JonBenet Ramsey

[TheZue]

How terrible for you; doubly victimized.

Anyone who believes law enforcement and our legal system will always do the right thing is living in a dream world. Pressure to close cases and tie up loose ends too often means the wrong person ends up accused.

I unfortunately lost faith in our police here after we had a couple deaths in police custody/during arrest that they were very secretive about. I honestly don't have a whole lot of trust in them anymore. So I think from that viewpoint going for a lawyer right off the bat doesn't necessarily indicate guilt but possibly even fear of the police.

 

[yeartolate]

Stalling? The child was found dead.

Umm, in order to find the killer, the police are obligated to clear those closest to the victim first.

So, um yeah....stalling.

My gut tells me that the parents were probably thinking the boy had something to do with it and they needed time to figure out if he did and what to do.

 

[DisneyMomOK]

My gut tells me that the parents were probably thinking the boy had something to do with it and they needed time to figure out if he did and what to do.

I have no idea if you have had contact with many 9 year-old boys, but the physical nature of her injuries (head wound, strangulation) would have made it impossible for a child of his stature to have committed it, aside from the other minor problem of the semen's DNA on her underwear which did not match his DNA.

I cannot even fathom anyone thinking that a parent would, for even a moment, consider their fourth-grade son capable of murdering their first-grade daughter in such a depraved, sexually sadistic manner. No parent that I know would ever consider a child of theirs capable of such an act, even if they were presented with conclusive evidence. I have both a daughter and a son and I would never consider either possible of harming the other. Never.

 

[yeartolate]

I have no idea if you have had contact with many 9 year-old boys, but the physical nature of her injuries (head wound, strangulation) would have made it impossible for a child of his stature to have committed it, aside from the other minor problem of the semen's DNA on her underwear which did not match his DNA.

I cannot even fathom anyone thinking that a parent would, for even a moment, consider their fourth-grade son capable of murdering their first-grade daughter in such a depraved, sexually sadistic manner. No parent that I know would ever consider a child of theirs capable of such an act, even if they were presented with conclusive evidence. I have both a daughter and a son and I would never consider either possible of harming the other. Never.

The parants did not have any of this information at the time of the murder did they?

But of course the point is, by stalling the investigation - and as close family they would always be the first people to rule out,they brought suspicion on themselves.

I cannot fathom not being an open book when my child was just murdered.

 

[DisneyMomOK]

The parants did not have any of this information at the time of the murder did they?

But of course the point is, by stalling the investigation - and as close family they would always be the first people to rule out,they brought suspicion on themselves.

I cannot fathom not being an open book when my child was just murdered.

JonBenet's Dad found her. Obviously, he could see the enormous gash in her skull and the stick/cord that was used to strangle her. I have no idea how her clothing was arranged, but it was probably evident to him she had been assaulted.

Since I have never had a child murdered, I have no idea how I would react. I do know I would never assume the police would be without their own prejudices when dealing with a rich family in such a high profile case. Patsy was deemed a edited by the police and most of the community and portrayed as such by the media. I believe they tried to be forthright initially and soon saw where the investigators were headed.

 

[yeartolate]

JonBenet's Dad found her. Obviously, he could see the enormous gash in her skull and the stick/cord that was used to strangle her. I have no idea how her clothing was arranged, but it was probably evident to him she had been assaulted.

Since I have never had a child murdered, I have no idea how I would react. I do know I would never assume the police would be without their own prejudices when dealing with a rich family in such a high profile case. Patsy was deemed a B by the police and most of the community and portrayed as such by the media. I believe they tried to be forthright initially and soon saw where the investigators were headed.

It is simple. You react by giving the police everything they ned to know to clear you and get on with finding the killer.

No more no less.

I can understand if this was a non violent case. But this is your kid. You selflessly put yourself out there no matter what.

I feel bad for what the Ramseys went through, but they made it worse on temselves.

 

[DisneyMomOK]

It is simple. You react by giving the police everything they ned to know to clear you and get on with finding the killer.

No more no less.

