A&E special about JonBenét Ramsey...

[Little Star]

Here are seven things we learned from the A&E special about the unsolved December 1996 murder of 6-year-old pageant star JonBenét Ramsey. (The grisly crime is getting the full television true-crime treatment of late, including an in-the-works Lifetime movie, a CBS docuseries debuting Sunday, September 18, and an Investigation Discovery airing Monday, September 12.)


1. John Ramsey Still Maintains His Family’s Innocence

JonBenét's father, John Ramsey — who is remarried and now the owner of a small flight-chartering business — ardently maintained his family's innocence throughout the documentary: “Twenty years later, there’s still people who believe I killed JonBenét.” John, 72, continued, "These accusations are wrong, and they are abhorrent." (JonBenét’s mother, Patsy Ramsey, who faced similar accusations until both she and John were officially removed from the suspect list in 2008, passed away from ovarian cancer in 2006.)


2. Unaired Interview Footage of Burke Ramsey, JonBenét’s Brother

The special featured interview footage never previously made public of a 9-year-old Burke Ramsey, JonBenét’s brother, shortly after the crime was committed. The young boy could hardly sit still in his chair as the investigator asked him simple questions about his younger sister’s murder. When asked why he never left his bedroom while JonBenét was missing, a timid young Burke responded chillingly, “Because I was just so scared.”

Burke — once thought of as a potential suspect by author James Kollar, a former investigator on the case — was exonerated by DNA evidence in 1999. Of the accusations against his son, John Ramsey told the camera, “The accusation that Burke is some violent 90-pound, 9-year-old-child … is laughable. I’m sorry — I can’t think of a better word. It’s absurd.”

http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/jonbenet-ramsey-special-7-revelations-about-her-murder-w438030

I watched this one last night but there is more to come on other channels due to the upcoming 20 year anniversary of her murder. All I can say is that the cops and the DA's office had tunnel vision & group think.

[vlyons]

1. Hispanic DNA

I thought the most interesting came at the end. The DNA recovered from JonBenet's socks and panties was Hispanic.

[Little Star]

4. They certainly paid no attention to science.

[Egnever]

24. I don't think the science was nearly as good then.

Not that I think they did a good job but DNA testing back then was pretty primitive compared to today.

[hlthe2b]

2. While the events are certainly enough to have had a horrific, long-term effect on brother, Burke

I can't help but react to his promos for an apparent upcoming appearance on the "Dr." Phil show... He just comes across as very strange--even (to me, at least) a bit creepy. I give him benefit-of-the doubt, given all that has happened to him and to his family, and that may be the explanation. But, his facial expressions seem really strange to me in those short clips. I'm not suggesting he was involved, btw.

[mentalsolstice]

11. Burke was always suspect to me.

I'm not saying that he cold bloodedly killed her. Patsy had a book that had a garrote scene. I often wondered if Burke read it and convinced JB to reenact it, and from there it all went sideways. The parents had lost their daughter and did not want to lose their son to investigations, court system, and public scrutiny, so concocted a crime scene to cover it up. However, there are other aspects that don't quite fit my theory.

[oswaldactedalone]

3. The Boulder Police Dept's investigation

Was a joke. It's a shame they weren't sued for gross incompetence. Watched the whole thing and they were presented as buffoons, wrong at every turn. Lou Smit's findings of an intruder convinced me some years ago when first presented and were even more convincing last night.

[JenniferJuniper]

7. Not convincing at all

Lou Smit was completely biased in favor of the Ramseys as he believed they were too good Christians to have been involved.

The A&E show last night was completely one-sided, distorted facts, and basically ignored the biggest piece of evidence left by the killer or his assistant. What are the odds that the person from the Small Foreign Faction who wrote that War and Peace ransom note had handwriting incredibly similar to that of Patsy Ramsey? Nil. And used phrases that were unique to Patsy? And what was the purpose of the note? The FBI had never seen anything like it. And the notepad and the sharpie used were neatly placed back in the drawer and cup they came from.

DNA needs to be viewed carefully here. According to James Kolar, the detective who wrote "Foreign Faction", there were tiny artifacts of DNA from no less than 6 different unknown people on or about the child's body. Unless you really believe a small foreign faction traipsed around that house that night (and one of them had handwriting that was almost a dead ringer for Patsy's) it is far more likely that the DNA was transferred from one of the two thousand people who had been in the house during that Christmas season or transferred from one of the countless parties the Ramseys attended in the days and weeks before the murder.

