TRIGGER WARNING: This true crime case involves the death of a little girl, and sexual assault.
By Jennifer Loja
Revisiting the Case of JonBenét Ramsay
On the day after Christmas, a frantic 911 call was made at 5:52 in the morning by Patsy Ramsey about her missing daughter, JonBenét Ramsey. Later that day, the body of the six-year-old beauty pageant queen would be discovered in her own home. The Boulder, Colorado police believed they would be able to get to the bottom of this situation. Little did they know sadly, that this would become one of the most notorious unsolved cases. It would be relentlessly covered by many news outlets and make headlines everywhere.
The Ramsey Family
Anyone looking in would describe them as a picture-perfect family. JonBenet Ramsey was born to her parents John and Patricia Ramsey on August 6, 1990, in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the daughter of successful parents. She lived in a cozy home in Boulder, Colorado, with her parents and her older brother, Burke. The family owned two private planes and a yacht. They also had a vacation home in Michigan.
Patricia Ramsey who was also known as “Patsy” was a former beauty queen. She had won the Miss West Virginia pageant in 1977. She loved to dress her daughter up in beautiful gowns and took her to pageants. Her previous knowledge of pageants was passed down to JonBenét. She was a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer in 1993 when she was thirty-six. She had a reputation for throwing lavish parties and inviting neighbors and friends.
John Ramsey at the time was a businessman. He had a previous marriage where he had three children. John and Patsy Ramsey, later on, met each other in Atlanta and got married in 1980. They would go on to have Burke, their eldest son, in 1986 and JonBenet in 1990. He started his own business in 1989; Advanced Product Group that merged with other companies, becoming Access Graphics. He was the CEO and president of Access Graphics and was doing well financially. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce in 1996.
Burke was JonBenet’s nine-year-old brother, who would wear matching outfits with her in portraits. He was said to have jealous tendencies towards his younger sister.
JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét’s full name was JonBenét Patricia Ramsey. Her name was a combination of her parents’ names. The first name blended her father’s (John) first and his middle name (Bennett). The child’s middle name was taken from her mother’s first name. She moved to her Boulder, Colorado home when she was only a year old because of her father’s job. She lived in a luxurious home that had everything she needed growing up. She attended kindergarten at High Peaks Elementary School. She had just started to read and write. She loved making friends and meeting new people. Her friends remember her sharing her toys and sweets with them. She was a member of Daisy Troop 2349 of the Girl Scouts in Boulder.
She was described as a well-dressed, beautiful, and behaved little girl. Patsy Ramsey knew she had a beautiful daughter and entered her into pageants. Many saw JonBenet’s natural beauty and charm. To no surprise, JonBenet had won her first pageant when she was only four and would win four more titles in the next two years. She also competed in countless others. In these pageants, she was a beauty queen with her gowns, gorgeous blond hair, and charming personality. LoDanna Griego, a child beauty pageant organizer, remembers JonBenét often bringing Barbie dolls to share with the other girls backstage. She was always very friendly with other girls despite competing against them. On stage, she enjoyed being dressed up and being the center of attention.
But, at home, she was exploding with energy. She enjoyed playing outside so much so that she would have skinned knees from running around. She loved to pick blueberries and ride her bike. She enjoyed singing and dancing. The family’s gardener, Brian Scott, recalls her jumping into a pile of leaves he had raked up and bursting into laughter. She would follow him around asking millions of questions. “Do roses know their thorns hurt ?”, she once asked him. During the summer she would go with her family to their vacation home in Michigan. She loved to swim in the lake and go rollerblading. She wasn’t ever afraid to get dirty. Her favorite food to eat was macaroni and cheese and fresh fruit. She especially liked to eat pineapples. In addition, to being full of energy, she was really smart. She would sometimes stay to listen to adults’ conversations. Her aunt had once found her running barefoot and asked her why she was barefoot. JonBenet answered, “Aunt Pam, I want to feel the rhythm of the earth under my feet.”
Sadly, the life of a beautiful and bubbly little girl would be cut short.
Christmas Day
On Christmas day they had ended up spending the evening in the White family home. The party was hosted by Fleet White. They had dinner in the White residence. JonBenet had received a bicycle as a present. The Ramsey family returned home at around 10:00 PM. She was tired and the Ramsey parents claim to put her into bed.
The Day of the Brutal Discovery
In the early morning of December 26, 1996, Patsy woke up to make some coffee. The family had plans to fly to their other home in Michigan that morning. She wanted to make sure everything was ready for their vacation. On her way down the spiral staircase going down from the third floor of her home, she discovered a three paged ransom note on the stairs. As she inspected it further the ransom was addressed to John Ramsey and it demanded $118,00 for his daughter’s safe return. In the note, it was mentioned that JonBenet was safe and unharmed. There were specific instructions for the family and mentioned they shouldn’t alert the authorities. Everything was specific down to what kind of bills they would have to have the amount in. If they didn’t do what they were instructed to their daughter would be executed. After reading this, according to Patsy Ramsey, she ran upstairs to check JonBenet’s room only to find her bed empty. She ran to tell John what she had discovered on the staircase. Frantically, they both run downstairs to make a 911 call at 5:52 in the morning about the discovery and how their daughter was kidnaped. While all this was happening according to both parents, Burke was still asleep in his room.
