John and Patsy Ramsey

Patsy Ramsey

John Ramsey

Burke Ramsey

John Andrew Ramsey

The JAR Did It Theories

• Motivation. Motivations for JAR to kill JBR range from jealousy to cover-up of prior sexual abuse.
• JAR as Killer. The most clearly stated JAR did it theory is from Internet poster BlueCrab who believes this would account for a) prior sexual abuse; b) use of erotic asphyxiation device; and c) Barnhill's account of seeing JAR on Christmas afternoon. One of JAR's friends who provided an alibi for him was a pilot.
• JAR as Accomplice. Because JAR has a fairly strong alibi for being in Atlanta on Christmas Day, some believe JAR may have helped plan a kidnapping with friends and even written the ransom note, but the two friends screwed up and killed JBR accidently.

Incriminating Evidence Related to JAR

• A neighbor (Barnhill) saw someone who looked like JAR walking up the hill near the Ramsey house on Christmas afternoon. Internet poster BlueCrab claims that Barnhill later recanted his story about this sighting.
• A blanket with semen sourced to JAR was found in the suitcase in the basement room close to where JBR's body was found.
• While the time window is narrow, some believe JAR had sufficient time to fly to Boulder, kill JBR and return to Atlanta in time for his planned flight to Charlevoix on December 26 (source?). These individuals believe it was a little too convenient for JAR to have kept for months a movie ticket that was helped to establish that he was in Atlanta on Christmas night 1996, hence this alibi must have been pre-planned.

Exculpatory Evidence Related to JAR

• Alibi.

1. Police-Established JAR Timeline. According to Schiller, police ascertained that on Christmas Day, "at about 8:30 P.M., John Andrew went to his friend Brad Millard's home in Marietta to play video games. After an hour, they left to catch a 10:30 show at the Town and Country Movie Theater in Marietta with another friend, Chris Stanley. John Andrew said that after the movie he went back to Brad Millard's house to get his car and arrived back at his mother's house at 1:00 A.M. The next morning he left his mother's house with Melinda, who had come there to pick him up. Together they boarded a flight to Minneapolis at 8:36 A.M. local time. That was forty-four minutes after Patsy called 911 to report that JonBenet was missing." (Schiller, 1999a:67).
2. No Record of Commercial Airline Travel. Schiller later states that police "finished their background checks on John Andrew and Melinda and had verified commercial airline schedules and private flight plans and found no record that either of them had traveled the night of December 25. Their alibis were solid." (Schiller 1999a:257). Any theory of John's flying back in a private plane would have to explain how he managed to avoid detection and whose plane he used to go back and forth several thousand miles.
3. Alibi Verified by JAR's Mother. Internet poster BlueCrab has stated that "JAR's mom, Lucinda, also verifies that JAR was home with her on the 24th and 25th and left on a flight to Minneapolis on the morning of the 26th."
4. Implausibility of Conspiracy. Thus, for BlueCrab's theory to be correct, at least three people would have to be lying. Moreover, if BlueCrab's account of JAR being in Boulder and attending the December 23 party were correct, many more people than Joe Barnhill would have seen JAR; it seems implausible that after 10 years, not a single one of the 30 or so people at that party would have come forward to authorities to report what they saw. Fleet White, in particular, had a falling out with the Ramseys and would have no particular incentive to facilitate their trying to cover up JAR's involvement if that's what happened.

• DNA Not a Match. JAR's DNA does not match DNA collected at the scene.
• JAR Officially Cleared. John Andrew Ramsey (JAR) has been officially cleared by law enforcement based on evidence that he was in Atlanta on December 25, 1996 (Zaret 1997).

Melinda Ramsey Long

The Melinda Ramsey Long Theory

Melinda Ramsey, John's daughter from his first marriage, only comes under suspicion because she was JonBenet's half-sister. Possible motivations relate to jealousy or perhaps anger toward either John Ramsey or Patsy Ramsey. Because she was a family member, law enforcement felt compelled to investigate her alibi to confirm there was no reason to suspect her.

Incriminating Evidence Related to Melinda

• Palmprint on Wine Cellar Door Frame. A palmprint was found on the door-jam to the wine cellar room in which JBR's body was found. According to a "source close to the case" police later determined this print belonged to Melinda Ramsey.

Exculpatory Evidence Related to Melinda

• Alibi. According to Schiller, "Melinda. who had worked at a hosptial in Marietta, Georgia, finished her shift at about 7:00 A.M. on Christmas day. That afternoon, John Andrew, Harry Smiles, Melinda, and her boyfriend, Stewart Long, exchanged gifts at Lucinda's home in Marietta. In the afternoon, they all went across the street to a neighbor's for dinner. Melinda and Stewart Long left the dinner party about 7 P.M., and Melinda started to pack for an early flight the next day. At 9:00 P.M. they went to visit Guy Long, Stewart's uncle, and after visiting other friends, were home by midnight" (Schiller, 1999a:66-67).He later states that police "finished their background checks on John Andrew and Melinda and had verified commercial airline schedules and private flight plans and found no record that either of them had traveled the night of December 25, Their alibis were solid." (Schiller 1999a:257).
• DNA Not a Match. Melinda Ramsey's DNA does not match.
• Melinda Officially Cleared. Melinda Ramsey has been officially cleared by law enforcement based on evidence that she was in Atlanta on December 25, 1996 (Zaret 1997).