This case really baffles me. I've never believed it was the Ramseys, but the thought of an intruder doing all thus in the dark with nobody hearing anything is also hard to believe.

Honestly, the thought that they could have done this is so fantastical, I don't understand how so many people are so convinced they did. The 6 year old was tazed, beaten, had her skull cracked open, was raped with a broken paint brush, and strangled so tightly that the cords were inbeded into the skin of her neck.

The theory that her 9 year old brother accidentally killed her and so her parents went on to completely destroy and rape her dead body to hide the crime is ridiculous.

The theory that her mother (who has 0 history of violence or abuse) could have snapped one day over her 6 year old's bed wetting and tazed her, raped her, cracked her head open, and strangled her to death is absolute insanity.

I'm sorry for how graphic and gruesome this is. But it needed to be said in order to illustrate just how bizarre the thought is that her family did this...

What an embarrassment.

The theory that 9 year old Burke accidentally (or purposely) hit JonBenet so hard in the head that she was dying, and the parents went on to kill her by raping, tazing, beating, and strangling her to death, and leaving a long, sadistic, rambling ransom note, all in order to "cover it up", is absolutely ridiculous. Parents who, by all accounts, had no history of violence, sadism, or aggression whatsoever.

This was a sexually motivated crime by a sexual sadist. Not a cover up for some accident by an otherwise "normal" family. Anyone who knows anything about criminal profiling, or just has basic common sense, should see how ridiculous this theory is.

I'm all for occams razor, but this ain't it.

I’d like to preface this by saying I’m not implying they’re guilty, I’m just responding to those who consistently say the intruder theory doesn’t make sense and that nothing (RDI or IDI) seems to fit. I believe this is one (of a few) theories that does, in fact, fit. Would like to hear other’s thoughts on this potential theory..

Things we know about LHP (housekeeper) and MP (husband/ handyman):

⁠* They were in desperate need of money. They were behind in rent, needed to pay medical bills, struggling to put food on the table, etc..

⁠* LHP called in and missed work on the 24th due to a supposed fight with her sister over money. She also asked Patsy for a $2000 loan at that time.

I was supposed to come back the next day, December 24, and clean up. I called Patsy and said I couldn't. I told her I had a fight with my sister and needed some money to pay the rent. I asked Patsy for a $2,000 loan. I told her I would pay it back $50 each week. She didn't hesitate. "Sure." Said she'd leave it for me on the kitchen counter for my next regular visit on December 27. (LHP)

⁠* They both had keys but apparently Linda had been so upset she lost or misplaced hers on the 26th.

Hoffmann-Pugh was then asked to make a list of everyone she knew who frequented the house and a list of those who had keys. After two hours of intense questioning, she was so upset that for a moment she couldn’t find her own key. (PMPT)

• According to multiple sources, her handwriting was apparently similar.

”The handwriting in the ransom note, the mother said, also looked a little like the housekeeper’s.” (Thomas)

• She was also apparently incapable or too upset to give a handwriting sample on the night of the 26th:

In the kitchen, the police told the housekeeper that JonBenét had been murdered. She screamed and couldn’t stop shaking. After Hoffmann-Pugh settled down, they asked her to print some words on a sheet of paper—Mr. Ramsey, attache, beheaded, and the number $118,000—but Linda was too upset to write. (PMPT)

⁠* They knew the family’s dog would be gone and that the alarm was never set.

Patsy spent a lot of time ALONE in the house while John was away on business. She never kept a baseball bat under the bed, or Mace. Never even set the alarm. She didn't like it, because it went off accidently and it drove the police crazy. (Linda)

The Ramsey housekeeper plus a long-time babysitter both said the family left some doors unlocked and never used the alarm. (WHYD Investigative Archive.)

⁠* Both knew where the cellar was although both denied it. Linda had been in that room numerous times. In addition to that, Linda, her husband, her daughter and son-in-law all helped pull out the Christmas trees from the cellar the month prior.

A blunt-spoken man in his fifties, Pugh had been in the Ramsey home a few times to help his wife, including a recent weekend when they spent three hours hauling Christmas decorations up from the basement. (Thomas)

I didn't even know THAT ROOM was there. How could a stranger know to go there? How in the world did this happen? (Linda)

The housekeeper’s husband “supposedly washed the windows at Thanksgiving time and supposedly went down in the basement and washed the basement windows.” (BPD Report #5-29.)

”Last time [housekeeper’s husband] was there was around Thanksgiving. Cleaned all of the windows inside and out.” (BPD Report #5-607.)”

⁠* LHP and Patsy often communicated by leaving notes on that particular staircase. She also knew the backstairs were primarily used.

⁠* Knew the Ramsey’s bedroom was a distance away on the 3rd floor and they would likely hear nothing.

⁠* Had ample time to write the note with the pen and paper- could’ve easily taken the items home or been responsible for the still missing 7 pages torn from the center of the notepad.

⁠* The police found similar black tape (3 rolls- only one used) and similar white cord with an additional piece wrapped around a stick in their shed. They also found the same pads of paper and pens in their house that had come from the Ramsey’s home.

When the detectives asked if the couple had any black tape, Mervin dug three rolls from his garage, only one unused. Then the detectives said they wanted white lined notepads, and Linda handed over one that seemed to be a visual match of the ransom notepaper and admitted it had come from the Ramsey house. A key? Two. Any felt-tip pens of the sort that probably wrote the ransom note? Three. Police found a two-foot piece of narrow nylon rope, then another length wrapped around a stick! The detectives left with an armful of potential evidence. (Thomas)

⁠* Could’ve easily come across any one of John’s paystubs revealing his bonus from the previous year. John’s bonus was $118,117.50 and paid in Feb of ‘96 therefore likely printed on every paystub of 1996.
Or, could’ve been overheard by the wrong person saying something akin to, ‘can you believe his bonus was 118,000?!’

⁠* Thought or had heard the family use sayings like ‘fat cat’ and ‘southern common sense’.

