Introduction
How could a case get so botched up by police investigators? The murder of 6-year-old beauty queen, JonBenet Ramsey reached media sensation 23 years ago.
JonBenet Ramsey was found by her father, John Ramsey, with duct tape across her mouth, a ligature buried deep in the young beauty queen’s skin on the neck by the use of a garrote that was made from cord and a broken paintbrush from Patsy’s art supplies. Same cord was used to loosely bound JonBenet’s right wrist. The autopsy also showed a linear fracture to right side of skull, from single blow from blunt object.
The cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma. Signs of vaginal trauma were visible, despite whether it was predated at the time of murder. JonBenet’s body also showed marks possibly made by stun gun, despite investigators attempts to dismiss stun gun theory.
The Ransom Note
The day after Christmas 1996, police were called to the scene when Patsy Ramsey received a ransom note saying they had her daughter and demanded payment for return of the girl. The odd peculiarity was that it was a 2-page handwritten note on paper found in the Ramsey home. The question stands, is why would a perpetrator waste time inside the home handwriting a 2-page ransom note and not run the risk of getting caught by a family member? Forensic scientists re-wrote the ransom note, timing themselves, and finding out it took them nearly 20 minutes to write the note. Another odd peculiarity is the amount—almost the exact amount of John Ramsey’s bonus from his employers--$118,000. John and Patsy’s handwriting were analyzed by handwriting experts. John’s was ruled out, but Patsy’s was ruled “inconclusive.”
Conspiracy Theories
Many theories abound about how JonBenet was murdered:
Theories say that Patsy flew of the handle and beat JonBenet for bedwetting. Theories run rampant that Patsy panicked after she realized she killed her own daughter. Speculation suggests the murder was staged by the ransom note and a botched kidnapping. While John and Patsy were indicted for child abuse resulting in the possible death of their daughter, the DA ruled against citing insufficient evidence.
The unidentified boot print found at Ramsey home—supposedly belonging to Michael Helgoth, an electrician in dispute with Ramsey family—offers supposed motive for murder. But he committed suicide before the Boulder Police Department questioned him, and his DNA didn’t match found that found at Ramsey home.
The wild animal theory is speculative as it raises questions after animal hair was found on JonBenet’s clothes and the duct tape covering her mouth. The only question is, how could an animal write a ransom note?
One puzzling conspiracy theory suggests pop singer Katy Perry is JonBenet Ramsey, noting similar facial expressions as “proof” the singer is Ramsey. But the fact that Katy Perry is 6 years older debunks this conspiracy theory.
Mistakes in the Investigation
Despite being prime suspects in their daughter’s murder, John and Patsy Ramsey, along with JonBenet’s brother, Burke, deny any involvement in the murder.
Still, mistakes abound by police that have botched a cold case still unsolved over the last 23 years…
With the oddities of evidence from those inside the Ramsey household, Patsy’s panicked phone call the day of the “kidnapping” could be due to Patsy being unaware of what was happening; or could be due to police overlooking the uncooperation by Patsy during the police investigation.
City of Boulder Police officers arriving at the scene of the crime should have shut down crime scene (Ramsey home) immediately and taken statements from JonBenet’s parents. (According to Mark Beckner, BPD police chief, fewer people were unable to get to scene due to crime happening on Christmas Day).
A key mistake was investigators not getting statements from John and Patsy Ramsey day of crime.
And while the former police chief notes John and Patsy Ramsey’s odd behavior, it could be any number of reasons.
There are reports of background voices at end of Patsy Ramsey’s 911 call. They believe it to be a male and female voice saying, “We’re not speaking to you,” “help me, Jesus, help me, Jesus.” And “Well, what did you find.” Beckner confirmed in Reddit AMA heard two voices saying these phrases in audio recording of 911 call.
Forensic evidence suggests strangulation in JonBenet’s murder, but John Ramsey removing duct tape from his daughter’s mouth prevents full forensic analysis of the crime, and experts say they’ll never really know if that was what killed JonBenet. After finding his daughter’s body in the basement of the family home, John Ramsey states, “it was a rush of relief. ‘God, I found my child. And then I pretty quickly realized that she may not be alive.”
Despite Ramsey’s claim they immediately put their daughter to bed right after coming home, evidence shows pineapple in JonBenet’s stomach. Bowl of pineapple found in Ramsey’s kitchen suggests JonBenet ate after the family came home that night. And Burke’s fingerprints are found, but that could mean he was the one who fixed it for his sister…
A flashlight found in Ramsey’s kitchen shows it could be the weapon causing JonBenet’s injuries of a skull fracture. Despite being wiped clean of fingerprints and DNA, the police still seized it for evidence.
A broken window in the basement of Ramsey home leads to a possible intruder breaking into the home and killing JonBenet. But a spider web found outside window suggests it hadn’t been broken recently— and John admits he broke the window due to locking himself out of house some time before the murder.
After a search of the Ramsey home when police were called to the crime scene after finding the ransom note, Officer Rick French, after going down to basement, decided not to go into room where JonBenet’s body was found, resulting in John Ramsey finding his daughter’s body, contaminating the crime scene.
