Found Deceased CO - Jonelle Matthews, 12, Greeley, 20 Dec 1984 *arrest 2020*

[Colorado303]

They would have also perhaps have noted the small stature of the bones.

From an article in Jonelle’s thread it says LE did have her DNA on file, iirc.

(Head is still spinning.)

There is sooo much info in her thread. Trying to take it all in.

Noting aspects of potential “incineration” mentioned in her thread; still only on page 1.

—-



Hoping an arrest is forthcoming in this modern age of DNA. She’s been out there a while it seems, plus there was “construction”, so usable trace evidence may be minimal, if any. But we know all they need is a tiny bit. If she was buried perhaps this helped preserve it from the elements.

Gosh, can you imagine. This perp thought he got away with it. If he’s still alive and knows about her recovery now, he’s probably shaking in his pants going “Oh No! I hope they can’t get any DNA!”

These guys back in 1984 had NO IDEA what the future of DNA would hold. So perhaps he was relatively careless as related to what he left on her and at the scene.

I expect this to be big news in our area, and look forward to all future updates. I was also thinking about perhaps passing on to LE the links to her thread, as well as other “pooossibly” related cases, as there is much archived and work put in and it couldn’t hurt, moo.

I’m so impressed w/the work you and others have done from scratch in the last day to put the pieces of info together. I’m proud to “know” you!

 

[Al Ka]

Very interesting. Earlier in this thread the Charley Project summary was posted which said GM and JM had moved to the Philippines. So now her mom and step father live in Costa Rica? They already believed Jonelle was deceased and had a memorial for her. I wonder if they will they come back to the States to bury her remains now that she has been found?

I noticed discrepancies too - Costa Rica v Philippines and wondered about that. Thought perhaps they moved at some point but for some reason I have my doubts.

I am glad that Margarita copied here yesterday Jonelle's Charley Project profile with this details because when I checked it today, almost everything is gone.

What is left of it:

Details of Disappearance
Jonelle disappeared from her home in Greeley, Colorado on December 20, 1984; she was presumed abducted by unidentified intruder(s). In July 2019, her skeletal remains were found at an oil and gas site in rural Weld County, Colorado. Her murder is under investigation.

Jonelle Renee Matthews – The Charley Project

 

[margarita25]

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22109365/detail.html
'snipped'
GREELEY, Colo. -- Two and a half decades later, there are still no answers.

The 12-year-old girl who disappeared during Christmas week in 1984 is still gone, and there is no real hope that she will ever be seen again.

On the night of Dec. 20, 1984, Jonelle Matthews sang Christmas carols with her school choir and was taken home by a friend. When her father came home an hour later, she was gone.
trace has ever been found of Jonelle; no arrests, no evidential DNA, no answers.

This year, police have made arrests in two of Greeley's longtime mysteries: the Mary Pierce slaying and the Tina Tournai Sandoval disappearance. Those two cases will likely go to trial next year.

But not the Jonelle Matthews case. There are still too many unanswered questions.

Her parents, Jim and Gloria Matthews, had Jonelle officially declared dead in 1994, 10 years after her disappearance. There was a funeral service, and dozens of family friends said goodbye.

But in recent years, little has happened with the Matthews case. It's still considered an open case in the Greeley Police Department.

"We occasionally get a tip on the case, but that usually involves a body that was recovered somewhere," said Lt. Brad Goldschmidt. "If the body was old enough, they might contact us because Jonelle is still considered a missing person. But we haven't had anything for a few years."

Goldschmidt said Jonelle's DNA is on the national database now, in case something turns up, but they had no DNA from a suspect at the scene of her abduction. Her photo -- and an "age progressed" photo of what she would look like at 37 years old can be found on the Web site for The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

On the night she disappeared, Jonelle was driven home from a middle school concert by a friend and her mother. They dropped Jonelle in front of the house in the 300 block of 43rd Avenue in the Pheasant Run subdivision, and noted that the garage door already was open. The friends watched her walk into the house. They were the last people known to have seen the girl.

While she was home, she took a teacher's message for her father, who was the principal at Platte Valley Elementary School in Kersey.

Jim Matthews came home about an hour later, after attending a basketball game for his older daughter, Jennifer. He found Jonelle's shoes and a shawl near a space heater in the family room. Usually, when she watched TV, Jonelle would sit close to the heater.