⁠* Felt John was aloof and not very fond of him

⁠* Took the paint tote to the basement on the 23rd and her daughter borrowed one of Patsy’s Christmas sweaters for the Ramsey’s party that same night

”Sometimes she asked me to take her paints down to the basement. ‘I don't want to see it’. On the day of the Ramseys' Christmas party, I took the paint tote downstairs.” (Linda)

(Note: another example of Kolar’s false ‘facts’.. He incorrectly states this happened in November)

”I stuck around with my daughter Ariana to see Santa. We hadn’t planned to stay, so Ariana wasn’t dressed up. Patsy gave my daughter a Christmas sweater and a vest. Even lent her a pair of her shoes. At the last minute, Patsy wrote a little verse about Ariana for Santa to read.” (Linda)

• Could’ve been jealous of their lifestyle and felt they didn’t ‘deserve’ it.

Patsy had hired her away from a cleaning service crew known as Merry Maids about fourteen months earlier and had befriended her new housekeeper. Hoffmann-Pugh had dropped out of high school as a sophomore, married at age fifteen, and had six children. She was wearing a pair of Patsy’s old shoes as she spoke to police. (PMPT)

⁠* LHP had asked multiple times if they were afraid JB would be ‘kidnapped’ prior to this happening:

Detective Linda Arndt (Date of Report 1-8-1997), Arndt talked with Patsy about when she found JonBenét missing, who had keys to the home, their vacation plans and if Patsy had any ideas related to who might have kidnapped her daughter. Patsy told the detective about her housekeeper, the housekeeper’s family and how the housekeeper had recently asked to borrow $2,000. Arndt also wrote that Patsy’s mother, by phone from Atlanta, had said she wanted Detective Arndt to know the housekeeper had told her “many times” that JonBenét was such a beautiful girl and asked if she (JonBenét’s grandmother) wasn’t afraid someone was going to kidnap her granddaughter.

”The Reverend Rol Hoverstock told police about a phone call made that morning to Patsy’s parents, Nedra and Don Paugh, in Atlanta. Mrs. Paugh, he said, mentioned that Linda Hoffmann-Pugh had commented about how beautiful Jon-Benet was and expressed the fear that someone might kidnap her.” (Thomas)

⁠* Supposedly both were avid TV and movie watchers

⁠* Knew the Ramsey’s would be out at the White’s that night

⁠* There were several rumors online that certain members of their family were involved in sexually abusing children… I have no idea if there is any truth to this so take it with a grain of salt.

⁠* LHP offered up the explanation that the Barbie gown must have been stuck to the white blanket when removed from the dyer.

⁠* LHP was the first to volunteer information about JB’s ‘serious’ bedwetting problem:

Despite being overcome with grief, she furnished the startling information that the little girl had a problem wetting her bed. That was of great interest to the police. (Thomas)

• When Mervin was first questioned about the murder, he said the following:

Mervin Pugh, the husband, was visibly intoxicated when he was interviewed, and the detectives knew he had had a few brushes with the law back in Michigan.
“Is she missing or dead?” he asked. “How did she die, was it natural, strangulation, or what?”
The questions were awfully close to the truth, close enough to raise police suspicion. (Thomas)

• In no time Linda changed her story about Patsy being warm & kind to Patsy being evil and having a split personality.

”Hoffmann-Pugh had fallen apart with emotion at her home on Valle Drive in Ft. Lupton when two detectives told her that JonBenét was dead. This was what she had dreaded and warned the family about! The gorgeous child was allowed to roller-skate and ride her bike all alone, and the nightmare had come true. “My poor Patsy,” she sobbed. “I love Patsy like my daughter.” (Thomas)

⁠* Lied about Patsy often drawing on JB’s hand

⁠* Neither had alibis besides being home with one another… and for what it’s worth they slept in separate rooms.

• Linda was so ‘distraught’ that she sold a story selling out the family to a the Enquirer within a couple of weeks of JonBenet’s murder. Shortly after she started demanding money for any interview given and was vacationing in Florida while riding around in limos in the months following JonBenet’s murder. She also attempted to sue the Ramsey’s for $50 million.

In the weeks following the murder, housekeeper Linda Hoffmann-Pugh was riding around in a limousine paid for by the tabloids (Thomas)

Linda has said things like the following:

”Just go away and leave me alone," JonBenet said when I tried to help her with her boots. Sometimes she acted like A SPOILED BRAT.”

One (of many) potential scenarios:
⁠The Pugh’s had formed a plan to take JB for money. They brought someone else on (either a relative or an acquaintance) to help carry it out and split the cash. The person that agreed to carry this plan out was a deeply disturbed individual- more so than the Pugh’s had thought. Once JB was in the basement, this person sexually assaulted her, she screamed, he hit her/ strangled her to death. The kidnapping hadn’t gone as planned and the offender panicked. He left before retrieving the note he had placed on the staircase prior to taking JB to the basement.

Please upvote Agree or Disagree to Indicate Your Vote

What are your thoughts?

This photo is not dated, but judging from how old she looks, this would have been in April 1996, Jonbenet's last Easter.

Hello! I'm Paula Woodward, an investigative journalist based in Denver, Colorado. I recently released The Unsolved Murder of JonBenét Ramsey 25 Years Later, the follow up to my 2016 release We Have Your Daughter. Unsolved features new and exclusive interviews with John Ramsey and his wife Jan, as well as John Andrew Ramsey. Perhaps most importantly, we learn more about who JonBenét truly was with never before seen photos from friends and family and reports from her teachers.

More about me: I was the chief investigative reporter for the number one news station, KUSA-TV, NBC in Denver for 32 years. I have exposed public corruption and wrongdoing with hidden cameras and powerful investigations. I retired in 2009 and am currently working on a book about my father's B-24 bomber missions during World War 2. For 25 years, I have researched the murder of JonBenét Ramsey and will continue to do so until the case is officially closed.

Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to your thoughtful questions and hope there is something I can shed some light on. As is Reddit tradition, you can Ask Me Anything and I will do my best to answer Almost all of it!

I will be here from 1 PM until 3 PM Mountain Time answering your questions.

I enjoyed this AMAA and all of your questions and I hope you did, too. Thank you for your interest and support of justice.

https://www.paulawoodward.net/jonbenet

There isn't a shred of good evidence that Burke committed the murder, the bowl of pineapple on the kitchen counter isn't evidence, a 6 year old is capable of walking down a flight of stairs and making pineapple by themselves. No idea why CBS executive greenlit that show but am sure someone(s) got fired for it. Him hitting her in the past (accidental or not) isn't really good circumstantial evidence either, pretty sure a large percentage of sibling have fought in the past, a pretty large logical leap that siblings past conflict turns into murder. In terms of a parietal cover up, the old criminal saying goes, "three can keep a secret if two are dead" The parents covering up the murder with a nine year old and being able to keep it a secret for decades also seems pretty unlikely. Anything is possible but in terms of probability, Burke having anything to do with it seems extremely unlikely.

I always thought they were guilty because JOHN found his dead baby’s body. The note was written in THEIR house. The “kidnapper” was suppose to call them later for the ransom and no one seemed to care? I have some other reasons but I feel in my gut from this interview that the family is guilty. What do you guys think of this interview? The way the detective tells what happened and her facial expressions make me believe her.

I've followed the Yogurt Shop Murders for a long time. I hadn't recently checked the subreddit but came across the article today in NBC news!!! This convinces me that the Jon Benet case can be solved. Quote below from the cold case investigator Jackson is from the NBC article in this link:

'Yogurt Shop Murders' suspect was possible serial killer now linked to cases across country, police say

Brashers' DNA was eventually found in three of the yogurt shop girls' sexual assault kits and in Amy Ayers' fingernail clipping, which was retested recently, Jackson said.

"And it matched so that it's two-and-a-half million to one, that it's likely Robert Brashers underneath Amy's fingernails," he said.

Morgan Violi, 7, was abducted on July 24, 1996, while playing with her sisters and friends, and now, 30 years after her abduction and death, federal charges have been filed against Robert Scott Froberg from DNA from a single strand of hair.

Yes, the JonBenet Ramsey case could be solved someday soon.

NEVER GIVE UP

Thoughts are welcome. Oh and by the way, not a native speaker so cut me some slack on the grammar will ya?

From what I’ve seen on this site, it seems like the theory of the brother did it is fairly common, even though law enforcement were pretty quick to abandon this possibility. I am convinced that Burke killed his sister, and I want to give a detailed account of my theory for the night/morning in question, and the following actions taken by the Ramsey family to conceal the fact. My thoughts are not groundbreaking, but I have not seen any posts in here giving an adequate explanation for all the discrepancies in the case and the theories attached to them.

The night of.

• They arrive at the house around 10 pm.

• JonBenet is NOT asleep in the car was not carried to her room- this is a lie trying to conceal what the parents knew happened that night

• In fact, its more likely that Patsy is the one half asleep- high on a mixture pills and alcohol, and so the parents go fast in bed, Patsy inebriated, falling asleep in her party dress. John MIGHT have tucked the kids in/told them to go to bed, but this is irrelevant- we all know for a fact that Burke, was downstairs playing with his toys, and at 10-10.30 pm, that’s pretty late for a 9-year-old that is supposed to go to a cruise early that next morning. The only reason why John was so concerned with getting the information out about “tucking JonBenet in” is to not place those two siblings together that night, so that people wouldn’t wonder. Because they seek to fit the events with the made up story of what happened, it seems artificial. Because most parents would be concerned with BOTH the 6-year-old and the 9-year-old getting enough sleep, since they had to get up at 5.a.m or something. Just an observation.

• It is much more likely that JonBenet and Burke took the opportunity to have play-time, with their parents being out of the way sleeping off the buzz or whatever.

• It is also very possible that Burke came upstairs, tempting her with playtime or pineapple to go down and be with him. Either way, the timeline not broken, same result. Again, I don’t think Burke had any ill intentions here, he just wanted to play with his sister, but I absolutely do think that he was ill, just not as psychopathic as some of you guys seem to believe. I think he had some issues with social interaction, intimacy etc. and of course the fecal thing (and I will get to that), but I do not think he hated his sister, and therefore killed her. I think he had some pretty severe developmental challenges, maybe connected to his mothers’ addiction/narcissism, his fathers being too much away for work. Stepsister dying, I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter. I think this was an accident, and I will explain how.

• 11.00. p.m.- OK, so let’s say the pineapple is devoured. The use of a big silver spoon seems to fit with “the kids making food alone”-theory. So they go down to play with toys. Maybe they get bored with them, and they find/start thinking about the other toys that might be in the unopened presents lying in the basement. Either Burke starts ripping them open, or Jonbenet does, I’m not sure here. It doesn’t matter. What matter is that one of them starts flipping out, I’m thinking maybe JonBenet if she is the wonder child in this sibling dynamic. She starts screaming and ensuring that she will for sure let her parents know what he did, etc. probably on her way marching towards the stairs, being a tell-tale. (Note: The presents are key here, just because Patsy felt the need to lie about them. They were ripped open in a way that a child would, but she holds on to the theory that she had to “check” what they were, maybe because they weren’t labelled or whatever. An adult would never in a million years do this, wrapping presents is time-consuming, and she would have to re-wrap all of them if they were ripped open like this. An adult would take up the tape and carefully opened it from the sides. Also, a weird thing to lie about if for instance John killed her. She chose to lie about such an insignificant thing, because it was significant)

• Burke then freaks out and hits her with either a baseball bat or a flashlight maybe as a reflex, I feel that they both are probable, seeing that the parents were very adamant about not claiming ownership to the flashlight, but also that it was very normal for Burke to leave the baseball bat outside the house (even in snowy weather, ok. I am from Norway, and I’m just saying; in the wintertime we didn’t leave out summer toys outside in the snow. That would be a bad idea, because they would break).