I can understand if this was a non violent case. But this is your kid. You selflessly put yourself out there no matter what.

I feel bad for what the Ramseys went through, but they made it worse on temselves.

I wish that there were always police that did the right thing. Unfortunately, sometimes there are not. I hope that someday the DNA that was found on JonBenet will eventually lead to her killer.

 

[SereneOne]

Umm, in order to find the killer, the police are obligated to clear those closest to the victim first.

So, um yeah....stalling.

My gut tells me that the parents were probably thinking the boy had something to do with it and they needed time to figure out if he did and what to do.

You said they where stalling when the child was just missing, or maybe I misunderstood you.

And yes, you are correct that they need to clear those closest to the victim first, however, what they did do was allow the crime scene to be compromised, along with many other mistakes. The cops proved themselves time and again not to be interested in finding who really killed Jon Benet but in closing the case. I do not think we will ever know who killed this poor baby unless they confess on their deathbed, but in this case I do not believe the parents did it. I think it was someone close to them that is a pedophile.

 

[themilesfamily]

Didn't they find stun gun marks on the child's body? It seems unlikely that a 9-year old sibling would have used a stun gun. And the child had a garrotte twisted around her neck. Would the parents or a sibling really have gone to that extent?

I think a stranger would be more likely to use a stun gun and a garrotte as part of an assault. I support the stranger/intruder theory.

 

[Disney Doll]

In July, the Boulder DA (Mary Lacy) declared the Ramseys innocent beyond doubt. I doubt she would have done so without proof. I know there are people who continue to write articles/blogs as if they are privy to some special, secret evidence and persist in implicating her parents and other family members, but I tend to believe the DA on this one.

Isn't it funny how we tend to believe the government representatives on the things we want to believe but we don't believe the goivernment representatives on the things we don't want to believe.

 

[ctinct]

Wasn't there some indication much later that a handyman who had worked at the home some time prior may have been involved? I believe he is dead now, however, so I imagine it is quite difficult to follow up.

And, I truly believe none of us know how we would react in a crisis of this sort. (Just look at all the different ways people grieve. Some of us withdraw, some snap right back, some completely break down for a time, etc. Heck, my bils, sils, and ex GIGGLED through most of his grandmother's wake. I am sure most people thought we were most inapproriate, but we started reminiscing about all the good and funny times we had had with that awesome spitfire of a woman and just got carried away. She would have loved it! )

Statistically, it is usually someone who does know the victim who is the guilty one. I cannot fathom how that would feel-to know that you are under suspicion if you are not guilty. Yes, it is necessary for the police to consider those close to the victim as suspects, but how horrible that must be. For this family, the horror must have been magnified a thousand fold. Not only was the mother assumed to be guilty, but the son was also considered as a suspect. I am sure the whole pageant thing made it worse. Look how many posters have cited it already. Not a choice I would have made for my daughters, but then again, a lot of people make choices for their children that I would not make for my own children, even here on the DIS. Doesn't mean they are bad people; just means they have different priorities than I do.

I feel so sad that the mom died knowing that many people assumed she killed her daughter. My feeling is that if she had, it should have been relatively easy for the police to prove it, especially considering all the public scrutiny of the case. Who among us could stand that kind of public condemnation? I certainly don't think I could have. That family unit must have been a strong one. Her family stood by her until the end. I know countless families that have been torn apart by much smaller crises.

 

[Green Tea]

JonBenet would have turned 18 yesterday. It's perhaps a good time to reflect back on her case and how the media and public treated it.

Not that it isn't a good time to think about the poor child, but I think her birthday was August 6. She was murdered on Christmas Day, maybe?

 

[RainbowBrite]

JonBenet's Dad found her. Obviously, he could see the enormous gash in her skull and the stick/cord that was used to strangle her. I have no idea how her clothing was arranged, but it was probably evident to him she had been assaulted.

Since I have never had a child murdered, I have no idea how I would react. I do know I would never assume the police would be without their own prejudices when dealing with a rich family in such a high profile case. Patsy was deemed a edited by the police and most of the community and portrayed as such by the media. I believe they tried to be forthright initially and soon saw where the investigators were headed.

