03-08-2025
Central Michigan man charged in 2003 murder of Saginaw woman headed to trial
A Saginaw, Michigan, man charged in the 2003 murder and assault of 57-year-old Jeanette Wilton will stand trial, Attorney General Dana Nessel said Friday.
Jason Cabello, 47, was charged in December 2024 with one count each of first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Wilton was found dead in the Flint River near her Saginaw home on Feb. 22, 2023, according to Nessel. An autopsy showed she died of strangulation and multiple stab wounds, and sustained blunt force trauma to the head and face.
After nearly two decades without a breakthrough, advancements in DNA testing capabilities allowed Michigan State Police in 2021 to further analyze evidence. State officials said investigators made use of a partnership with Western Michigan University's cold case program to submit reanalyzed evidence to a private lab, which resulted in new leads.
The attorney general's office said Cabello, who was previously in a relationship with a relative of Wilton, was linked to the case in 2024. In September of the same year, the case was referred to Nessel's office.
Nessel said on Friday that Cabello would be bound over to stand trial at the Circuit Court in Saginaw, though a date has not yet been set.
Anyone who believes they have been assaulted by Cabello is asked to call Detective Sergeant Bill Arndt with Michigan State Police at 989-615-6257 or email him at this address.