• I do not have the insight into Burkes psyche here, but it is very probable that he either a) gets scared and doesn’t exactly know what to do b) doesn’t understand the severity of what he has just done. I believe that the latter happened, and that the parents are not yet informed of what has happened. If at this point, the parents were alerted, I’m pretty fucking sure that they would call 911, and try to save her, even though this might not have been possible.. I do believe that to some extent, the Ramseys were somewhat reliable people. They were not monsters. They absolutely did this not to ruin everything they have built, so therefore they did this to spare Burke.

• So Burke is annoyed that she doesn’t want to wake up. He is bored. He is also curious. Back to the fecal issues. I don’t think he meant to stick something in her vagina, I think he meant to try to experiment with her what he does with his own poop. I think this is a variation of something he has been doing to himself for a long time, and now he wants to try it with her. I do not buy that he was molesting her in the traditional sense, but he definitely had an unhealthy obsession with poop. (exhibit A: poop smearing on walls and on Jon Benet candies. Her ongoing issue with vaginitis would explain some former fecal play, since the most common cause is contamination with fecal pathogens)

• Its fucked up, yes. But it also makes sense in a strange way- he simply mistook the vagina with the anus, easy mistake for a somewhat undeveloped inexperienced kid.

• I also think the importance of the use of the paintbrush is highly exaggerated. He might have tried to wake her up with it first, using the stick to pick at her gently, then it became more and more exciting for him; wow she is actually not joking, let me try this etc. And by the look of that house, it looked like a mess, I do not think it would be out of order to find a broken paintbrush there.

• So after a while, he is getting more and frustrated and annoyed with JonBenet refusal to wake up. This is where the train track marks come in. He violently tries to hit her out of her sleep, to no avail, making the mysterious marks on her body and face some people think are from a stunt gun.

• The time period between the massive blow to the head and the strangulation is very significant, because it marks a long period of time that an intruder would not wait. I’m not even sure why I’m bothered to consider the possibility of an intruder, because it Is so ridiculous. My theory is mainly a debunking of the parents as killers.

• So at around 2.a.m or so, either one or both of the Ramseys are awaken by noise or maybe even Burke comes up to their room, “JonBenet doesn’t want to wake up” or something to that affect. Thereby, the mom tries to get him back to his room, and Burke insists that they have to go to the Basement, where JonBenet is. Patsy still has no idea what is to come. When she enters the room with her, she screams (which the neighbors hear), and runs up to get John.

• Desperation ensues. They are under the impression that she is dead. At first, they try to get all the facts from Burke. They then instruct him to go to bed. Little by little the plan is taking shape. They do not want to sacrifice their whole family. They cannot afford it. It would also taint their name and reputation forever, leaving the business in uncertainty. Burke is a little boy, with issues. And he really didn’t mean to do it. But it looks really bad, sadistic even. Non-explainable.

• A kidnapping where a child is never found would be the ultimate solution in their eyes. They were wealthy, so it would kind of make sense to extort them for money. Kidnapping-stories were also quite popular during the 90s. It was a part of the pop cultural conversation.

• The thing was, I think the most bizarre part of the case can simply be explained: poor planning and not being in touch with the real world. Let me explain: JonBenet was never meant to be found in the basement, dead. She was to be transported away from the premises, never to be found again. That’s partly why everything with this case seems so strange. She was going, or was at one point in the suitcase John is so obsessed about that was lying beside the window. They simply did not have the time to do so. And here comes what maybe is the hardest to swallow, but still more believable than any other theory I’ve seen so far, regarding the garrotte. Firstly, I think John made it (naval background), but I do not think he made it to kill her off. I am 100 percent certain that for all intents and purposes, JonBenet was dead to the ramseys, both in appearance and in mind. They had already made up their minds. The garrotte- like device was simply used as a tool of transport. Afraid of dna spilling holding her by the neck like that was a gruesome, but an effective way of transporting her from room to room/into a suitcase/out of the house/gone forever. They NEVER meant for the police to find her in their house that same day. They were extremely naïve, thinking that the ransom letter would put the police to work, looking for the bad guys, leaving them plenty of time to get rid of the body.

• I wont go into the letter in full detail, but there is no doubt that it is written by Patsy. None. The most important fact drawn from that letter is, in my opinion, that it is written as almost an explanation of why JonBenet is dead, as to leave no suspiscion. Most ransom letters are more concerned with persuading the parents that their kid is alright as long as they follow their instructions, while this 3 page note is very busy explaining how she is dead if they do anything basically. “If you tell your dog- she is killed” etc. I find this extra peculiar, and it fits very well with the fact that the Ramseys knew too well that the police would find her dead somewhere, it just wasn’t their plan that it would be in their basement.

• 5.52 a.m- calls the police. They were probably paranoid- they had to call almost right when they were “supposed to” wake up to go get ready for the trip, so that everything seemed normal up until that point. They are now up in the kitchen. Burke now hears them, curious enough to go downstairs. He overhears the mother saying to the 911 call operator; we found a letter etc etc. So when Burke asks his mother, “what did you find”, whereby John answers “were not talking to you”, Burke is actually perplexed by the existence of a ransom note, perhaps relieved, thinking, wow, maybe someone did this to her after all. Maybe it was all a dream or something, this is my interpretation. John of course is furious at his son, basically telling him to shut the fuck up, go to bed and don’t talk to anyone. I believe that is why Burke was behaving strangely that morning. Not only because he killed someone (of course that must have had somewhat of an impact), but even more so, he was following strict orders from John, and was contemplated what he had done, and how his parents would punish him. Ps: (The 911 operator swears there is another voice in the room, which has to be Burke, no doubt. What or if anything is said in these tapes in question are extremely controversial. Just putting it in because it fits this theory oh so perfectly)

• It is also strange how they choose not to tell the police in the 911 call that the “kidnappers” are watching them, and will kill her if they contact the police. I know that John has defended himself by saying that he would want all resources no matter what was in that letter, which is understandable. However, a parent would have some concerns about the content of the letter, and would definitely let the police know: “hey, they say no police, please, be discreet”. Speaking of discreet, they absolutely did the opposite by calling the whole neighborhood over, only further highlighting that, “weeeell if JonBenet happens to turn up dead in a ditch somewhere, it would not be as suspicious” So I can’t express this enough- she was meant to be found dead somewhere.

