Back to Ramsey Did It Theories The John & Patsy Ramsey Theories Incriminating Evidence Regarding Ramseys Could Parents Do This? Lack of Cooperation Lack of Affection Framing Friends and Workers? What Happened to "Missing" Intruder Evidence Mysterious American Girl Doll Order Why No Indictment? Exculpatory Evidence Regarding Ramseys General Evidence Specific Evidence Early Cooperation Parents Endured Tough Questions Character of Parents No Indictment. False Accusations by Media The Globe National Enquirer

 

Back to Ramsey Did It Theories

 

The John & Patsy Ramsey Theories

• RDI theories differ on who killed JBR and whether or when the parent who did it told the other and involved them in a cover-up.
• The following briefly summarizes evidence that tends to incriminate or exculpate both parents, whereas subsequent sections will then focus on the evidence that tends to incriminate or exculpate them as individuals.

 

Incriminating Evidence Regarding Ramseys

Could Parents Do This?

• From FBI agent Ron Walker, who was at the Ramsey house on 12/26/96 from the A & E program "Anatomy of an Investigation": "Well, as much as it pains me to say it, yes, I've seen parents who have decapitated their children, I've seen cases where parents have drowned their children in bathtubs, I've seen cases where parents have strangled their children, have placed them in paper bags and smothered them, have strapped them in car seats and driven them into a body of water, any way that you can think of that a person can kill another person, almost all those ways are also ways that parents can kill their children."
• 6 Children Strangled by Mother (St. Paul, MN: 1998). "On September 3, 1998, in St. Paul, Minnesota, Khoua Her, a Hmong immigrant who had been living in the United States for several years, (2) strangled her six children and attempted suicide before calling 911 to report the incident."
• 3 Children Strangled by Parents (2003). "June, 2003 a young couple in Texas strangled and then decapitated their three young children."
• 4 Children Strangled by Mother (Elkhart, IN: 2006). "A woman accused of strangling her four young children was charged with murder...Alvarez was found unconscious with a faint pulse Nov. 14 in the basement of her Elkhart home next to the bodies of the four children, who Hill said were strangled."

 

 

 

Lack of Cooperation

• The parents were not cooperative in talking with authorities in a timely fashion.

1. They placed strict conditions on how they would be interviewed. In April 1998, "John Ramsey wrote a letter to Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter at home and offered to meet. The only ground rule: no Boulder police would be allowed in the room." (Glick et al. 1998).
2. The parents "lawyered up" very quickly.

 

Lack of Affection

"Linda Hoffman-Pugh, who worked for the family as a cleaning woman for nearly fourteen months prior to JonBenet's death...asserts the Ramseys had a troubled marriage. (PSDMF P 4.) Ms. Hoffman-Pugh states that Mr. Ramsey "berated" Mrs. Ramsey for being "a lousy homemaker and cook" shortly before the murder and that the couple "never once demonstrated any affection for each other, physical or otherwise, in front of her." (PSDMF PP 95-98.)" (Carnes 2003:13).

 

Framing Friends and Workers?

• Many who believe the Ramseys did it point to their alleged efforts to have close friends or family "thrown under the bus" as targets of suspicion.
• Fleet White, Jr. In police interviews, the Ramseys mentioned Fleet White in varying contexts all while overtly denying that they believed he was capable of such a killing. A permanent rift arose between Fleet White and John Ramsey that was already apparent by JBR's wedding. Some believe Fleet White was suspicious of John and that this might have provided motivation for the Ramseys to cast some doubts on Fleet White's innocence or veracity.
• Linda Pugh-Hoffman? Internet poster Plenum7 argues that odd clues such as finding Burke's Swiss army knife (even though it had been hidden for a month), no obvious point of entry and several RN clues all can be explained as deliberate efforts to point attention at Linda Pugh-Hoffman, i.e., someone who knew where the knife was hidden and also could enter the house with a key.

 

What Happened to "Missing" Intruder Evidence

• Taken by Pam Paugh. Many believe Pam Paugh was able to remove and incriminating evidence when she returned to the house for funeral clothes for the Ramseys and left with a large number of items. Steve Thomas reported that Paugh removed a large number of items from the house, including: "stuffed animals, tiaras, three dresses for JonBenet, pageant photo portfolios, toys and clothes for Burke, John Ramsey's Daytimer, the desk Bible, and clothing. For Patsy, there were black pants, dress suits, boots, and the contents of a curio cabinet. Bills, credit cards, a black cashmere trench coat, jewelry that included her grandmother's ring and an emerald necklace, bathrobes, a cell phone, personal papers, bank records, Christmas stockings, her Nordstrom's credit card, and even their passports!" (Thomas 2000:52).
• Hidden by Ramseys? Internet poster Canny suggests the Ramseys cut up the missing piece of paintbrush, tape and rope and flushed them down the toilet.

