These are my notes that I made after months of research for a podcast I did that belongs to my husband. A lot of things have changed since then and I will do a separate update on what’s happened with the case and even where I stand now.
To listen to my husband’s podcast you can go to this link, or wherever you get your podcasts and type in The Mystery Mat Spotlight
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-mystery-mat-spotlight/id1552082932
For now, here are my notes from a 4-part series we did on JonBenet Ramsey.
Ramsey Bios
John Ramsey:
-Born 1943 in Nebraska
-Joined the Navy in 1966 and served as a civil engineer corp. Officer in the Phillipeans at the Subic Bay Training Centre (SBTC)
-Formed Advance Product Group in 1989 and eventually merged with two other company’s to become Access Graphics, where he was President and CEO. Access Graphics would become a part of Lockheed Martin.
-In 1996, Access Graphics grossed over $1 Billion and he was named business man of the year in a Boulder publication.
-John was worth 6.4 million dollars in 1996
-His first marriage to Lucinda pruduced three children, John Andrew, Melinda and Elizabeth, who was also known as Beth. Beth died in 1992 in a car accident in Chicago. John and Lucinda divorced in 1978.
-He married Patsy in 1980. Their first born, Burke, was born in 1987, and their second child, a girl, JonBenet, was born in 1990. Jonbenet’s name is a combination of her father’s name, John Bennett.
Patricia “Patsy” Ramsey:
-Born in 1956 in West Virgina
-Won the 1977 Miss West Virginia pagent and went on to Miss America, but did not place.
-She married John Ramsy in 1980, and was an interval part of helping him getting his company going in Atlanta, Georgia.
-John, Patsy, Burke and JonBenet moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1991.
Burke Ramsey:
-Born 1987 in Geogia
-He was 9 years old at the time of his sisters death
-Pretty introverted and quiet child
-he was “allegdely” asleep at the time of his sister’s dissappearance
-was never really considered a suspect
-Other than the typical sibling arguments, nothing was out of the ordinary when it came to his relationship with Jonbenet.
JonBenet Patricia Ramsey:
-Born in 1990, in Georgia
-she was 6 years old at the time of her murder
-outgoing, curious, smart, well behaved child
-Child beauty queen where she won tons of pagents
-she was found dead the afternoon in her basement after a reported kidnapping on December 26th, 1996.
The Scene of The Crime
The Ramsey home consists of approximately 7,000 sq/ft. The layout encompasses many doorways and walls which separate many different rooms. Four floors, including the basement and attic are not easy to navigate if one is unfamiliar with the layout of the home.
On the first floor or main floor, you have the;
-Foyer
-Staircase to the second floor
-livingroom
-sun room
-dinning room
-breakfast room
-kitchen
-butlers kitchen or pantry
-2 half bathrooms
-a study which was John Ramsey’s office
-a spiral staircase just off the butler’s kitchen which leads to the second floor
-mud room
-garage
-stairs to the basement
On the second floor, not including the two staircases to the main floor;
-Burke’s bedroom
-Melinda’s bedroom
-Play or common room
-2 balconies, one of which is off of JonBenet’s bedroom
-3 full bathrooms
-common area
-2 staircases to the attic or fourth floor
-laundry & sink area just outside of JonBenet and John Andrew’s bedrooms
-John Andrew’s Bedroom
-JonBenet’s bedroom (each has one of the three full bathrooms)
On the Attic or Fourth Floor, not including the two staircases to the second floor;
-John and Patsy’s master bedroom
-2 full bathrooms
-Study
-Dressing area
The entire fourth floor is their master suite.
And on the Basement level, not including the stairs to the first or main floor;
-1 half bathroom
-laundry room
-2 storage rooms
-boiler room
-Train room for Burke
-2 boarded up crawl spaces
-empty cellar or wine cellar
Lots of people, including John Andrew Ramsey and Nedra Paugh say how hard it is to get around the house if you don’t know the layout well. That it’s nearly impossible to even find the door to go down to the basement
The Ramsey’s also have a second home, what they call their summer home in Charlevoix, Michigan, where they were heading on December 26th, 1996. They were suppose to be at the airport to their private plane by 6:20am to fly to Minneapolis to meet up with John’s two older children from his first marriage and then all of them would continue on to Michigan. Clearly, that did not happen.
The Morning of December 26th, 1996
Quick Catch-up: The night before on December 25th 1996, The Ramsey’s returned home from a Christmas Party at friend’s home, Fleet & Priscilla White. Both recall their 6-year old daughter, JonBenet, had fallen asleep in the car on their way home, so John Ramsey carried her up to her bedroom, and Patsy got her ready for bed. She told police that JonBenet was wearing a red turtleneck when she went to bed. John played with 9-year old Burke Ramsey, before putting him to bed around 10pm Christmas night. Both Patsy and John Ramsey went to bed around 10:30pm.
Early in the morning on December 26th, 1996, Patsy Ramsey wakes up around 5:30. John is in the shower already. She puts on the same clothes she wore to the Christmas party at the White’s, does her hair and makeup and heads down stairs around 5:40 to put coffee on. They are leaving on a plane at 6:20 to meet up with John’s other two children from his first marriage then heading to their Michigan home.
Patsy proceeds to go down the back spiral staircase to the kitchen, but she sees 3 pieces of paper laid out on the third to bottom rung of the stairs. She picks it up and reads the note. It’s a ransom note, which says “We have your daughter!” She runs upstairs and finds JonBenet’s bedroom empty. Quickly she checks Burke’s room, she’s not in there either. Burke is allegedly sound asleep. She calls for John , he reads the note;
The Ransom Note
Mr, Ramsey,
Listen carefully! WE are a group of individuals that represent a small foreign faction. WE do respect your bussiness [sic] but not the country that it serves. At this time we have your daughter in our posession [sic]. She is safe and unharmed and if you want her to see 1997, you must follow our instructions to the letter.
You will withdraw $118,000 from your account. $100,000 will be $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills. Make sure that you bring an adequate size attach to the bank. When you get home you will put the money in a brown paper bag. I will call you between 8 and 10 am tomorrow to instruct you on delivery. If we monitor you getting the money early, we might call you early to arrange an earlier delivery of the money and hence a [sic] earlier delivery pick-up of your daughter.
Any deviation of my instructions will result in the immediate execution of your daughter. You will also be denied her remains for proper burial. The two gentlemen watching over your daughter do not particularly like you so I advise you not to provoke them. Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as Police, F.B.I, etc., will result in you daughter being beheaded. If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. If you alert the bank authorities, she dies. You will be scanned for electronic devices and if any are found, she dies. You can try to deceive us but be warned we are familiar with Law enforcement countermeasures and tactics. You stand a 99% chance of killing your daughter if you try to out smart us. Follow our instructions and you stand a 100% chance of getting her back. You and your family are under constant scrutiny as well as the authorities. Don’t try to grow a brain John. You are not the only fat cat around so don’t think that killing will be difficult. Don’t underestimate us John. Use that good southern common sense of yours. It is up to you now John!
Victory!
S.B.T.C.
NOTES;
-For starters, for a ransom note…it’s way too long. It was 2 1/2 pages long.
-Came from the notepad inside the Ramsey home, written with one of their own pens. The pad was located off the kitchen, and the pen in a cup near the phone. And were put back when the note was finished being written.
-Despite it saying not to alert the authorities or their daughter dies, they immediately called 911, and then also made three more phone calls to the White’s and the Fernies, as well as Rev. Rol Hoverstock.
-There was a practice note started found on the pad that the note came from. That started with “Mr. & Mrs. Ramsey,”
-The amount of the ransom was the same amount of John Ramsey’s bonus that year from Access Graphics. Why not ask a multi-millionaire for more money? Or a more rounded amount? This amount was very unusual for a kidnapper to ask for. Only a few people would have been familiar with this amount. Neither John or Patsy Ramsey disclosed this information to the police when asked about what the possible significance of the amount could be.
-the only fingerprints found on the note belonged to Patsy (who handled the note when she found it on the spiral staircase from the second floor to the kitchen), and the police who were first on the scene.
