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  • JonBenét Ramsey’s Father Talks In Depth About the Murder Of His Daughter With Barbara Walters

    JonBenét Ramsey, the child beauty pageant princess who was found murdered in her basement in 1996, would have been 25 this year. Many still vividly remember the scandal that erupted following her murder — which was never solved.

    As part of a Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals series, which aired on cable’s Investigation Discovery Nov. 2, JonBenét’s father, John Ramsey, opened up about those difficult days following her murder when he, his now-deceased wife, Patsy, and son Burke were the center of an intense investigation.

    Ramsey said his greatest priority was to shield his son from tabloid headlines that accused Burke of the murder of his six-year-old sister.

    “We tried to shield him from that,” John said. “Friends would ask us, ‘What can we do to help?’ We said, ‘Next time you go in the supermarket, call the manager over when you see our child’s photo on the front cover, and ask him to remove it.’ A lot of them did that.”

    For the first time since the death of JonBenét Ramsey, Burke, now 28, spoke about those horrifying days, saying that he has since moved on.

    JonBenét was found dead in her parents’ Boulder basement the day after Christmas 1996, an apparent victim of sexual assault. For months after the discovery of the body of the child beauty pageant contestant, her parents and her brother were investigated but never charged in the crime.

    In Walters’ sitdown with Ramsey, he said he believes law enforcement botched the investigation. He also spoke about the untimely death of his wife Patsy in 2006 from ovarian cancer. His new wife, Jan, talked about how she dealt with the controversy despite some people telling her that she was “marrying a killer.”

    Walters’ next installments in her scandal series with feature the trials of O.J. Simpson, the murder of John Lennon, Jim Bakker’s sex scandal and imprisonment for fraud, and the Menendez brothers.

  • Patsy Ramsey: Nearly Two Decades After Murder of JonBenet, Many Still Believe Her Family Was Involved

    Patsy Ramsey passed away in 2006, never having seen her daughter’s murderer come to justice.

    The tragedy that happened on December 26th, 1996 shook John and Patsy Ramsey to their very core and resulted in the family, including their son, Burke, making move after move around the country to escape memories.

    Some might say John and Patsy Ramsey were also running from suspicious minds.

    While John and Patsy Ramsey were cleared of all charges in 2008 related to the murder of their daughter, the court of public opinion still held that the two of them, or even Burke, could have killed JonBenet.

    Suspicion reached a fever pitch when the family’s housekeeper, Linda Hoffmann-Pugh, came forward to insist that Patsy Ramsey killed her daughter.

    JonBenet….

    A photo posted by JonBenet Ramsey (@jonbenet_support_group) on

    She said, “At first, I didn’t want to believe that Patsy could do such a thing. I loved her. But as time went on, things came to me that made me think she did it.”

    The housekeeper had some pretty interesting theories as to why she thought Patsy Ramsey was responsible.

    For instance, a Swiss Army knife was found in the basement room where JonBenet’s body was found wrapped in a blanket.

    Hoffman-Pugh said, “Only Patsy could have put that knife there. I took it away from Burke and hid it in a linen closet near JonBenet’s bedroom. An intruder never would have found it. Patsy would have found it getting out clean sheets.”

    Another theory of hers rests with the blanket she was wrapped in. Hoffman-Pugh insists that it was in the dryer and only Patsy Ramsey would have known it was there.

    John Ramsey remarried in 2011 and has moved on with his life, but he hopes one day that JonBenet’s killer will be found.

    He even has an idea about how the killer will come to light.

    He said, “I think we will have two ways that will happen: It will either be a DNA match or someone who knows something will become angry or bitter against this person and will tell.”

    I guess only time will tell if the killer will be revealed or if it was John or Patsy Ramsey the whole time.

    Do you think John or Patsy Ramsey could do such a thing to their daughter?

  • JonBenet Ramsey Murder Revisited: The Protection of Burke Ramsey

    The JonBenet Ramsey murder case is nearing its 19th year as an unsolved crime. Everyone who recalls the horrific report of a Christmas gone so terribly wrong in Boulder, can picture the beautiful little blonde beauty pageant contestant, and her fairy tale life that ended way too soon.