 

Mysterious American Girl Doll Order

• Doll Ordered 1/1/1997. Internet poster Jahazafat claims she used to work for Pleasant Company, which sells American Girl dolls. She found that on January 1, 1997, an American Girl doll had been ordered by and shipped to JonBenet herself at Pearl Street (the location of Access Graphics).
• Potential Source of Duct Tape or Fibers? Internet poster Jahazafat believes the duct tape, dark blue fibers and tan fibers found at the crime scene all may have come from this doll, but Boulder authorities have taken no action based on her bringing this to their attention. (The doll also has a cord in the back that some thought might match the ligature, but this has been ruled out.
• Possible Motivation for Ordering Doll. Some believe John Ramsey may have ordered this doll in case he was asked for the other one by police so that they wouldn't notice missing duct tape (which would have left a residue).
• Innocent Explanation? But Internet poster VP suggested that perhaps this doll was back-ordered or part of a "subscription" in which new dolls are sent every X months.

 

Why No Indictment?

• Does Absenced of Indictment=Absence of Guilt? Skeptics argue that just because an indictment was not issued does not mean one or both parents were not guilty. Several reasons have been offered for why DA Alex Hunter ultimately elected not to prosecute the Ramseys.

1. Which Parent Did it? Former prosecutor Wendy Murphy has stated: "It‘s why the JonBenet Ramsey parents are both free, because you can‘t try the father, he‘ll blame the mother. You can‘t try the mother, she‘ll—so they both walk."
2. DNA Created Reasonable Doubt. According to the Observer Magazine (Guardian Unlimited): "'They were going to test all the Bloomingdales factory workers in Hong Kong, until they realised it wouldn't have made any difference,' says Bob Grant, former District Attorney for Adams County and adviser to the grand jury. 'I can make the whole argument - it came from the factory, it came from the cleaners, it came from the pants being placed in a hamper with other clothes that had other foreign DNA on them - it could have come from any number of places. But as a prosecutor, I've got to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. And foreign male DNA mixed with her blood in her underpants: that's reasonable doubt, by definition.' The grand jury voted not to indict the Ramseys. At this point, for the prosecutors, the case was over - it was, as Grant realised early on, an 'unprosecutable case'."

 

Exculpatory Evidence Regarding Ramseys

 

General Evidence

• Motivations for Filicide. A recent article summarized the major reasons for filicide: "Specific motives for filicide were initially described by Resnick, classified as (1) altruistic, (2) acutely psychotic, (3) accidental filicide (fatal maltreatment), (4) unwanted child, and (5) spouse revenge filicide.1 Altruistic filicide is murder committed out of love to relieve the real or imagined suffering of the child. Altruistic filicide may be associated with suicide. For example, a mother who is suicidal may not be willing to leave her child motherless in a "cruel world." Distinct from this, acutely psychotic filicide occurs when a parent in the throes of acute psychosis (e.g., experiencing command hallucinations) kills his or her child with no comprehensible motive. Fatal maltreatment filicide may occur as a result of child abuse, neglect, or Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Parents committing spouse revenge filicides kill children in a specific attempt to make the spouse suffer. Furthermore, filicide may occur within the context of familicide, the extermination of the entire family."
• Parents Who Kill Their Children Typically Display Prior Warning Signs. Jill Korbin, an expert on child abuse, "says there are usually clues that are obvious to those around parents who end up killing their children. "Prior to a homicide, lots of lay people know these men and women are having difficulty parenting..." she said in an AAA press release."
• Degree of Violence Atypical. "The FBI had never before encountered this type of violence in a child homicide. No parent who killed a child had ever used a "garrote" for strangulation" (Schiller 1999a:307; quote and source provided by Internet poster Rainsong.
• Memory is Fallible. The Ramseys have changed some of the details of events surrounding the killing which makes some people assume they are lying or covering up. But human memory is very fallible and probably even moreso in such a stressful situation in which the parents didn't know what to do or what to expect. "I have generally found that parents of child victims often don't remember the details of their own actions during these times of fear and stress" (Douglas 2001:377, quote and source provided by Internet poster SeekingJustice). It might actually be more suspicious if not a single detail of their story changed even after numerous retellings, since that might indicate they are recounting something very carefully planned and rehearsed.
• Beauty Pageant Participation is Common. There are 3,000 beauty pageants held in the U.S. annually; participating parents do not view these as provocative and also generally believe that the girls who are participating do so for fun.