-Out of all the writing samples handed in by so many suspects; John Ramsy, Patsy Ramsey, John Andrew Ramsey, Melinda Ramsey, Bill McReynolds, Janet McReynolds, Linda Hoffman-Pugh, her husband, and more. I think the number was in the 100’s for sure. HOWEVER, Patsy Ramsey was the only one who could not be excluded indefinitely. They not only made her write the note out a few times, but also were able to get previous samples of her handwriting prior to the murder of her daughter from various sources, like journals, notes, back of photographs, to name a few.
-In Lawrence Schiller’s Book, former helper and child care giver, Linda Wilcox, who helped with the children while Patsy was battling ovarian cancer, said that using phrases like “99% and 100% chance….” was how Patsy spoke during her cancer treatments, and how many with or around cancer patients would often speak.
-John was not southern. He was from Nebraska. However according to Lawrence Schiller, Patsy and her mother Nedra would always tease John about being from the South. Friend, Barbara Fernie confirms this also in Schiller’s book.
-One year after Jonbenet’s murder, the Ramsey’s sent a video message out to a memorial service in Boulder, where Patsy used the uncommon phrase “and hence” in her message
-Former FBI Profiler, Robert Ressler said that the when he profiled the ransom note, the writer was college-educated, articulate, bright and female. Also, a “criminal usually shows signs of consistent pattern of behaviour. A staged crime scene offers the kind of discrepancies that existed in the dynamics of the Ramsey’s house.”
-FBI believed the note was part of staging the scene. It was unusual for a ransom note to be so lengthy, over use of exclamation marks and initialism.
-Various phrases from the note mimicked many movie quotes; “Listen Carefully” , “delivery will be exhausting”, “catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. If you alert bank authorties, she dies.” were all similar to lines from Dirty Harry. “Don’t try to grow a brain” was similar to something Dennis Hopper’s character said in the movie Speed. “Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as Police, FBI, etc. Will result in your daughter being beheaded.” Similar to the movie Ransom.
-If a small foreign faction wrote this, they wouldn’t announce that they are a small foreign faction. There’s signs of empathy from a kidnapper throughout, worrying about being well rested, and we respect your business but not the country it serves. The articulate use of the phrase “and hence”, “attache” and “gentlemen”. Also starts off formal “Mr. Ramsey” but then gets personal by calling him “John”. Also contradictions of the use of “we” and “our” and “I”, “my”.
John tells Patsy to call 911;
911 Call Transcript
5:52am December 26, 1996
Patsy Ramsey: (inaudible) Police.
Boulder Police Dispatcher: (inaudible)
P. Ramsey: Seven fifty-five Fifteenth Street.
Dispatcher: What’s going on there Ma’am?
P. Ramsey: We have a kidnapping…hurry please.
Dispatcher: Explain to me what’s going on, OK?
P. Ramsey: There we have a…There’s a note left, and our daughter’s gone.
Dispatcher: A note was left and your daughter is gone?
P. Ramsey: Yes.
Dispatcher: How old is your daughter?
P. Ramsey: She’s six years old… she’s blonde…six years old.
Dispatcher: How long ago was this?
P. Ramsey: I don’t know. I just found the note, and my daughter (inaudible)
Dispatcher: Does it say who took her?
P. Ramsey: What?
Dispatcher: Does it say who took her?
P. Ramsey: No…I don’t know it’s there…there’s a ransom note.
Dispatcher: It’s a ransom note?
P. Ramsey: It says SBTC Victory…Please.
Dispatcher: OK, what’s your name? Are you…
P. Ramsey: Patsy Ramsey. I’m the mother. Oh my God, please…
Dispatcher: I’m…OK I’m sending an officer over, OK?
P. Ramsey: Please.
Dispatcher: Do you know how long she’s been gone?
P. Ramsey: No, I don’t. Please, we just got up and she’s not here. Oh my God, please.
Dispatcher: OK
P. Ramsey: Please send somebody.
Dispatcher: I am, honey.
P. Ramsey: Please.
Dispatcher: Take a deep breath (inaudible)
P. Ramsey: Hurry, hurry, hurry (inaudible)
Dispatcher: Patsy? Patsy? Patsy? Patsy? Patsy?
The call kept on recording after Patsy Ramsey thought she had hung up. After enhancement experts caught 3 voices.
What was said is only speculation, as there have been a few different accounts of what was said; This is from former Boulder Police Detective, Steve Thomas, who worked the case wrote in his book.
P. Ramsey: Help me, Jesus. Help me, Jesus.
Possibly John Ramsey: We’re not talking to you
Possibly Burke Ramsey: What did you find?
*If this is true, then this contradicts every statement The Ramsey’s gave to the police and the media. John & Patsy both claim that 9 year old Burke, was asleep through all of this and wasn’t woken up until he was taken to Fleet & Priscilla White’s home.
-Why did they ignore this excessively long note? I personally wouldn’t have called friends but I probably would have called the police. I wouldn’t want to jeopardize my child anymore than necessary, but I would need to still do everything possible to save my child. The only guidance that would be helpful or even the right thing to do would be to call the police and explain to them that the situation is volitile.
Moving on….
-So after the Ramsey’s call 911, Patsy calls Fleet & Priscilla White, then John and Barbara Fernie.
-At 5:59am Officer Rick French arrives at the Ramsey’s. French reads the note, and searches the house, looking for points of entry and signs of forced entry. Checking all the doors, and the garage, and found “none”. The house was messy but no signs of a struggle. He checked the basement, but did not check the wine cellar where the door was latched, and appeared “stuck”.
-At 6:03, the White’s arrive.
-Sergeant Paul Reichenbach arrives and reads the note and calls for more police back-up. Timing sucked because the 911 call came at shift change, and they were already short staffed because of the holidays. Reichenbach also called for crime scene technicians, and victim advocated to come to the scene. He alerted the phone company to put a trap on the Ramsey’s phones.
-Other police noted behaviour of the parents during this time. John Ramsey was calm and composed, while Patsy Ramsey was a mess, and hysterical. John did not comfort his wife, that was left up to the friends. They were rarely together.
-Reichenbach and John Ramsey went to JonBenet’s bedroom where John lifted the dust ruffle or bedskirt to one of his daughter’s twin beds, and Reichenbach told him not to touch anything else. Reichenbach checked Burke’s room, but the Ramsey’s son appeared to be still sleeping. He also found no signs of forced entry, and saw no fresh shoe impressions in the snow around the outside of the home. No open doors or windows. He checked the basement, and tried the same door as Officer French but stopped when he too, couldn’t get it open. Fleet White would also check the basement, and try the same door, and allegedly opened it but saw nothing in the dark cellar, as he could not find the light switch.
-So in the house is a cluster of people contaminating the entire house. Burke has been taken to the White’s home where relatives would look after him and the Fernie’s children. This left, John, Patsy, Fleet, Priscilla, John Fernie, Barbara, 2 victim advocates and the reverand of their church, Rol Hoverstock inside the house. This would be mistake number one; Potential kidnapping or not, the house should have been kept clear. Parents should have been interviewed separately right away. Mistake number two; not checking every single, square inch of the house, and they should have gotten that door to open. Mistake number three, the FBI should have been called in a lot faster than they were, as it was past 8am when they were called. At this point the only room that was sealed off as a crime scene was JonBenet’s bedroom.
-All police leave the scene, leaving just one detective. Detective Linda Arndt was left to control a 7,000 square foot crime scene while watching 9 people. During this time, Det. Arndt called multiple times for back-up. The victim advocates, Priscilla and Barbara began to CLEAN the kitchen, wiping down surfaces using cleaners. No one mentioned anything about the kidnappers not calling when it was after 10am. During an hour and a half, 10 to 11:30am, John Ramsey is nowhere to be seen. Det. Arndt finds him in the kitchen opening mail, so she assumes he went to get the mail. For 90 minutes? Really?
-At around 1pm, Det. Arndt suggest to Fleet and John Ramsey to start at the top floors and work their way to the bottom just looking, not touching, for anything that might be out of place. She considered this to be just busy work to keep John Ramsey busy as he was starting to get antsy. Right away, John heads for the basement. Fleet is following behind him. Fleet mentions that a window in the train room is broken, and John says he did that months ago when he got locked out and forgot his keys, and that he never got it fixed. John goes to the cellar door and opens it. He immediately yells “my baby” or something the like. Now some accounts say he did this before he turned the light on, and others have said that he had turned the light on. If he had NOT turned the light on then it would have been near to impossible to see inside the room, as the door opens outwards, cutting any light from windows outside the windowless room. Keep that in mind. Just saying.
