Jon Benet Ramsey Conspiracy Theories By Mya Anders

            On December 26, 1996, six year old Jon Benet Ramsey was found dead in her family’s basement; today, 20 years later, no one has been convicted of the murder (Casarez 1). She had a normal Christmas morning, the day before the tragedy, and her parents took her to bed that night. They awoke to a missing Jon Benet and a ransom note. Jon Benet was a beauty queen from Boulder, Colorado. Her father was a successful businessman, while her mother was a former pageant queen. Her family, consisting of John, Patsy, and her brother Burke, have been in the public eye ever since the incident. The evidence and microscope over the family have led to suspicion that the Ramsey’s have committed foul play. Let’s dive into this case by looking at some theories such as, an intruder that killed Jon Benet, her mother did it, and the higher possibility that it was all staged by her parents to cover up the accidental killing committed by her brother (1).

The case of Jon Benet has brought on many questions about the normality of her family. Since her father had a successful business in their community, the family was well known. Although, Jon Benet was a normal kid with a happy life. In the A and E documentary, “The Killing of Jon Benet: Her Father Speaks,” John talks about Christmas morning remembering, “Burke and Jon Benet running up to our bed to get us up” (Corke 1). She was excited just like any other kid to see what she had gotten. You can see her having a great time with her brother, opening presents and, playing with her new doll on Christmas day. Her mother talked about the fun Jon Benet and her friends would have at parties saying, “and they were just having a ball” (1). The footage lets us see that Jon Benet enjoyed the time she spent with her family and friends. We can also see that she lived a conventional life.

Jon Benet competed in pageants. She enjoyed them and was successful, just like her mother. Her blonde hair and blue eyes stood out from others. In the documentary, Patsy Ramsey said, “Jon Benet was enamored with pageants”; it also shows clips of Jon Benet loving her time preforming on stage (Corke 1). Her friend, Thumper Gosney, had this to say about her in pageants, “I remember the spunk she had on stage” (“JonBenet Ramsey's Pageant Friend”). Not only did she have a great presence on stage, but she also won many titles. For example, she won the, “Little Miss Colorado, Little Miss Charlevoix, Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl, America's Royale Miss, and National Tiny Miss Beauty”( “JonBenet Ramsey Murder Fast Facts”). The numerous awards can be attributed to her love for pageants.

Although she was already a friendly person to begin with, her involvement in pageants opened doors to new friendships. Three of Jon Benet’s pageant friends were interviewed by Inside Edition. They all only had compliments to give. Her friend Brianne Griego said, “She was a really nice, fun loving kid”, in the interview (“JonBenet Ramsey's Pageant Friend”). While Thumper Gosney said, “Jon Benet was the nicest girl” (“The JonBenet Ramsey Case”). From the interview you could see that Jon Benet’s friends all believed she was very sweet. Even though they only knew her for a short time, her kindness impacted them.

Jon Benet was also a caring person that had positive energy all the time. In the A and E documentary her father said, “If she saw me frowning or looking concerned or not smiling, she would say dad I don’t like that face. I would put on a fake smile and she would say that’s better” (Corke 1). John describes his daughter by saying that, “She was a spark plug in the family, she was a ball of energy” (1). In the documentary, she always looked enthusiastic. Her parents constantly smiled when speaking about their daughter. (1). The interviews show the amount of joy she brought to the family. You can conclude that she didn’t like to see others upset and cared about the way they felt.

Jon Benet was from a wealthy family. When her father’s business hit one billion dollars, his accomplishment was put within their local newspaper (1). She lived in a, “fifteen room mansion” (“Father of Jon Benet Recalls”1). Patsy Ramsey said during Christmas time they had, “probably 1,500 to 2,000 people through our home in two days” (Corke 1). She had a comfortable life and did not have to live with financial issues.

