With all the new innovations in technology
today, many things have become easier to learn, do, and complete. One thing that doesn’t seem to be easier to do
is solve cold cases. One particular case that happened over two decades ago has
become a worldwide phenomenon of conspiracies and common topics in true crime
books. That case is the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, the beautiful six-year
old that could win hearts and scores in beauty pageants. With her photogenic
face and captivating features, JonBenet has become somewhat of an icon for
young girls in the pageant business. Her murder on December 26, 1996 was
something that shook the neighborhood of Boulder right to its core. Once the
investigation started and the media got a hold of the case, America became
shaken over the chilling details of the tragic death. The
investigation led to dead ends, loose ends, and many conspiracy theories. A few
of the theories that are the most common are as follows:
1.
Could it be that her mother was overly protective and accidentally
killed her in a fit
of rage?
2. Could it be
that her brother was secretly jealous of her?
3. Was she being
molested by her teacher, John Mark Karr?
Looking at the different
theories compiled, let’s take a closer look so that we can try to conclude what
may have happened to the late Jon Benet Ramsey.
Before launching into the theories,
examining JonBenet’s character would put a
personal touch on such a notorious story. JonBenet was a star in pageants, in which she
was easily spotted by her long blonde hair, pretty blue eyes, bright lipstick,
and glowing smile. JonBenet’s father has described her personality as a “spark
plug” just a bubbly ball of energy in which we see in the footage of her in the
home videos, mall appearances, and pageant shows (“The Killing of JonBenet:Her Father Speaks”). There is a video
that just surfaced last year of JonBenet singing a Christmas song at a mall.
The video is from December 22, 1996, which was only three days before her
unfortunate death (“How JonBenet Ramsey Spent the Last Christmas Before Her
Shocking Murder”). The video proves JonBenet exuberates confidence, as she
moves around dancing to the music, singing happily, playing a toy saxophone,
capturing the audience’s hearts and receiving applause at the end. There isn’t
a frightened bone in her body, the video also shows how outgoing she was. Most
six year olds wouldn’t carry on a performance like JonBenet did and her performance
proves as much. Another video from the entertainment show “Inside Edition” interviews a woman who was in pageants with
JonBenet; she describes her character: “I remember her personality. The spunk she had
on stage,” says Thumper Gosney, who would play with JonBenet during breaks of
pageant rehearsal. Based on all this information discussed, we can conclude that
JonBenet’s character was outgoing, confident, and
upbeat. She was a charismatic little girl who could capture an audience and brighten hearts with who she was. Who would have
known that behind this ray of sunshine, she would be experiencing a horrific death within just a
few short days much (“20 Years After JonBenet
Ramsey’s Death, Her Pageant Friends Remember ‘Fun-Loving Kid”). There are many conspiracy
theories about JonBenet Ramsey’s death.
Looking at the different theories compiled, let’s take a closer look so
that we can try to decide what may have happened to this innocent child.
The
first theory is the theory that Patricia “Patsy” Ramsey, JonBenet’s mother, was
responsible for her death. A multitude
of articles made accusations that Ramsey accidently killed her daughter in a
fit of rage and frustration of JonBenet’s disobedience and bedwetting (Hodges). But not only were there articles pointing to
Patsy, also the lead detective, Steve Thomas, who worked an extensive amount of
hours on the case, says he felt the same way.
After thorough investigation and the evidence submitted, Thomas says he
was definitely going in the right direction.
From his gatherings, he concludes that Mrs. Ramsey became very upset
with JonBenet for her wetting her bed. Detective
Thomas states that he felt Patsy was under a tremendous amount of pressure with
the planning of the Christmas activities she was hosting, her own upcoming
birthday celebration, and the bedwetting was the trigger that set her off. In her frustration, he believes that Patsy was
physically punishing JonBenet and accidentally caused a serious blow to her
head causing her to pass out (Janofsky).