-At 1:10pm, the body of JonBenet Ramsey was found in the wine cellar, by her father. She had duct tape on her mouth, a cord around her neck, her arms were over her head and tied loosely with cords around the outside of her pajama top on her wrists, and wrapped in a white blanket.
-John Ramsey removed the duct tape, and picked up her body, carrying her up the stairs where he placed her on the floor of the hallway. Det. Arndt checks the body for signs of life, calls 911 to inform their kidnapping is now a homicide. Then they move the body, AGAIN, to the living room where they place her on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. Before she could stop him, John Ramsey grabs a blanket from the living room and covers his daughter’s body.
-Mistake number four; Moving her body from the basement, removing the tape. Then mistake number five; moving the body again from the hall. Mistake number six; allowing a second blanket to cover her, and mistake number seven; the parents laying over the body and crying and touching her. The basement is a crime scene, and now the entire house is as well, but, and as much as this is going to sound horrible, the most important crime scene and piece of evidence is JonBenet’s body. All of which is completely compromised.
-Even after the scene has been called a homicide, the house is STILL full of people who should NOT be there. John and Patsy STILL have not been separated and interviewed.
-At 1:40pm; John Ramsey calls his pilot for his private plane and tells him to prepare for departure to Atlanta, but the police over heard him and told him to cancel that flight. Strange behaviour of a parent but even more so when that parent had just discovered the body of his child.
-At 2:35pm the house is FINALLY cleared, leaving only JonBenet’s body inside.
-The Ramsey’s take refuge at John and Barabar Fernie’s home. John would contact friend and lawyer, Mike Bynum who would quickly start setting up a defence team for John Ramsey. The Ramsey’s would answer some questions that evening from Sergeant Larry Mason and Detective Linda Arndt, and were quick to give a list of suspects.
The Investigation
-Right at the start, the investigation is screwed. For obvious reasons. The scene and body were contaminated. The house was full of 9 people and 1 detective for a little over five hours. The kitchen was cleaned, one person disappeared for 90 minutes, and everyone else walked all over every square inch of the 7,000 square foot home. A complete cluster.
-Shortly after 1:10pm on December 26th, 1996, police, fire trucks and an ambulance arrived at the Ramsey home. Sergeant Larry Mason and an agent from the Denver FBI field office were on scene as well. They immediately checked out the wine cellar in the basement where the body had been found, and moved from.
-Chief Tom Koby called Commander John Eller to come to the scene.
-John Ramsey signed a “consent to search” form, which allows the police to search the house, faster than waiting for a search warrant to come through. Shortly thereafter, Patsy would get into a car with friends, and drive off. John would get into a van with his two older children who had just arrived, and followed Patsy off to the Fernies, where they would stay. In most child murders, parents resist leaving the body.
-When a child dies, police MUST look at the parents, however, that was not done during this investigation. Instead of being taken to the Boulder Police Department for proper questioning, they were allowed to go to their friend’s home.
-At 8pm, an official search warrant was issued for the Ramsey home, and coroner, Dr. John Meyer, entered the home to officially pronounce the child dead, and quickly assess the body, taking preliminary notes about what she was wearing, jewelery, abrasions, stains on the clothes. The blanket was removed, and a sweatshirt from over the feet was also removed. He did not take a liver temperature or vitreous fluid from the eye to establish a time of death, which is standard procedure. By not doing this, this hinders the investigation. He leaves at 8:30. Her body would not be removed until after 10:30 that same evening.
-For 10 days, crime scene technicians would search the home, bag, test evidence inside the house.
-Pull-ups were found by the laundry area outside of JonBenet’s bedroom. In her bedroom’s ensuite bathroom, a balled up red turtleneck was found, which Patsy told police she had worn to bed. So if JonBenet had an accident during the night, who changed her? As many people close to the Ramsey’s have said that a lot of the times, JonBenet would not clean herself.
-In the basement they found the broken window, which is located under a grate. The window was apparently broken months before when John Ramsey forgot his keys and was locked out. Police found undisturbed spider webs in the window well. No disturbed foliage, or footprints in the snow. An artist tote filled with paint brushes belonging to Patsy Ramsey was found just outside the door to the wine cellar, and int he tote was a broken paint brush, and splinters were on the floor beside it.
-Det. Linda Arndt touched the body so a technician collected her clothes (but not the Ramsey’s, more on that later). Arndt’s clothing would be used to eliminate any evidence found on the body that would belong to her.
-Police canvased the area; 1) a couple across the street said they had seen John Andrew at the home on Christmas day. 2) Melody Stanton said she heard a child scream. 3) Scott Gibons says he saw dimmed light son in the Ramsey’s kitchen.
-A new search warrant was issued after the autopsy for anything that could cause a head wound, and anything with dark fibres. A brick from the living room fireplace that had dark fibres attached to it, a golf club with a blonde hair stuck to it were collected. At the same time, they looked for traces of seman in the victims bedroom under ultraviolet light. Also checked other doors and window sills noting all cobwebs, any dust and debris and painted shut windows, all giving no indication that there was any forced entry. Some pry marks were found on the back door, which later, housekeept Linda Hoffman-Pugh would say were there before. A bible opened to pages of Psalms 35 &36 was photographed.
-Chief Koby did not want to release the body back to the family as he considered it still evidence. Turns out he wasn’t wrong about this, but he was forced to by Deputy District Attorney Peter Hoffstrom, as the Ramsey’s were asking for it. It was heavily implied that Chief Koby was holding the body hostage until the parents were properly interviewed. Those accusations would somehow make it into the press.
-December 27th, Detective Linda Arndt and Sergeant Larry Mason arrived at The Fernie residence at 9:30pm to have formal interview with the Ramsey’s. However John Ramsey would not talk to them alone, he had his brother Jeff, his daughter’s pediatrician Dr. Beuf, his financial advisor Rod Westmoreland, and lawyer Mike Bynum present. Patsy was unable to speak to the police as she was heavily medicated. They spoke for 40 minutes and learned nothing and no questions were asked by Ramsey. John gave the name of some former employees from his company Access Graphics as suspects.
The Autopsy
-The autopsy of JonBenet Patricia Ramsey was conducted on December 27, 1996 at 8:15 in the morning by Dr. John E. Meyer.
-First Dr. Meyer did an external examination. Every piece was evidence;
-Victim was wearing a long sleeved, white knit collarless shirt with an embroidered silver sequined star in the mid anterior chest.
-tied loosely around the right wrist, overlaying the sleeve is a white cord. The upper anterior right sleeve contains dried brown-tan stain measuring 2 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches consistent with mucous from the nose or mouth
-Long white underwear with elastic band were stained with urine over the crotch area, and anterior legs. Beneath the long underwear ware white panties with printed rose buds and the word “Wednesday” printed on the waistband. The underwear is also urine stained and the inner aspect of the crotch area are several red areas of staining…
External Evidence:
-Wrapped around the neck with double knot in the mid line of the posterior neck is a length of cord similar to the cord tied around the right wrist. A single black ink mark is placed on the left side of the cut, and a double black ink mark on the right side of the cut. One end of the cord is tied with multiple loops around a length of a round tan-brown wooden stick, about 4 1/2 inches in length, irregularly broken and there are several colours of paint and apparent glistening varnihs on the surface.
-A deep ligature furrow encircles the entire neck. The width of the furrow varies from 1/8 of an inch to 5/16 of an inch, and is horizontal in orientation, with little upward deviation.
-There are similar multiple two dried rust coloured to slightly purple abrasions on the body; lower back measuring 1/8 by 1/16 of an inch; left lower leg 1/8 by less than 1/16 of an inch.
Internal Exam:
-Gastral Intestinal Tract: The proximal portion of the small intestine contains fragmented pieces of yellow to light green-tan apparent vegetable or fruit material, which may represent fragments of pineapple.
-Skull & Brain: There is found to be an extensive area of scalp hemorrhage along the right temproprietorial area extending from the orbital ridghe. This encompasses an area measuring approximately 7 by 4 inches. Appears to be fresh hemorrhage, with no evidence of organization. The area of this fracture is a roughly rectangular in shaped displaced fragment of skull measuring about one and three-quarters by one-half inch.
