JonBenét: An American Obsession Pt. 4
Parents as suspects, ransom note mysteries, the perks of wealth, a "compromised" case, intruder theories, autopsy details, grand jury betrayed, a brother with a history of violent outbursts
As far as American crime lore is concerned, the murder of JonBenet Ramsey holds a unique grip on collective consciousness, like a haunting relic that feeds a macabre fascination with the dark underbelly of human nature.
America loves its murder tales.
The unfathomable killing of a cherubic six-year-old beauty pageant darling, growing up in the idyllic town of Boulder, Colorado, strangled in her basement in the middle of the night after a holiday celebration, has in some ways become a perverse Christmas classic, shadowed by police corruption, small-town conspiracies, and privilege inside a divided justice system for the wealthy.
If anything, it is a stark reminder of the legal disparities that have always existed within a society where prominent people with pull can still escape consequences of brutal crimes.
“Comparisons are inevitably made to O. J. Simpson, but John Ramsey was far wealthier.”
Despite passing years and fading headlines, this tragic saga remains as magnetic as ever — to the point that we almost take weird comfort in rehashing it year after year whenever a new variation is unfolded.
Decades later, we are still grappling with the unanswered questions surrounding the eerie permanence of this tale, one of the most profitable mysteries in modern times so long as it remains"unsolved" in the grand scope of public knowledge.
In this series, details of the story are presented plainly, pointing in a direction that favors - at bare minimum - an "inside job.”
With its countless twists and turns, it is still a relentless pursuit of truth, entangled in a web of dubious investigations, police misconduct, and the pervasive specter of corruption that has long shadowed the case.
By comparison, few stories have achieved this lasting endurance, captivating our imagination to an obsessive degree for nearly three decades now.
In this concluding chapter, I’ve consolidated a collection of standout theories and facts attached to the case to examine from a practical perspective.
I look forward to the conversation that will follow, to dive deeper into the details and the devastation behind such a heinous crime.
JonBenét Ramsey: Missing Innocence, by Anne Louise Bardach
Of all the articles I’ve read on this case, Anne Louise Bardach’s piece (published in October 1997’s Vanity Fair) is still, in my opinion, the sharpest, most compelling take to date. A masterclass in investigative journalism.
Bardach's keen eye for detail, combined with a relentless pursuit of the truth brings a cutting level of depth to a tragic and perplexing case. Through meticulous research and thoughtful analysis she presents a nuanced perspective that helps shed light on (what was then) a fresh tragedy that had newly gripped the nation. In the article, she manages, with ease, to expose the hidden layers of a story unfolding. Her prose as a spotlight on this case is nothing short of outstanding.
I'm a self confessed superfan after dissecting nearly every line in this article, referenced in previous chapters and various sections below.
“The Christmas-night murder of six-year-old beauty-pageant winner JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colorado, shocked the country and turned her millionaire parents, John and Patsy, into suspects. With sources deep inside the investigation and among Ramsey relatives and friends, Ann Louise Bardach reveals the story behind the dreadful crime and the bitter split between the D.A.’s office and the police department.”
Interview With Ann Louise Bardach
ALB and retired special agent of the FBI Gregg McCrary appeared on Charlie Rose shortly after her article was published to speak out against the Ramsey Family and the “million dollar team” they hired to allegedly mislead investigators, consisting of: 8 lawyers, 3 publicists, 2 handwriting experts, an FBI profiler who worked around the clock to present the family as innocent under a mounting umbrella of suspicion.
Ransom Note Discrepancies
Practice note found addressing both “Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey”
Neighbors Heard a Scream at Midnight
Investigators Believe the Murder Was an Accident Followed by an Elaborate Cover-up
JonBenet’s Body Found Redressed / Evidence of ‘Caring and Concern’
The Ransom Note
The two-and-a-half-page handwritten ransom note, drafted using a pen and paper from a notebook in the Ramsey’s home, is a standout as far as the strangest and most suspicious details attached to the case. In it, the bizarrely precise sum of $118,000 was demanded for the return of JonBenét. When authorities analyzed samples of Patsy and John Ramsey’s handwriting, John was ruled out but Patsy's sample was deemed “inconclusive.”McCrary believed the note was staged, designed to create a false motive to mislead investigators.
Another bizarre detail: when the police collected the ransom note as evidence, Patsy quickly disclosed to the police that she believed the kidnapper used her notepad to write the note. How could she have known it came from her notepad so early on?
Other Peculiar Elements:
The note is much longer than a typical straight to the point ransom note.
The handwriting style changes throughout the letter.