Then as the fear set in, she begins to think that she may have killed
her, so she began to strangle her. To
cover up what she had done, she then begins to arrange and stage a plot in the
basement to explain to the police that maybe an intruder had taken
JonBenet. There was a two-page
handwritten ransom note, said to have been written on the family’s personal
notepad, left on the scene asking the parents for $118,000 to be paid in
exchange for her. Some penmanship
experts testified that it was a close match to Patsy’s own handwriting (Spargo).
After many years of investigating and
court appearances, Patsy Ramsey was cleared and never found guilty of this
murder. However, there were others in the large home and some suspicion has led
to questions about JonBenet’s teacher, Mr.
Karr being the killer.
The second conspiracy theory was could it have been John
Mark Karr, her teacher. Could Karr have
molested and killed JonBenet? Karr, was
her teacher who had taught elementary school for ten years, but had a lengthy
rap sheet. Karr also had been
investigated for child pornography and later in years to come, confessed to being
in the house and being present at the time of the killing (“John Mark Karr
Admits to Killing JonBenet Ramsey”). After
relocating to Thailand, he later was transferred back into the country to
undergo investigation. He stated in an
interview, “nobody wanted that little girl to die that night, her death was an
accident. Her death was an accident and
I helped to fix it” (JonBenet Ramsey Death:
John Mark Karr Makes CRAZY New Claims)” He even says that he was the one that wrote
the ransom note. After careful testing of Karr’s DNA, it was proven that he was
indeed not the killer. Although, it is
not uncommon for killers to come out years later and tell their gory details of
how they killed someone, Karr was eventually cleared of all claims and
released.
The third conspiracy theory is, could it be that her
brother, Burke Ramsey was secretly jealous of her. Child killers are not as taboo as they once
were; to say that Burke was responsible would not be a stretch. After all, at the time, he was the only one
who was in the house that never really spoke on what happened. Were the police overlooking him because he
was a child, maybe so. Burke was nine years
old when his sister was found dead in the basement of their home. There are many articles that hold the notion
that if Burke killed JonBenet, it was an accident. Many people have come to think that after all
these years, more attention should have been directed towards him. Investigators state that their parents went
out for the evening. Their mother, Patsy, left Burke some tea and fresh
pineapples before she and her husband went out for the evening. Later on in the night, JonBenet came
downstairs looking for something to eat and she came across Burke’s pineapples. After learning that she had eaten his
pineapples, not knowing his own strength, he became very angry and hit her in
the head with a flashlight (CBS Panel:
Burke Ramsey Killed Sister JonBenet).
Once her parents were made aware of what happened, Patsy’s maternal
instincts kicked in. Patsy realized that
she had just lost one child and would stop at nothing to protect her only child
left. This is when it is said that she
convinces her husband to help her stage a murder scene. In the 911 call, you can hear a conversation
being had between the parents. At the
time technology wasn’t capable of enhancing the audio, but over the years it
has been made quite clear. Two
particular statements that were made by Patsy and her husband were, “we’re not
speaking to you and what did you do?” (The Case of : JonBenet Ramsey-Never Before Audio”) Burke
alone could not pull this incredible murder off without their help. There was also evidence of a boot imprint
matching the boots that Burke Ramsey owned right alongside her dead body in the
basement. There was an extreme thought
process put into this plot. There is the
movement of the body, the ransom note, the open window in the basement, all set
to look as if an intruder entered the home (Did an intruder kill JonBenet
Ramsey). Digging deeper, there is a good
chance that Burke Ramsey may have been jealous of his young sister and all the
attention she required for her pageants.
Up until JonBenet was born, Burke had been the apple of his mother’s eye
said, Judith Phillips, a family friend of ten years (Iggulden). After JonBenet was born, the attention slowly
drifted from Burke, making him feel as if he had to compete for his mother’s
affection. There are many photos of
JonBenet in her pageant clothes and own self -portraits, but there are little
to no images of him by himself. Kids are
very well known to have strong feelings of resentment and jealousy of other
kids, especially their siblings.
Unfortunately, the jealousy he felt for his sister may have accidentally
turned fatal.