The police heard that a young girl had been kidnapped and a ransom note had been discovered. All while the police were making their way to the home Patsy Ramsey phoned a couple of her friends. She claims to have wanted comfort and help in searching for JonBenet. The police arrived at around 6:00 AM. The friends of the Ramseys, the Whites arrived shortly after and were let in. Burke was taken into the White family home. The police didn’t see any signs of forced entry upon arrival. They went to check JonBenet’s room and closed it off at 10:00 AM so that any potential evidence wouldn’t be contaminated. But, one of the first mistakes that the police made was letting family and friends in. This mistake will later make things worse since all the potential evidence was being tampered with and destroyed. The police should have interviewed the parents on the spot but that didn’t happen. The police also shared the evidence that was found with the parents. This should have been kept private until the case was all put together. The FBI was notified that JonBenét might have been kidnaped. They focused their attention on the outside of the home and searched for anything that might lead them to JonBenét’s location.
The detective working the site, Detective Linda Ardnt, ordered John Ramsey to look around the house for JonBenét. At this same time a search was already being conducted in the home, from top to bottom. John immediately started in the basement. At 1:00 pm a gruesome scene was discovered in the basement of the Ramsey residence by John Ramsey together with Fleet White. The lifeless body of six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was found in the wine cellar. She had been covered and wrapped in a white blanket. Despite Fleet White telling John not to touch anything, he took her in her arms and carried her upstairs. She was discovered to have duct tape over her mouth, and a garrote tied around her neck made from one of Patsy’s paintbrushes. Her hands were also tied together with a cord. John Ramsey had taken off the duct tape that was over her mouth before taking her upstairs. He left it in the basement, where later, Fleet White would pick it up and examine it. Unfortunately, John doing all this would ruin much potential evidence. At this point, the police realize that this is not a kidnapping but a homicide. The girl’s body was moved to a sofa until she was taken by the Coroner at 8:00 PM.
Crime Scene Evidence
The ransom note was also taken in as evidence. When a comparison was done on the ink, it had matched the ink of a pen that was found on Patsy’s desk. The pen was found in the home underneath the telephone. The paper that the ransom note was written on also belonged to a notepad that was owned by Patsy Ramsey. Two “practice” notes were also found. The ransom note demanded $118,000 for JonBenet’s safe return.
In the kitchen, a bowl of pineapples was found with Burke’s fingerprints. A black flashlight was found on the counter in the kitchen. There were no fingerprints found on the flashlight or batteries, suggesting that someone must have wiped them down. A glass of tea held Burke’s fingerprints. Some Kleenex wipes were found on the table in the kitchen, and in the basement, a shoe imprint was found near JonBenét’s body in the wine cellar. According to family and friends, no one owned shoes with the same imprint.
A broken window was discovered in the basement. It was thought to be where the intruder might have entered. A suitcase sat below the window. There were fragments of glass from the broken window. But there were cobwebs that were left untouched. A palm print was found on the door of the wine cellar. Palm prints from family and friends were not a match. Duct tape that was removed from JonBenét’s mouth was also taken to be analyzed. There was a print of JonBenét’s lips on the duct tape. It was evident that it was probably placed on her after she was dead, or while she was in a comatose state. There was no resistance found on the tape to conclude that she was awake at that moment.
Fiber from Patsy Ramsey’s clothing was found in the tape. The green garland that decorated the stairs had been taken, and pieces of green garland were found in JonBenét’s hair. DNA samples were found under JonBenét’s nails and underwear. Investigators tried matching this with the DNA of likely suspects, but none came back as a match. Police looked for any evidence of footprints in the snow around the house. None were found going in or out. A metal baseball bat was found outside that contained fibers from the carpet in which JonBenét’s body was found.
Autopsy
The next day an autopsy was performed by the Coroner. A general description of how she looked and what she was wearing was noted down. Her eyes were green. She wore her blond hair in two braids and was wearing a gold ring on one of her fingers. She had a heart that was drawn in red ink in her left hand. She was wearing a white long sleeve shirt with a sequined silver star in the front. There was dried mucus that was found on the front of her sleeve. JonBenet was wearing the same clothing the day prior. She had several injuries which included abrasions to the side of her face. They were located between her ear and jaw. She had petechial hemorrhages in her eyes. She had a giant skull fracture along with bruising and bleeding in the brain. She had taken a big blow to her head before being strangled.
There was a white cord that tied her wrists together. The same white cord was used in a garrote that was made using the broken handle of one of Patsy’s paintbrushes. This garrote was essentially created to make it easier to choke JonBenet. Her bladder was empty. There was undigested pineapple found in her stomach; and in the kitchen later on a bowl of pineapples is found with Burke’s fingerprints. There was some urine and blood found in her underwear. The Coroner concluded that JonBenet Ramsey’s official cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation by the garrot. Her skull fracture also was part of her cause of death. The medical examiner also discovered that JonBenét had been sexually abused. It was determined that she was being sexually abused prior to her death. There were signs of long-term sexual abuse found. The Coroner concluded her day of death to be December 25, 1996.
