The Murder Of Jonbenet Ramsey Remains Unsolved

The murder of JonBenet Ramsey is a crime to which today remains unsolved. It is said that early errors in the case of the six-year-old beauty pageant contestant who was found dead in her family home, destroyed the case before investigation took place. This report examines the strengths and weaknesses of the detection and investigation process as well as how the failures of the investigation could have been overcome in the case of JonBenet Ramsey.

1.0 Background
Early Boxing Day morning in 1996, JonBenet’s mother, Patsy Ramsey, made the emergency call claiming that her daughter had been kidnapped for ransom in their family home in Boulder, Colorado (Conrad 1999). Hours after detectives had arrived, JonBenet’s beaten body was found in the

A major crime scene, such as JonBenet’s, details where serious physical and/or emotional trauma is reported, this can include crimes such as murder, manslaughter, and rape (Standing Bear 1999). Due to the nature of a homicide, evidentiary findings can only be determined after a professional examination of the crime scene has occurred (Pepper 2010). The three principles to ensure an effective investigation is conducted includes: rapid response to the crime scene; to secure the scene before evidence is contaminated, damaged, lost or stolen. Secondly, gathering of evidence, all evidence at the crime scene must be preserved and noted whether physical or testimonial; in some cases, this can lead investigators straight to the perpetrator. Lastly, processing of the evidence; this includes putting together all available evidence to determine a verdict in court (Pepper 2010). As anyone can discover a crime scene, it is understandable that the crime scene could potentially be altered at any time before experts arrive (Standing Bear 1999). The arrival of police and beginning of the investigation is the most important stage of the investigation (Standing Bear

On the morning of the murder, Patsy made the emergency call to alert officials that JonBenet had been kidnapped for ransom (The Case of JonBenet Ramsey 2016). During mid conversation to the emergency operator, Patsy assumed the phone call was ended while the operator required more information. In the recent re-investigation of the case, professionals assessed the phone call critically which indicated a new lead. In the background of the call, JonBenet’s brother, Burke was heard saying ‘what did you find?’, when Patsy and John Ramsey claimed Burke was asleep at the time (Pope 1997). Doubt was raised as to why Patsy would assume the call was over when her daughter had been kidnapped. According to Pope (1997) when a person makes an emergency phone call, they tend to stay on the phone for as long as possible to receive further assistance and assurance. However, in Patsy’s case, it seemed she was in a hurry to hang up the phone. Through examining the investigation of the case of JonBenet, it is apparent the emergency phone call operator was not a key person of interest (The Case of JonBenet Ramsey 2016). In the recent re-investigation, the operator mentioned that the investigator come to her house to speak to her, but it was never brought before the court (Pope 1997). The operator recently spoke out about the re-investigation stating that there were suspicious actions