'snippet'
The Matthews still remember Jonelle's birthday, and still have the Christmas ornaments she made in elementary school. They hang them on the tree each Christmas.

..more at link..

From above:

“This year, police have made arrests in two of Greeley's longtime mysteries: the Mary Pierce slaying and the Tina Tournai Sandoval disappearance. Those two cases will likely go to trial next year. “

Taking some notes, I’m still on page 1:

1. “Mary Pierce slaying ”

a) More than 30 years later, Mary Pierce homicide case, suspect appear in court
May 27, 2010

b) Timeline reveals DNA breakthroughs in Pierce murder case
December 2, 2009

c) 17-year-old Boulder girl kidnapped; found partially clothed
1/17/2015

The above headline refers to Christine: CO - CO - Christine Jones, 17, Boulder County, 1 Sept 1977 ; Mary Pierce’s case is addressed in the second half of the article:

“Mary’s murder went unsolved for 32 years. Then in 2009, a DNA hit was made linking Marcello Maldonado-Perez, 51, then living in Port Charlotte, Florida, to the case.”

2.“Tina Tournai Sandoval disappearance”

a) After two decades, John Sandoval leads authorities to body of Tina Tournai Sandoval, missing now 21 years
March 31, 2017

b) FOUND: Remains of Tina Tournai-Sandoval found in grave of WWII vet
March 31, 2017

c) Tina Sandoval murder mystery solved - WeldDA
03/31/2017

—yay, Weld DA has a website

Colorado also has the Open Records Act.

 

[margarita25]

(Sorry for the double post, it’s 3:53 am and there are not a lot of posters in here right now; I also had to divide these posts due to length bc it was taking too long to scroll.)

I noticed discrepancies too - Costa Rica v Philippines and wondered about that. Thought perhaps they moved at some point but for some reason I have my doubts.

I am glad that Margarita copied here yesterday Jonelle's Charley Project profile with this details because when I checked it today, almost everything is gone.

What is left of it:

Details of Disappearance
Jonelle disappeared from her home in Greeley, Colorado on December 20, 1984; she was presumed abducted by unidentified intruder(s). In July 2019, her skeletal remains were found at an oil and gas site in rural Weld County, Colorado. Her murder is under investigation.

Jonelle Renee Matthews – The Charley Project

Wow.

This is a great feeling to see “RESOLVED”

Now who killed her?

Here is the full window version of the updated CP page for the full picture; I like to see the “updates information” at the very bottom of the page:

——


Jonelle Renee Matthews
RESOLVED

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

“Jonelle, circa 1984

• Missing Since12/20/1984
• Missing FromGreeley, Colorado
• ClassificationNon-Family Abduction
• Age12 years old
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female.

Details of Disappearance
Jonelle disappeared from her home in Greeley, Colorado on December 20, 1984; she was presumed abducted by unidentified intruder(s). In July 2019, her skeletal remains were found at an oil and gas site in rural Weld County, Colorado. Her murder is under investigation.
Investigating Agency

• Greeley Police Department 303-350-9670

Source Information

• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Child Protection Education of America
• Christianity Today
• The Denver Post
• The Longmont Daily Times-Call
• The Child Seek Network
• The Greeley Tribune
• Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons
• The Pensacola News Journal
• The Denver Channel

Updated 9 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated July 25, 2019; case resolved.”

-//

(Note to self to check something here, about to run out of time on this post)
Greeley child snatched from living room after Christmas concert

 

[Ven]

Some thoughts:

LE must know the shoe size of those footprints, and that could help them re: possible suspect.

Step-father has been ruled out? Has air-tight alibi with other daughter at basketball game? They returned home together? Must be horrible for parents to be investigated when these tragedies happen but it's good to clear them asap.

What about the friend's father who dropped her off from the concert? Who drops a 12 year old girl off home alone at night when they know she will be all alone? Especially when there is something weird with the garage door open? He could have known she was home alone, taken his own daughter home, and then returned by himself especially if conversation with Jonelle informed him that she would be alone until such-and-such time. What was his story or alibi after dropping her off? What kind of statements did he make in the interview? Did he inform LE that Jonelle suggested her parents would be home "any minute" or something like that, and that's why he left her alone?

What about the father's business associate? She received a call from him at 8:30, he might have also known that she was home alone. The step-father, the step-father's friend, and the friend's father who dropped her off would have to be the three most likely people to have committed this crime.