List of Suspects
—The Ramsey Family
They were under the watch of many who believed they were suspicious. There was a lack of evidence to suggest an intruder had broken into the family home. There was suspicion that the ransom note was a hoax and not really written by an intruder but by someone within the family.
—Bill McReynolds
He had visited Ramsey’s home two days prior to the murder. He sometimes would dress up as Santa Claus for dinner parties. Claims he believed he had a connection with JonBenét. She had given a vile of glitter to him when he was going into heart surgery. He claimed that if he died he wanted the glitter to be mixed with his ashes. Even though his behavior was seen as weird, nothing tied him to the scene.
—John Mark Karr
He was a former school teacher living in Thailand. In 2006, he was arrested after he confessed to the Murder of JonBenét Ramsey. He was connected to child sexual exploitation in America. But, there had been no certain evidence to tie him to the murder.
—Gary Oliva
Gary is a convicted pedophile. He is currently serving a ten-year sentence for child sexual exploitation in Colorado. On December 26th he called a classmate and told him that he had hurt a little girl. It was revealed no other girl was hurt in the area. He was a neighbor that lived close to the Ramsey family. He would carry around a photo of JonBenét in his backpack. He felt touched by JonBenéts case.
Major Theories
The Family Theory
The theory that the members of the Ramsey family were hiding something is greatly believed by many. The police hadn’t interviewed John or Patsy Ramsey until five months later. The police should have interrogated the parents separately in the beginning. During the interview with the police, both Patsy and John tried to divert the suspicion the police had to someone else. Their stories were inconsistent. They started to be uncooperative and defensive. So, they decided to lawyer up. This made many speculate that they knew something others might not know.
The ransom note is something that raised a lot of questions from the public. It was a three-page ransom note. Usually, ransom notes will only be quick and short with whatever instructions the family has to follow. Forensic specialists practiced how long it would take to write the ransom letter. It took about twenty-one minutes solely to copy it down. This ransom was really long. Which meant the person who wrote it would be in the house for a lengthy amount of time. The ransom note had been closely inspected and the ink and page used was matched to a notepad and pen that belonged to Patsy Ramsey. Eerily, the amount of money demanded was the exact amount John Ramsey received as a Christmas bonus that year. Only people close to John Ramsey would have known this. There were spelling errors on words that were considered easy, while there were other words that seemed easy for the author to write. This person would have wanted to leave as fast as he could, so why would he take his time writing and perfecting a note? A couple of sentences would have been easier.
In order to figure out who might have written the ransom note, they made all three members copy the ransom note down. It was done with both the right and left hands. Burke and his father were ruled out. But Patsy Ramsey’s writing with her left hand looked eerily similar to that of the ransom note. It was concluded by investigators that it was more likely a woman had written the note. This was because of the style of writing and language that was used. Many of the individual letters written on the ransom note and on Patsy’s copy were very similar.
One additional theory lurking behind all the rest is that something accidental might have happened which caused the death of JonBenét Ramsey. From the evidence, some think perhaps Burke hurt his sister. According to a family friend Burke was known to have anger issues. He once hit JonBenét with a golf club after getting mad at her. This would later leave a scar on her face. According to those who were investigating JonBenét’s room, there was a box of candy that was smeared with feces. It was thought to be most likely Burke’s.
It is believed that when JonBenét was put to bed she went downstairs to the kitchen where she found her older brother Burke eating pineapples, her favorite. She had taken one, and in a fit of anger, Burke hit her in the head with the black flashlight. There was a bowl of pineapples found on the counter with Burke’s fingerprints on the bowl. As the parents heard this, perhaps they tried to come up with a plan in an attempt to cover up what Burke had done. The ransom note was most likely written by Patsy. The 911 call Patsy Ramsey made in the morning was analyzed and an unclear voice can be heard saying, “What did you do? Help me, Jesus,”. Burke replies “What did you find?” If the audio that was recorded is true, then it will go against everything the family claimed before. Others think that Patsy hurt her own daughter. JonBenét would often wet her bed, and Patsy didn’t like this happening. Some suspect Patsy got fed up with it and hurt JonBenét while she was angry.
Intruder Theory
Many believe that the family didn’t do anything wrong. There is evidence that can support this theory. There was a window in the basement that had been broken from the outside. There was also a suitcase found below the window that could have been used to escape through the window. Next to JonBenét’s body footprints were found. But something major that went against this theory was that the cobwebs were left untouched near the windows. The window is small which means someone going through it would definitely disturb the areas around the window.
It has been 25 years since this incident, and the person who killed JonBenét Rasey has still not been caught. The case remains an open case. Investigators are hoping DNA evidence will soon catch JonBenét’s killer. A new potential suspect has been identified. Hopefully, there will be justice for JonBenét Ramsey, the beauty pageant queen.