JonBenet Ramsey - a question for those who follow this story

[NY Disney fan]

Last week they released the indictment of her parents for child abuse. Does anyone know what the documents were referring to? How did her parents put her in harm's way?

 

[Tanuki]

It's just a "by the book" thing that if a child is found dead in the home the parents are the first ones to be suspects. Apparently Jon Benet's mom kept taking her to the Pediatrician for some sort of recurrent complaint in her genital area. There might have been some sort of physical evidence when that area was evaluated post-mortem which led the police to believe someone must have been molesting her. The persons having most opportunity would be the parents.

There is also the thing about the ransom note - which had a strangely coincidental request for the exact amount of Mr Ramsey's bonus that year - $118, 000 as well as a "rough draft" found in the home. It would appear the entire ransom note was written while the killer just sat around the house for hours undiscovered.

So, the scenario, if they had gone to court would probably have played like this: Some family member has been molesting Jon Benet (there were three in the house Mom, Dad and the brother), one parent or the other finds out about this is going on, and kills the child to keep the secret from getting out, then tries to cover her death up by staging a fake kidnapping and writing a ransom note - thinking they can move the body at a later point, because the note would cause the police to search OUTSIDE the house.

It always seemed they were going to try to pin this on the mom, but the prosecutor didn't think there was enough evidence to get through the trial process and come out with a conviction. You only get one chance to try someone and murder doesn't have a statute of limitations, so the prosecution decided to wait until maybe someone in the family decided to be a witness. But no one did. Mrs Ramsey died a few years ago.

 

[Arielle22]

The DNA found on her body ended up not matching any of the family. A few years ago, the new DA wrote a letter clearing the Ramseys and apologizing for all they had been put through.

Since the DA at the time didn't think there was enough evidence to proceed, maybe the grand jury just thought someone should be held responsible for the death of a child.

 

[NY Disney fan]

This is helpful. I didn't know JB was going to the doctor on a regular basis for something unusual. I agree that all of this was pre-meditated and the note was written and the garrote was created while JB was still alive.

I have a theory that the parents did not kill the girl but the parents knew the killer (meaning: the killer was someone they knew). I don't think it was the parents but wouldn't be 100% surprised if one of the parents killed the girl. The DNA did clear them but still.

My theory is that the killer had been in that house before and knew the family.

 

[RitaE]

Just to add to the above summary. About 5 years ago more Advanced DNA testing came into play and it was confirmed that there was DNA on the pajamas and the little girl's underpants that did not belong to any family member. There has never been a match found for this DNA. It is likely that if a match for the DNA is ever found, they case will be solved.

Again, this is major evidence that the Grand Jury at the time did not have and most of the investigative experts who have studied the case will vote that it clears both Mr. Ramsey and Jon Benet's brother -- who were the two main suspects that were frequently brought out as possibles.

Really what the Grand Jury at the time had was a body, an obvious murder, a really weird family, and a lot of suspicious looking evidence that in the absence of other more reliable evidence --- grew larger and larger importance in everybody's minds.

 

[EMom]

It makes no sense to me that Patsy Ramsey would haul her daughter to the doctor to try and determine what the problem was, but kill her to cover up sexual abuse. People who want to keep that sort of thing covered up don't typically run to the doctor.

The ransom amount means someone knew the exact amount of the father's bonus, either because they knew the family or because they hid in the house and heard it discussed. If you have ever looked at a floor plan of their house, someone could have hidden in it for ages without being discovered. I remember looking at it and being creeped out at how easy it would have been to stay in that house undetected. In fact, we built a house with a hidden area in the laundry room which could have hidden someone for a long time. The JonBenet case so disturbed me that I frequently checked that hidden place in our house to make sure no one was there.

This will never be solved.

 

[NY Disney fan]

This will never be solved.

I think it will, unless the killer is dead and even then they can probaby exhume him for DNA. I am confident this case will be solved. One day.