The evidence that she was hit on the head first is pretty solid. The pundits last night seemed not to know the full reasons why the experts were very sure early on that the strangulation came later. But either way, neither possibility is proof that someone in that house didn't do it.

The first cops bungled the scene that day, no doubt. And the DAs were feeble. But one needs to do a lot of research to get the complete picture here. This nonsense last night was nothing but a pro-Ramsey fluff piece.

[oswaldactedalone]

12. Wrong

Smit's first impression was that it was going to be an open and shut case of a family member killing the child. The crime scene photos and the false information leaked by the Boulder PD led him to reassess the situation. The initial evidence gathering by the Boulder PD is a case study in incompetence and jumping to conclusions. Smit's results had nothing to do with what he thought personally of the Ramseys.

[JenniferJuniper]

17. No, not wrong.

You need to do much more research, especially if you are basing your conclusions on that very misleading show from last night.

Yes, Smit, like nearly all the investigators thought it was the parents originally. But he became close to the family and would pray with them regularly. He lost all objectivity and began to grasp for improbable theories. It happens.

The fact that the Boulder cops blew the initial investigation does not make the Ramseys innocent. Had they done their job properly, Patsy and/or John would have been charged as accessories at a minimum. Ultimately that's what the grand jury recommended, but the the DA wouldn't press charges, in part because the shoddy initial investigation compromised the case. And in part because the Ramseys were very wealthy and could afford the finest attorneys.

No kidnapper would have written a 3 page ransom note (using Patsy's pen and notepad, carefully putting both back in place in the kitchen), even if he didn't plan on killing her. Three lines would do; the prospect of getting caught increased with each minute he or she fiddled with it. The note was written to stage the crime, almost certainly after the child was dead. The writer, whose handwritten was extraordinary similar to Patsy Ramsey's, wanted to deflect attention from what actually happened.

Who would want to do that? Who might that person have been trying to protect?

[Doremus]

15. The 'C' shaped gouges on the back of her neck were defensive wounds

They prove she was alive and the strangulation was not staged after she was dead, as the Boulder PD asserts.

The PD had a theory in mind from the get-go and cherry-picked the evidence that supported it. Worse than piss-poor investigative work, their willful framing of innocent people put the Ramseys through decades of hell on top of losing their precious daughter.

[JenniferJuniper]

18. More BS from last night

Those marks were never proven to be from Jon Benet's fingernails.

She was strangled from behind by someone and the rope/string was clearly moved more than one. Even if they were nail marks - which has never been established - they were more likely to have been the perp's. She was already unconscious.

The head blow came first and would have immediately rendered her unconscious and she would have stayed unconscious given its severity. According to the coroner, and all reputable medical experts since, the strangulation, which ultimately killed her happened 45 minutes to 2 hours after the head injury. The head injury would have killed her eventually, had she not been strangled.

The show last night glossed over the fact that Patsy almost certainly wrote that note. I would suggest you do some independent research if you want to get closer to the truth here. It's a complex case, but once you can separate the facts from the spin, a little Occam's Razor is probably in order.

[JenniferJuniper]

20. No...

That was Lou Smit's theory. The medical professionals who examined her body did not believe they were defensive wounds and concluded from the physical evidence that she had been fully disabled from the head would for a period of time before the strangulation.

Most of the police did think the Ramseys were involved, that's true. Their behavior was bizarre and they immediately wouldn't cooperate with the investigation from the get-go. Within one hour of discovery of the body, John Ramsey was on the phone trying to arrange a flight to Atlanta. An officer who overheard him told him we wasn't going anywhere. (This was one of the distortions in last night's program, by the way. There were many).

Yes, the initial scene was badly compromised by the first responding officers. This, however, does not mean the Ramseys are innocent. Indeed, it likely helped them get away with murdering and/or covering up the murder of their child. They weren't framed. They got away with it.

[mchrisman]

19. JONBENET RANSOM NOTE & US SECRET SERVICE CONCLUSIONS

Jennifer- regarding your take on the ransom note, you and those reading this strand should know that the US SECRET SERVICE SPCL AGT consulted by Boulder Police ALSO examined the ransom note for them and concluded that there was NO EVIDENCE that Patsy wrote the note. That conclusion is recorded officially in internal Boulder Police case file summaries which I have personally reviewed. Among all types of expert handwriting analysts that you can consult with, those from the US SECRET SERVICE have the highest caliber expertise and credibility in this field as counterfeiting/handwriting/fraud is what they do. They're the best in this field. Unfortunately the police investigators never publicly revealed this. So there has been no bonafide experts who have put their names on any conclusion that she wrote or probably wrote or is heavily suspected of writing the ransom note. At least analyst of note who've been consulted for the official investigation.