    Barbara Walters revisited the JonBenet Ramsey case as part of her new series, Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals, and talked with JonBenet Ramsey’s father John Ramsey about how he and late wife Patsy Ramsey worked hard to prevent son Burke from learning of the rumors that surrounding the family following JonBenet’s death. Burke Ramsey spoke for the first time about the case.

    “We tried to shield him from that,” John Ramsey explained.

    “Friends would ask us, “What can we do to help?” We said, “Next time you go in the supermarket, call the manager over when you see our child’s photo on the front cover, and ask him to remove it,’” he added. “A lot of them did that.”

    JonBenet Ramsey was just six years old when she was found dead in the basement of her family’s Boulder home. A ransom note and eight hour search prompted panic, leading to the discovery of her body. She had duct tape covering her mouth and had been sexually assaulted. She had a fractured skull. The little girl’s hands were bound, and she was covered with a blanket. As with most murder cases, all eyes focused on those within the home–parents John Ramsey and Patsy Ramsey, and older brother (he was nine at the time) Burke.

    Despite the efforts of family members and friends, Burke Ramsey learned he, too, was a suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation–while he was at the grocery store with his mom.

    “The headlines from a tabloid screamed out that Burke had done it,” John Ramsey said at the time. “She dropped her produce and rushed Burke out, but the damage had been done.”

    All three family members were cleared in the death of JonBenet Ramsey in 2008, due to the presence of unknown male DNA. That came too late for Patsy Ramsey, however. She died of ovarian cancer in 2006.

    John Ramsey has moved on. In 2011 he got married again, to Jan Rousseaux. She appeared with John for the interview with Barbara Walters, and shared how the stigma has never left the family. Some friends even warned her she was “marrying a killer.”

    JonBenet Ramsey would have been 25 this year. Burke Ramsey is 28.

    Will John Ramsey go to his grave never knowing who killed JonBenet?

    Many maintain, to this very day, that he already knows.

    Who do you think killed JonBenet Ramsey?

  • JonBenet Ramsey Case: Former Police Chief Reveals New Details, Immediately Regrets That Decision

    The JonBenet Ramsey case has mesmerized the world since the day the six-year-old was found murdered in the basement of her home in 1996.

    Point man for information then and even now is Mark Beckner, the former Boulder, Colorado, police chief. He recently did a Reddit Ask Me Anything segment over the weekend, seemingly unaware that his answers were accessible to the entire world.

    Beckner was the police chief during child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey’s case. The news coming out of the police station was full of lurid twists and turns. Many still believe her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, who became celebrities in the process, were somehow guilty of the crime.

    DNA evidence, which pointed to an unknown male unrelated to the Ramsey family, exonerated the Ramseys. Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy even wrote a letter to the family apologizing for any pain caused by a suggestion of involvement in the crime.

    The murderer remains at large.

    On Reddit, Beckner’s surprising responses shed provided insight into the more complex and questionable aspect of the case.

    After his answers were posted and published in the Denver Post, he had second thoughts about revealing what he knows.

    He later told the Boulder-based Daily Camera newspaper that his participation in the online Q&A was a “misunderstanding and naivete on my part.”

    Although Beckner’s comments have been deleted, the full cached version of the thread can be found here.

    According to CBS6, via CNNWire, some of the more intriguing aspects of his answers were compiled and are found in their entirety, as reported by CNNWire below:

    1. What happened physically to JonBenet

    Beckner: “We know from the evidence she was hit in the head very hard with an unknown object, possibly a flashlight or similar type item. The blow knocked her into unconsciousness, which could have led someone to believe she was dead. The strangulation came 45 minutes to two hours after the head strike, based on the swelling on the brain. While the head wound would have eventually killed her, the strangulation actually did kill her. The rest of the scene we believe was staged, including the vaginal trauma, to make it look like a kidnapping/assault gone bad.”

    2. His personal theories on who did it

    Beckner: “I have avoided saying who I believe is responsible and let the facts speak for themselves. There are several viable theories.”

