Jonbenet Ramsey Murder Case
The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey On December 26, 1996, JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado. JonBenet Patricia Ramsey was a child beauty queen who lived with her two parents and her brother, Burke. She was born in 1990, which would make JonBenet six years old at the time of her death. Her killer still remains at large, more than twenty-three years later. There have been suspects and arrests, but ultimately no one has been charged with the murder of JonBenet. The riveting question remains, who killed JonBenet Ramsey?
The case was treated as a kidnapping case, rather than a murder case, for the first few hours after JonBenet’s mother, Patsy, realized she was not in her bedroom. This was due to the two-page ransom note Patsy found on her stairs at 5:30 in the morning on December 26th when she got up to make coffee. The note stated that it was from “a …show more content…
group of individuals that represent a small foreign faction” (Smith). The ransom note instructed John Ramsey, JonBenet’s dad, to “withdraw $118,000.00 from your account. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills.” (McClish). The note stated that the Ramseys would receive a phone call between 8 am and 10 am that morning with instructions on how to deliver the money, but they never received a phone call. Also, the note contained specific instructions regarding how the Ramsey’s were not allowed to contact anyone about the kidnapping, but Patsy called law enforcement as well as family and friends at 5:52 a.m. Law Enforcement arrived at the home three minutes after the call was received. One of the police officers at the scene, Officer Rick French, conducted a thorough search of the Ramsey house but stopped before opening a door down in the basement. Little did he know that behind that door “lay the bludgeoned and strangled body of 6-year old JonBenét Ramsey”(JONBENÉT: THE DOOR THE COPS NEVER OPENED). It wasn’t until much later that day when the body was found by Mr. Ramsey. There were many critical mistakes made throughout the rest of the day that led to contamination of the crime scene including when Mr. Ramsey found JonBenet. After John discovered her body, he took the duct tape off of JonBenet’s body, wrapped her in a blanket, and carried her up the stairs which destroyed critical evidence at the crime scene.
Many believe that the Ramsey family is responsible for the murder themselves.
During the autopsy, “some sort of undigested fruit, thought to potentially be pineapple, was found in JonBenet’s stomach that had been consumed just a few hours before she died” (Syrdal). Pictures from the Ramsey household from the day before the murder show a bowl full of pineapple on the table, with Burke Ramsey’s fingerprints all over the bowl. Patsy and John claimed that Burke had been sleeping the entirety of the night of the murder. Also, more evidence surfaced that placed further suspicion on the Ramseys. The ransom note was written in the Ramsey house and after being analyzed it was discovered that it was indeed written by a woman. Finally, after Patsy had finished reporting the disappearance to 911 she accidentally stayed on the line for a couple seconds where she can be heard saying “help me Jesus” and “what did I do” (Syrdal). The Ramseys were never prosecuted due to lack of sufficient evidence, but there is still a huge “umbrella of suspicion” placed upon the whole family (JonBenet Ramsey Murder Fast
Facts).
Another suspect in the case was a man named Bill McReynolds. Bill and his wife visited the Ramsey house two days before the murder to entertain the kids, as they were dressed up as Santa Claus and Mrs. Clause. Bill claimed that he felt a very close connection to JonBenet and gave her a card that said she would “receive a special gift after Christmas” (Syrdal). Also, Bill’s wife wrote a play about a child who is murdered and their body is discovered in a basement which is eerily similar to the details in JonBenet’s case. Although there were some creepy coincidences, no evidence was ever found and the McReynolds were never charged.
In 2006, John Mark Karr confessed to killing JonBenet Ramsey via an email sent to a journalist John thought he could trust. In the email, “Karr used vernacular similar to that which was used in the ransom note left at the Ramsey house” (Syrdal).The style of writing Karr used was similar to that of the ransom note. He claimed to have been in love with JonBenet and hit her over the head with a flashlight on the night of December 26, 1996. John was located in Thailand and authorities brought him back to America where he was never charged because his “DNA failed to match the profile of an unknown male found on the waistband of JonBenét’s long-johns” (Lovitt).