It's possible that a drafted note was composed by the perpetrator before getting to the Jude and then written/copied onto the pad in Ramsey home with Ramsey sharpie. The text does not have to have been thought of only when the perpetrator gets to the house.

Admittedly the ransom note is a true oddity- but that said there is absolutely no forensic evidence pointing to John patsy or Burke. The science and pathology doesn't support it in any meaningful way- whether reports of prior sex abuse nor the order of head wound and strangulation strangulation. Also a spontaneous strike out in rage scenario would have ipso facto left DNA evidence that couldn't afterwards be covered up as such would have not been pre planned.

[JenniferJuniper]

21. What are the odds

that the Small Foreign faction had handwriting so similar to Patsy Ramsey that multiple experts could not rule her out as the author?

And wrote it on her notepad?

With her pen?

And put them both neatly back in their drawer and cup in the kitchen?

Have you ever seen her being interviewed about the writing in JonBenet's baby book and on photos that were almost certainly written by her? She's clearly being completely evasive when she says she didn't write them. Why?

Why did Patsy write out "One hundred and eighteen thousand dollars" when giving a sample, instead of write it out the way the ransom author did? The way almost anyone would?

What kidnapper would spend all that time writing a bizarre phony ransom note? A note the likes of which the FBI had never and has never seen? What kidnapper would recommend John Ramsey "be rested"? Talk about an attache, after misspelling bussiness and other simple words?

Oh, and Patsy had a habit of writing "and hence" just like was found in the note.

What non-family murderer would carefully wrap the child in a blanket and place her favorite nightgown next to her?

Why did the Ramseys start pointing the finger at practically everyone they knew? Including their good friends the Fleet Whites?

The Ramseys flatly refused to cooperate with the investigation from the beginning. What parents would behave like that unless they were hiding something?

Why was JonBenet constantly at the the doctor's? Both kids were also seeing psychiatrists before the murder. Burke had previously whacked JonBenet in the head with a golf club. Housekeepers reported that Burke had a habit of smearing feces all over the walls and according to detective James Kolar, he read an investigative report that indicated feces had been smeared over a box of chocolates in JonBenet's room and that a pair of pajama pants that appeared to belong Burke found in JonBenet's room also contained feces.

This family was not what it seemed. But people are far too willing to give rich white folks passes that most of us would never get.

[Doremus]

22. Are/were you involved in the investigation in some way?

...Boulder Police case file summaries which I have personally reviewed.

[jberryhill]

30. What was the purpose of the ransom note?

[exboyfil]

5. The false leaks that implicated the family

are horrible and actionable. It seems reporters should have an obligation to burn a source unless the source had some credible reason for dispensing false information.

[stevenleser]

6. I agree and that should be disclosed at the onset of any interaction between

a member of the press/media and a source. Something along the lines of "I will protect you and your anonymity (if that is what you want) by going to jail for as long as necessary as long as you are being truthful to me. If you lie to me that covenant is broken". Period.

[Buzz Clik]

8. Good lord. Twenty years on.

I was hoping Honey Boo Boo would replace her in the American need for baby beauty queens.

[dembotoz]

9. true dat

[forgotmylogin]

10. Didn't the father ruin the crime scene?

I read that upon finding the body he scooped her up and carried her upstairs. Understandable if he thought she might be alive.

[JenniferJuniper]

13. Yes, but there were also dozens of people running all over the house

The cops did not secure the crime scene for many hours.

Patsy Ramsey also lay on top of her daughter after John brought her upstairs.

Friends of the family cleaned kitchen counters, supposedly made beds, and tidied up other areas of the house.

This is one of the primary reasons why the case was not solved.

[forgotmylogin]

14. Right I do remember.

They were under the assumption she was nowhere in the house.

[JenniferJuniper]

16. The cops assumed it was a kidnapping

IMO, the Ramseys knew exactly where she was. At one point, one of the cops told Ramsey and a friend (who became an enemy not too long after the crime) to search the house for clues. Ramsey made a beeline for the hidden basement room, ripped off the duct tape over her mouth, and carried the obviously dead child upstairs to lay her down under the Christmas tree.