-Brain: Sections from the areas of contusion disclose disrupted blood vessels of the cortx with surrounding hemorrhage. There is no evidence of inflammatory infiltrate or organization of the hemorrhage. Subarachnoid hemorrhage is also identified. Cortical neurons are surrounded by clear halos as are glial cells.
-Vaginal Mucosa: All of the section contain vascular congestion and focal interstitial chornic inflammation (meaning assault is likely fresh but 48 to 72 hours fresh, not at time of death fresh and not older). The smalles piece of tissue, from the 7o’clock position of the vaginal wall/hymen, contains epithelial erosion with underlying capillary congestion. A small number of red blood cells is present on the eroded surface, as is birefringent foreign material. Acute inflammation infiltrate is not seen (long-term, ongoing molestation).
The Final Diagnosis:
1-Ligature strangulation; a) circumferential ligature with associated ligature furrow of neck.
b)Abrasions and petechial hemorrhage, neck
c)Petechial hemorrhage, conjuctival surfaces of the eyes and skin of face.
2-Craniocerebral Injuries; a) scalp contusions
b)Linear, comminuated fracture of the right side of skull
c)Linear, pattern of contusions of right cerebral hemisphere
d)Subarachnoid and subdural hemorrhage
e)Small contusions, tips of temporal lobes
3-Abrasion of right cheek
4-Abrasion/Contusion, posterior right shoulder
5-Abrasion of left lower back and posterior left lower leg
6-Abrasion and vascular congestion of vaginal mucosa
7-Ligature of right writst.
Toxicological Studies: Blood Ethanol – None
Blood Drug Screen – None
Evidence
1: Ransom Note:
-Unusual amount $118,000, which matched the amount on John Ramsey’s bonus. It was well know that he was a multi-millionaire worth $6.3 million in 1996. Ramsey would be asked if the amount was significant, and he said no. He did not disclose the information about his bonus right away.
-The only fingerprints on the note belonged to Patsy Ramsey, and any police at the scene who handled it.
-Came from a writing pad from the house, which was found not far away from where the note was found that morning. The Ramsey’s volunteeringly handed over two identical pads. The note’s paper came to match that of Patsy’s writing pad. The pen used to write the note was also found in the house, placed back in a cup near the phone.
-There was, what is being called a “practice note” found on the same note pad that Patsy handed over to the police which began, “Mr. And Mrs. Ramsey.”
-The police obtained multiple handwriting samples for analysts from 215 people. The only person who could not be ruled out completely was Patsy Ramsey.
-There were a lot of take on movies in the note as well. From Dirty Harry, Speed and Ransom. Variations of lines from those movies stood out to investigators.
-The FBI said regarding the note:
A) Was unusual for a ransom note to be so long and the over use of exclaimation marks and initialisms.
B) that it was part of staging the scene
- FBI profiler, Robert Ressler said that the writer was college educated, articulate, and bright, and female.
2: The 9-11 Call:
-Despite the ransom note saying do not talk or inform anyone or your daughter dies, they call 911 and then call friends to come over.
-I personally found the phrase used by Patsy Ramsey “I’m the mother” strange. To me that distances you from the victim. Why not say, “I’m her mother.”
3: Physical Evidence:
-Scuff marks; were located under the broken window in the basement
-Broken window; which John Ramsey said he broke months before.
-Lack of shoe prints outside the house despite the snow
-Palm print; was found on the wine cellar door on the outside, where the victim was found. Clearly it wasn’t matched to anyone who may have touched the door while searching the house??
-Boot print; a random boot print was found near where the body was found. The tread matched a brand of Hi-Tec sports USA Hiking boot. The Ramsey’s claim not to own a pair.
-Flashlight; found on the kitchen counter was a heavy duty Maglite. Dusted the flashlight for finger prints and even the batteries inside and came up with nothing. The Ramsey’s tell the police that they don’t recognize it. John Andrew Ramsey says they have one like it.
-The Bible: was found open on John Ramsey’s desk to Psalms 35 &36; verse 118, which contained the phrase “bind the sacrifice with cords”.
-Fibres; dark fibres were found around JonBenet’s vaginal opening and on the duct tape which coverd her mouth. Black and red fibres which were consistant with what Patsy Ramsey was wearing that day…and the night before. Clothes sent from Patsy from Atlanta to Colorado, over a year later, smelled brand new, and were too small for her. The police allegedly said they had to be brand new clothes. Also, fur was found as well that belonged to a Beaver. Patsy owned a fur coat. (I don’t like her already).
-Video Tapes; a)multiple video tapes of JonBenet Ramsey strutting herself across a stage wearing questionable costumes for a 6-year old, and way too much make-up and bleached hair, being flirty with the audience and a panal of judges in different beauty pageants.
b)A sales tape from an I Spy store in Florida that contained information on stun guns, was found on John Ramsey’s desk at home. He claims he never watched the tape.
4-Lou Smit’s Stun Gun Theory: Retired super detective Lou Smit from Colorado Springs, was adamant that a stun gun was used on the victim. Two rust coloured abrasions which measured 3/8 by 1/4 inch were stun gun marks. On fresh, recently stunned skin, stun gun marks are extremely red, but after a bit they go dark, almost like a burn. Dr. John Meyer said that the marks were consistent with a stun gun, but could not say for sure without a tissue sample from around the marks. Which is where Tom Koby comes into play because if they had kept the body, like he wanted, they could have extracted those tissue samples. To do that now, they would have to exhume the body. Other well known Pathologist, including Dr. Cyril Wecht, say the marks are NOT consistent with a stun gun. However could have been made with one of Burke Ramsey’s train tracks which had the same size and distance across of prongs that would attach into another piece of train track. An exhumation was never done.
5-Her Body; COD ruled as “asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma”. Sexual assualt was not ruled out. There was evidence of chronic inflammation of the internal wall. After research I learned that “chronic” means older, by a few days, but not weeks or months like one would assume, whereas “acute” would be very recent. With the chronic inflammation, according to Dr. Cyril Wecht, it was likely 48 to 72 hours prior to death. A cloth was used to wipe the victim’s vaginal area. No seman was found inside the vaginal canal. The stomach contents showed, un-or-partially digested fruit or vegetable, possibly (but not confirmed) to be pineapple. Parents said that she did not eat any pineapple that day and it was not served at the Christmas Party. Also, my question is, couldn’t they actually test the food to verify exactly what it is? A garrote was found attached to a cord that was embedded around her neck and made from a broken paint brush handle. The cord that was attached to the garrote also matched the same cord that was tied loosely over top of her pajama sleeve on her right wrist. The duct tape which covered her mouth, was apparently so tightly on that her lips left an imprint on the tape. She was also wrapped in a blanket. This is important to the mind of the killer because a stranger would not take the time or care enough to wrap his or her victim. This is something someone who cared about the victim would do, as a sign of protection. It’s a sign of remorse. The location of the body is also very telling. Keeping the victim inside, is a way to shield them from the elements and also to have them found quickly, whereas a stranger would rather take them further away from the home and leave them somewhere where it would be harder find. They would also go for posing the body for shock value and would not respect the virtue or person that they killed/defiled. The clothing she wore was a white collarless shirt with a silver sequine star in the centre of her her chest, when her mother told police she was wearing a red turtleneck. Which the police found balled up in her bathroom on the floor. She was also wearing white long underwear and a pair of underwear underneath. Both were stained with urine. When people die, it is common that their bowels and bladder will empty. There must not have been a way to tell when those stains appeared. She also wore a tiny gold necklace with a gold cross around her neck, an ID bracelet with her name and December 25, 1996 engraved on it, a ring on one of her fingers, and a red heart drawn in ink on her left hand. Blood, saliva, and hair samples were taken from approximately 215 or more people. There was blood found in her underwear from two donors. One was from the victim, and the other from an unknown donor. Blood was extracted and sent for DNA testing, and came back unknown male but excluded John, John Andrew and Burke Ramsey.
Suspects
-The list of suspects is huge. There’s no way to go through all of them. We can do this as any police or FBI investigation would go. Start with the people closest to the victim and work our way out. 73% to 79% of homicides are committed by offenders known to the victim. Children under 12, especially younger children are overwhelmingly murdered by someone in the family or close to the family. It’s because their social circle is much smaller and close knit then that of older children and adults.
People closest to 6-year old JonBenet Ramsey would obviously be the people in her household.
