JonBenét Ramsey case
- Kitty
- Dec 21, 2019
- 7 min read
On December 26, 1996, the body of JonBenét Ramsey was found wrapped in a blanket with a cord around her neck and her hands tied.
(Image of JonBenét from NBC News)
Timeline of everything:
On December 25, 1996, in Bolder Colorado, the family claimed that they went out to have dinner at a friends house. After dinner, when they were going home, JonBenét ended up falling asleep in the car. When they had arrived at their house, she was carried upstairs to her bedroom where she continued sleeping for the rest of the night. The next morning on December 26 at 5:52, the police had been called by Patsy Ramsey (the mother) saying that her daughter was missing and that she was kidnapped. Police had arrived a few minutes later to search the house but didn’t find anything. The Ramsey house was a large house. The family was extremely wealthy hence why they had a 15 bedroom house. After a while of checking the house, the police had not found JonBenét. Just before leaving they decided to give the house one last check, this is when John (the father) had went down to the basement where they had their wine cellar and found his daughters body, lifeless, on the floor. He picked her up and took her upstairs to where the police were. This was the first time that either parent had seen her.
(Image of JonBenét from www.eonline.com)
Evidence:
After the police had JonBenét’s body, they knew this was a homocide. The Ramsey house was now a crime scene. Police went around to gather up anything that could help solve this case. The first theory that came up was a kidnapping. JonBenét was a famous pageant girl in a town with several grown men looking up to her. The police had found out that there were several pedophiles in the neighborhood and one of them could have been obsessed with her and ended up taking her from her house. The police had checked for any force entry and found none other than a broken window in the basement where JonBenét’s body was found but, the parents have claimed that the window had already been broken before and just haven’t repaired it. Other than the mother claiming it was a kidnapping and the broken window, there was a ransom note left in the house. It was directly written to John Bennett Ramsey. The ransom letter, unlike any other, was three pages long. Ransom notes are usually small, simple, and straight to the point. The letter found in the Ramsey house was detailed with unnecessary information including that the kidnappers were a foreign group and that they respected John Bennett’s work.
The sum amount that the ransom letter did ask for was $118,000 which was also about the same amount that John Bennett had received for a bonus that year.
The ransom letter:
Mr. Ramsey,
Listen carefully! We are a group of individuals that represent a small foreign faction. We respect your bussiness but not the country that it serves. At this time we have your daughter in our possession. She is safe and unharmed and if you want her to see 1997, you must follow our instructions to the letter.
You will withdraw $118,000.00 from your account. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills. Make sure that you bring an adequate size attaché to the bank. When you get home you will put the money in a brown paper bag. I will call you between 8 and 10 am tomorrow to instruct you on delivery. The delivery will be exhausting so I advise you to be rested. If we monitor you getting the money early, we might call you early to arrange an earlier delivery of the money and hence a earlier pick-up of your daughter.
Any deviation of my instructions will result in the immediate execution of your daughter. You will also be denied her remains for proper burial. The two gentlemen watching over your daughter do not particularly like you so I advise you not to provoke them. Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as Police, F.B.I., etc.. will result in your daughter being beheaded. If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. If you alert bank authorities, she dies. If the money is in any way marked or tampered with, she dies. You will be scanned for electronic devices and if any are found, she dies. You can try to deceive us but be warned that we are familiar with Law enforcement countermeasures and tactics. You stand a 99% chance of killing your daughter if you try to out smart us. Follow our instructions and you stand 100% chance of getting her back. You and your family are under constant scutiny as well as the authorities. Don’t try to grow a brain John. You are not the only Fat Cat around so don’t think that killing will be difficult. Don’t underestimate us John. Use that good southern common sense of yours. It is up to you now John!
Victory!
S.B.T.C.
Other than the ransom letter being long, it was also written on a notepad in the family’s house. Meaning whoever wrote the letter, didn’t have the note ready to just leave but they instead wrote the letter at the crime scene. The kidnapper must have been extremely confident in themselves that they risked getting caught.
(Image of Ramsey family from Hollywood Reporter)
A questionable action that the mother had done was call the police. As it states in the letter, “Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as Police, F.B.I., etc.. will result in your daughter being beheaded”. Leaving many to question, why would she call the police? Surely she must have read the letter if she knew it was a kidnapping or else how would she know it was a kidnapping and not a runaway.