There was no visible gash on JonBenet's head. They only found out about the head injury during the autopsy.

 

[Disney Doll]

There was no visible gash on JonBenet's head. They only found out about the head injury during the autopsy.

Completely OT, but that's a great picture in your signature.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Here's what doesn't make sense to me.

There was a long (rambling) ransom note found. It was written on a pad of paper from the Ramsey's kitchen. They also found a "practice" page or two where the person started writing the note and then started over again.

If this was an intruder/outsider, when and why would he write this note? I can't imagine he'd do it first - sit in the kitchen, an entire household of people sleeping upstairs, and write a practice draft or two and then a long ransom note, all the time risking being caught, before going up to kidnap the child. If you actually intend to kidnap the child, surely you'd write the ransom note before leaving home! What if the people whose home you were breaking into didn't have any paper handy?

But doing it afterwards doesn't make any more sense: you've just killed a child and hidden her in the basement, and now you relax in the kitchen writing this lengthy note (a note that, by the way, showed inside knowledge of the Ramseys by referring to John's bonus and a group he'd belonged to). Again, if you'd murdered a child, wouldn't you just want to get the heck out of there and not risk having someone come downstairs and find you there writing a long letter? And why write it at all? Do you think you're going to be able to collect a ransom for a child you've killed and put in the basement? It makes no sense.

The only way it makes sense to me is if it was a family member, who felt safe in the house, and who thought this might cover up the crime and lead the police to be looking for an outsider.

I don't know about the DNA aspect - maybe there is some other explanation that hasn't been discussed. But I can't get past that 'ransom note.'

Teresa

 

[Disney Doll]

There are many strange details about the case. I can't get past the feeling that it was not a stranger who killed that child. It may not have been her parents and I am quite sure that it was probably not her brother...although I will agree with those who feel that her parents behaved quite strangely...but I don't think the person was a stranger to the family.

I do agree that the police screwed up the investigation and, at this point, we may never know.

And I wholeheartedly disagree with taking young girls and turning them into little beauty queens. Sorry, too many pervs out there for me to be parading my kid around like that.

 

[DisneyMomOK]

Isn't it funny how we tend to believe the government representatives on the things we want to believe but we don't believe the goivernment representatives on the things we don't want to believe.

In this case, I believe the DNA, which was examined by a high-profile lab, and resulted in the exoneration by the DA. I also had faith in the Grand Jury which heard every piece of evidence the then DA had to offer against the Ramseys, but was still unable to convince them that an indictment was in order. I tend to be a little skeptical of information reported in the press, especially in a sensational case where new revelations sell papers.

 

[DisneyMomOK]

And I whileheartedly disagree with taking young girls and turning them into little beauty queens. Sorry, too many pervs out there for me to be parading my kid around like that.

The parents should have used their money to hire detectives to retrieve DNA (discarded cups, tissues, whatever) from all the pageant regulars. I think that might have solved the crime.

 

[CandyMandy]

In July, the Boulder DA (Mary Lacy) declared the Ramseys innocent beyond doubt.

Only a seated jury in a murder case against someone who has been charged can do that, so while some DA can have that opinion, I doesn't mean anything. Especially to those (including me) who still see the parents as suspects.

 

[ksumn1]

In this case I believe the new DNA. Also, I CAN believe the keller would hve made one of 2 "tries" at the note before being satisfied. Keep in mind you're not talking about a normal, well balanced human being here. This is a person who assaulted then killed an innocent child. If you're depraved enough to murder then why not rewrite the note??

I find the whold thing terribly tragic. Not just the death but the facty that the family was villified and that there has really been no justice nor resolution in this case. I find it hard to say how I would act if my child was killed. I would definately cooperate but what if I felt sdeep down that the PD was not trying to solve the case but to pin it on me or a family member? I'm sure I would act differently and would immediately hire an attorney. It's one of those "I hope I never have to find out" scenarios


And Patsy Ramsey is buried in Marietta, GA next to her mother. She died of cancer after the family moved to Atlanta.