The amount demanded “$118,000,” which happened to be the same amount John Ramsey received as a bonus that year- but also a much smaller amount than is usually requested in hostage situations with wealthy parties.
The note uses the word phrasing “and hence,” which, thanks to Patsy’s friend Judith Phillips, we know is a phrase Patsy was known to use.
Retired FBI Agent Greg McCrary analyzed the note and believed it was too articulate and respectful for a cold blooded killer. “Writer is articulate and respectful, good sentence structure and great grammar syntax which indicates an educated offender.”
Though the ransom note specified that no one should be contacted, Patsy called the police at 5:52 am. Then she called a few family friends over for emotional support, begging the question: would a frantic mother, who has just been warned that her missing daughter will be harmed if anyone is contacted, call the police and invite friends over amidst such uncertainty and duress?
Movie References
Experts from the CBS Docuseries The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey noted how multiple lines from the ransom note appear to be lifted from popular movies Dirty Harry, Speed and Ransom, starring Mel Gibson (released November 8th, 1996- a month before the murder), meaning the film (a box office success) was still playing in local theaters when the murder occurred.
It’s hard to believe that John Ramsey, a savvy and wealthy international traveler, and true crime buff, with movie posters tacked to the walls of his basement, didn’t read the book or watch the film.
Years later, he would still deny ever seeing the film even though it closely mirrored his daughter’s “ransom” scenario.
"We Don't Watch Movies That Much"
Ramsey’s Ad Asking Public For Help
“Seven months after the murder, the Ramseys took out a full-page ad in the Boulder Daily Camera, revealing to the public for the first time, that whoever authored the note, had used strikingly similar lines and catchphrases from at least three different films in the note-"Ransom" "Dirty Harry", and "Speed.”
John's own son from a previous marriage told police the day after the murder, that the killer must have been an amateur who had seen the movie "Ransom", in which the family of Mel Gibson's character was a "spitting image" of his own. Yet, three years later in this interview- Ramsey claimed he hasn't seen "Ransom"- even though he knows the movie may be crucial to identifying the killer, or author of the ransom note. In my view, there is an attempt to distance and disconnect here. Not only from "Ransom", but from movies in general- "we don't watch movies that much"- even though he had movie posters hung all throughout the basement of his home and had a 96-inch (8-foot screen) that cascaded from the ceiling installed in his bedroom for just that purpose. There are many questions and evidentiary clues that have been buried under the snow of many winters ago. I've seen "Ransom" at least five times over the years, looking for clues or a connection- often rewinding it over and over and watching again. In "Ransom", the note says, "I have your son", and in the Ramsey note it's "We have your daughter." — Via @Cottonstarcrimescene
FBI Agent Who Declined Offer From The Ramsey Camp Was Replaced by Mindhunter Author John E. Douglas
When FBI Agent Greg McCrary turned down the offer to work with the Ramsey camp, the Ramseys swiftly hired profiler John Douglas, author of the book, Mindhunter.
Former Lead Detective, Steve Thomas, Discussed the Decision in His Book.
“Among the books Sergeant Wickman said were on John Ramsey's night stand was Mindhunter, by John Douglas. In the book he wrote that when loved ones or family members are the killers, careful attention is given to"staging'" and diverting suspicion elsewhere. In the Ramsey case, the amateurish ransom note diverted the authorities for several hours.
Douglas also wrote that holidays were particularly stressful times and could trigger violent behavior. JonBenét was killed over Christmas.
Douglas stated that in parental murders, great care is usually shown in the disposal of the body. JonBenét had been carefully tucked into a blanket in a cellar room, and not discarded outside in the freezing cold.
John Douglas was almost denying his own writings in order to give the Ramseys a pass. The dust jacket of his next book identified him as a consultant on the JonBenét Ramsey case. It did not say for which side.
That same day, John Ramsey doubled the reward he was offering to $100,000.”
“This is staging. The purpose of the note is to mislead investigators to make them think this is a ‘kidnap for ransom’ when it’s been in fact a ‘homocide.’” - Retired FBI Agent Greg McCrary
Although still too distraught to meet with us, John and Patsy Ramsey spoke for several hours with their newest trophy hire, John Douglas, formerly with the FBI's behavioral sciences unit.
John Ramsey's lawyer Bryan Morgan was at the profiler's side and permitted no direct questions about the Ramseys during a long interview.
Douglas, wearing a silk tie and an expensive suit, talked with machine-gun rapidity. He said the killer was someone who knew the house well. because it was a high-risk situation, and he pronounced the murder to be a crime of anger directed toward John Ramsey.”