-Father, John Ramsey; has no prior history of abuse with the three children from his previous marriage and none known with JonBenet and Burke. Also, in 1991, he lost his daughter Elizabeth in a tragic car accident. He took to grieving pretty strong with the lose of Beth. He has since said he was never really a fan of the pageant aspect of their lives, but that it was something his wife wanted to do with their daughter. Multi-millionaire, CEO and President of Access Graphics with a record setting Billion dollar profit that year. Could have been dealing with a lot of stress.
-Mother, Patsy Ramsey; constantly dealing with her daughter’s all of a sudden bed wetting, socialite, appearance meant everything, pageant mom who said that it was just something they did a few Sunday’s a month, yet they would travel all over the States to enter pageants. Very religious. Just survived stage 4 ovarian cancer.
-Half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey; had bedroom next to Jonbenet, but was in Georgia over Christmas to spend it with his mother, Lucinda, and sister Melinda and her boyfriend Stewart Long. Alibi checked out and Boulder Police cleared him.
-Half-sister, Melinda Ramsey; was in Georgia with mother, brother and boyfriend. Police also cleared her.
-Brother, Burke Ramsey; possible issue of jealousy over the favourtism his mother was showing to his sister, months back had hit JonBenet with a golf club in the face, fingerprints were found on a bowl of pineapple in the kitchen. Didn’t seem to care too much during interviews with psychologists.
Grandmother, Nedra Paugh; Was in Georgia at the time, was also a pageant mother, pushy, judgemental. Alibi is husband who had flown in from Boulder Christmas eve to spend the holidays with her. However, I read nothing anywhere that the police checked her or her husband’s alibis.
Grandfather, Don Paugh; Lived part time in Boulder as he worked with John Ramsey, knew the house well, and his wife is his alibi who said he flew to Georgia to spend Christmas with her on Christmas eve.
Friends & House Staff:
Fleet & Priscilla White; their daughter and JonBenet were friends and played together often. They hosted the party the Ramsey’s attended Christmas night. They did not serve pineapple at their party and their alibis checked out as they had several guests staying with them in their home. Were named by John and Patsy as suspects, despite the White’s support at the beginning.
John & Barbara Fernie; I’m not sure if they were officially named suspects. They did however remain supportive of John & Patsy and even let them stay with them after the death of JonBenet. Because of their close relationship to the Ramsey family, you shouldn’t discount them as suspects.
Jay Elowsky; Friend of the Ramsey’s and owner of Pasta Jay’s which John Ramsey invested in. Knew the family well, even allowed the Ramsey’s to stay with him after they came back from Georgia after the funeral. He has a temper and attacked a journalist with a baseball bat.
Reverend Hol Roverstock; He had to have had intimate details of the Ramsey family and was also invited frequently to the Ramsey home as Patsy would often host church events there. Also helped to protect them from the media and relentlessly acted as a messenger to the Ramsey’s for the police.
Housekeeper Linda Hoffman-Pugh & husband Merv; Linda knew the house well and had a key. Recently had asked Patsy Ramsey for a loan of $2000 to help pay her rent. She had worked for the family for 14 months. Husband, Merv didn’t know the Ramsey’s, but had been in the house just before the murder to help haul up various Christmas trees and decorations from the wine cellar where they were kept and JonBenet was found. They supplied blood samples, fingerprints, handwriting samples, 3 rolls of black duct tape, a white note pad that was from the Ramsey house as well as 3 black felt-tip pens, 2 keys to the house, a two-foot piece of narrow nylon rope, then another one wrapped around a stick. That is pretty compelling stuff.
Bill & Janet McReynolds (Santa Claus); Bill McReynolds was hired on more than one occassion to play Santa Claus at Ramsey Christmas parties (1995-1996). McReynolds took a special liking to JonBenet, even told her he would have a special gift for her on Christmas. She too took a liking to “Santa”. She showed him all around the house, including her bedroom and the basement. A few months before Christmas in 1996, he had open heart surgery, in which he took a vile of glitter which JonBenet gave him calling it “Star dust”. He told police that he had a special connection with her that he didn’t even have with his own children. He and his wife Janet had been through something similar exactly 22 years to the day when their daughter and a friend of hers were kidnapped and their daughter watched her friend get sexually assaulted in a basement. TO make things even more interesting is that Janet McReynolds wrote a play called “Hey Rube” about a girl who was tortured and murdered in her basemenet. However, their daughter corroberated their alibi. His son Tristan was also checked out and was cleared. His other son Jesse, had no alibi, and he provided blood samples and handwriting samples and his writing sample cleared him as writer of the ransom note.
Neighbour, Joe Barnhill; Lived across the street and helped take care of JonBenet’s dog, the dog was staying over there so wasn’t in the house during this time. The Barnhills also helped store the Ramsey’s Christmas gifts. He was 77 at the time. He and his wife Betty, had a key to the Ramsey’s. Had palsy and couldn’t have written the note which was confirmed by his doctor. They had a boarder, named Glenn Meyer.
Neighbour, Glenn Meyer; told police he had been home Christmas night and was watching television with the Barnhills until 9pm when he went down to the basement where he was sick with the stomach flu. He agreed to a polygraph andf provided fingerprints and a handwriting sample.
Pageant Photographers, Randy Simons and Mark Fix; obviously had intimate details on JonBenet as they often were hired to take pageant photos of her, but both of their alibis checked out.
Gardener, Bryan Scott; former babysitter Suzanne Savage, were also checked out.
Former Access Graphic employees, Sandra Henderson & husband Bud, Mike Glyn, Jeff Merrick & wife Kathy, were also all checked out after being named suspects from Don Paugh. All current employees were also checked out.
Strangers:
Various sex offenders and thieves in the area were also checked out very carefully by police. Kevin Raburn was a petty thief who a week before the murder was discharged from a Colorado prison just 200 miles from Boulder. Handwriting samples were obtained and Boulder Police obtained his fingerprint card, and he had a friend who lived just a few blocks from the Ramsey’s. He had no alibi, and disappeared just after the murder. Once he was caught, he admitted to being a thief, but said he wasn’t a killer. He willingly provided blood, hair and new handwriting samples.
Sex Offender, John Mark Carr was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand in 2006, after being connected to JonBenet Ramsey based on his own confession. He was extridited back to the United States and flown to Boulder, and questioned extensively. After providing a DNA sample, he was cleared and did not match the unknown male DNA that was found on the waistband of JonBenet’s underpants. Does this mean he is innocent? He had described the strangulation of JonBenet in graphic, almost sexual detail in an email to University Professor Michael Tracey. Apparently his ex-wife said they were not living near or in Boulder at the time of the crime. So why would he confess? John Mark Carr is a fucking sick man, who was into child pornography, wrote love letters to JonBenet after her death and was obsessed with her. Some psychologist have said that he had spent so much time fantasizing about JonBenet that it was possible his mind blurred the lines into his reality. Either way, still a sick fuck!
The Relationship between the District Attorney, the Police and
The Ramsey’s Defence Team
The strangest aspect of this case also centres around the relationship between the Boulder District Attorney, the Boulder Police Department and the Ramsey’s Defence team. First off, why do the Ramsey’s need a defence team if they have never been charged with the murder of their daughter? Why did they lawyer up so quickly?
A little back story on the District Attorny, Alex Hunter. He was elected into the DA’s office in 1972 on the premise that deals would not be made. However, he rarely ever tried cases in court and began what is called “Precharging Negotiations”. Precharging negotiations is where prosecutors and defence attornies make deals before anyone is charged. To me it’s the same thing as creating deals. Alex Hunter is slimy to me. In 1981, a man named Christopher Courtney pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide after shooting two people dead because of this deal and received a 2 year prison sentence. Another killer also got a lighter sentence than the death penalty which he deserved because the DA accepted a confession in exchange for life in prison. He let one killer completely disappear. Hunter has a sordid history of wheeling and dealing so he and his team don’t have to go to court as they are all weak trial attornies. Hunter’s team for the Ramsey case consisted of assitant district attorney’s Bill Wise, Peter Hofstrom, and Trip DeMuth. Hunter and his team would become very chummy with Hal Haddon, Bryan Morgan, Lee Foreman, and John Morgan, the defence team for John Ramsey, and Patrick Burke and Patrick Furrman, the separate defence team for Patsy and Burke Ramsey.