[frogmarch]

23. Forums For Justice post regarding the DNA

http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showthread.php?10137-DNA-revisited-in-light-of-James-Kolar%92s-book

Excerpts:

There are six unique and unidentified genetic profiles – five male profiles and one female profile.
DNA testing involving fingernail scrapings from both hands revealed JonBenet’s genetic profile on both sides.
In addition to JonBenet’s profile, scrapings from the left fingernails revealed unidentified male #1
The right fingernails indicated that two further unique profiles were present, unidentified male #2, and a unique unknown female profile. (JonBenet could not be excluded as a contributor)
The waistband, seams, and crotch of panties (Distal Stain 007-2) CODIS all matched and produced the profile that has been entered into the CODIS database, unidentified male #3 (Strength/weakness of profile: 10 markers)

The above profiles were determined through typical STR DNA testing.
Touch DNA (TDNA) testing, all presumably done at the Bode facility revealed one matching profile and a further two unique profiles, both male:
TDNA on the waistband of leggings matching DS 007-2 male #3
TDNA on the wrist bindings – male #4 (Strength/weakness of profile: 6 markers)
TDNA on the “garrote” – male #5 (Strength/weakness of profile: 7 markers)

(Also, TDNA on the pink Barbie nightgown found in the Wine Cellar with the body of JonBenét was identified as belonging to Burke Ramsey and Patsy Ramsey.)

A full CODIS profile has 13 markers; any profile with fewer markers is a partial profile. All DNA profiles in this case are partial profiles

The highest quality DNA, and the only profile in this case that has been entered in the CODIS database, at 10 markers, is Distal Stain 007-2

All other DNA is weaker, in other words, fewer markers.

From Detective James Kolar’s book on the case:

Denver PD lab supervisor Greg Laberge indicated that it was his opinion that the male sample of DNA could have been deposited there by a perpetrator, or that there could have been some other explanation for its presence, totally unrelated to the crime. I would learn that many other scientists held the same opinion.
Foreign Faction, Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet James Kolar, page 305

The same theoretical principles of transfer thought to be involved in the DNA collected from beneath JonBenét’s nails could be applied to the transfer of genetic material from her underwear to the leggings. “Cloth to cloth” transfer could be responsible for this new evidence.
Foreign Faction, Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet James Kolar, page 427

I believed, as did many of the other investigators working the case, that that there may have been a plausible explanation for the DNA found in the underwear and that its presence may have had nothing whatsoever to do with the death of JonBenét. The presence of this DNA is a question that remains to be resolved, but it continues to be my opinion that this single piece of DNA evidence has to be considered in light of all of the other physical, behavioral, and statement evidence that has been collected over the course of the investigation.
Foreign Faction, Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet James Kolar, page 305

Kolar thinks Burke did it. So do I. As for the possible source(s) of the DNA found on JonBenet's underwear, it could have even come from a worker or workers in the factory that made the underpants - from a sneeze, perhaps, or just from handling the garment. Patsy did say she didn't wash new underwear before it was worn, and that the underpants JonBenet was wearing had come straight from the package. The DNA in the JonBenet case means nothing, and it doesn't exonerate the Ramseys.

Note: Only the last three paragraphs in my post are from Kolar’s book. Excluding my own comments, my entire post is a copy/paste from an old post by a member of the online crime-sleuthing group Forums For Justice (FFJ). (Read more at the link.)

[ailsagirl]

25. I thought DNA fully exonerated anyone in the family

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/09/jonbenet.dna/

[oswaldactedalone]

27. The article at the link

does say that. Be interesting to see if any members of the John and Patsy Ramsey lynch mob have a reply.

[hatrack]

26. Is she still dead?

Yeah, that's what I thought . . .

[oswaldactedalone]

28. It's an unsolved case

and there's no statute of limitations on murder. People want answers, not sophomoric replies.

[struggle4progress]

29. Weird tale. 5:30 AM the mom finds a three page ransom note. Eight hours after child reported missing

the dad finds her body in the basement. Girl was garrotted, rope being tightened with the mom's hobby paintbrush. No footprints in the patchy snow outside; no signs of forced entry. Ransom note was torn from parents' notepad, which has been returned to its usual location, and written using parents' pen, found near its usual location; evidence indicates it was practiced several times before final version produced. Police wait four months before conducting extensive interviews with parents and a year before collecting parents' clothing from that day for forensic analysis. After three years, grand jury votes to indict parents, but prosecutor refuses to prosecute

[brettdale]

31. no idea who did it

No idea on who did it, or no thought on who did it.

One thing I do know, is that people who are guilty of crimes are normally really
really good at claiming their innocent, and will even on their death bed, say
they're innocent, its like a badge of honor for them to get one over on people.