Language Timing & Errors
Timing / Intentional Mistakes
Experts on the CBS series tested the time it would take to write this ransom note. It took every test taker at least 20 minutes to simply recopy the note, without having to even think about what they were writing.
Maternalistic Language
Forensic linguistics experts deemed language in the note "maternalistic.” They felt like the author deliberately made certain spelling errors to make it seem like the writer's native language wasn't English.
Misspelling of “Possession”
"I can't remember how you spell "possession." Are there two s's or-?"
During her teen years and early 20s, Patsy Ramsey memorized lines from the "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"to recite in skits during the talent portion of her pageants. During one scene in the book, a girl ponders to another, "I can't remember how you spell "possession." Are there two s's or-?"
In the ransom note, the word "possession" is misspelled with a single “s.”
Patsy’s Repeated Outfit
A big mystery early on in the case was how likely was Patsy Ramsey to wear the same outfit two days in a row? When Officer French arrived to the Ramsey residence, just minutes after Patsy's 911 call, he noticed Patsy was wearing the same exact outfit she had worn the night before at the Christmas party with the Whites: black velvet pants, a red turtleneck and a red and black checked jacket. He thought this was suspicious.
Friends would later tell police that Patsy was not one to repeat an outfit.
“Patsy was a southern belle and a former beauty queen, by all accounts from those who knew her. There is no probable way that she would intentionally wear the same outfit twice in a row.”
Patsy herself is quoted in a newspaper article in 1977, detailing what she packed for the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, stating that she always made sure to select enough articles of clothing "to last the week and never to be seen in the same thing twice."
Patsy Wearing the Same Outfit Could Only Be Three Things:
She was too distraught over whatever occurred in the middle of the night to undress & redress herself the following morning.
She frantically redressed herself in the same outfit before police arrived because she was too upset to choose a new outfit.
The wardrobe was intentionally repeated to account for fibers she knew could show up in forensic examinations. It’s likely that Patsy would have cradled her daughter JonBenét when she found her wounded or unconscious in the basement hours earlier leaving traces of her fibers and DNA on JonBenét.
Perhaps this is why Patsy threw herself over JonBenét’s dead body after John laid her on the floor in front of her.
According to Detective Linda Arndt's report, when John brought JonBenét’s body upstairs to the living room, he started wailing and rolling around next to her body, pausing every few seconds to look down at the hallway to see if Patsy and the others were walking in. He repeated these behaviors almost as if he wanted everyone to witness his performance upon their arrival. Or, was it a prompt signaling Patsy to throw herself over JonBenét’s body like they had rehearsed?
How much calculation went into preparing for this whole post-morning display of shock and grief. . . ?
John Ramsey’s Flight Plans After the Murder
After JonBenét’s body was found, John Ramsey’s focus was an escape. He was overheard making two calls to his personal pilot arranging a flight to Atlanta just 35-40 minutes after finding out his daughter had been brutally killed in their home. Evidence indicates that John Ramsey's Plan A was to get his family to lawyers in Atlanta, and Plan B — to immediately retain lawyers in Boulder.
On December 26th, he said he had a meeting in Atlanta that he couldn't miss. When he couldn't go, he moved the location of the meeting.
TIMELINE
1:05 PM: John Ramsey finds JonBenét’s body in basement and carries her upstairs. Detective Linda Arndt directs him to put the body on the kitchen floor rug, so he moves body to the living room rug.
1:05 - 1:20 PM: Multiple calls are made to 911 and pages to Bolder PD are submitted by Det.. Linda Arndt, John Ramsey and others. John is sent to the den by Det. Ardnt, but returns immediately to the living room. John places a blanket on top of JonBenét’s body and tells Det. Arndt she was right — it must have been "an inside job." Both parents embrace their daughter’s body. A minister is called to the site to lead a group prayer.
1:20-1:30 PM: Officer Weiss and paramedics arrive at the scene. Officer French, Sgt. Larry Mason, Det. Bill Palmer, Sgt. Dave Kicera and FBI SA Ron Walker enter.
1:40 PM: Det. Palmer overhears John Ramsey on the phone with his pilot in his study trying to arrange a flight to Atlanta later that day. Palmer tells John he can't leave and then tells Sgt. Mason and Det. Arndt about the call.
1:40 PM: Sgt. Mason tells John Ramsey he has to stay in Boulder to assist in the investigation. John says that he has an important meeting in Atlanta (which contradicted his original plan to go on a holiday trip to Michigan). When Sgt. Mason tells John he must stay in Boulder, he agrees to stay.