 

[wiigirl]

The DNA found on her body ended up not matching any of the family. A few years ago, the new DA wrote a letter clearing the Ramseys and apologizing for all they had been put through.

Since the DA at the time didn't think there was enough evidence to proceed, maybe the grand jury just thought someone should be held responsible for the death of a child.

 

[RitaE]

I think she is just speaking toward a natural human tendency that when a child dies, people want to place blame. This is true whether it is a kidnap/murder or a kid out riding their bicycle who gets hit by a car or an accidental drowning. When we can't find exactly who to blame we tend to fall back on "Blame the Parents!" "Blame the Mother!"

It is just human instinct.

All I can say is that this particular case has been intensely investigated for years by some of the top experts around. They have had access to mounds of testimony and evidence that has never been made public and they have the education and experience to make a better analysis of the case than I will ever be able to accomplish.

If they make a statement that says "We don't believe Jon Benet's family is responsible" then I just don't have much further to take it. I can understand why people form theories about the Ramsey family because I think most people look at that case and do the same thing.

But unless we ever get some more of the puzzle pieces, I'm just personally going to stop at "Well the experts say they weren't involved."

 

[MrsDuck]

I am around JonBenet's age and this case has haunted me since I was a child. I remember seeing it on the news right after Christmas while we were visiting my family in WV and staying in their basement (scary for a FL girl!).

I am so curious to know what actually happened to JonBenet. It seems like the parents have to be involved but the scientific evidence is just not there. I agree with the PP who suggests that the parents knew the person who killed her.

There are just too many things that don't add up (the pineapple she ate before she died and the bowl of pineapple/spoon with her brother's DNA on it, the ransom note draft, the exact info in the note, etc). It's so very frightening and I truly hope there was no one in the house hidden for that long because that takes this case to a whole other level of terrifying.

I hope we have answers, someday...

 

[goofy!]

I think it will, unless the killer is dead and even then they can probaby exhume him for DNA. I am confident this case will be solved. One day.

Probably not. At least not where the murderer will go to jail.

I live in Boulder. JonBenét went to our neighborhood school. My son is the same age, but different kindergarten classroom. Most of us here follow the story because it is local, many knew them, went to the same church, same school, etc. We hear a ton of local stuff that is usually never published nationally.

The general consensus around here is even if the cops are reasonably sure they have the right person, since the crime scene was so compromised, there is no way it can ever be prosecuted.

 

[moon]

There are just some strange things in this case. Like the ransom note being written in one of the mother's notebooks, with one of her pens, the wording on the ransom note resembling her own speech pattern

She was also wearing the same dress from the day before (like she never went to sleep); there's also the parents saying that Burke, the older brother was asleep, but his voice could be heard on the 911 call...

Also, how bizarre it is that they wouldn't wake the older brother to find out if he was OK, and if he had heard something?

They also didn't want to cooperate with the police.

There are more things which escape me now. I'm aware of the DNA evidence, but I really believe that family was somehow involved in her death. To many strange, unanswered questions when it comes to them

 

[goofy!]

There are just some strange things in this case. Like the ransom note being written in one of the mother's notebooks, with one of her pens, the wording on the ransom note resembling her own speech pattern

She was also wearing the same dress from the day before (like she never went to sleep); there's also the parents saying that Burke, the older brother was asleep, but his voice could be heard on the 911 call...

Also, how bizarre it is that they wouldn't wake the older brother to find out if he was OK, and if he had heard something?

They also didn't want to cooperate with the police.

There are more things which escape me now. I'm aware of the DNA evidence, but I really believe that family was somehow involved in her death. To many strange, unanswered questions when it comes to them

Don't believe everything you read, especially theories on the internet.

A ton of stuff that has been published is stuff made up by conspiracy theorists over the years, such as groups (not the police) saying they have had handwriting experts look at the note and determine that Patsy wrote it.

 

[of the seas]

There are just too many things that don't add up (the pineapple she ate before she died and the bowl of pineapple/spoon with her brother's DNA on it, the ransom note draft, the exact info in the note, etc). It's so very frightening and I truly hope there was no one in the house hidden for that long because that takes this case to a whole other level of terrifying.