DeMuth would often be seen having breakfast with Bryan Morgan during the course of this case.
On the other side, was the Boulder Police Department, which saw very few homicides. In fact, December 26, 1996 was the first homicide in Boulder that entire year. Chief Tom Koby always took a a very relaxed approach to policing. However, he will quickly learn during the first 18 months of this case that his approach wasn’t good enough and would earn a vote of no confidence from officers and detectives in his own division. The blame can’t be placed just on Koby’s shoulders.
Many mistakes were made from the moment the first officer, Rick French, arrived on scene.
-not clearing everyone out of the house
-not separating John and Patsy Ramsey for separate interviews
-not properly clearing the house, especially the wine cellar
Other officers as well need to take responsibility for also not properly clearing the house, removing people, and controlling contamination. Leaving Detective Linda Arndt alone to control the scene and 9 people, and wait for a telephone call. She lost control of the scene. Her calls for back up were ignored, she lost track of John Ramsey, and then allowed Ramsey and Fleet White to wander the house, and not to mention treating the Ramsey’s with kid gloves. By the time crime scene technicians arrived to collect as much evidence as possible, they were walking into a disaster.
Throughout the police investigation, the DA’s office;
-refused their requests to get a warrant to look at the Ramsey’s phone and finacial records.
-kept giving important information about the case away to the Ramsey’s defence team, and even to the media. The police decided to keep certain parts, including test results secret from the DA.
-Despite Chief Koby wanting to keep the victim’s body, in case of further testing, the DA ordered the release and even publically accused the police of trying to hold the body hostage in exchange for police interviews with the Ramsey’s.
-It was the DA who were behind not immediately getting the interviews with the Ramsey’s, and whenever the Ramsey’s defence team wanted access to their statements, or evidence, the DA would comply.
-The DA would publically berrate the police and the workd they did, and vilified them in the media. Very few times was Hunter and his ADA’s ever assisting or supporting the Boulder Police Department. Hunter also seemed to be enjoying the media spotlight.
Meanwhile, despite what was being said about the Ramsey’s, their defence team and the DA’s office, the Boulder Police were chasing down hundreds of suspects, clearing them due to solid alibis, or not matching evidence. I’m not saying the BPD are saints, because they weren’t. Chief Koby turned down help from the Boulder Sherrif’s department, both the Denver & Colorado Springs Police Departments, all who have substantially more experience in dealing with homicides than Boulder. The help would have likely advanced the case and possibly had lead to a conclusion.
It’s not uncommon for DA’s to buttheads with the investigating police, but this seemed on an entirely different level. The police brought in their own high-power prosecutors to help guide them so that they would build a case that would be prosecutable. The District Attorney’s brought in recently retired Colorado Springs super detective, Lou Smit.
Lou Smit also became very chummy with the Ramsey’s and their team. Even praying with them in a van outside their home in Boulder. Smit lands on the intruder theory and fully believes that an intruder was responsible for the murder of JonBenet. He was also convinced that a stun gun was used, which the Boulder Police had already checked out and found it didn’t make sense. Despite the fact that Boulder Police detectives’ evidence, circumstantial as it may be, pointed to the Ramsey’s, and they still checked out every suspect and every theory they were given. From sex offenders in the area, to freaking Santa Claus! Lou Smit would NOT budge on the intruder theory.
As you can see, the relationship between the three was not a good one. No one was working as a coheicive unit.
The Ramsey’s defence team, came in blazing just a few days after the murder. They protected the Ramsey’s, preferring to communicate to the police through Hunter’s team. They constantly would set times and dates and restrictions on any police interviews and then would promptly pull out. They hired their own team of private investigators, forensic experts, and one of the Father’s of Criminal Profiling, John Douglas, had a publicist team and took out their own ads in the newspaper often exposing evidence that the police were trying to keep out of the media so they had leverage when the time came to interview suspects. Sure they seem to be doing everything they could to find the killer of their daughter, but I see people hindering an on-going investigation. They hid behind their attornies who thought they had all the right to discovery (evidence, present at any testing, etc), but the Ramsey’s were never charged and technically had zero right to all that stuff. Unless you are charged, your defence team doesn’t get to receive that information. They got everything they wanted, because of the DA’s office.
Interviews were granted based on the requests from the Ramsey’s defence team;
1)Two hours, no more than that
2)they get to read their statements before the interviews
3)had to be at a neutral location.
And the list goes on.
Who was REALLY running the investigation?
Criminal Profile and Behaviour
The Ramsey case has proven to be a challenge for everyone. Three of the top Criminal Profilers have taken a look at the case extensively. Criminal profiling isn’t how you solve a case but is a great tool to use to help you get there. Knowing and understanding a criminal has helped solve many cases by seeing the traits and behavioural patterns predicted by reading the crimes and seeing evidence. I’m a huge fan of the man who started it all by interviewing serial killers and how he got into the minds of them all which have helped future law enforcement. John Douglas sat down with some of the worlds most infamous killers; Edmund Kemper, Jerry Brudos, Ted Bundy, Richard Speck, Gary Ridgeway, John Wayne Gacy, and Charles Manson. He’s an incredible profiler, but as much as I respect him and his opinions, I don’t always agree with him. At the early start of the Karla Holmolka and Paul Bernardo investigation, he said that Karla was a victim and a submissive to Bernardo. He was wrong. She was hardly a victim.
Robert Ressler worked alongside Douglas at the start of the FBI’s Behavioural Analyst Unit, interviewing the same killers. He was instramental in setting up the Violent Criminal Apprehesion Program, also know as ViCap. His take on the Ramsey case was vastly different than that of Douglas.
Greg McCrary also worked with both Douglas and Ressler, and he too gives a completely different view of the case.
John Douglas was hired on by the Ramsey’s defence to profile them, and to help find their daughter’s killer. Both Robert Ressler and Greg McCrary had declinded their offers.
In his 1997 book, “Journey Into Darkness”, Douglas says;
“Parents do kill their children…And normally when they do so, the report them
missing or abducted, leaving a staged scene” He goes on to say, “We always have to
consider parents, children, spouses—whoever was closets to the victim.”
What he said about non-parent child killers is the following;
“Where you find the body, and how quickly you find it, tells us alot about the killer. Organised killers
tend to transport the victim (alive or dead) over distance. They dispose of bodies in places that
take longer to find and where conditions may help destroy evidence. Or they go for drama
or shock value, placing the body where it will be found.”
“Unsubs are often males of average or above intelligence and do have social skills. They plan
their crimes, targeting strangers indiscriminately. The choice of a child victim could be
situational or preferential. They kill to avoid detection. Organized child killers are more aggressive
in sexual activity with their victim before they kill them.
Disorganized offenders are more inadequate sexually, and so are more likely to assault the victim after the child is unconscious or dead. Lower intelligence, they frequently don’t plan the abduction and
often kill inadvertently using excessive force. They tend to choose a victim they know.
Rather than transporting the victim, they feel most comfortable abducting and killing close to home.”
Douglas also says, “the younger the murdered child, the more likely it is a family member who is responsible.”
In Douglas’ 2000 book “The Cases That Haunt Us,” he dedicates an entire chapter to this case.
In regards to the ransom note, he says “the handwriting appeared to belong to someone who was either extremely nervous or consciously attempting to hid his or her normal style, possibly written with the non-dominant hand.” Douglas’ profile of JonBenet’s kill was a “white male, relatively young, who had a person grudge against John Ramsey…” Douglas believed he entered the house while the Ramsey’s were out, entering either through the basement window well or with a key, bringing a stun gun, a roll of duct tape, and a spool of cord. His intention was to incapacitate JonBenet, abduct and molest her. The ransom note was a last minute thought and the Unsub had no real intention of collecting the low sum of money. He would be unsophisticated as to have no idea how difficult it is to pull off a kidnapping.
John Douglas stands by this theory, that the Ramsey’s were not involved.
Robert Ressler presents an entirely different side.
