Murder Charges Filed Against 2 Brothers In 1989 Cold Case
WHITE CLOUD, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - Two brothers were charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the death of a young western Michigan woman whose body was discovered in a national forest in 1989, three months after she disappeared.
Matthew Jones, 44, of Grant and Paul Jones, 42, of Newaygo were arrested and charged in Newaygo County, north of Grand Rapids. The death of Shannon Siders, 18, of Newaygo was given more attention by state and local investigators starting in 2011.
"This case remained open for many years, but Shannon Siders was never forgotten and law enforcement's resolve to hold those accountable for her death never diminished," county prosecutor Robert Springstead said in a statement.
The Jones brothers appeared in court and were ordered to jail without bond. It wasn't immediately known if they have lawyers.
Siders was last seen alive July 18, 1989. Her decomposed body was found by a hunter on Oct. 15, 1989 in the Manistee National Forest in Newaygo County's Brooks Township.
Her body was exhumed from a cemetery in 2012 as part of the investigation.
"I've always been kind of suspicious," Siders' father, Robert Siders, told The Muskegon Chronicle. "The names do not surprise me. She knew them in the circle of friends she hung around with. One of them, I had passed many times in a party store."
A statement announcing the charges from Attorney General Bill Schuette's office didn't indicate why police finally settled on the Jones brothers.
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