 

Specific Evidence

Early Cooperation

• Ramseys Questioned Early. Judge Carnes notes that BPD "did, however, question defendants jointly at various times on December 26, 27 and 28, and, soon thereafter, began to focus the investigation on defendants as the main subjects. (SMF PP 54, 71-72; PSMF PP 54, 71-72.)" (Carnes 2003:31).
• Extensive Forensic Evidence Provided. "During the course of the investigation, defendants signed over one hundred releases for information requested by the police, and provided all evidence and information requested by the police. (SMF P 61; PSMF 61.)(Carnes 2003:32).
• Handwriting Samples Provided Early. "Upon request, within days after the murder and in the months that followed, defendants provided the police with historical handwriting samples and supervised written exemplars. (SMF P 55; PSMF P 55.) Defendants also gave hair, including pubic hair, and DNA samples to the police. (SMF P 56, 60; PSMF P 56, 60.) Despite widespread criticism that defendants failed to cooperate in the murder investigation, defendants note that they agreed, on at least three occasions, to be interviewed separately by representatives of the police or the Boulder County District Attorney's Office. (SMF P 62; PSMF P 62.)" (Carnes 2003:32).

 

Parents Endured Tough Questions

• 42 Hours of Questioning. The parents endured very tough questioning by law enforcement. The June 1998 interviews "conducted by veteran homicide detectives from other cities, went on for 42 hours." (Glick et al. 1998).
• Interrogators Sought to Break Ramseys Down. "At times, the questioning was rough, as the interrogators tried to break the Ramseys down. Hunter and his staff stood by in a nearby room, watching the proceedings on a bank of closed-circuit monitors." (Glick et al. 1998).

 

Character of Parents

1. No Motive or Pathological Behavior. "Although most of Detective Smit's conclusions derive from his analysis of physical evidence, he has also testified that he has been unable to finds any motive for defendants to murder their daughter. (Smit. Dep. at 146.) Absent from the defendants' family history is any evidence of criminal conduct, sexual abuse, drug or alcohol abuse or violent behavior. (SMF PP 117-119; PSMF P 117-119.)" (Carnes 2003:99-100).
2. Parents Do Not Fit Profile. After spending days with Ramseys and talking with many people about the case, criminal profiler John Douglas concluded the parents did not fit the profile of this crime and he encouraged BPD to talk with people at the FBI. Unfortunately, Douglas reported, "when they came back, the Boulder Police, came back to the FBI Academy in Quantico to present the case, a particular agent there, who had been there for quite a long time said, if the Ramseys are not responsible, not responsible for this murder, I'll turn in my credentials." Because the Boulder police were very inexperienced in homicide, this view held a lot of sway and influenced the BPD investigation in that direction.
3. Barbara Walters Assessment. Barbara Walters interviewed the Ramseys in early 2000. According to Time magazine, "Walters found the Ramseys "credible" overall, and she has helped produce a sympathetic package that could go a long way toward softening their image. She points out that the couple showed up to meet her without an attorney. "I have never done an interview with someone--not that I can remember--who was under the umbrella of suspicion without a lawyer present." And Walters has interviewed a long list of suspected lowlifes: Claus von Bulow, Imelda Marcos, Michael Milken. Says Walters: "Even Monica had a lawyer."
4. No Marital Problems. The Ramseys "strongly deny any such marital problems. (See, e.g., J. Ramsey Dep. at 52; see also F. White Dep. at 170 (stating he perceived no marital problems between defendants).)" (Carnes 2003:13).

 

No Indictment.