In “Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?” by Dr. Cyril Wecht and Charles Bosworth Jr., Ressler said that JonBenet was not killed by a stranger, a kidnapper or a child molester. That both the kidnapping and the ransom note, “were staged to cover up the identity and true motive of the killer.” Ressler felt that it had to be someone in the immediate circle of JonBenet’s life. Relatives, friends, neighbours, or people who worked for the family. After news broke about fibres being found on and around JonBenet’s private parts from being wiped down, he said that the “wiping off the body showed great remorse by the killer.” He also said that death had not been intentional. Ressler also states that the writer of the ransom note was college educated, articulate, bright, and female. I have always believed that the note was writen by a woman, as men do not ramble on like that. They’re straight to the point, “I have your daughter, await further instructions, and do not call police or anyone. I’ll be in touch.” The end. This was a two and a half page rambling of mostly nonssense.
Greg McCrary’s profile lined up more so with former colleague, Robert Ressler’s than John Douglas’. McCrary said that the “scene suggested strongly that the ransom note and the appearance of an abduction attempt had been staged by the killer.” He also states that intruders rarely go into homes to kidnap children. Elements of staging the scene, faking a kidnapping, etc., are often done by someone in the family who commits murder, accidental or otherwise, and tries to divert attention by attempting to cover it up. McCrary carefully avoids outright pointing fingers by saying that the unsub would be found in the family, or someone who is very, very close to them. A lot of the staging were similar to what is portrayed in television and movies, which is not something police would find in real life crimes. What McCrary said can be backed up in facts by the Department of Justice, who put the ratio of murders of young children by family members or someone close to the family at 12 to 1, but that statistic is even higher for younger children as they have a much smaller social circle.
McCrary said that child pageants does draw in pedophiles and if the murder happened during one of the many Ramsey’s pageant trips, he’d be more inclined to suggest the killer being a pedophile. A pedophile would not likely break into a home with a security system, granted it was not armed but there’s no way an intruder would know that, spend as much dime in the house and risking being found. He would not write a note, or feed the child. I personally hand printed and hand printed the note over and over and the fastest time it took me to write it was 10 minutes. He goes on to say that the author of the note was very intelligent, manipulative, but completely devoid of criminal experience. A small foreign faction would not refer to themselves as that, but often as a part of staging, a person will use their own fears to create a bad guy.
Both McCrary and Ressler disagree with Douglas. Douglas who went against his own profile which he wrote years prior.
Ressler told the Denver Post;
“When there’s a note at the Ramsey residence, there shouldn’t have been a dead child.
When there’s a dead child at the residence, you shouldn’t find a note. It’s totally stupid.”
Both McCrary and Ressler agreed that the person was not a criminal and the note was an amateurish attempt by someone to cover their tracks.
When you take three of the best criminal profilers in the history of Behavioural Science, who worked with and researched the behaviour of people who kill, cannot come to the same conclusion, except for two of them, and one goes against his own profile, I have to agree with the two who came up with the same result. Not just because they’re criminal profilers, but it’s because it also lines up with the evidence.
We touched on the profiles of who would do such a crime. But post-offence behaviour is just as important, and the Ramsey’s themselves, exhibited some of the strangest. We all probably can agree that everyone reacts to tragedy differently, but for me to hear or read about how John and Patsy were with each other and even with the police, makes me wonder even more about them.
John Ramsey was all business-like, remaining calm and quiet, as true to his usual self. Keeping his emotions to himself. Whereas, Patsy was so hysterical, that she kept herself heavily medicated. As a parent, I can understand falling apart like she did, and I too would likely want to be bed ridden and heavily medicated, but I would also be mad as hell and probably living at the police station helping them in any way possible. I also understand that I would be a suspect, so I’d be helping them to clear my name so they can focus attention anywhere else. Anything so that they can move forward. The way she was, just sounded too over the top, over-dramatic, phony.
The Ramsey’s gave only brief statements to the police the day of and a little bit the day after. They did not sit down with the police until April of 1997. They demanded the body of their daughter back so fast without thinking that maybe the police might still need her body to look for more evidence. Most importantly, they lawyered up, just hours after their daughter’s murder. The next day they had separate lawyers. They interjected themselves through their lawyers, by demanding access to evidence, testing, and to their first statements.
But what about….
-not reacting when 10am came and went the day their daughter was abducted and no one called?
-why did they ignore instructions in the ransom note and call their friends and police?
-Why did John Ramsey disappear for an hour before he discovered his daughter’s body?
-Where did John Ramsey go when he was missing for that hour?
-How did he know where to go?
-Why did he call his pilot after finding his daughter’s body just half an hour before and instruct his pilot to get the plane ready?
-After being at the Fernie’s, why did John ask for his golf clubs before taking off for Atlanta to bury his daughter?
-What was so important about those clubs?
-Why did the Ramsey’s go on CNN the day after they buried their daughter instead of talking to police?
Despite all of Patsy’s crying, John never comforted her and while waiting for the so-called “ransom call”, the two of them were never near each other, why? Some articles suggest John Ramsey’s behaviour was actually a normal response to the abduction of his daughter, that wanting to be alone is an acceptable response. Patsy’s very dramatic response could be interpreted in two different ways;
1)She’s acting the way she believes she should, or 2) She’s an overly emotional person. I personally would expect a littney of different emotions. Her need to have friends there, gives me the impression that she needed an audience and her over the top dramatics was for them. I’m not saying by any means that some of it wasn’t real, but where was the anger? Where was the drive to go look for her daughter? I personally would have been a wreck but I also know I would be pissed off and I’d want to be out looking for my child, and there wouldn’t be a soul who could stop me. Sit on my ass and cry hysterically accomplishes nothing. But if you already know the outcome of the situation……. then there’s nothing left to do but perform. Right?
What about Burke Ramsey? What did psychologist say about his behaviour? Watching the video where he is being interviewed as an 11 year old, he seems relaxed and comfortable, almost like it wasn’t a big deal. He didn’t seem to care all that much. When he talked about when he found out his sister died, he said he “and I saw everyone was sad inside and my dad told me that JonBenet was in Heaven.” He saw everyone was sad? Did that tell him he had to be sad too? Or was he actually sad after his father broke the news? When he was asked if they ever talk about his sister, he responds with that they don’t really talk about what happened all that much. A response the police were particularly interested in. During his Dr. Phil interview in 2016, his body language was strange. I chop it up to him being nervous and not used to being front and centre about what happened to his sister. I do find that his nerves could also be related to guilt, or even knowledge about what happened. A body language analyst said that there was some parts of his body language that suggest that he was just nervous for being on camera. That same analyst looked a video where his mother is sitting with his sister and he’s off to the side and Patsy puts her hands on JonBenet’s shoulders all proud while she introduces her for their video Christmas card, and when Patsy introduced Burke, she just reached over quickly to him. The analyst said that it was clear that Patsy favoured JonBenet and that Burke was an after thought. Burke also said in the Dr. Phil interview that he woke up when his mother burst into his room looking for his sister, and he could hear her going “psycho” down stairs and he just stayed in the bed. He said he also remembered a police officer coming into his room and shining a flashlight but he pretended to be asleep. Dr. Phil questions why he would just stay in his room and why he just stayed in bed, and his response was “I guess I just like to avoid, like conflict….” also said he didn’t want to know what was going on. He avoids the question if he was scared for his sister and he said he was trying to be positive.
So what does their post-offence behaviour say to you? To me it’s all over the place. Some seem consistent, and some of it doesn’t. Unfortunately I don’t have much on post-offence behaviour on other suspects. Criminal Profilers often say that posts offence behaviour can vary, that they could start drinking or doing drugs more, they might move, start having trouble focusing at work, or in their every day lives, they might start snapping at people around them, any relationships might start suffering, they might find religion. Basically doing stuff that they wouldn’t ordinarily do, stuff out of the ordinary. Shortly after the death of their daughter, the Ramsey’s refused to return to their house, and ended up moving back to Georgia. I’m not saying that this is their post-offence behaviour, I’m just stating a fact that they ended up moving out of the state. Distancing themselves.
After the Body Has Been Found
December 26, 1996 just after the body of JonBenet Ramsey was discovered by her father in the basement of their home, the Ramsey’s give a brief statement to the police, and then they leave to stay with their friends John and Barbara Fernie. John’s older children, John Andrew, Melinda and her boyfriend Stewart Long arrive where they find out that their sister is dead. At around 3pm, John Ramsey calls his corporate attorney, Mike Bynum.
-After 5pm, search warrants are executed and signed by a judge.
