A man who ran for governor of Idaho in the 2014 and 2018 elections is now the prime suspect in the 1984 murder of a 14-year-old girl in Colorado, CBS News reports.
Steven Pankey, who ran for the Constitution Party’s nomination in 2014 and the Republican’s nomination in 2018, has been charged with the murder of 14-year-old Jonelle Matthews, who disappeared just days before Christmas in 1984. Her body was discovered in June 2019 by workers installing a pipeline.
During questioning by police, Pankey volunteered information on details about when Matthews died, even though he claimed to have never met her. He also included himself in a list of suspects for police to consider, again, while claiming he didn’t know the girl.
Pankey was charged with the girl’s murder and will face trial in July, but his lawyer, Anthony Viorst, says he’s not a murderer. “He’s a talkative guy,” Viorst said claiming his client just wanted attention. “Mr. Pankey wanted to be a person of interest. Mr. Pankey could have laid low. … Nobody would have charged him. … Mr. Pankey loves the limelight.”