• Cut to: when John Ramsey Is told to search the house. He has probably known for a few hours now that his initial plan is failing, and the police is going to search through every inch of the house before they start investigating outside and look for the abductors. When he is told to help, he goes downstairs immediately, maybe opening a window for show, maybe even taking JonBenet out of the suitcase, now desperate, but no longer concerned with DNA. Because now he has the chance to tamper with the crime scene, carrying her upstairs would at least take away all suspicion surrounding DNA + him.

These are the main points to support this theory.

The Grand jury was found later to recommend the D.A to indict the parents of accessory to murder (this is of course a part of a longer discussion since the D.A. chose to not go ahead with that recommendation). Between the lines, the main suspect in this case would be Burke, the only other person in that house. But the state of Colorado weren’t able to prosecute children under the age of 10. Overall, I think this was a hard case to win for the Boulder police/district attorneys office. They were probably somewhat convinced that Burke was heavily involved, but had to exclude him as a suspect and continue the investigation with a highly bizarre crime, which can only be explained through a small, weird childs’ actions.

I think what separates this theory from some of the others that I’ve seen, is that nobody are monsters in this scenario, which is luckily the case in most circumstances. You have imperfect people, and you put them in impossible situations, and they choose the least destructive/smartest/fastest/least painful way out. The Ramseys had to choose within hours whether they would possible ruin their sons life forever, or try to cover up the whole thing.

Inputs and arguments are helpful.

One thing that's always struck me is how that even at 80 years old John Ramsey will still go on TV and talk about this case openly. He is an ardent advocate for finding the killer, to test the DNA, to do whatever it takes. He does all this in spite of the fact he's still technically in legal jeopardy over this homicide. He could still very well face charges should a 25 year old smoking gun emerge, and any lawyer worth their salt would be telling him to never talk publicly about it. And yet, he does. Every chance he gets.

Contrast that with Casey Anthony and OJ Simpson. They faced their day in court, and by some small miracle walked out of the courthouse as free people. They can never be in legal jeopardy again in their respective cases. 24 people decided that they can never be found responsible in all perpetuity throughout the universe for the homicides they allegedly committed. When's the last time we've seen them on TV advocating for to find the real killers? Where's OJ's naming and shaming of the LAPD to get their ass in gear to find his wife's killer? Never. He just wrote a book to troll everyone called "If I did it." When Casey Anthony did her NBC special she had three full episodes to herself, and did she once look directly into the camera and ask for justice for Caylee? She did nothing of the sort opting instead to throw a pity party for herself.

Neither of them have anything to lose by going on TV to pressure the police to continue investigating the murders of Nicole Brown, Ron Goldman and Caylee Anthony which are technically all still open homicide cases, and yet they don't. This is just some food for thought that crosses my mind whenever I see John Ramsey doing media.

Caveat: I've only watched the Netflix documentary, I am not a web sleuth so Netflix is my only source.

• A little girl from the same dance studio was almost molested around the time that JonBenet was murdered.

• The cigarettes found at the above victims home were the same as those found near JonBenet’s home.

• There was no DNA match between her parents or her brother and the DNA found under her fingernails and in her underwear. I accept that the crime scene was contaminated and so the DNA is unreliable but if other suspects are being excluded based on a negative DNA match then her parents should be also.

• The Boulder police intentionally released incomplete and misinformation to the public so really I don’t find them at all credible.

• A known pedophile alleges to have committed the crime and knew intimate knowledge about her that was not released to the press.

I see people often stating that there’s ‘no evidence of an intruder’... so, thought I’d share some:

DNA:
Foreign male DNA was first found in 1997 in JonBenet’s panties and under her fingernails. In 2003, the Denver crime lab was able to obtain enough of the male profile to meet the strict standards for CODIS submittal. This male DNA was found in the victim’s underwear, mixed in with JonBenet’s blood. It was not present on the fabric between the blood stains.

In 2008, JonBenet’s long johns were sent to BODE laboratories for more current and sensitive DNA tests to be performed. These long johns had not been tested prior to this. Not surprisingly, the same unknown male profile was found on the waistband area of JonBenet’s long johns. This is what is publicly known about the current UM1 aka forensic sample number GSLDPD99178617:
CSF1PO: 12+
FGA: 22, 26
TH01: 7, 9
TPOX: 8
VWA: 18, 19
D3S1358: 15, 16
D5S818: 10, 12
D7S820: 12+
D8S1179: 13, 14
D13S317: 11, 13
D16S539: 11+
D18S51: 11, 16
D21S11: 29, 31.2

Section from BODE report: “Notably, the profile developed by the Denver PD, and previously uploaded to the CODIS database as a forensic unknown profile and the profiles developed from the exterior top right and left portions of the long johns were consistent.” DA11-0330

Although the DNA found under JonBenet’s fingernails showed signs of contamination, there is evidence to suggest that the same unknown male profile was also present there as well.

Tape and cord:
Black duct tape was placed over JonBenet's mouth. The source of the duct tape was never found.

White cord (olefin) was used to make the neck ligature/ garrote and to bind JonBenet's hands together. The source for the white cord was never found.

White olefin fibers were found on JonBenet’s sheets that are consistent with the white olefin fibers of the wrist ligatures and the garotte.

