Not many murder cases stay open for two
decades, but the death of Jonbenet Ramsey is still under investigation nearly
20 years later. The beautiful, talented, six-year old pageant star from
Boulder, Colorado was reported missing by her mother, Patsy Ramsey, when she
claimed she found a ransom note on December 26, 1996 and found dead in the
basement later that morning. The
investigators still have not figured out who murdered her. Since her body was
found there have been many conspiracy theories in the media:
1. The
mother, Patsy Ramsey, killed her.
2. There
was an intruder who attempted to take her and ended up killing her.
3. Her
brother, Burke Ramsey, killed her and their parents helped him cover it up.
Let’s
focus on the evidence and possibility that Burke Ramsey was in fact the
murderer of his younger sister.
Who is Burke Ramsey? Burke is a young man
who was accused of murdering his six-year-old sister in 1996. He was only
nine-years-old at the time of the tragedy, but that didn’t count him out as a
suspect. For nearly 20 years Burke has managed to stay out of the media, leaving
people to wonder what he has to say about his alleged part in the murder. Today
he is skeptical of media, socially awkward and successful.
Two decades later, Ramsey is finally
speaking out about his little sister’s brutal death. He chose to speak about it
on Dr. Phil along with his father who said this interview “would be the last
time they spoke about it with the media”. The goal for Burke Ramsey talking
about this was to make the media flare up around the 20th
anniversary about remembering her death rather than making more stories. Burke
has grown to have a mistrust with the media due to the constant cameras and
questions since his sister’s death:
For
a long time the media made our lives crazy," he told Dr. Phil (via the New
York Daily News). "It's hard to miss the cameras and news trucks in your
front yard. We'd go to the supermarket sometimes and there'd be a tabloid with
my picture [or] JonBenét's picture plastered on the front." Burke said,
"Seeing that as a little kid is just kind of a chaotic nightmare, so I was
very skeptical of any media, like, it just made me a very private person. (“Things
you didn't Know About JonBenet Ramsey's Brother”)
Burke has been talked about many times in
articles or news casts saying that he isn’t reacting in a “normal” way to his
family finding his sister’s body in their basement. He spoke about this in the
interview saying that while his mother frantically searched for JonBennet in
their home that morning he just laid in
bed because he “didn’t really know what else to do”. (“Things you didn't Know
About JonBenet Ramsey's Brother”) During the Dr. Phil interview people were
shocked at how “normal” and “happy” Burke was presenting himself. He showed how
awkward he is when talking to people and specifically dealing with this topic:
Audiences
watching the Dr. Phil interview and correlating footage may be put off by
Burke's behavior. "There will be dark content, and he is smiling, and
people are going to see this throughout the entire interview, really unusual
affect, either smiling or laughing. This is a very socially awkward young
man," McGraw told the Today show. "But understand, from the time that
this happened, his parents, depending on your interpretation, either protected
him or hid him, based on how you want to interpret that. He has not had the
social contact most kids have growing up." He's essentially spent two
decades off the grid. (“Things you didn't Know About JonBenet Ramsey's Brother”)
Through dealing with this disaster Burke
has managed to make a noble but quiet life for himself after graduating from
Purdue University in 2010. His father told People Magazine that Burke has a
401k and an IRA and that he reached this success on his own. He has a
girlfriend who he is living life with and he is making the best of what he has.
Burke has matured and become a man who provides for himself.
The media has put out an abundance of
theories about how Jonbenet was killed and who did the fatal act. The theories
that are of focus here are that the mother killed her, there was an intruder
who attempted to take her and ended up killing her, or her brother, Burke
Ramsey, killed her and their parents helped him cover it up.
Patsy Ramsey was under the spotlight for allegedly killing her sweet daughter
from the time of the murder to the day Patsy herself died. Steve Thomas, a
former Boulder, Colorado, detective who spent two years investigating the death
of Jonbenet Ramsey believes that Mrs. Ramsey is the murderer. (Janofsky)
Detective Thomas and others in his department concluded that Patsy frantically
strangled little Jonbenet on Christmas night 1996 after she caused a serious
head injury. (Janosfky) The detectives also believe that when Mr. Ramsey found
out about the tragic incident he chose to stick by his wife and protect her
rather than helping the police find out what truly happened. (Janofsky)
Detective Thomas strongly believes this theory so much that he went on to write
a book about it. In his book, Thomas does mention that a veteran homicide
detective, Lou Smit, who worked on the case as well does not agree with him in
the slightest, showing that he has taken other theories into consideration.
(Janofsky) The theory of Steve Thomas was thrown out in court after Ramsey’s
lawyer called them “fiction and utter nonsense”. (Janofsky) The lawyer said in
an interview that the theory that Thomas believes to be true is “refuted in its
entirety by medical evidence”. (Janofsky) Patsy is no longer alive to defend
herself and the case has gone cold. Chances are we won’t ever truly know.