Vital Deadline Goes Unnoticed
In the Vanity Fair piece, Anne Louise Bardach highlighted how John and Patsy Ramsey seemingly ignored the dire deadline for the phone call that was supposed to come in between 8-10am. John even left the house at one point during this timeframe to pick up mail.
“The ransom note warned the couple not to contact the police but to await a phone call between 8 and 10 that morning. Arndt wrote in her report that “between 10:30 and noon, John Ramsey left the house to pick up the family mail,” which she later saw him open and read. At one P.M., when no call had come, Arndt asked Ramsey and Fleet White to follow her to the kitchen. An investigator describes the scene: “She said, ‘I want you to search this house. From top to bottom.’ She had barely finished speaking when John Ramsey bolted from the kitchen and headed down to the basement. Fleet White told us that Ramsey went directly to a small broken window on the north side of the house and paused. Fleet said to Ramsey, ‘Hey, John, look at this.’ And John said, ‘Yeah, I broke it last summer.’ He wanted Fleet to see the window to set up an intruder theory, but no one but a small child or a midget could have crawled through that space. While Fleet is looking at the window, John disappears down the hall directly to the little room where the body is. It’s a huge basement with a lot of rooms and corridors, but Ramsey went directly to that room. He screamed, and Fleet ran to him.” White had previously peered into that windowless storage room but had not seen the body.” - ALB, Vanity Fair
JonBenét’s Body Was Wiped Down
Retired FBI profiler, Robert Ressler, told The Denver Post he was sure the child knew her killer. He suspected the killer was amongst the "immediate circle"of people surrounding the home. That circle would include: her immediate family, neighbors, friends of the family, Ramsey houseworkers, adolescent boys who lived in the neighborhood, and members of her half-brother's nearby fraternity house.
Ressler believed the killer intended to kill the child, but felt great remorse about the death. The wiping of her body he said was further indication that the killer was not a serial killer, child molester or predator. "A more casual killer - a predator, a serial killer - wouldn't be into wiping the body," said Ressler. "It shows a psychological remorse or a concern. Usually a predator doesn't get caught up in a "cleanup."
Prior to the autopsy, Former Boulder police Commander John Eller decided there might be evidence of a sexual attack associated with the murder and instructed his detectives to attend the autopsy. Linda Arndt and Tom Trujillo were able to watch everything the coroner John Meyer did. The detectives were even allowed to perform a number of tests on the body during the autopsy procedure.
The shining of a UV or 'black' light over selected crime scene areas is a widely used forensic technique.
According the Coroner Who Performed the Autopsy:
When the UV-A light was aimed on JonBenét’s legs, it was fluorescent on her upper thighs.
Test results from the swabs found no semen present.
The smeared fluid found on JonBenét’s thighs with the UV-A light was determined to be her own blood.
JonBenét’s autopsy confirmed her legs and thighs had been wiped down before she was re-dressed. "The coroner told the police that the blood smears on the skin and the fibers found in the folds of the labia indicated that the child’s pubic area had been wiped with a cloth.
The blood smears contained traces of fibers.
The Underwear
The underwear JB was wearing were brand new and too big - size 10 - purchased for Patsy’s niece during a recent trip to NY. They reportedly read “Wednesday,” the day she was killed.
In the CBS documentary, they tested the same brand of underwear pulled straight from a package to test DNA.
Despite them being new, several DNA markers turned up in results, proving even new articles of clothing are tainted by samples from outside sources that could stem all the way to the factory where they were produced.
Suitcase Contents Found in the Basement
The Ramsey’s home in Boulder was spacious, 7K square feet, with a relatively large basement. JonBenét's body was found in the wine cellar, located at the back corner of the basement. On the other side of the basement, there was a broken window. John Ramsey said he actually broke the window weeks earlier when he was locked out of his house, but did not discount the possibility that someone else could have slipped into the house through the open window. In fact, one retired police detective actually demonstrated that an adult male could fit through the gap.
Additionally, a suitcase was found below the window. According to the Denver Post, a Samsonite suitcase was situated in a way that it could serve as a stepping stone. It had a footprint on it. People who support the intruder theory still believe this evidence proves someone actually snuck into the house that night.
Inside the suitcase was a blanket stained with semen, confirmed to have come from John Andrews, John Ramsey's son from his first marriage.
Intruder Theory Debunked
Detective Jim Kolar, who worked on the JonBenét case, detailed the whole investigation in his book, Foreign Faction: Who Really Killed JonBenét Ramsey?
In the book, Kolar claims there was a tiny sample of male DNA found on JonBenét's leggings and underwear that didn't match anyone in her family, nor any of the 160 other possible suspects that police looked into which led the prosecution to chase this theory — an intruder must have committed the murder as opposed to someone in the family.