Jon Benet was the focus of attention in the family. Unfortunately, this led to some animosity between her and Burke. According to Judith Phillips, a former family friend of the Ramseys, Burke had hit his sister with a golf club and gave her a scar (York 1). Judith explains where some of Burke’s dislike for his sister came from with this quote, “When Burke was born he was the absolute apple of Patsy’s eye. Then along came this little girl who stole all the attention. He could well have been very jealous” (York 1). Burke was annoyed with the attention she received. John Ramsey saying that she was a spark plug in their family proves that she stood out from them (Corke 1). Patsy’s involvement in her pageants meant less time and attention with Burke. They even had a display case made to show all the awards Jon Benet had won (Wood 1). Since Jon Benet followed in her mom’s footsteps by competing in pageants, and became very successful, she received the most attention.

There are three main theories that come about when discussing the case of Jon Benet. Some believe that an intruder, her mother, or her brother did it, which has gained a lot more attention with a recent Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) documentary (Adams1). Although, no one has been convicted.

The intruder theory has been explored, but there has not been just one main suspect. Gary Oliva, Michael Helgoth, John Mark Karr, and Bill McReynolds were all investigated (Lovitt 1). Jon Benet’s parents believe that they could have unintentionally made themselves easy targets to these suspects. Jon Benet and her family were constantly exposed to the public. The family’s participation in pageants, John’s business, her performance in a shopping mall, and giving a house tour put them in the spotlight. The Ramseys lived in a historic home and had many people through it over the holidays. Patsy questions her actions with this quote, “But in retrospect, I often wondered if, you know, it was just an open invitation to a murderer” (Corke 1). Also, days before her murder, Jon Benet preformed at a Denver shopping mall, meaning anyone could have seen her (1). John rethinks having his company’s billion dollar mark put into the paper, saying, “And then in retrospect I wondered you know, well that could have been a trigger event” (1). All of these incidents left the family vulnerable.

Gary Oliva was a sex offender, which led police to him (Lovitt 1). One of his friends, Michael Vail, said that Gary admitted to hurting a little girl, and was found with a stun gun that left similar marks that were found on Jon Benet.(1). Michael Helgoth killed himself just, “two days after a 1997 press conference announcing that the Boulder DA was zeroing in on a new suspect” (1). This made people wonder if he did this to escape being caught. Boot prints found at the Ramsey’s house looked like some that he owned (1). John Mark Karr disclosed that he killed Jon Benet to Michael Tracey, who eventually reported this to police. He had written about how he killed Jon Benet(1). Bill McReynolds, who dressed as Santa Claus, became a suspect because of his closeness to Jon Benet. He did strange things like, “going as far as to bring a vial of glitter gifted to him by the six year old with him into heart surgery” (1). Even though each suspect has some convincing evidence against them, it is not enough to convict them. There were no signs of a struggle in Jon Benet’s room and no evidence that showed someone trying to get into the house (Short 1). 

Patsy Ramsey was also a suspect in her daughter’s case. Since Jon Benet constantly wet the bed, this made Patsy, “Distressed” according to the Ramsey’s peers (Short 1). This led police to believe Patsy got angry and hit Jon Benet (1). There was a ransom note found that was very suspicious. What made it odd was the specific amount of money they asked for, which was the same as John Ramsey’s bonus (1). Also, the ink on the note matched a pen found in the home, meaning the ransom note was written inside the house (1). Cina Wong, a handwriting expert, said, “I found over two hundred similarities” when speaking on Patsy’s handwriting and the ransom note (1). When Patsy was interviewed by investigators, her actions made it seem like she was trying to hide something. Michele Wood, homicide detective, said, “Anytime that they would try to corner her, or confront her with inconsistencies or, you know possibility of Patsy being involved in the murder she stood guarded and either didn’t remember or didn’t know” (1). In this interview, it is revealed that Patsy put on the same clothes she wore the night Jon Benet died (1). Michelle Wood thought it was unlikely for someone like Patsy to put back on the same clothes that she wore all day saying, “It would lead me to believe that she never took the clothing off and stayed up all night” (1). Patsy could have kept the clothes on because she was covering up the death of Jon Benet all night. This theory is not the most convincing because it’s illogical to believe that someone who is looked at as very protective and a really good mom by friends would kill her daughter(1).