I hope we have answers, someday...

Yea, and the fact that the parents said they didn't give her pineapple. Plus in the ransom note it said something like John being a southern gentleman. How would some random person know he was from the south.

 

[NY Disney fan]

Don't believe everything you read, especially theories on the internet.

A ton of stuff that has been published is stuff made up by conspiracy theorists over the years, such as groups (not the police) saying they have had handwriting experts look at the note and determine that Patsy wrote it.

I heard Patsy's 911 call the other day and she sounded extremely genuine. I mean the woman was hyperventilating.

 

[goofy!]

Yea, and the fact that the parents said they didn't give her pineapple. Plus in the ransom note it said something like John being a southern gentleman. How would some random person know he was from the south.

He was president and CEO/founder of Access Graphics. It was a booming local and national company in Boulder.

He had a very public profile, including his bonus.

It would not be hard at all to find out he was a southern gentleman and his bonus was part of public record. No conspiracies there.

Think of the bigwigs in your town. Everybody knows everything about them. This was in the heyday of the tech period and Access Graphics was big.

As for not cooperating with police, they were under the guidance of their lawyers. As a corporate CEO of a company that was now a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, and seeing the Boulder Sheriff Dept in action, he lawyered up. As well as he should have. Again, no conspiracy there.

 

[RitaE]

As for the Pineapple, I don't think I ever saw two experts agree on how to date how long the food had been in the girl's digestive tract. Note that it was not in her stomach but had passed into her Intestinal system. Opinions ranged from maybe hours to maybe days.

I just now tried to remember everything I fed my child yesterday and I really couldn't tell you accurately and that's just the stuff I fed him and not things he grabbed on his own. I'm also not under any of the stress the family was facing at the time. Unless something new has been released there I don't think the Pineapple theories ever led anywhere.

The Brother's DNA being present inside the house and on family items like plates and utensils is at best supporting evidence if they would have found something else more telling. If we went to your house we'd almost certainly find your DNA all over the place too.

 

[JaneBanks]

I would suggest reading these sites.

http://www.acandyrose.com/jonbenetindex.htm

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=23

http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6

They have tons of info.

I would also read this book by James Kolar. He investigated this case, saw every bit of evidence and does not feel like it was an intruder or someone outside of the family.

http://www.amazon.com/Foreign-Faction-Really-Kidnapped-JonBenet-ebook/dp/B00D5GVSXY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383001521&sr=8-1&keywords=James+Kolar

 

[Mama Mouse]

I used to follow this case closely but haven't for years. The case was botched so, so badly in those first hours, I really don't think they'll ever find out the truth. I agree, though, that it was someone the family knew.

 

[moon]

Don't believe everything you read, especially theories on the internet.

A ton of stuff that has been published is stuff made up by conspiracy theorists over the years, such as groups (not the police) saying they have had handwriting experts look at the note and determine that Patsy wrote it.

Where did I say that it was determined that Patsy wrote the note? I didn't. However, I believe she could not be ruled out.

And what in my post qualifies as a "theory on the internet"? AFAIK those are facts. I'll sum them up and correct me if they are theories and not facts.

Fact: The ransom note was written on a pad belonging to Patsy, using one of her pens.

(comment) The thought of a kidnapper breaking into a house to write a three page ransom note is beyond bizarre. He never worried about being found and took his sweet time to write a really wordy letter.

Fact: Patsy was wearing the same dress as the day before

(comment)kinda strange.

Fact: They didn't wake Burke up to ask if he had heard something which may help find his sister.

Fact: They didn't cooperate with police.

(comment)I'm sure it was under the advise of their lawyers, but when this happened JonBenet was supposedly still alive. I can't Imagine any parents listening to lawyers and not fully cooperating with police so they can find their child as soon as possible!

So, were the points of my post facts, or "theories of the internet"?