By Attorney General Dana Nessel
LANSING – Today, Jason Robert Cabello, 48, of Saginaw, was sentenced by Judge Manvel Trice III of the 10th Circuit Court in Saginaw County to 23 to 45 years’ incarceration for the 2003 murder and sexual assault of Jeanette Wilton, 57, of Saginaw, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Cabello pled no contest in April to one count of Second-Degree Murder and one count of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct.
On February 22, 2003, Wilton was found dead in the Flint River near her Saginaw home. An autopsy concluded Wilton died of strangulation and multiple stab wounds to the neck. Wilton also sustained blunt force trauma to the head and face, contusions, and postmortem abrasions.
Cabello had previously been in a relationship with a relative of Wilton’s but was not otherwise known to be associated with her. The Michigan State Police (MSP) Third District Cold Case Team reopened the investigation in 2021, nearly 20 years after the murder of Wilton, to further analyze evidence collected in the case in 2003 following advancements in DNA testing capabilities.
Through collaborative investigative efforts involving Western Michigan University’s Cold Case program and the MSP laboratory, MSP was able to submit reanalyzed evidence to a private lab using a cold case grant to fund the reexamination. Using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing, a DNA profile was developed for an otherwise unknown suspect. Detectives subsequently confirmed Cabello’s DNA matched that collected in 2003. In September 2024, MSP referred the case to the Department of Attorney General, and Cabello was charged in December 2024.
“For more than two decades, Jeanette’s loved ones carried the weight of an unsolved tragedy,” said Attorney General Nessel when the defendant pled. “I am grateful for the excellent work of the Michigan State Police, Western Michigan University, and prosecutors in my office who all worked diligently to secure this conviction. Their dedication did not just solve a cold case. It finally brought justice to Jeanette, her family and friends while proving that no passage of time can stand in the way of accountability.”
“The breakthrough brought long-awaited answers in a case that had remained unsolved for more than 20 years,” said Col. James F. Grady II, director of the MSP, when the defendant pled. “We hope this provides a measure of closure for Wilton’s family and the community. The case stands as a powerful example of how advancements in forensic science, particularly utilizing DNA and forensic genetic genealogy, continue to transform cold case investigations, delivering answers even decades after crimes occur.”
Upon release from prison, Cabello will be subject to lifetime sex offender registration.