While the initial police reports claimed there were no signs of forced entry, a broken basement window was later investigated as a possible entry point. Kolar reportedly grew frustrated with the investigation's focus on the intruder theory. According to The Daily Beast, “there was a small triangle of cobwebs in the window from which the supposed intruder entered the home that went completely undisturbed during the abduction. Ostensibly, if someone broke into the home through the window, the cobwebs would have been at least a little mussed. Kolar also claims that a shard of glass from the broken window was found resting on the window sill and that, too, likely would have been brushed away with the cobwebs by an entering intruder.”
The cobwebs not being broken at the alleged point of entry suggests a false theory.
Ramseys On-Air
John and Patsy Ramsey made their first public television appearance on CNN on January 1, 1997. In it, they warned the public about a “killer on the loose” and professed their innocence to a captivated nation.
Patsy Recalls Finding Ransom Note
Patsy Asks the Public to Help Them Find the “Killer on the Loose” and Announces a $100,000 Reward
John Ramsey Denies Molestation Rumors
Patsy Cries on Camera and Advises Parents to “Keep Their Babies Close”
Patsy Plays the Christian Card: “God knows who you are and we will find you!”
JonBenét’s Funeral
December 31st, 1996 was JonBenet Ramsey’s funeral. She was buried in a pageant gown. Before her coffin was closed, JonBenet’s family and close friends gathered to say their last goodbyes. Some brought small tokens: a gold bracelet fastened around her tiny wrist by her grandmother, a special gift she had bought and saved to give to JonBenet on a birthday that would never be. Patsy’s sister, Polly, placed a golden cross in her hands. The cross was originally a gift to Patsy by their pastor during her cancer treatment two years earlier. Aunt Pam carefully placed a tiara, her “Little Miss Christmas” crown won in a pageant earlier in the year, on JonBenet’s head.
John Ramsey tucked a beautiful silk scarf around JonBenet before he kissed her goodbye.
The final gift was a “Sister Socks,” a plush, striped grey cat with white paws, JonBenet’s favorite stuffed animal. With tears in her eyes, Patsy placed Sister Socks in the crook of JonBenet’s right arm.
Before the coffin was closed, a family friend asked Patsy if she was sure about letting Sister Socks go. “You’ll need her more than JonBenet.”
“No,” Patsy replied in a whisper. “Sister Socks belongs with her.”
Faith as Distraction
To the Ramseys, reputation meant everything. Religion was a defining factor in securing a desired image as a wholesome Christian family. The power of reputation was their greatest defense. They never missed an opportunity to weave in references of God during televised interviews, which led some to assume they could not possibly commit such an atrocious crime or be complicit in a murder under the plies of faith.
According to Anne Louise Bardach, many of the district attorneys team believed the Ramseys were “good Christians,” “nice people” and “found it unfathomable” that anyone would consider them suspects.
The district attorney supported the intruder theory and believed an intruder likely broke into the house. The Ramseys helped spread this theory during their interviews, even asking the public to help find the “murderer on the loose.”Investigators, on the other hand, held an opposing position, believing the evidence strongly pointed to the Ramseys as main suspects, causing a riff in division between the two parties trying to solve the case. Which Steve Thomas succinctly addressed in his resignation letter.
Pineapple Theory
The pineapple remnants found in JB’s small intestine in the autopsy report, and the bowl of pineapples found on the dining room table are still two of the most baffling clues plaguing this case.
Did the late night snack explain a plausible motive?
Theory being: JB maybe snagged a piece of fruit from Burke’s bowl, which triggered a violent outburst and he gravely injured JonBenét in response. Thinking she was already dead (or at least fatally injured) one of the Ramseys could have finished the job to cover up a murder in those crucial hours before a 911 call was placed.
“James Kolar, the former chief investigation for the District Attorney in Boulder, theorized in his book what many experts have agreed with. That Patsy may have left Burke with a bowl of pineapple and some tea, and when JonBenet attempted to sneak some of the fruit, it prompted Burke to lash out and strike her with a crushing blow from a flashlight that fatally fractured her skull.”
Burke’s fingerprints were found on a bowl of pineapples left on the kitchen counter.
Pineapple was one of JonBenét’s favorite snacks.
Remnants of pineapple were found in JonBenét’s stomach in the autopsy, meaning she ate some pineapple shortly before her death.
Some believe Burke shared a midnight snack of pineapple with JonBenét before her death, or that JonBenét maybe took some of Burke’s fruit, triggering a temper tantrum that resulted in deadly injury.
