Saginaw man pleads in 2003 cold case murder of woman found in Flint River

A Saginaw, Michigan, man has pleaded no contest to the 2003 murder and sexual assault of a woman whose body was found in the Flint River.

Jason Robert Cabello, 48, pleaded no contest earlier this week to one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the death of 57-year-old Jeanette Wilton, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said. 

Wilton's body was found on Feb. 22, 2003, near her home in Saginaw. An autopsy determined she was strangled, stabbed multiple times and suffered from blunt-force trauma to the head and face.

Authorities say Cabello was previously in a relationship with a relative of Wilton but was not otherwise known to associate with her. 

Michigan State Police's Third District Cold Case team reopened the investigation in 2021 and reexamined DNA with the help of Western Michigan University's cold case program and the MSP laboratory. DNA linked Cabello to the case in 2024, with Nessel's office subsequently charging Cabello in December 2024. 

"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, in a statement. "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."

Cabello will be sentenced on June 1.