After a cold case spanning more than two decades, Saginaw resident Jason Cabello, 47, is facing trial for the 2003 murder of Jeanette Wilton, 57, also from Saginaw, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office has announced. Charged in December 2024, Cabello is now confronting one count each of First-Degree Premeditated Murder, Felony Murder, and First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. All charges are punishable by up to life imprisonment.
Previously classified as an unsolved case, Wilton was found deceased in the Flint River near her home on February 22, 2003. The investigation revealed she had suffered strangulation, multiple stab wounds to the neck, blunt force trauma to the head and face, as well as contusions and postmortem abrasions. Cabello, who was then known only for having a relationship with one of Wilton’s relatives, was identified as a suspect earlier this year through DNA evidence. According to a statement, this development followed the submission of reanalyzed evidence by the Michigan State Police Third District Cold Case team in collaboration with Western Michigan University's Cold Case program.
With advancements in DNA analysis, the MSP was able to reopen the investigation, which resumed in 2021, nearly two decades after the crime occurred. A private lab, using a grant designated for cold cases, provided new leads that directed the Michigan State Police toward Cabello. Nessel said in a press release, "For more than a decade, Jeanette’s loved ones have lived without answers, but with these charges, we are now one step closer to delivering long-awaited justice."
MSP D/Sgt. Bill Arndt, who has been closely involved in the investigation, encourages anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Cabello to contact authorities at 989-615-6257 or by email. The investigative efforts have received acknowledgment from Col. James F. Grady II, director of the Michigan State Police, who commended the forensic scientists for their role in reexamining decades-old evidence in collaboration with a private laboratory. As of now, no pre-trial date has been scheduled for Cabello.