    3. Patsy Ramsey’s infamous handwriting test

    Context: The day JonBenet was found dead, her mother Patsy claimed she found a 2.5-page handwritten ransom note in their home, demanding $118,000 for JonBenet’s return. The police later determined the note was written on paper from a notebook in the Ramseys’ house. The Ramseys underwent handwriting analysis to determine whether they could have written the note. John Ramsey’s sample seemed to show he didn’t write it, but Patsy Ramsey’s sample was labeled “inconclusive” and police at the time said they would pursue “unrehearsed” samples to examine. However, in the letter to John Ramsey, District Attorney Mary Lacy mentioned that she did not consider anyone in Ramsey’s immediate family to be under any suspicion in the commission of the crime.

    Q: “When Patsy wrote out the sample ransom note for handwriting comparison, it is interesting that she wrote “$118,000″ out fully in words (as if trying to be different from the note). Who writes out long numbers in words? Does this seem contrived to you?”

    Beckner: “The handwriting experts noted several strange observations.”

    4. The uniqueness of the 2.5-page ransom note

    Beckner: “The FBI told us they’d never seen a 2.5 page ransom note.”

    “No note has ever been written at the scene, and then left at the scene with the dead victim at the scene, other than this case.”

    5. Whether the crime scene was mishandled

    Context: The investigation was plagued with claims the crime scene at the Ramseys’ house was not preserved properly, and that unauthorized individuals were allowed to move about the crime scene while the investigation was in progress.

    Beckner: “Yes, the crime scene was not handled properly and this later affected the investigation. [The Ramseys’] position in the community may have had something to do with decisions made that day, but I think the primary reason was a perfect storm-type scenario. It was the Christmas holiday and we were short staffed, we faced a situation as I said earlier that no one in the country had ever seen before or since, and there was confusion at the scene… As a result, some evidence was compromised.”

    “Yes, after that initial day, we felt pressure from the DA’s office not to push too hard on the Ramseys. This was a constant source of frustration and much could be written about this and the reasons for it.”

    6. Whether the motive for the killing/assault was purely sexual

    Context: A 1999 grand jury report indicated there was reason to believe JonBenet was “sexually assaulted.” Details from an autopsy and comments from some experts, including one cited in a 1997 Vanity Fair article indicated the girl had abnormal genital injuries or conditions that could suggest sexual contact of some sort prior to the day of her death.

    Beckner: “It just didn’t seem to fit the totality of the circumstances. Remember, she was hit on the head first, hard enough to render her unconscious. Then there was the staging of a kidnapping. Why do that if the motive is purely sexual?”

    7. What he thought about the John Mark Karr confession

    Context: John Mark Karr was a father and teacher residing in Thailand who, in 2006, claimed he was sexually involved with JonBenet at the time of her death and that her killing was accidental. However, DNA tests confirmed he was not a match to DNA found in the girl’s underwear, and there was no reason to believe he was anywhere near the scene.

    Beckner: “My gut reaction was that [District Attorney] Mary Lacy did not know the facts of the case and was making a big mistake. His confession, once they shared it with us, did not match the evidence at the scene. After she asked for our help in proving he did it, we knew in about 18 hours he was not the guy. We were able to confirm he was not even in Colorado at the time by just doing some routine checking and then obtained photos of him in Georgia at the time. The DNA test, which she thought would prove he did it, proved her wrong.”

    8. How the case affected his career

    Beckner: “For me, it actually helped propel me to the chief’s position once Tom Koby left. It also gave me some credibility in the community based on a different approach I took with the media. I was more open and forthcoming with the media and I think that helped.”

    9. Why people are so fascinated with this case

    Beckner: “The media attention and the intrigue of a good murder mystery attracts lots of people. Add a small beauty queen and it only intensifies the interest. If only 1 percent of the population is crazy, in our country alone that would mean there are about 3,600,000 crazy people out there wanting to give us their wacky ideas.”

