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WELD COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Jury deliberations began Friday in the retrial of a man accused in the 1984 death of a 12-year-old girl who went missing after a choir recital.

Steve Pankey is facing his second trial in the death of Jonelle Matthews after a judge declared a partial mistrial in November 2021. The jury could not reach an agreement on whether Pankey was guilty of murder and kidnapping in the case, although it did find him guilty of lying to authorities.

His current trial has been underway since Oct. 4.

The jury entered deliberations on Friday afternoon and will decide on six counts, including murder and kidnapping. They went home for the night without making a decision.

Jonelle Matthews (center) sings in a Christmas concert hours before her disappearance on Dec. 20, 1984.

Matthews disappeared from her Greeley home on Dec. 20, 1984. She was last seen being dropped off at the home by a friend and a friend’s father after she performed at a Christmas holiday concert with a middle school honor choir. When Matthews’ parents got home at 10 p.m., the family told police they found the front door open, her shoes by a chair and her stockings thrown over the couch.

Her remains were found in July 2019 at a construction site several miles from the home. Almost a year later, Pankey was arrested in connection to her murder.

Investigators say he injected himself into the case and knows too many intimate details about the crime, which were never made public.

FOX31 will follow the trial until a verdict is reached. That could be Friday night or even days away. Check back for updates.