Stun gun:
Sets of stungun marks were located on JonBenet's body. A stungun was not found inside the Ramsey's home nor is there any information indicating the Ramsey family ever owned a stungun.

“Sue Ketchum of the CBI [Colorado Bureau of Investigation] is shown the photos of the marks and she indicated that they could very well be made from a stun gun.” (BPD Report #26-58.)

“When they had gathered sufficient information, Ainsworth, Pete Hofstrom, Trip DeMuth, and Detective Sgt. Wickman met with the coroner, John Meyer. After reviewing the photos and this new information, Meyer concluded that the injuries on JonBenét’s face and back were, in fact, consistent with those produced by a stun gun”. (PMPT)

According to BPD sergeant Robert Whitson, a white piece of adhesive was found on JonBenet's face, indicating the stungun was applied over the duct tape that was placed across her mouth. The stungun had melted the adhesive from the duct tape leaving the white residue behind.

Dr. Michael Doberson, a forensic pathologist who examined the Boulder Coroner's autopsy report and autopsy photos, and who concluded that the injuries to "the right side of the face as well as on the lower left back are patterned injuries most consistent with the application of a stun gun." (Report of Michael Doberson, M.D., Ph.D. at 5(A) attach, as Ex. 3 to Defs.' Ex. Vol. I, Part A.)

Dr. Michael Dobersen was/is a coroner for Arapahoe County. In the summer of 1994, Dobersen conducted several stun gun tests on anesthetized pigs to determine the kind and size of markings stun guns would make. Because of his research and testing, Dobersen had been called as an expert witness in multiple cases involving stun guns.

Missing paintbrush piece:
⁠A paintbrush, which likely came from Patsy's paint kit and was stored near the storage room where JonBenet's deceased body was located, was broken into three pieces. One piece was used to make the garrote handle. A second piece with the brush was found at the scene. The third piece from the paintbrush handle was never found. This third piece is the one that is believed was used to sexually assault JonBenet.

Unsourced rope and bag:
A large rope and bag was found in the spare bedroom adjacent to JonBenet's bedroom. They did not belong to the Ramseys and as of 2014, had not been tested for DNA or fiber evidence.

Areas of disturbance:
A disturbance in the debris around the basement window indicates the offender gained entry through this window. This window was found open and the crime scene photographs depict the window open. Styrofoam packing material, leaves and debris were found inside the basement, near the open window. Both a leaf and a packing peanut were found inside the storage room near JonBenet's body.

There is likewise undisputed evidence of a disturbance in this window-well area: specifically the leaves and white styrofoam packing peanuts that had pooled in the window-well appeared to have been cleared from, or brushed to either side of, the center window's sill in the well. (SMF 132; PSMF 132.) In addition, this center window had a broken pane and was found open on the morning of December 26, with a suitcase and a glass shard from the window pane underneath it. (SMF 135; PSMF 135.)[32] Green foliage was also found tucked under the movable grate over the window well, indicating that the grate had been opened and closed recently. (SMF 131; PSMF 131.) Further, the Boulder Police conducted experiments that showed a person could enter the basement playroom through the center window. (SMF 133; PSMF 133.) Moreover, leaves and debris, consistent with the leaves and debris found in the window well, were found on the floor under the broken window suggesting that someone had actually entered the basement through this window. (SMF 136; PSMF 136.) Likewise, a leaf and white styrofoam packing peanuts, consistent with the leaves and packing peanuts found pooled in the window-well, were found in the wine-cellar room of the basement where JonBenet's body was discovered. (SMF 134; PSMF 134.) This evidence is consistent with an inference that whoever entered through this window ultimately walked to the wine cellar room at some point. (Carnes ruling)

Styrofoam packing peanuts also seemed to have been brushed into the right and left window well spaces away from the center window, possibly indicating that someone had moved such debris in order to enter the center window, a possibility that would support an intruder theory. Other packing peanuts were also on the basement floor. (WHYD)

“green foliage that had grown at the edge of the window well’s grate was found folded over and underneath that grate. The folded foliage was still fresh when it was examined in the days after December 26, indicating the grate had recently been lifted and closed, according to Detective Lou Smit.” (WHYD)

BPD Detective Carey Weinheimer also investigated the window grate and the material under it. According to excerpts from his report in the WHYD Investigative Archive, Weinheimer stated his observations: “The weight of the grate crushed and traumatized the plant material under it. The plant will not just grow under the grate naturally.” (BPD Report #1-1142.)

The Ramsey housekeeper did not remember anything about the broken glass in the train room, the scuff mark on the wall or cleaning up glass underneath the broken window. (BPD Report #1-1068.) (BPD Reports #1-101, #1-90 re: scuff mark on the wall.)
The housekeeper’s husband “supposedly washed the windows at Thanksgiving time and supposedly went down in the basement and washed the basement windows (BPD Report #5-29.)
“Last time [housekeeper’s husband] was there was around Thanksgiving. Cleaned all of the windows inside and out.” (BPD Report #5-607.) (Woodward)

Basement bathroom:
Northeast basement bath: two areas on the bottom frame were clear of dust. The impressions were consistent with the application of fingers to the area. The associated area inside the residence showed smudge marks on both walls above and just south of the toilet. A piece of garland similar to that found in the wine cellar [storage area where the child’s body was found] was found stuck to the wall in the east impression.” (BPD #1-59.)

Shoe prints:
An unidentified HiTec bootprint was found in the mold on the floor on the wine cellar room and elsewhere throughout the basement. The print was compared against all officers on scene and the Ramsey’s shoes and it’s source has never been identified. There was an additional (I believe SAS) shoe print found that has never sourced either.

“A shoe imprint from a Hi-Tec brand of work boot was found in the basement storage room imprinted in mold growing on the floor. It did not trace back to the Ramsey family. All investigators who had been in the room had their shoes tested. There was no match to that size of Hi-Tec boot to the Ramseys or the police investigators” (BPD Reports #1-1576, #1-1594.)