  • JonBenet Ramsey: Former Police Chief Says Case Was Botched

    JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in the wee hours between Christmas Day and December 26th, 1996. She was just six years old. Her case has haunted people around the world for 19 years. Now the former Colorado police chief in charge of the investigation at that time, has said the case was mishandled. He even admitted that the involvement of the local district attorney’s office in the case at the time “was inappropriate” and “interfered in the investigation.”

    According to a report from USA Today, Mark Beckner, who was that former chief of the Boulder Police Department, made these remarks online Saturday during an “Ask Me Anything” session on the online social network site Reddit.

    On Wednesday, Beckner voiced his regret about his statements, saying he didn’t realize that the Q&A session was something the general public could access.

    “I talked to the organizer, and my impression was that this was a members-only type group that talked about unsolved mysteries all around the world,” he said.

    The current Boulder Police Chief, Greg Testa, said that the Q&A session didn’t reveal any information that wasn’t already public. It doesn’t take much, however, to draw attention back to the JonBenet Ramsey case, which has been a subject for true crime TV dramas, magazine articles, and tabloid news for 19 years.

    Patsy Ramsey, the now-deceased mother of JonBenet Ramsey, called 911 on the morning of December 26, 1996, to say her daughter was missing and that a ransom note had been found. No one was ever prosecuted in the case.

    In the Reddit discussion, Beckner said police should have separated JonBenet Ramsey’s parents and also should definitely have obtained full statements from both Patsy and John Ramsey that day.

    He added that the case was initially mishandled due to both confusion and a staff shortage on the police force.

    “It was the Christmas holiday and we were short staffed, we faced a situation as I said earlier that no one in the country had ever seen before or since, and there was confusion at the scene as people were arriving before we had enough personnel on the scene,” he wrote online.

    “I wish we would have done a better job of securing and controlling the crime scene on day one,” Beckner said. “We also should have separated John and Patsy and gotten full statements from them that day. Letting them go was a big mistake, as they soon lawyered up and we did not get to formally interview them again until May of 1997, five months after their daughter was murdered.”

    He added that the JonBenet Ramsey’s parents “rarely interacted and this did not seem normal given the circumstances. Lots of speculation as to why.”

    David Beckner was also asked if there was anything else he felt needed clarification regarding the JonBenet Ramsey case.

    He insisted that “the unknown DNA” found on the child’s clothing “is very important.”

    Are you among those who have speculated for 19 years on who killed JonBenet Ramsey? One would certainly have expected that a high profile case such as hers would have long ago been solved.

    Do you think investigators (there are still two who regularly receive tips on the case) will ever determine who killed JonBenet Ramsey?

  • JonBenet Ramsey Dead 17 Years, Book Nears Completion

    JonBenet Ramsey was just six years old when her body was found in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado home 17 years ago. Her killer remains at large. Paula Woodward, a former investigative reporter for Boulder’s 9News has spent the last four years writing a book about the unsolved murder case. That book is now nearing its publication date. Mr. Ramsey, Listen Carefully!: Facts, Fictions, Lies and Legends in the Murder of JonBenet Ramsey is due for publication in 2014 by Kensington Publishing Corp.

    A tentative date of August 26, 2014 has been set, but even Woodward isn’t certain that will be the book’s release date.

    “That’s going to be decided after the holidays,” she said.

    Approximately 400 pages in length, it will no doubt be very interesting to see what the former 9News reporter has written.

    JonBenet Ramsey’s father, John Ramsey, found her partially clothed body in the basement of their home on December 26th, 1996. Eight hours earlier Patsy Ramsey had found a ransom note on a staircase within the home, demanding $118,000 for JonBenet’s return. Both of JonBenet’s parents were considered suspects in her murder, as was her older brother Burke. All have long since been cleared of any wrongdoing in the little girl’s death. Many suspect the Boulder Police for botching the case from the start.

    Paula Woodward’s book is being written with cooperation from John Ramsey. Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer back in 2006.

    “I visited with him in Charlevoix (Mich.) in 2009 and asked him to participate in the book, and explained my reasons for doing the book,” she said. “I have cooperation from John Ramsey, from law enforcement people, from Ramsey attorneys, from people involved on the periphery. A lot of people seemed willing to talk. Some were anonymous, but they are known to me — and my editor, of course.”

