today families and friends of Janelle Matthews cried both tears of joy and sorrow in this courtroom right here behind me nearly 40 years after he murdered Janelle Matthews Steve Panky was not only convicted but sentenced to Life Behind Bars the family praised the DA's office and local law enforcement for Never Going giving up on their pursuit of justice for Janelle but Steve Panky said they got everything but Monday morning Steve Panky walked into a Weld County courtroom wearing a suit to learn his fate we the jury find the defendant Stephen Dana Panky guilty of murder in the first degree now a convicted murderer pinky was Shackled and in a prisoner's jumpsuit when it came to sentencing life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years I just want to cry nearly 38 years after pinky murdered twelve-year-old Janelle Matthews her family finally has closure it was a miracle and I have to give God credit for that until the body was found we were consigned to the fact that we may never know what happened to her her parents said Monday's verdict brought a flood of emotions from Decades of built up pain obviously relief flows your finality for our family and praising God for his health and this as well Janelle's parents and sister were allowed to address the court where they spent their time calling on Pinky to seek forgiveness but not from them I cannot forgive him for how he killed Janelle God is the only one who can forgive evil and I feel that this is evil pinky only had three things to say I am a Christian I will be in heaven I am innocent and this is not Justice for Janelle we're not going to let let this obsess us and haunt us we've got the verdict that we want now Steve Panky is a human being and he has a soul and it's still not too late for him to get things right with God after 38 years of heartache and two trials in the past two years the Matthews family says they are still working on getting to the point of forgiveness themselves but they haven't ruled out that possibility happening one day her father said that the community should be proud not only of law enforcement but of the judicial system for never giving up on Janelle in Greeley Dolan Thomas covering Colorado First