The final theory accuses Burke, Jon Benet’s older brother, of killing her, while her parents tried to cover it up. It is believed that he hit Jon Benet in the head with a flashlight after she tries to take a piece of pineapple out of his bowl. The piece of evidence that got this theory going was the pineapple that was found undigested in Jon Benet’s stomach (Lovitt 1). Patsy denies giving the bowl to Jon Benet, but Patsy’s fingerprints were found on the bowl (Harris 1). The flashlight found at the scene fit the spot where Jon Benet was hit in the head according Werner Spitz (Lovitt). Since Burke was described as, “bad tempered and violent” by family and friends, and he had left his sister with a scar before, it makes sense that he could have gotten upset with his sister and hit her (Hautman 1). An old friend of the Ramseys, Judith Phillips, even believes Burke could have hit his sister too hard accidentally (York 1). Jon Benet was found with two marks on her back. These marks could have been from a toy train used by Burke to poke his sister to see if she was alive (Lovitt 1). Also, the ransom note found could have been used to cover up what happened because similarities to Patsy’s writing were found in the note (Short 1).  No evidence of forced entry was found and Burke’s reported anger makes him the most likely person that accidentally killed his sister.

 In a survey given to twenty people of varying ages, it asked, do you think Jon Benet was killed by a family member? Only two out of the twenty put their answer as no. This means that ninety percent of the people who took my survey think one of the Ramseys were involved with the murder. There is so much evidence that can back up each theory, but no one has been held responsible. The Ramsey’s lives were completely changed because of this.

Overall, this case was corrupted at the start, from moving the body from its original spot in the home, to police not questioning the Ramseys separately. The contradicting evidence perplexed America and led to many theories including the mother, brother, and an intruder as suspects. Even though the evidence against her brother is strong, there is no agreement on who killed her. Twenty years later, there is still no justice for Jon Benet.

                                                                                                                         

 Works Cited

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Casarez, Jean. “The Death of JonBenet: A Case That's Captivated the Country for 20 Years.”  CNN, Cable News Network, 13 Dec. 2016, 12:36 PM ET, www.cnn.com/2016/12/13/us/jonbenet-ramsey-case/index.html.

Corke, Roger, director. The Killing of Jon Benet Her Father Speaks. A&E Television Networks, A&E Television Networks, 2016, www.aetv.com/specials/the-killing-of-jonbenet-her-father-speaks.

“Father of JonBenét Ramsey Recalls Finding 6-Year-Old's Lifeless Body In Their Home | Dr. Phil.” Dr Phil, Peteski Productions, Inc, 12 Sept. 2016, www.drphil.com/videos/father-of-jonbenet-ramsey-recalls-finding-6-year-olds-lifeless-body-in-their-home/.

Harris, Chris. “JonBenet Ramsey's Death: Pineapple Found in Autopsy Is Key for Expert.” PEOPLE.com, 11 Aug. 2016, people.com/crime/jonbenet-ramseys-death-pineapple-found-in-autopsy-is-key-for-expert/.

Hautman, Nicholas. “JonBenet Ramsey Murdered by Burke, Experts Say: Twitter Reacts.” Us Weekly, 15 Oct. 2017, www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/jonbenet-ramsey-murdered-by-burke-experts-say-twitter-reacts-w440968/.

“JonBenet Ramsey Murder Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Apr. 2017, www.cnn.com/2013/08/29/us/jonbenet-ramsey-murder-fast-facts/index.html.

“JonBenet Ramsey's Pageant Friend Had Many Dreams About Her Being Grown Up.” Youtube, Inside Edition, 12 Sept. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AZhI-hMsNk

Lovitt, Bryn. “Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey? 8 Possible Suspects.” Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2016, www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/who-killed-jonbenet-ramsey-8-possible-suspects-w443881.

Short, Rex, director. JonBenet: An American Murder Mystery. Investigation Discovery GO, Investigation Discovery, 2016, www.investigationdiscoverygo.com/jonbenet-an-american-murder-mystery/.

“The JonBenet Ramsey Case.” ABC, ABC Studios, 2016, abc.go.com/shows/2020/episode-guide/2016-12/16-121616-the-jonbenet-ramsey-case.

Wood, Gaby. “Gaby Wood on the Unsolved Case of JonBenet Ramsey.” The Observer, Guardian News and Media, 24 June 2006, www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2006/jun/25/features.magazine37.

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/.