The last possibility is that leaving the garage door open invited unsavory people to scope out the property for a robbery attempt. They may have been casing the area just before Jonelle arrived home, noticed an easy opportunity to rob the residence, left and planned to return a short time later to conduct the crime, and then happened to find a 12 year old girl there by herself and decided to commit a different crime.

Either way very sad case, glad she has been found.

 

[margarita25]

Jonelle Renee Matthews
Missing since December 20, 1984 from Greeley, Weld County, Colorado.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: February 9, 1972
Age at Time of Disappearance: 12 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3 (160 cm.); 115 lbs. (52 kg.)
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown curly hair; brown eyes.
Marks, Scars: Her ears are pierced. She also has a scar on her chin.

Clothing: Matthews was last seen wearing a light blue ski jacket; red blouse; dark gray sweater vest; charcoal gray skirt; and house slippers.
Dentals: Matthews had braces on her teeth at the time of her disappearance

Circumstances of Disappearance

Matthews performed in a middle school Christmas concert and was dropped off by friends at her west Greeley home at 20.15. (8:30 PM)

Jonelle took a phone call from a teacher at her father's school at 20.30. But when her father got home about 21.30, he found the garage door open, and Jonelle was gone. The lights and the television were turned on inside the house, but there was no sign of Matthews.

Her stockings and shoes were on the floor. The Greeley police discovered footprints in the garage and in the back of the house.

Jonelle was adopted by the Matthews' when she was a baby.

Investigators

If you have any information concerning Matthews' whereabouts, please contact:

Greeley Police Department
Detective Bill West
970-350-9611

All information may be submitted on an anonymous basis.

Agency Case Number: 84-41032

NCMEC #: NCMC601837
NCIC Number: M-141276311

Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information related to this case.

Source Information:

The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
Longmont FYI
The Doe Network: Case File 198DFCO

LINK:

198DFCO - Jonelle Renee Matthews

Full version:

198DFCO - Jonelle Renee Matthews

Images 3 and 4: Age-progressed to 31 years and 42 years

Name: Jonelle Renee Matthews
Case Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Missing Since: December 20, 1984
Location Last Seen: Greeley, Weld County, Colorado

Physical Description
Date of Birth: February 9, 1972
Age: 12 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'2" to 5'3"
Weight: 115 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown, curly.
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scar on her chin. Pierced ears.

Identifiers
Dentals: Available. She wore braces on her teeth.
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Light blue ski jacket, red blouse, dark gray sweater vest, charcoal gray skirt, and house slippers.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance
Jonelle Renee Matthews was last seen when friends dropped her off at her home at approximately 8:15 p.m., after having performed in a middle school Christmas concert earlier that evening. She took a phone call from a teacher at her father's school at 8:30 p.m. When her parents returned home between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m., the garage door was open, the television and lights inside the home were on, Jonelle's stockings and shoes were on the floor, but Jonelle was missing.

Investigators discovered footprints in the garage and in the back of the house.

Jonelle was adopted by the Matthews when she was a baby.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Greeley Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Detective Robert Cash
Agency Phone Number: 970-350-9600
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 8441032

NCIC Case Number: M141276311
NamUs Case Number: 6367
NCMEC Case Number: 601837

Information Source(s)
Namus
NCMEC
Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Longmont Times Call News Archive

Admin Notes
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 3/20/16

 

[CaliSun]

Comprehensive local article. The locations of Jonelle’s house, school, choir concert and where remains were found. The news also received photos of the remains that will not be published, but her clothing from the night she disappeared and braces were prominent in the photos. Remains of Jonelle Matthews discovered in rural Weld almost 35 years after her disappearance in Greeley

 

[margarita25]

Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Colorado Cold Case Files - Case Detail: Jonelle Matthews

Case Detail

• (one image removed as only 5 per post)
  
  
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Jonelle Matthews
Case Details
Case Type: Missing

Height: 5' 2"

Case Status: OPEN

Weight: 115 lbs

Aliases:

Identifying Marks: Scar on chin. Pierced ears. Braces on teeth.

