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Why did Steve Pankey have two trials? Jury issues created havoc

In October 2020, Steve Pankey was indicted on charges of Jonelle Matthews's kidnapping and murder in 1984

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion is advised.

GREELEY, COLORADO: Jonelle Matthews's murder took 35 years to get solved. Steve Pankey, a former Greeley resident who ran for governor in Idaho in 2014 and 2018, was arrested on October 13, 2020, for the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Matthews in December 1984. Decades had passed and there was no strong evidence that could link him directly to the crime. He was charged on the basis of his inconsistent and incriminating statements, often forcing himself into the investigation. This ultimately resulted in a mistrial, on November 4, 2021, due to a hung jury.

He could have gotten away with the crime once again if the second trial didn't happen. Ultimately, justice prevailed as Pankey was found guilty of Jonelle Matthews's kidnapping and murder. The gripping case has inspired Oxygen's latest true-crime show called 'The Girl on the Milk Carton'. In the two-part series, fans can get a better understanding into why the jury couldn't reach a verdict during the first trial. Meanwhile, here's a quick recap of what happened during Steve Parkey's two trials:

What happened during Steve Pankey's first trial?

Pankey's first trial began on October 14, 2021. District Attorney Michael Rourke pointed out that no DNA evidence linked Steve Pankey to Jonelle Matthews, but added that there were proofs that he could have killed the girl, as per a report by CBS News.

The report further mentions prosecutors highlighting the fact that Pankey constantly inserted himself into the investigation and also gave several verbal and written statements to the authorities which turned out to be inconsistent and often incriminating. He was even aware of the footprints at the crime scene, a detail that the investigators never made public.

On the other hand, the defense argued that just because Pankey was interested in the case doesn't mean that he was involved in the crime. His "obsessive interest" was attributed to Asperger syndrome, a neurodevelopmental condition.

Eventually, the jury couldn't reach a consensus on the counts of first-degree murder, felony murder, and second-degree kidnapping. But they found him guilty on count four, which was false reporting to authorities, as per 9News report, for which the maximum sentence is six months, which Pankey had already spent behind bars.

Is Steve Pankey guilty in Jonelle Matthews's murder case?

Pankey's case went into retrial and this time, the jury found him guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Jonelle Matthews on October 31, 2022, as per 9News.

Pankey was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison with a possibility of parole. His earliest release date is in 2040, by which he will be 89 years old. Pankey is currently serving his sentence at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in Ordway, Colorado.

How to stream 'The Girl on the Milk Carton'?

'The Girl on the Milk Carton', directed by Marcus Plowright, is a two-part series. The first part is titled 'A Devastating Disappearance'. It is scheduled to air this coming Sunday, August 25 at 7 pm ET/PT. It will be followed by the release of the second part, titled 'A Monster Revealed' on the same day at 8 pm ET, on Oxygen.

Fans can expect a gripping retelling of the crime that took 35 years to solve. The official synopsis for 'The Girl on the Milk Carton' reads, "Five days before Christmas in 1984, Jonelle Matthews went missing from her own living room in the small town of Greeley, Colorado. In an attempt to find Jonelle, her face appeared on milk cartons. Nearly 34 years after her disappearance, her remains were finally found about 20 miles away from her home."

'The Girl on the Milk Carton' trailer