There have been many people in the media who have brought up the idea or belief
that an intruder is to blame for Jonbenet’s death. While few people are fond of
this theory there was, evidence found that makes it a possibility. The carpet
fibers on the baseball bat, leaves and packing peanuts all found near the
victim’s body were what finally convinced veteran Lou Smit that an intruder
killed Jonbenet. (Emery) When the detectives went back to the basement where
the girl was found to take pictures of the crime scene they were shocked to see
that the basement window was open. (Emery) An open window near a dead body can
make people assume there was an intruder rather quickly. Detective Smit’s goal
is the find the killer. (Emery) He stated that he believes the intruder who
killed Ramsey is a dangerous person who is still on the streets. (Emery) There
was DNA found under Jonbenet’s nails that was from a male, but it did not match
John Ramsey. (Emery) This evidence suggests that Jonbenet struggled while being
killed and that she was not struggled with her father. (Emery) Smit believes
that Ramsey was strangled and either dead or nearly dead when hit with a
baseball bat on the head. (Emery) The baseball bat was found in the bushes
outside of the family home and a paintbrush that was apparently used to make
the garrote tied around Jonbenet’s neck was found just outside the room she was
found in. (Emery) The theory that Jonbenet was killed by an intruder has
supporting evidence but not enough for anyone to be convicted.
Burke Ramsey was looked over as a suspect in his sister’s murder due to being a
young child when it took place but the conspiracy that he was involved and the
killer is becoming more believable as the days go by. Jonbenet’s autopsy report
showed that she had undigested pineapple in her body which took investigators
by surprises because John and Patsy Ramsey claimed their daughter was already
asleep when they came home from the Christmas party they attended and had been
put straight to bed. (Towers) A family friend of the Ramsey’s, Judith Phillips,
spoke out about her feelings toward the murder and the evidence found. Judith
said, “Burke was quiet, reserved and very into computer technology. I had seen
him have emotional outbursts.” (Towers), which made it easier for her to
believe that Burke was in fact the culprit. Although, the Ramsey family asked
her not to speak to police or the media she recalled that Burke had just hit
his little sister in the face with a golf club the year before leaving a scar
on her cheek. (Towers) Judith also says she found part of the ransom note a
little strange because she received a Christmas news letter from the Ramsey’s
that year that used the phrase “And hence” just like the note. (Towers) She
says that she did not think that was a usual term people used so it stuck out
to her. (Towers) Judith said: “I agree with the theory Burke killed JonBenét
but I don’t think he meant to do it. I think Patsy did everything in her power
to protect her living child. I think she wrote the ransom note whilst John
staged the scene in the basement. (Towers) It is hard to know if we will ever
find out the truth but it seems likely that it could be Burke who did the
crime.
A survey of 20 people show that 65% of people believe that Burke Ramsey is
responsible for the death of Jonbenet Ramsey when asked which of these three
conspiracies are true. 25% of the people believed it was Patsy Ramsey who
killed her daughter and 10% believed that an intruder came in and did the
crime.
The media will continue to speculate about who killed Jonbenet Ramsey, but it
will be nearly a miracle if someone is ever convicted.
After years of detectives and investigators going over
the case again and again there are still three conspiracy theories standing:
1. The
mother, Patsy Ramsey, killed her.
2. There
was an intruder who attempted to take her and ended up killing her.
3. Her
brother, Burke Ramsey, killed her and their parents helped him cover it up.
Nearly two decades after the death of the
beautiful, sweet, six-year-old pageant queen in Boulder, Colorado, the unsolved
murder still has friends, the media and investigators confused and
speculating. However, it is likely that
Burke Ramsey is responsible for the murder and that his parents covered it up
and destroyed the evidence.
Emery,
Eric. "News Columnists." JonBenet Ramsey Murder Case: The Denver Post.
N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Janofsky,
Micheal. "Jonbenet's Mother Was A Killer, Detective Says." N.p., 10
Apr. 2000. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Taylor, Sarah.
“Things You Didn't Know About JonBenet Ramsey's Brother.” NickiSwift.com,
http://www.nickiswift.com/24575/things-didnt-know-jonbenet-ramseys-brother/.
Ttowers.
"Friend of Beauty Queen JonBenet’s Family Backs Theory Brother Killed Her
and Parents Covered It up." The Sun. N.p., 26 Sept. 2016. Web. 27 Nov.
2016.
Vulpo, Mike. “Burke
Ramsey Explains Why He Still Finds JonBenÉt Ramsey's Funeral
&Quot;Traumatizing&Quot;” E! Online, 16 Sept. 2016,
http://www.eonline.com/news/793958/burke-ramsey-explains-why-he-still-finds-jonbenet-ramsey-s-funeral-traumatizing.
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