A Grand Juror Gives 20/20 Interview
A grand juror, who remains anonymous, gives and account in a 20/20 interview:
“I saw that there was a little girl dressed up with, in my opinion, a sexual persona, and it disgusted me. And I turned off the TV.”
“In the basement where she was found, it was actually kind of an obscure layout…you come down the stairwell and you had to go into another room to find a door that was closed. It was a very eerie feeling. It was like, ‘Somebody had been killed here.’”
Other Suspects and Wild Confessions
There have been wild confessions reported to Boulder Police during the investigation:
Bill McReynolds, the town Santa and his wife, Janet came under suspicion after he gave JonBenet a card saying, “You will receive a special gift after Christmas.” Interestingly, the McReynolds lost their daughter 22 years earlier, on December 26. And even scarier, Janet wrote a play similar to the Ramsey case. DNA from McReynolds didn’t match found at crime scene.
The 2006 arrest of schoolteacher John Mark Karr confessed to killing JonBenet, despite investigation confirming he couldn’t have committed the crime. Beckner states he was suspicious of Karr’s confession from the start.
On Thursday, January 10, 2019, Boulder Police Department found a letter from an inmate sent to a friend. In the letter, 54-year-old Gary Olivia, a convicted pedophile, wrote: “I never loved anyone like I did JonBenet and yet I let her slip and her head bashed in half and I watched her die. It was an accident. Please believe me. She was not like the other kids.”
While Olivia was a suspect in original investigation, police investigators did not take an interest in Olivia’s words as it’s not the first time he’s spoken out.
While the Boulder Police Department is not ruling out anyone with possible connections to the Ramsey case, but Olivia reported to have made phone call to high school friend night of murder claiming he “hurt a little girl.” Olivia lived near Ramsey’s and was in possession of stun gun matching marks found on JonBenet’s body.
Olivia’s claim may be cry for attention as there is yet to have solid evidence against him, and as a suspect who claims to the killing of the beauty queen, has made a similar attempt to strangle his mother in a similar way JonBenet was strangled.
Other Facts from the Case
The Boulder Police Department has processed 1,500 pieces of evidences, 200 DNA samples, 20,000 tips, letters, and emails, as well as investigators who have traveled to18 states to interview !,000+ people.
According to Beckner: DNA doesn’t eliminate suspects—“Exonerating anyone based on a small piece of evidence that has yet to be proven to even be connected to the crime is absurd in my opinion. You must look at any case in the totality of all the evidence, circumstances, statements, etc. in coming to conclusions.”
85% Americans and 90-94% jurors believe in DNA evidence as reliable; but forensic scientists rarely find 100% match as crime scene samples are poor samples. It is impossible to tell how DNA travels, as DNA can wind up places we’ve never even been.
Police also believe JonBenet knew her killer, noting reasons why killer was able to lead her from her bed. This may not be surprising, since at time of JonBenet’s murder, 73-78% of crimes were committed by people the victims knew.
After being interviewed by police when he was just 9-years-old, Burke was noted exhibiting odd behavior and anxiety. The doctor explained it as the high state of stress the family was having. However eerily, when asked by the doctor if Burke had any secrets, Burke replied, “probably, if I did, I wouldn’t tell you, because then it wouldn’t be a secret.”
Two police detectives quit over Ramsey case: Detective Lou Smit, a homicide detective, quit due to BPD ignored idea intruder killed JonBenet. Also, Steve Thomas quit because BPD refused to investigate parents.
According to documentary forensic scientist, Henry Lee, alleges that the killer practicing writing the two and half page ransom note seems odd time to be worried about penmanship.
38 registered sexual offenders are reported to have lived in Ramsey’s neighborhood.
Burke Ramsey Sues for Defamation of Character
Burke Ramsey, brother of 6-year-old murdered child beauty-pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey 20+ years ago, settled a defamation lawsuit against CBS Corp. and others, according to his lawyer. Ramsey, 9-years-old at time of sister’s murder, sued CBS (2016) after an alleged theory he had slain his 6-year-old sister in a 2-day documentary series. According to Lin Wood, Burke’s attorney, the lawsuit was amicably settled to the satisfaction to all parties.
Other Details
A 2008 apology by the DA to JonBenet’s father, John Ramsey, states that DNA ruled out the Ramsey family for the hardship as prime suspects in JonBenet’s murder.
A reward of $100,000 was offered for several months after JonBenet’s death for any information leading to their daughter’s killer.
After DNA tests in 2016, police suspect not one but two assailants in the murder JonBenet Ramsey, reopening the case and changing the way law enforcement approaches the 23-year-cold-case.
Final Resting Place and other Facts
JonBenet Ramsey is buried next to half-sister, Elizabeth Ramsey, who died in car crash prior to JonBenet’s murder, and later, her mother, Patsy, who died in 2006 of ovarian cancer.
JonBenet’s father, John Ramsey, briefly dated Beth Twitty, the mother of Natalee Holloway—whose daughter disappeared in Aruba in 2005.
In Conclusion
After 23 years, the case remains cold after 6-year-old beauty queen, JonBenet Ramsey, who was brutally murdered in her own home. Was it at the hands of someone she knew, or a predator who broke into her home?
JohBenet Ramsey As she would look today (age-enhanced photo)
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