    It will certainly be interesting to read whatever Paula Woodward has compiled in her book about JonBenet Ramsey’s death. It would definitely be wonderful after all these years if something would lend some clues to cold case investigators that might lead to an arrest.

    Woodward dismisses any notion that she believes all members of JonBenet’s family are innocent.

    “That case was full of misperceptions, and nobody knows what I thought then and after reviewing it for four years, nobody knows what I think now,” she said.

    Do you think John, Patricia and Burke Ramsey are all innocent of wrongdoing in the death of JonBenet Ramsey 17 years ago? Do you think Paula Woodward’s new book will help point fingers at a suspect in the case?

    Image via Wikimedia

  • JonBenet Ramsey Murder, Cold Case After 17 Years

    Seventeen years later and no arrest has been made in the death of 6-year-old beauty pageant tot, Jonbenet Ramsey.

    In 1996, Ramsey’s body was found the day after Christmas in the basement of John and Patsy Ramsey’s Boulder, Col., home right after the discovery of a ransom note asserting kidnap.

    The young pageant prototype was found with a fractured skull and suffered from asphyxiation through use of a cord.

    Numerous speculations formed from this case during the investigation, one being that the parents were abusive.

    The Grand Jury that investigated the murder case in 1999 voted to indict her parents. Yet, the court could not find reasonable doubt and ample evidence to accuse Mrs. And Mr. Ramsey of murder.

    This information was not released until last October, putting a new spin on Ramsey’s murder details.

    Even after the extraction of DNA testing in 2008, including the parents and brother, Burke Ramsey, Boulder police have failed to link a suspect to the crime.

    “The case is still open, but is not actively being investigated and there are no new leads,” said Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner.

    Now after so many years of change for the Ramsey family-Patsy has been deceased for seven years and John is remarried-the investigation has come to a halt.

    Boulder investigators have recently declared Ramsey’s slaying a cold case.

    A little bit of Ramsey’s life is detailed in John’s book titled “The Other Side of Suffering,” which was released earlier this year. He goes into detail about his faith in God and how it helped him survive through the nightmare he endured during the case.

    Ramsey revealed in an interview with Christian Post that the longer the investigation stretches, the more he felt that the case would go unsolved.

    It looks like his predictions were correct.

    However, Beckner assures that Boulder police still has hope that someday the killer will be found.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • JonBenet Ramsey: New Evidence Released

    We all know about the case of the murder of six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey of Boulder, Colorado. JonBenet’s beaten and strangled body was discovered in 1996 at her parents’ home. It was a day after Christmas, when she should have been enjoying the bike she got as a gift.

    That same day, her parents had called police to report her kidnapping. They said they found a note demanding a ransom of $118,000 for her return. She was then found dead in the basement of their home.

    Her parents, John and Patricia Ramsey lived under a cloud of suspicion, and in an ocean of unanswered questions. In October 1999, the 12 jurors who had convened for 13 months and poured over 30,000 pieces of evidence, all went home not one step closer to solving the case.

    That was before Wednesday, when a judge ordered the release of 18 pages sealed after the grand jury dispersed, according to CNN.

    Among the new evidence released on Friday are two pages about her mother and two pages about her father, according to an order from Judge J. Robert Lowenbach.

    Only documents signed by a foreman are being released, according to the judge’s order, which says the court can release only official documents. Lowenbach’s order Wednesday makes reference to the grand jury’s report. “It appears that the district attorney, presumably acting at the direction of the grand jury, prepared a series of possible charges regarding John Ramsey and Patricia Ramsey based on the fact that the child had died and that there was evidence that a sexual assault of the child occurred,” Lowenbach wrote.

    The Boulder Daily Camera, citing unidentified jurors and an assistant district attorney, said the grand jury voted to indict her parents on charges of child abuse resulting in death.

    Despite the grand jury’s vote, the district attorney said at the time that there was insufficient evidence to warrant filing charges, therefore, then-Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter did not sign the indictment. and it has remained sealed for years. The Daily Camera said the decision to unseal the indictment was in response to a lawsuit by its reporter and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

    John and Patricia have fought accusations continually since that fateful day, until Patricia died of Ovarian cancer in 2006.