Incident Date: 12/20/1984

Occupation:

Agency: Greeley Police Department

City: Greeley

Date of Birth: 02/09/1972

County: Weld

Date of Death: Unknown

Agency Case #: GP84-41032

Age: 12

Judicial District: 19th Judicial District

Gender: Female

Year Solved:

Race: Caucasian

NamUs Case #: 6367

Eyes: Brown

NCMEC Case #: 601837

Hair: Brown

About this Case:
On the evening of December 20, 1984, 12 year old Jonelle Matthews was dropped off at her parents home by her friend's family at approximately 8:30pm. When her parents returned home later that night, they discovered that Jonelle was missing. She was last seen wearing a red blouse, dark gray sweater vest, charcoal gray skirt, light blue ski jacket, and house slippers. Last three photos are age progression. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the Greeley Police Department.

If you have any information about this case, please contact:
Greeley Police Department

Greeley


(Source:
Colorado Cold Case Files - Case Detail: Jonelle Matthews
Colorado Bureau of Investigation )

 

[CaliSun]

Some thoughts:

LE must know the shoe size of those footprints, and that could help them re: possible suspect.

Step-father has been ruled out? Has air-tight alibi with other daughter at basketball game? They returned home together? Must be horrible for parents to be investigated when these tragedies happen but it's good to clear them asap.

What about the friend's father who dropped her off from the concert? Who drops a 12 year old girl off home alone at night when they know she will be all alone? Especially when there is something weird with the garage door open? He could have known she was home alone, taken his own daughter home, and then returned by himself especially if conversation with Jonelle informed him that she would be alone until such-and-such time. What was his story or alibi after dropping her off? What kind of statements did he make in the interview? Did he inform LE that Jonelle suggested her parents would be home "any minute" or something like that, and that's why he left her alone?

What about the father's business associate? She received a call from him at 8:30, he might have also known that she was home alone. The step-father, the step-father's friend, and the friend's father who dropped her off would have to be the three most likely people to have committed this crime.

The last possibility is that leaving the garage door open invited unsavory people to scope out the property for a robbery attempt. They may have been casing the area just before Jonelle arrived home, noticed an easy opportunity to rob the residence, left and planned to return a short time later to conduct the crime, and then happened to find a 12 year old girl there by herself and decided to commit a different crime.

Either way very sad case, glad she has been found.

The “business associate” was a teacher that needed a substitute the following day. Jonelle wrote a note for her Father (school principal) I believe it was a female teacher. See link below. Young Girl Kidnapped While Watching TV

 

[Ven]

The “business associate” was a teacher that needed a substitute the following day. Jonelle wrote a note for her Father (school principal) I believe it was a female teacher. See link below. Young Girl Kidnapped While Watching TV

Thanks. What about anyone the teacher may have spoken to that night? A husband or boyfriend in the room who then would have known Jonelle was home alone? Seems like a stretch but at least worth looking into.

Probably the most scrutinized POI would be the friend's father who dropped her off. But I wonder how discreet were they? It could have been as simple as a neighbor, someone next-door or couple houses down or across the street, outside having a smoke or taking out their garbage, and realizing that she was being dropped off alone and the opportunity was there.

 

[margarita25]

I have not read Jonelle's thread yet but according to all new news articles from today last person to see her were not friend and friend's mother BUT friend and friend's FATHER.
rsbm

Thank you for clarifying I think there was an old article which perhaps had a discrepancy on that bc I did read “mother” somewhere i thouuuught; there seem to be other discrepancies as well as you know).

 

[flgrl017]

The timeline is so tight. The perp had only 1 hour to do this. Imo it’s someone that knew she was home alone and knew they had to get her out fast. It’s someone associated with the family or maybe a neighbor that was watching the house and waiting for an opportunity. I don’t see how this was random. Hopefully she receives justice.

 

[Hillbeans]

Thanks. What about anyone the teacher may have spoken to that night? A husband or boyfriend in the room who then would have known Jonelle was home alone? Seems like a stretch but at least worth looking into.

Probably the most scrutinized POI would be the friend's father who dropped her off. But I wonder how discreet were they? It could have been as simple as a neighbor, someone next-door or couple houses down or across the street, outside having a smoke or taking out their garbage, and realizing that she was being dropped off alone and the opportunity was there.

I’m new to this case and have just read many of the case links posted above. My first thought was the friend’s father who dropped her off. I don’t get the vibe that it would have been her father or a neighbor. A neighbor would really have to be watching the comings and goings of everyone to realize she was home alone. JMO. Anyone know if tbe person who dropped her off is still alive?

