John Ramsey Case

Boulder’s Little Beauty

The city of Boulder, Colorado, located near the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, was home to John and Patsy Ramsey along with their son Burke, and daughter JonBenet. They lived in a large Tudor style home located in the upscale neighborhood of University Hill which was filled with elegant older homes. They lived a nearly a quarter of a mile from the campus of the University of Colorado. John Ramsey worked as the chief executive for a computer distribution company called Access Graphics (Schiller, 13) which was located in Boulder. Pasty was a stay at home mom who cared for her children. JonBenet enjoyed competing in beauty pageants with her mother and won Little Miss Colorado in 1995. On a cold December morning in

Officer Rick French of the Boulder Police Department arrived right away and was greeted by the missing girl’s parents, John and Patsy Ramsey and Officer Reichenbach arrived about forty-five minutes later . There were also many other people in the house such as the Ramsey’s son Burke, who was sleeping, the Whites and the Fernies, who came to console their close friends after receiving a call about the Ramsey’s missing daughter, and Pastor Rev. Rol Hoverstock. At this time, there was no reason to suspect the parents were involved and so the police were treating the family with respect and sympathy. Authorities quickly took the ransom note back to the police station to have it analyzed. They also put a tap and trace on the Ramsey’s phone in hopes of identifying the person who would be making the call to give instructions on where the ransom money was to be left. As the morning drug on, the phone call from the kidnappers never came. The Ramsey sent their son, Burke, to the White’s home where he remained. Reichenbach called for a crime scene evidence team and asked for someone from the victim-witness office to assist with the investigation. He also did a quick search of the house including

Investigators requested that they come to the station and undergo a formal interview. The Ramsey’s gave samples of hair and blood. They were also required to give a handwriting sample to compare to the ransom note. The media was quick to report on the murder of young JonBenet and the speculation that the parents were involved with their daughter’s death was growing among the public. According to the Ramsey’s housekeeper, JonBenet could be difficult at times and would wet the bed. One theory was that Patsy had possibly lost her temper with JonBenet, while frustrated at her for wetting the bed, and she may have struck her daughter and caused her to hit her head. After realizing JonBenet was injured Pasty may have tried to cover it up by staging the body to look like she had been kidnapped and murdered. Authorities shifted the focus of their investigation on the parents rather than an intruder yet John and Patsy continued to proclaim their innocence. On January 1, 1997, the day after JonBenet was buried, the Ramsey’s agreed to an interview on CNN, with Brian Cabell. John and Patsy told Cabell that there was a “killer on the loose” and pleaded with the community for them to “keep your babies close to you”. (New York Times) Police could find no evidence pointing to an intruder and if there had been any, it was corrupted early on during the time everyone was freely wandering around the