-8pm, Medical examiner, Dr. John Meyer arrives, examines the body, but does not take liver temperature to determine time of death. He leaves at 8:30pm and the body is removed from the house at 10:45pm.
December 27, 1996:
-8:15am, Dr. John Meyer begins the autopsy with Detectives Linda Arndt and Tom Trujillo in attendance.
-3pm; a second search warrant is executed
-9:30 to 10pm; Detective Linda Arndt and Sgt. Larry Mason talk with John Ramsey at the Fernie Residence with his brother Jeff, broker Rod Westmoreland, children’s pediatrician Dr. Beuf and attorney Mike Bynum present. Patsy does not speak to police, as she’s heavily medicated.
December 28, 1996:
-The Ramsey’s provide forensic samples of hair, blood and handwriting samples. Patsy did not go as she was still heavily medicated.
-Shortly after; John Ramsey hires criminal defence attornies. Mike Bynum tells det. Arndt that the Ramsey would not give any more testimonial evidence without their criminal attorney’s present, as he was a corporate.
-That afternoon, Patsy Ramsey’s sister, Pam, Returns to the Ramsey home to pick up some personal belongings, clothes, and stuff for the funeral accompanied by police. She fills an entire police car with stuff. Which technically she shouldn’t have been allowed to do.
-A local store brings by various outfits and Patsy picks out her funeral outfit.
-Ramsey’s meet with their new defence team
-Police Chief Tom Koby wants to keep the body for additional evidence, but the Deputy District Attorney, accuses him of holding the body hostage until he gets the Ramsey’s in for police interviews. Peter Hofstrom asks Dr. Meyer if there was any medical reason to retain the custody of the body, and Meyer says no he’s releasing it on the 29th to the funeral home.
December 29, 1996:
-2pm Memorial service at St. John’s Episcopal Church where 200 family and friends attend. The family immediately leave for Marietta, Georgia in a private plane.
10pm, a third search warrant is issued.
December 30, 1996:
-300 family and friends attend visitation at funeral home in Marietta
-Police clear John Andrew and Melinda Ramsey
December 31, 1996: -JonBenet Ramsey’s funeral in Marietta, Georgia
January 1, 1997: -John and Patsy Ramsey appear on CNN for an exclusive interview
January 2, 1997: -The Ramsey’s return to Boulder and stay with Jay Elowsky
January 3, 1997: – The Ramsey’s hire a private investigator
January 4, 1997: -Police release the house back to the Ramsey’s, but they continue to stay with friend
January 5, 1997:- 1st search warrant served for the Ramsey’s summer home in Charlovoix, Michigan.
-Sgt. Larry Mason is removed from the case after accusations of leaking information to the press.
-1st public appearance in Boulder for the Ramsey family as they attend church with a media frenzy waiting outside
January 8, 1997: – Burke Ramsey is interviewed by child psychologist Dr. Suzanne Bernard
January 13, 1997: -The Globe publishes leaked autopsy photos
January 14, 1997: – The Ramsey’s defence team hire John Douglas to do up a profile for them, and they hire their own handwriting expert
January 22, 1997: -The Ramsey’s refuse to take a polygraph
March 3, 1997: -Patrick Furrman is hired for Burke Ramsey
March 6, 1997: -2nd Charlevoix search warrant to obtain more samples of Patsy’s handwriting
March 12, 1997: -Boulder District Attorney’s office hire retire Colorado Springs detective, Lou Smit
April 18, 1997: -Ramsey’s officially named as suspects
April 30, 1997: -The Ramsey’s first formal police interview. They refused to be interviewed at the police station and refused to talk to certain detectives. Interviews were held at Boulder County Justice Centre. Patsy was interviewed for 6 1/2 hours, and John was approximately 2 hours.
June 6, 1997: -The police’s computer which was in the War Room at the Boulder County Justice Centre where the JonBenet Task Force was set up, was broken into and information tampered with.
June 27, 1997: – Handwriting results are revealed. John Ramsey’s do not match, but they could not clear Patsy Ramsey’s as hers was inconclusive.
November 14, 1997: -New York attorney Darnay Hoffman fields a complaint in the District Court for Boulder County, Colorado on his own behalf as plaintiff, asking that District Attorney, Alex Hunter be forced to explain why he had not yet filed charges against Patsy Ramsey.
December 20, 1997: -Detective Steve Thomas and Georgia Bureau Of Investigation’s Agent John Lang, get a warrant in Cobb County to set up surveillance at the grave site of JonBenet where they can observe comings and goings and see if the killer shows up on the anniversary of the young girls murder. Thomas observes that the date on the headstone read “August 6,1990 to December 25, 1996,” which was strange because no time of death was pronounced or even determined and the only people who would know she died on the 25th would be the person who killed her.
January 14, 1998:-Fleet & Priscilla White personally deliver a scathing letter to the Denver Post regarding the lack of effort by District Attorney Alex Hunter and calls for him to be replaced by a Special Prosecutor.
April 22, 1998: -Grand Jury selection process begins
June 1, 1998:- Boulder Police present their case to the District Attorney’s Office, three FBI CASKU’s division agents and three Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents, Dr. Henry Lee, and Barry Scheck. The point of the presentation is to convince DA Alex Hunter to take the case to the Grand Jury. For hours they went over evidence, time line, forensic discoveries, suspects, autopsy, witnesses, and how everything still pointed to The Ramsey’s involvement. After all was done, FBI agents of the Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit (CASKU) division, Bill Hagmairer, was completely brushed off by Hunter when he advised Hunter that a Grand Jury was necessary for this case, with Hunter exclaiming “this is a political decision.” Shit hit the fan between the FBI and the advisory prosecutors the Boulder Police hired against the DA’s office. The DA and his team did not want any advice from anyone.
June 9 to 12, 1998: – Deputy DA Peter Hofstrom and Dan Schuler travel to Atlanta to interview Burke Ramsey for two hours each time from the 10th to the 12th. Police were able to look at the interview tapes and were most intrigued by the answer Burke would give to the question about how often they spoke about JonBenet in the past year, to which he said not very much.
June 22, 1998: -The DA’s office interview Patsy and John Ramsey separately. Under their terms.
August 6, 1998: -Det. Steve Thomas sends his resignation letter to the media and to his superiors siting his frustrations over how the Ramsey case was being handled by the DA and all the road blocks they had to faced. He was fed up and no longer could solve a case that the DA clearly didn’t want to solve.
September 15, 1998: -Finally, the Grand Jury convened to hear the Ramsey case. 628 days since JonBenet’s murder. DA Alex Hunter brought in a Grand Jury Prosecutor who had way more experience to lead his team through the process. Michael Kane would spend countless hours getting caught up, sleeping in the War room reading everything about the case as he would go forward on behalf of Hunter and his team, but the ultimate decision whether to indict or not still would be Hunter’s decision.
September 20, 1998: -DA Investigator Lou Smit resigns from the case as he was frustrated by the Boulder Police not looking into his stun gun theory and also believed they were one sided just looking at the Ramsey’s and no other suspects (which wasn’t true).
October 1999: -The Grand Jury adjourned. With that, Alex Hunter went in front of the media and said;
“I and my prosecution task force believe we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant the
filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time.”
In October 2013, it would come out that the Grand Jury sought to indict both John and Patsy Ramsey with 2 counts each of child abuse resulting in the death in connection to the first degree murder of JonBenet Ramsey. The Grand Jury found that there was indeed sufficient evidence to file charges. So why did Hunter decide not to? Hmmm.
April 2003: Currant District Attorney, Mary Lacy agreed that the evidence was more consistant with an intruder theory
June 24, 2006: -Patsy Ramsey loses her second battle with Ovarian cancer and is laid to rest next to her daughter.
July 9, 2008:- The DA’s office announced that DNA was re-tested as touch DNA, and excluded the Ramsey’s as suspects leading Mary Lacy to publicly exonerate the Ramsey’s and publicly apologizing to them.
February 2, 2009: -New District Attorney, Stan Garnett, turned the Ramsey case back over to the police and BPD Chief Mark Beckner who was part of the team during the first investigation and replaced Chief Koby.
2015: Chief Beckner disagreed with former DA Mary Lacy about exonerating the Ramsey’s. The fact that any DNA evidence could be contaminated as the crime scene was not secure, which leads to a higher level of tainted evidence possibilities and probabilities.
SjOrcaLover 