 

[Gardener1850]

I wonder if the female teacher calling for a substitute was single or married with kids at the time? Was the teacher home alone when she called Jonelle's house? Could someone who was over at the teacher's house have been listening in on the phone call and then gone to Jonelle's house when he heard Jonelle was home alone? (For example: Teen kid's friend? Older student she was tutoring? Neighbor of the teacher? Date?) Back in the day of corded landlines it was easy to listen in on calls on another phone extension in another room. We would take out the bottom part of the phone handset so the person making a call could not hear us. They would only be clued in by a "click" if we hung up our phone before they did. If someone else was at the teacher's home and overheard info about Jonelle being home alone that person could have easily claimed they had no idea about the phone call.

MOO.

 

[Ven]

I wonder if the female teacher calling for a substitute was single or married with kids at the time? Was the teacher home alone when she called Jonelle's house? Could someone who was over at the teacher's house have been listening in on the phone call and then gone to Jonelle's house when he heard Jonelle was home alone? (For example: Teen kid's friend? Older student she was tutoring? Neighbor of the teacher? Date?) Back in the day of corded landlines it was easy to listen in on calls on another phone extension in another room. We would take out the bottom part of the phone handset so the person making a call could not hear us. They would only be clued in by a "click" if we hung up our phone before they did. If someone else was at the teacher's home and overheard info about Jonelle being home alone that person could have easily claimed they had no idea about the phone call.

MOO.

Sometimes I've seen an older adolescent relative related to someone else interviewed by LE winds up being the perp via DNA testing decades later. It's possible, as you suggested, someone in the household (older teen, boyfriend/husband) was aware of the phone conversation could have been the killer. Seems like a stretch but worth investigating.

After reading through all of the news links and that 9 page story, I think the people who should be looked at the most:

1. Friend's dad who dropped her off (could have taken his daughter home and then returned)
2. Neighbors in the immediate vicinity, next-door, across the street. Etc.

I wonder what was the story about the suspicious car in the area? How was the person cleared so easily?

 

[Gardener1850]

Google Maps

Ok, I had to poke around a bit but here it is.

<Snip>

From jonelle's home to this site: Google Maps

<Snip>

Just bringing these map links forward. Noting that the time to drive from Jonelle's house to the site is 21 minutes.

The perp easily could have driven there, deposited the body, and returned to Jonelle's neighborhood in under an hour. MOO.

 

[Mysteries1974]

Woah. Praying that this results in an arrest and some answers in all of these cases.

Yeah, authorities have two suspects in the Elizabeth’s miller case but they aren’t strong suspects although one resulted in a confession

 

[Gardener1850]

Some news videos on the case from before her remains were found:

RAW: Last known video of Colorado girl missing for 34 years, Jonelle Matthews

1994 Video: 10 years after a 12-year-old girl went missing from her Colorado home

 

[Gardener1850]

Last known video of Jonelle: Jonelle Matthews/ Missing

 

[Gardener1850]

Images taken by the county GIS Department in 1973, left, and 2005, right, show the area in the vicinity of Weld 49 and Weld 34 1/2 was desolate and completely devoid of all of the oil and gas activity present today when Jonelle Matthews went missing in 1984. (Courtesy of Weld County)

Authorities didn’t have a clear sense of how deep Matthews’ remains were when they were discovered or how long they had been there. The construction equipment workers were using moves about eight to 10 inches of material each pass, Tymkowych said.

Although Weld 49 has been a major north-south thoroughfare for decades, serving as an alternative option to traveling U.S. 85, it looked very different in 1984. Instead of a landscape dotted with oil and gas wells and other facilities for energy development, the area around Weld 49 would have comprised “acres and acres of scrub,” Tymkowych said.

“I’ve been up and down 49 a few times,” said Tymkowych, who has been with Greeley police for more than 39 years. “When I think about that area back then, I think of a lot of open land. Some of it was farmland, but a lot of it was open.”

“We don’t know how many passes they made before they discovered her,” Tymkowych said. “From what we were able to gather from the scene, it seems like she has been there a long time.”

In 1984, Weld 49 was two lanes wide and almost devoid of shoulders, said Jennifer Finch, communications director for Weld County. The area was remote with few farm houses. There were no street lights and it wasn’t highly traveled at night.

Images taken by the county GIS Department in 1973 and 2005 show the area in the vicinity of Weld 49 and Weld 34 1/2 was desolate and completely devoid of all of the oil and gas activity in the area today.

Remains of Jonelle Matthews discovered in rural Weld almost 35 years after her disappearance in Greeley