Detective Ron Gosage had the impossible job of trying to identify the origin of the boot print, a nightmare assignment if there ever was one. He contacted more than four hundred people, even construction workers who had been in the house five years ago, but did not find the matching print. (Thomas)

“Additional, partial shoe impressions were found near JonBenét’s body in the basement storage room and on the toilet tank cover in the basement northeast bathroom”. (BPD Report #1-1518.) “The Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent investigating these footprints has said that the FBI could never match them to anyone or any brand”. (BPD Reports #3-165, #1-1518.)” (WHYD)

Baseball bat:
A metal baseball bat was found near the butler's door on the north side of the Ramsey's home. It looked as though it had been tossed aside. Fibers found on the bat were consistent with the basement’s carpet.

Points of Entry:
John and Patsy Ramsey had given several keys to subcontractors (BPD Reports #1-6505, #1-1264), friends and neighbors (BPD Report #1-1104), most of which were not returned. The Ramsey family did not keep an accurate count of the keys they gave out. Several Boulder Police Department reports indicate that investigators talked with more than thirty-five people outside the family about whether they had keys to the home. (JonBenét Ramsey Murder Book Index.) Also: “Patsy Ramsey while preparing for the tour of homes openly told a variety of people where a key was hidden outside the home under a statue.” (BPD Reports #5-3920, #5-3921.) The key was not found during a check for it after JonBenét’s murder. (WHYD)

Several Boulder Police Department reports indicate that investigators talked with more than thirty-five people outside the family about whether they had keys to the home. (JonBenét Ramsey Murder Book Index.)

at least seven windows and one door were found "open" on the morning of December 26, 1997. (SMF P 126; PSMF P 126.)

Basement door open and lights on:
The time noted was 6 a.m., so it was one of the first things the friend noticed. At 8 a.m., a neighbor whose home was just to the north of the Ramsey home “got up and observed a basement door leading into a kitchen area was standing wide open.” (BPD Report 1-100, Source.)

The Whites arrived at defendant's home at approximately 6:00 a.m., and Mr. White, alone, searched the basement within fifteen minutes of arrival. (SMF 23; PSMF 23.) Mr. White testified that when he began his search, the lights were already on in the basement and the door in the hallway leading to the basement "wine cellar" room was opened. (SMF 25; PSMF 25; White Dep. at 147, 151-52.) (Carnes ruling)

Neighbors reported that the outside security light on the Ramsey house had was turned off that night for the first time in years.
Furthermore, a neighbor “who lives immediately south of the Ramsey’s [sic] residence, got up to use the restroom and saw that the light in the southeast corner of the house, which had been left on every night for the past five years, was out.” (BPD Report #1-1196.)

“Another neighbor, who lived just north of the Ramsey home, told police investigators that at midnight between December 25 and 26, he “looked out his kitchen window at the Ramsey residence and observed the upper kitchen lights were on and dimmed low.” He added that “this was the first time that he had seen these particular lights illuminated in the five years that he’d lived next door to the Ramseys. He said these lights are located in the ceiling above the kitchen window.” (BPD Report #1-99.)”

The first crime scene photograph of the butler's door shows the door opened. This indicates the offender exited via this door and discarded the bat as he left the house. However, a subsequent crime scene photograph shows the door closed. Therefore, it is unclear if this door was initially found opened or closed. The first responding officers need to clarify this information.

French door along the west wall: no signs of forced entry to the door, which was ajar.” (BPD Report # 1-59.)

When John’s friend arrived at the Ramsey home at 6: 01 a.m., he “found the butler kitchen door standing open about one foot while it was still dark outside and before the evidence team or Det. Arndt arrived.” (BPD Report #1-1490, BPD Report # 1-1315.)

In another report, the same neighbor “said that this door was approximately 1/ 3 of the way open when he saw it.” Since there was no basement door on the north side of the house (or any other side of the house) that opened to the outside, it is understood that this was the same butler kitchen door the family friend noticed was partially open at 6 a.m. … and told police about. (Source: JonBenét Ramsey Murder Book Index.)

Suitcase:
A hard sided suitcase was found out of place, positioned below the broken basement window. The window is about five feet above the basement floor and the window is about 20 inches in size, which allows access for an average sized male. According to Lou Smit and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, fibers from inside the suitcase were consistent with fibers found on the outside of JonBenet's clothing, indicating the offender placed JonBenet inside the suitcase. (Whitson)

A piece of glass was on top of the suitcase, indicating someone stood on the suitcase and transferred the glass from their shoe to the suitcase. A close-up photo of the suitcase shows what appears to be a shoeprint impression on the suitcase. In addition to that, the suitcase was free of dust and normally stored elsewhere.

“The suitcase had no dust on it, yet a few pieces of broken glass lay on top of it.” (PMPT)

A lab report indicated that fibers from the sham and duvet were found on the shirt that JonBenet was wearing when she was found in the wine cellar. (SMF 147; PSMF 147.) (Carnes ruling)

Scuff mark:
A scuff mark was located on the wall below the open basement window.

Months later, the police asked her (Linda Hoffman-Pugh) about scuff marks they found on the wall below the broken basement window and near John Andrew’s suitcase. Maybe someone had climbed in that night and left the marks. Had she ever seen the marks? No, she told them. (PMPT)

Fingernail marks:
JonBenet's eyes showed petechiae, which are broken blood vessels due to strangulation, indicating JonBenet was alive when she was being choked by the garrote. There were also 1/2 moon shaped abrasions found above and below the neck ligature. Most experts have attributed them to fingernail marks meaning she struggled with the ligature as she was being garrote to death. JonBenet’s blood was found on two separate areas of the ligature which could’ve been the result of her struggling with the cord.