Autopsy:
After JonBenét’s body was found, it was sent for an autopsy. There they had found out that she had taser marks, was hit on the head, was strangled, had signs of sexual abuse, had undigested pineapple in her body, and had an unknown DNA under her fingernails and in her underwear.
According to Brennen Taylor, the police had found a taser in the father’s study along with a book on how to create a mind control slave using shook therapy. She had also been strangled with a homemade garrote using a smooth cord and a brush from her mother’s hobby kit. The hit on her head is suspected to be a heavy duty flashlight found in the basement. Her cause of death was strangulation.
The hit on her head was found out to be 45 minutes to 2 hours before the strangulation. Meaning JonBenét was hit before being suffocated.
The unknown DNA has unfortunately remained unknown to this day and hasn’t been extremely useful thus far. Though, some experts believe that the unknown DNA came from the manufacturers. To test the theory, they took DNA samples from packaged and unopened clothing. When the results came back, there was an unknown DNA.
More information:
When police gathered up evidently they also noticed JonBenét’s favorite dessert on the table. Pineapple and milk. When the DNA from those came back, the only DNA found was from Burke, the brother, and Patsy, the mother. Burke was said to be sleeping during the entire time that the crime had happened and woke up to the police in the house.
The entire family had been cooperative with the police and trying to help find out this case, but when the fingers pointed towards them, they stopped.
The family stopped answering questions for the police and the lawyers but did do interviews on television. They also made it that if anyone accuses them (the Ramsey family) for the murder of their daughter, they will be sued.
Questions:
After the entire case has been presented, there have been a few questions that people may not know the answer to.
If JonBenét did fall asleep after they came back from dinner and taken to her room asleep, why was there un digested pineapple in her stomach?
Why didn’t the ransom note ask for more money than the exact amount of the fathers bonus knowing the family was rich?
If the ransom note clearly stated to not call police, why was the first thing Patsy do was call the police?
Why wasn’t the entire house checked by police for JonBenét to make sure she was actually not there?
In some sources it states that the room in the basement was closed and police decided to just ignore it for a while, until later the father went to check and found JonBenét’s body. Why didn’t the police make the family open the door?
Theories:
With a case as confusing as this one, police and the public have had theories of their own to figure out what happened. Some people actually believe that the kidnapping was real. Even with all the evidence, they still believe it could have been a kidnapping that went terribly wrong. There were several pedophiles in the area and JonBenét did have an unknown DNA on her, so it might still be possible that this is the answer.
(Image of Burke Ramsey from Dr.Phil)
Others believe that the family did it. In an interview with Dr.Phil, Burke behaved odd. While explaining what happened with his sister’s murder, he was smiling. This could easily be that he was nervous and couldn’t control himself like many people do but several have speculated. Some say that Patsy and Burke were eating pineapple with milk when JonBenét woke up, went downstairs and possibly took a pineapple out to eat. This explains why her DNA wasn’t on the bowl but was an undigested piece of pineapple in her body. Burke could’ve gotten mad that she took his pineapple and took the heavy flashlight and knocked her over the head unconscious but her parents thought she was dead. In order to save their son, they staged everything up. Not knowing that she was only unconscious, they faked the crime scene with the strangulation from the mother’s hobby kit and wrote a ransom letter with the exact money of the fathers bonus.
(Image of JonBenét and Katy Perry from www.bustle.com)
Finally, others who are more wild believe that JonBenét didn’t actually die. Some believe that she is Katy Perry because of their similarities. This is not the case because by the time JonBenét was murdered, Katy Perry was already 12 years old.
The JonBenét Ramsey case has since gone cold with no leads as of 2019. Patsy Ramsey has passed away from ovarian cancer in 2006 and the entire case remains a mystery.
Sources:
Brennen Taylor
Kendall Rae
Brenda Anderson
BuzzFeed Multiplayer
Dr. Phil
In no way shape or form am I trying to spread false information. Everything in the article are sourced. If I am mistaken in any part please comment and tell me. I also don’t mean any disrespect for the people involved, it’s just to spread awareness. Thank you!
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