    Even a few false leads have crept up over the years. In 2006, a breakthrough appeared certain with the arrest of John Mark Karr in Bangkok, Thailand. The 41-year-old teacher repeatedly said he loved the little girl and was with her the night she died. He insisted her death was an accident.

    But soon after his arrest and return to Colorado, prosecutors said DNA evidence proved he had nothing to do with her death. The district attorney decided not to charge him. Back to square one.

    Will the murder of the tiny beauty queen ever be solved?

    Image via youtube

  • JonBenet Ramsey Sealed Documents To Be Released

    The case that still haunts us. Beautiful doe-eyed child pageant winner JonBenet Ramsey was only six-years-old when her beaten and strangled body was found on December 26, 1996 in the basement of her Boulder, Colorado, home. Her mother, Patsy Ramsey, claimed that a three page ransom note had been found. However, there was no sign of forced entry, and a paintbrush belonging to Patsy Ramsey was used to tighten the rope that strangled JonBenet.

    Eighteen sealed documents relating to the JonBenet Ramsey 1999 grand jury indictment case are to be opened on Friday per the order by Judge J. Robert Lowenbach, and against the protestations on behalf of John Ramsey.

    (image)

    Harold Haddon, who is the attorney for John Ramsey, wrote to District Attorney Stan Garrett in order to request that the documents remain sealed.

    “Public release of the allegations of an unprosecuted indictment only serves to further defame (John Ramsey) and his late wife Patricia Ramsey,” Haddon explained in the letter.

    Regardless of these concerns, the documents, which include nine pages about John Ramsey and nine pages about Patsy Ramsey will be released in accordance with Judge Lowenback’s order.

    “The court is sympathetic to the position of Mr. Ramsey, but has nonetheless concluded that as an ‘official action’ of the grand jury, the ‘indictment’ must be released,” read the order written by Judge J. Robert Lowenbach.

    Many still question why the prosecution did not attempt to charge JonBenet’s parents. As the years pass, more and more questions seem to arise than answers. The analysis of these soon-to-be released documents may provide answers to the tragedy of a case that the public cannot seem to get over.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulJyCITk4cU

    [Image Via YouTube]

  • JonBenet Ramsey Documents To Be Released Friday

    JonBenet Ramsey, the beautiful little pageant queen who was killed in 1996, captured the world’s attention after the details of the case became more and more troubling. Found dead in the basement of her own home just after Christmas, her parents were immediate suspects in the eyes of many even though her mother, Patsy Ramsey, said she’d found a 3-page ransom note. No suspect was ever caught.

    Though Patsy and her husband John were never official suspects, the grand jury felt differently. The couple were reportedly to be indicted on charges of child abuse resulting in death, but the District Attorney at the time, Alex Hunter, refused to sign the indictment due to lack of evidence.

    “I and my prosecution task force believe we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant the filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time,” Hunter said.

    Charlie Brennan, a reporter for the Daily Camera, wrote a story about the case last year and discovered that the jury had voted to indict; since then, he’s been working with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on a lawsuit against the new Boulder DA, Stan Garnett, to get the documents released. The request has been denied twice before, but now it looks like a judge has agreed to hand them over. John Ramsey is not pleased.

    “Public release of the allegations of an unprosecuted indictment only serves to further defame (John Ramsey) and his late wife Patricia Ramsey,” wrote Ramsey’s attorney, Harold Haddon.

    In the initial lawsuit, attorney Thomas B. Kelley wrote, “The plaintiffs believe… that the indictment is a criminal justice record that reflects official action by the grand jury, and accordingly that it is subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. Alternatively, they argue the indictment should be disclosed to the public because such disclosure would serve the public interest in government transparency and not be contrary to the public interest nor cause undue adverse effect upon the privacy of the individual.”

    The documents, which include nine pages each on John and Patsy, will be released on Friday.