1. Insufficient Evidence. "On October 13, 1999, the grand jury was discharged by District Attorney Hunter with no indictment issued. (SMF P 91; PSMF P 91.) The District Attorney, and all other prosecutors involved in the proceedings, believed at that time that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against any person, including defendants John and Patsy Ramsey, in connection with the murder. (SMF PP 91-92; PSMF PP 91-92.)" (Carnes 2003:34).
2. Grand Jury Did Not Think Parents Capable of Such Injuries. In a 2006 CourtTV show, a female Grand Jury member was interviewed. According to Internet poster Evening2, this individual said that "the person who presented the testimony having the greatest impact was the coroner when he described the injuries that were inflicted upon JonBenet, and I think she specifically mentioned the head injury. The GJ said she (they) just couldn't believe that parents could inflict such injuries on their child."

 

• Movie Lines in RN. Lin Wood asserted the Ramseys had not seen any of the movies from which lines were allegedly borrowed, including Speed, Ransom and Dirty Harry. Internet poster cobalt argues: "The number of details taken from Dirty Harry, as well as the minutiae, like repeating 'she dies' 3 times is enough to eliminate the Ramseys as perps. It would be impossible to remember this many details from any movie, let alone an old movie after you've just killed your daughter. This murder was planned, probably well in advance,and by someone who writes and watches alot of movies, at least crime movies."
• Mindhunters Book Not in Ramsey House. It has been alleged that Ramseys had Mindhunter in their home and that this might have given them ideas about how to stage the crime scene. However:

1. Internet poster Rainsong says the "book was not found in the home nor was it taken into evidence by BPD."
2. Internet poster Evening2 claims "Lin Wood stated unequivocally that the Ramseys did NOT possess JD's book "Mindhunter"."
3. Internet poster Rainsongj has stated: "We've all seen the evidence lists and Mindhunter is not on the lists. John Douglas went through the house and did not see his book among those in the bedroom--he even mentioned it during one of his radio shows because he specifically looked for it."
4. Internet poster Margoo has asserted: "John denied he had the book. No one could produce a copy or even a photo of a copy."

False Accusations by Media

The Globe

• Shapiro Expose. "Jeffrey Scott Shapiro investigated the JonBenet Ramsey case for the Globe from 1997 until 1999 when he reported his employers to the FBI." His expose uncovered a lot of the misleading information promoted by The Globe.

1. Shifting Theories of the Case. "At 23 years of age, I was recruited as the lead investigator on the JonBenet Ramsey case for the Globe tabloid. My job was to find information that would support my editors' claims that John Ramsey was a pedophile who murdered his daughter after sexually molesting her. One year later, the newspaper's editors reversed their claim and accused his wife, Patsy, instead. A year after that, they changed their story once more and falsely accused the couple's 9-year-old son, Burke, who had already been publicly cleared by the police." The Examiner
2. Globe Interest in Ramsey Prosecution. "It became clear to me that it was in the Globe's interest to see the Ramseys prosecuted. I first realized this when my editor, Tony Frost, confided to me that if the family were exonerated, the Globe could be found liable for millions of dollars from defamation suits. 'There must be an indictment,' Frost said of the Ramseys. 'Otherwise we're finished, all of us, every single last one of us.' In a later conversation, Frost admitted, 'The Globe, and Tony Frost in particular, have more reason to go for the Ramseys than the police have.'" The Examiner

• Tabloid Tactics. Shapiro reported on the deceptive tactics employed by The Globe to make the Ramseys look guilty:

1. Reporting False Information to Authorities. "I knew that the tabloids sometimes reported false information to the authorities. This was their way of maintaining some control over the investigation so that the police would focus more on the Ramseys rather than an intruder."
2. Payments for Fictitious Quotes. "I also found that many payments to "sources" were not for authentic information but, rather, financial rewards to people who agreed to accept attribution for "quotes" that tabloid reporters had already written."
3. Paying Sources for False Claims to Authorities. "Sometimes, when the tabloids couldn't find a new witness to interview, they often paid a "source" to report their anti-Ramsey claims to the police or FBI, giving the story more credibility. My editors did virtually anything they could to say the authorities were investigating their "shocking new scenario," when those claims were often baseless and false -- wasting investigators' precious time."

 

National Enquirer

• Known Fabrications

1. John Ramsey Remarriage in 2006. "The National Enquirer says John Ramsey, father of JonBenet, is set to remarry. Well, that's what it says on the cover. The story inside reports that he's shopping for a new wife after Patsy gave him her blessing on her deathbed to find someone new. "He's the hottest widower around," said a family friend to the tab. "Believe me, a lot of women are clamoring to take care of that man." (Denver Post 07/24/2006).