A survey of twenty-five people was conducted, and it was uncovered
that 80% of them agree that it is most likely that JonBenet’s brother, Burke
Ramsey was the killer. The participants
did add that although they believed he did it, they feel it was accidental that
he killed his sister and that their parents definitely helped to hide the truth
from being disclosed for fear that he would be prosecuted.
Work
Cited
“John Mark Karr Admits Killing JonBenet Ramsry”. ABC News Network,
abcnews.go.com/US/video/8172006-john-mark-karr-admits-killing-jonbenet-ramsey-29245716.
Bedwetting and
Accidents, Steve Hodges, 12 Sept. 2016, www.bedwettingandaccidents.com/single-post/2016/09/12/Urologist-on-JonBen%C3%A9t-Ramsey-Bedwetting-Theory-Not-Shocking.
“Beyond Rivalry, a
Hidden World of Sibling Violence.” The New York Times, The New York
Times, 27 Feb. 2006, www.nytimes.com/2006/02/28/health/28sibl.html.
“Did an Intruder Kill
JonBenet Ramsey? - CNN Video.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Mar. 2017, www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/03/02/hirh-jbr-intruder.cnn.
Edition, Inside. “20 Years After JonBenet Ramsey's Death,
Her Pageant Friends Remember 'Fun-Loving Kid'.” Inside Edition, CBS
Television Distribution , 12 Sept. 2016,
www.insideedition.com/headlines/18595-20-years-after-her-death-jonbenet-ramseys-pageant-friends-open-up-about-fun-loving-kid.
Accessed 24 July 2017.
Editors, Newser. “CBS
Panel: Burke Ramsey Killed Sister JonBenet.” Newser, 20 Sept. 2016, www.newser.com/story/231366/cbs-panel-burke-ramsey-killed-sister-jonbenet.html.
How JonBenet Ramsey
Spent The Last Christmas Before Her Shocking Murder . Youtube, 15 Dec. 2016,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEBgn0HtK8E. Accessed 24 July 2017.
Janofsky, Michael.
“JonBenet's Mother Was Killer, Detective Says.” The New York Times, The
New York Times, 9 Apr. 2000, www.nytimes.com/2000/04/10/us/jonbenet-s-mother-was-killer-detective-says.html
Lynch, Kelly. “JonBenet
Ramsey Death: John Mark Karr Makes CRAZY New Claims.” The Hollywood Gossip,
The Hollywood Gossip, 12 Sept. 2016, www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2016/09/jonbenet-ramsey-death-john-mark-karr-makes-crazy-new-claims/.
Spargo For “JonBenet
Ramsey Grand Juror Will Reveal Who He Believes Killed the Six-Year-Old Beauty
Queen in Bombshell TV Report, That Also Claims Ransom Note Was Written by the
Victim's MOTHER Patsy.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 16
Dec. 2016, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4040952/JonBenet-Ramsey-ransom-note-written-MOTHER-Patsy-claims-handwriting-expert-grand-juror-voted-indict-parents-reveals-thinks-killed-child-beauty-queen.html
“The Case Of:
JonBenét Ramsey Video - Never Before Heard Audio.” CBS, www.cbs.com/shows/the-case-of-jonbenet-ramsey/video/A7A09241-DE37-5106-DA57-3A5A4C682566/the-case-of-jonbenet-ramsey-never-before-heard-audio/.
“The
Killing of JonBenet: Her Father Speaks.”
A & E, A & E Television Networks. 2 Oct. 2016, www.aetv.com/specials/the-killing-of-jonbenet-her-father-speaks. Accessed 20 July 2017.
TODAYNBC. “JonBenet Ramsey
Murder: Brother Burke Ramsey Revealed Key Detail To Dr. Phil | TODAY.” YouTube,
YouTube, 12 Sept. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWblt-Ru7pk.
York, CAROLINE
IGGULDEN in New. “Friend of Beauty Queen JonBenet's Family Backs Theory That
Her Brother Killed Her.” The Sun, The Sun, 26 Sept. 2016, www.thesun.co.uk/news/1851552/friend-of-jonbenet-family-backs-theory-brother-killed-her-and-parents-covered-it-up/.
good post!
ReplyDelete