Unfortunately, no one has ever been convicted of JonBenet’s murder and the mystery of what happened that night in December still remains. Due to the contamination of the crime scene, lack of evidence, and unidentified DNA, it is unlikely that anyone will ever be convicted of the crime. Innovations in technology may help us get more answers as to what may have happened as well as new evidence that may surface. However, JonBenet’s smile, charm, and memory touched many people and her legacy will live on for generations to come.
.
The case was treated as a kidnapping case, rather than a murder case, for the first few hours after JonBenet’s mother, Patsy, realized she was not in her bedroom. This was due to the two-page ransom note Patsy found on her stairs at 5:30 in the morning on December 26th when she got up to make coffee. The note stated that it was from “a …show more content…
group of individuals that represent a small foreign faction” (Smith). The ransom note instructed John Ramsey, JonBenet’s dad, to “withdraw $118,000.00 from your account. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills.” (McClish). The note stated that the Ramseys would receive a phone call between 8 am and 10 am that morning with instructions on how to deliver the money, but they never received a phone call. Also, the note contained specific instructions regarding how the Ramsey’s were not allowed to contact anyone about the kidnapping, but Patsy called law enforcement as well as family and friends at 5:52 a.m. Law Enforcement arrived at the home three minutes after the call was received. One of the police officers at the scene, Officer Rick French, conducted a thorough search of the Ramsey house but stopped before opening a door down in the basement. Little did he know that behind that door “lay the bludgeoned and strangled body of 6-year old JonBenét Ramsey”(JONBENÉT: THE DOOR THE COPS NEVER OPENED). It wasn’t until much later that day when the body was found by Mr. Ramsey. There were many critical mistakes made throughout the rest of the day that led to contamination of the crime scene including when Mr. Ramsey found JonBenet. After John discovered her body, he took the duct tape off of JonBenet’s body, wrapped her in a blanket, and carried her up the stairs which destroyed critical evidence at the crime scene.
Many believe that the Ramsey family is responsible for the murder themselves.
During the autopsy, “some sort of undigested fruit, thought to potentially be pineapple, was found in JonBenet’s stomach that had been consumed just a few hours before she died” (Syrdal). Pictures from the Ramsey household from the day before the murder show a bowl full of pineapple on the table, with Burke Ramsey’s fingerprints all over the bowl. Patsy and John claimed that Burke had been sleeping the entirety of the night of the murder. Also, more evidence surfaced that placed further suspicion on the Ramseys. The ransom note was written in the Ramsey house and after being analyzed it was discovered that it was indeed written by a woman. Finally, after Patsy had finished reporting the disappearance to 911 she accidentally stayed on the line for a couple seconds where she can be heard saying “help me Jesus” and “what did I do” (Syrdal). The Ramseys were never prosecuted due to lack of sufficient evidence, but there is still a huge “umbrella of suspicion” placed upon the whole family (JonBenet Ramsey Murder Fast
Facts).
Another suspect in the case was a man named Bill McReynolds. Bill and his wife visited the Ramsey house two days before the murder to entertain the kids, as they were dressed up as Santa Claus and Mrs. Clause. Bill claimed that he felt a very close connection to JonBenet and gave her a card that said she would “receive a special gift after Christmas” (Syrdal). Also, Bill’s wife wrote a play about a child who is murdered and their body is discovered in a basement which is eerily similar to the details in JonBenet’s case. Although there were some creepy coincidences, no evidence was ever found and the McReynolds were never charged.
In 2006, John Mark Karr confessed to killing JonBenet Ramsey via an email sent to a journalist John thought he could trust. In the email, “Karr used vernacular similar to that which was used in the ransom note left at the Ramsey house” (Syrdal).The style of writing Karr used was similar to that of the ransom note. He claimed to have been in love with JonBenet and hit her over the head with a flashlight on the night of December 26, 1996. John was located in Thailand and authorities brought him back to America where he was never charged because his “DNA failed to match the profile of an unknown male found on the waistband of JonBenét’s long-johns” (Lovitt).
Unfortunately, no one has ever been convicted of JonBenet’s murder and the mystery of what happened that night in December still remains. Due to the contamination of the crime scene, lack of evidence, and unidentified DNA, it is unlikely that anyone will ever be convicted of the crime. Innovations in technology may help us get more answers as to what may have happened as well as new evidence that may surface. However, JonBenet’s smile, charm, and memory touched many people and her legacy will live on for generations to come.
.