girl on the Milk Carton premieres August 26 on Hayu and consists of two parts.

What happened to Jonelle Matthews' killer Steven Pankey and where is he now?

What happened to Jonelle Matthews' killer Steven Pankey and where is he now?

What happened to Jonelle Matthews' killer Steven Pankey and where is he now?

What happened to Jonelle Matthews' killer Steven Pankey and where is he now?

What happened to Jonelle Matthews' killer Steven Pankey and where is he now?