    “The court is sympathetic to the position of Mr. Ramsey but has nonetheless concluded that as an ‘official action’ of the grand jury, the ‘indictment’ …. must be released,” said Judge J. Robert Lowenbach.

  • JonBenet Ramsey: Grand Jury Voted for Indictment of Parents in 1999

    Everyone remembers the murder of the young beauty queen, JonBenet Ramsey. The story made headlines and had people intrigued all over the United States.

    According to JonBenet’s mother, Patsy Ramsey, the family had been attending a Christmas party the night before her disappearance. Supposedly, JonBenet fell asleep in the car on the ride home and her parents carried her upstairs to her bed. That was the last time they saw their daughter. The next morning, around 5:00 a.m., Patsy walked downstairs into her kitchen and discovered a ransom note saying that they had kidnapped their daughter and were holding her captive until they received a ransom of $118,000. The note said that they would make a phone call to set up an exchange of the money for JonBenet, however the call never came and neither did JonBenet.

    JonBenet was later found in the basement of her home by her father, John Ramsey. “As I was walking through the basement, I opened the door to a room and knew immediately that I’d found her because there was a white blanket — her eyes were closed, I feared the worse but yet — I’d found her,” John said later.

    John and Patsy were immediately considered suspects in the murder of their daughter, but due to lack of evidence, they were never charged. In December 1996, The Rocky Mountain News quoted an Assistant District Attorney as saying, “It was very unusual for a kidnap victim’s body to be found at home — it’s not adding up.” Police and investigators also made it clear that they were focusing on the parents as their primary suspects at the time.

    Now, almost 17 years later, the case is still open and still remains a mystery. However, new information has been released regarding the parents in the case and has lead to a lawsuit. Daily Camera reporter, Charlie Brennan and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press have sued the Boulder County District Attorney, Stan Garnett on Wednesday. They are requesting the release of an apparent indictment that was secretly voted on by the grand jury in the case in 1999.

    “The plaintiffs believe… that the indictment is a criminal justice record that reflects official action by the grand jury, and accordingly that it is subject to mandatory disclosure upon request,” attorney Thomas B. Kelley wrote. “Alternatively, they argue the indictment should be disclosed to the public because such disclosure would serve the public interest in government transparency and not be contrary to the public interest nor cause undue adverse effect upon the privacy of the individual.”

    Garnett has previously rejected this request on two different occasions. “We will respond to the motion in a pleading in court,” Garnett said. “Protecting the integrity of the grand jury process is important to every district attorney.”

    The indictment was never prosecuted because the District Attorney, Alex Hunter, refused to sign the document saying: “I and my prosecution task force believe we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant the filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • JonBenet Ramsey’s Father Calls Pageants “Bizarre”

    JonBenet Ramsey, whose 1996 murder has never been solved, was only six years-old when she died.

    Before that, she had been heavily involved in beauty pageants and had won several titles. After her death, her parents were considered prime suspects but have since been cleared of any suspicion of wrong-doing. However, many people still feel that pushing their child into pageants was a form of bad parenting in itself, and now her father has admitted he agrees. Twitter reactions varied from support to disbelief.

    (image)@redwithenvy
    Sharon    John Ramsey was asked by ABC on where his daughter’s killer might be: ‘”He’s either alive, dead or in prison, and one of those three.” #fail(image) 48 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@elizabethstuart
    Elizabeth Stuart    Tomorrow on @Nightline John Ramsey’s fascinating journey from grief to grace. #jonbenet #toddlersandtiaras http://t.co/sAjgYLBx(image) 7 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@chris_shinn
    Christopher Shinn    In this interview John Ramsey refers to losing “material things” and his “child” on the same level. That’s so telling. http://t.co/Lic0UMIq(image) 59 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    John Ramsey has written a new book detailing the story and other details of his life, titled “The Other Side Of Suffering“. He talks about his book with ABC news, and about the beauty competitions his daughter took part in. He says the influx of “kiddie pageant” reality shows on television today disturb him, and that his wife and JonBenet only looked for the fun in them without taking them too seriously.

    John’s wife, Patsy, died of ovarian cancer in 2006.

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