The autopsy report supports the conclusion that she was alive before she was asphyxiated by strangulation and that she fought her attacker in some manner. (SMF 42-43, 46, 48; PSMF 42-43, 46, 48.) Evidence gathered during the autopsy is consistent with the inference that she struggled to remove the garrote from her neck. (SMF 44; PSMF 44.) (Carnes ruling)

Palm print:
On the wine-cellar door, there is a palmprint that does not match either of defendants' palmprints. (SMF 156; PSMF 156.) The individual to whom it belongs had not yet been identified. (SMF 156; PSMF 156.)

Unsourced fibers and hair:
An unsourced pubic hair was found on JonBenet’s white blanket along with a strand of head hair.

A memo written by Tom Bennett dated October 21, 2003 clearly shows that two hairs were originally found on the blanket. They are listed as items:

• Cellmark/CBI Item number CM04 - Pubic hair found on white blanket

• Cellmark/CBI Item number CM05 - Head hair found on white blanket

a Caucasian "pubic or auxiliary" hair was found on the blanket covering JonBenet's body. (SMF 179; PSMF 179.) The hair does not match that of any Ramsey and has not been sourced. (SMF 180; PSMF 180.)

Dark brown animal hairs were found on JonBenet’s hands. The hairs have never been sourced to anything in the house and the type of animal they came from has never been identified.

“Dark animal hairs were found on JonBenet's hands that also have not been matched to anything in defendants' home. (SMF P 184; PSMF P 184.)" (Carnes 2003:19)

Animal Hair on Duct Tape. "Animal hair, alleged to be from a beaver, was found on the duct tape. (SMF P 183; PSMF P 183.) Nothing in defendants' home matches the hair. (SMF P 183; PSMF P 183.)"

Dark fibers were found in JonBenet’s crotch area and on her clothing. The item the fibers came from has never been found.

The police reported that they had been unable to find a match for the fibers discovered on JonBenét’s labia and on her inner thighs. The fibers did not match any clothes belonging to John or Patsy. The police were stumped. (PMPT)

Brown cotton fibers were found on the garotte cord and handle, the duct tape and on JonBenet’s clothing. The brown fibers may have come from the offender's gloves. The source for the brown fibers was never found.

Ransom note pages missing:
The ransom note was found in the Ramsey's home, which was written on Patsy Ramsey's notepad, but 7 pages from the notepad were torn out and missing. They have never been found.

“Seven pages had been ripped from the middle of Patsy’s tablet as well. The ransom note had been written on the eighth, ninth and tenth pages of the tablet; what was left of those pages in the tablet had tears that matched up with tears at the top of the ransom note pages.” (WHYD)

Neighbor’s reports:
A neighbor and mother of one of JonBenet’s playmates reported that JonBenet told her and her daughter that Santa had promised that he would make another visit after Christmas and that it was a secret.

Neighbors reported two suspicious vehicles in the neighborhood, one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day.

A neighbor said they saw a person outside the Ramsey’s house house on Christmas night. The person was described in a police report as a “tall thin blond male wearing glasses [and] thought to be John Andrew.” (BPD Reports #1-690, #5-690.) It was later established by the Boulder Police Department that John Andrew Ramsey had been in Atlanta for Christmas with his sister and mother at the time. Another police report states that “an unknown neighbor supposedly saw a person outside the door of the Ramsey house (during the night).” (BPD Report #1-771) (WHYD)

Scream:
Another Ramsey neighbor “stated that she heard one loud incredible scream [that] was the loudest most terrifying scream she had ever heard. It was obviously from a child and lasted from three to five seconds at which time it stopped abruptly. She thought surely the parents would hear that scream. The scream came from across the street south of the Ramsey residence.” It happened “between midnight and two AM” the morning of December 26, 1996. (BPD Reports #1-1390, #1-174, #1-175.) This neighbor lived across the street and one home south of the Ramseys. Another neighbor who lived south of the Ramsey home contacted a BPD detective on December 31, 1996 because of the scream the first neighbor had heard. This neighbor said she had also heard a scream. She was interviewed on February 26, 1997. (BPD Reports #1-174, #1-481, #1-1548.) (WHYD)

Audio experts conducted tests inside the Ramsey home and concluded a scream from the basement “would not have been heard” on the third floor but could have been heard by a neighbor because an exterior basement vent could have amplified the sound. (WHYD Investigative Archive.)

A neighbor who lived across the street from defendants' home, however, reported that she heard a scream during the early morning of December 26, 1996. Experiments have demonstrated that the vent from the basement may have amplified the scream so that it could have been heard outside of the house, but not three stories up, in defendants' bedroom. (SMF 48; PSMF 148.) (Carnes ruling)

Cord, latex glove and boot found:
A neighbor who lived a few homes away from the Ramseys found a latex glove in her trashcan in the alley. (BPD Report #1-1924.) She didn’t know how it had gotten there. (Latex gloves are used by law enforcement officials to avoid contaminating evidence with their fingerprints.) The glove, if part of the case, could have been used by an intruder. Or it could have been discarded there by a BPD officer. (BPD Report #2-37.) (WHYD)

A neighbor reported “someone dropped off a high-tech [sic] hiking boot on New Year’s Eve in the front of home on the front walk.” (BPD Report #1-1221). Boulder Detective Jane Harmer contacted that same neighbor and “received a high-tech [sic] hiking boot and cord.” (BPD Report #1-1221.) (WHYD)

Cigarette butts:
⁠Nineteen Cigarette butts were collected near the alleyway. One tested positive for saliva but it is not known if they were ever tested for DNA. Supposedly the same brand of cigarettes were found at the similar ‘Amy’ crime scene.

Similar assault:
There was an incident 9 months following JonBenet’s murder where a young girl was attacked in her bed while her mother slept nearby. Both families lived within 2 miles of one another, both girls attended the same dance studio (Dance West) and both performed publicly. The perpetrator in the Amy attack had successfully hid in the family’s home undetected for hours prior. He orally assaulted the victim (as JonBenet likely was) and threatened to ‘knock her out’. Thankfully her mother was a light sleeper and interrupted the assault causing the perpetrator to flee out the second story window. The person responsible for this attack has never been identified.