THE CASE OF JONBENÉT RAMSEY
By: Megan Brown
Tags: Murder, True Crime, Crime, Jonbenet Ramsey, Essay

THE CASE OF JONBENÉT RAMSEY

It has been around twenty years since the six-year-old pageant queen, JonBenét Ramsey, was murdered inside her home in Colorado. Although there have been countless reports, police cases, and personal investigations, the case remains unsolved. On the morning of December 26, 1996, the police received a call from the mother of JonBenét, Patsy Ramsey. According to Patsy, she discovered a ransom note demanding money for the safe return of JonBenét. JonBenét’s body, however, was discovered in the basement later that afternoon. JonBenét’s skull had been fractured, but the official cause of death was asphyxiation. In the 1996 controversial court case of JonBenét Ramsey, the Ramsey family received an incorrect acquittal for the murder of their daughter because of their suspicious actions, no signs of forced entry, and a questionable ransom note.

The morning after the murder, the Ramsey family acted suspiciously around the police and other interviewers. Many pieces of the official police call were dubious and contradictory to the claims of the parents. According to the Ramseys, Burke had been asleep at the time the call was made; however, voice recording specialists from CBS conducted many experiments to decipher the background noise of the call. They found that there was a distinct voice of a young boy present in the room (Dateline: The Case of JonBenét ). This evidence clearly proves that the parents lied about Burke’s whereabouts on the morning of the investigation. If they lied about Burke being awake, it is plausible to believe that the Ramseys lied about Burke’s involvement in the actual killing of JonBenét. The Ramsey’s were also suspicious after the body had been found. According to CBS News, the parents refused to give formal statements on the morning of their daughter’s death, and they did not talk with police for months after the murder. Also on the day of the murder, when they were still looking for JonBenét, the police told John Ramsey to specifically start searching the house in the upstairs, but he went straight to the basement. (The Unsolved Murder that Haunts America). This evidence suggests that John knew where to look for his daughter. This knowledge along with the entire families inconsistent words and actions prove that they were involved in the murder. Another suspicious person of interest in the case is JonBenét’s brother, Burke Ramsey. In an interview with a psychiatrist, the nine-year-old was asked the question: “What happened the day of the murder?” To which he responded, “My mom came in yelling, she said JonBenét was missing. I think both my parents were overreacting” (The Story that Haunts America). In the conversation with the physiatrist, Burke fidgets constantly and responds to his questions with short, to the point answers. In the present day, Burke did an interview with Dr. Phil where he is seen smiling through every question and laughing as if his sister’s death brings him joy. The suspicious actions of both the parents and Burke Ramsey provide evidence that the killer of JonBenét was part of the Ramsey family.

At the scene of the crime, the house showed no signs of forced entry. There was no broken locks or doors, and no footprints in the snow around the house. According to News Week, one broken window was found in the basement, but there were cobwebs covering it that would not have been there if someone came through it (JonBenét Ramsey the Door Cops Never Opened). The fact that no one broke into the house suggests that the murderer was already in the house. According to testimonials, the Ramseys claim there was no one but the family in the house on the night of the murder. Another piece of evidence that suggests the family killed JonBenét is the fact that JonBenét did not scream. According to Business Insider, “Many neighbors, as well as the Ramseys, claim they did not hear a sound the night of the murder” (Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?). This proves that JonBenét was comfortable enough with the murderer to not scream or attempt to make noise. Many believe that if JonBenét didn’t know the killer, she would have made noise in some way to wake up the parents. Another piece of contradictory evidence is the pineapple. According to ABC News, Burke claims to have been asleep before the parents were home, but a bowl of pineapple in the kitchen that had his fingerprints on it prove that he was, in fact, awake (JonBenét Ramsey’s Brother). JonBenét’s fingerprints were also found on the bowl of pineapple. According to the previous statements, Burke would have been the only one awake with JonBenét the night before the murder, leaving him the number one suspect. Based on the fact that no one was in the house with the family, one of the Ramsey’s would be the only logical explanation for a killer.

Both police and investigators on the case identified the ransom note as questionable. On the days following the murder, the Ramseys were required to rewrite the note to compare their handwriting. According to CNN, John Ramsey’s handwriting was cleared, but Patsy Ramsey’s handwriting was a faint match (The Case of JonBenét). Words such as “fraction”, “carefully”, and “letter” were all distinct copies of the original note. This suggests that Patsy was the one to write the note. As well as the handwriting, the note held many pieces of evidence that pointed to Patsy as the writer. According to a Crime-feed article, police determined that the note was written on paper from Patsy’s notebook (A Look Back at the Murder of JonBenét). The note was written inside the house which proposes that one of the Ramseys wrote it. Based on this evidence Patsy is the obvious writer of the note. Another suspicious part of the note was that it asked for a very specific amount of money. “The ransom note asked for exactly $118,000 for the safe return of JonBenét. Earlier that year, John Ramsey had recently received a pay bonus for that exact amount” (JonBenét Ramsey the Unsolved Murder that Haunts America). Many people believe that since the writer knew the exact amount of money John was paid, they were very close to him. Other evidence also shows that the note was written in the house which shows that it had to be one of the Ramseys that wrote it. Based on the fact that the handwriting was a match, the page was from Patsy’s notebook, and the letter stated personal details about John’s life, Patsy is the apparent writer of the note.

In the case of JonBenét Ramsey, the Ramsey family’s suspicious actions, no signs of forced entry on the house, and a questionable ransom note prove the fact that one or more of the Ramseys are guilty of the murder of JonBenét. Although the evidence is immense against the Ramsey family, after twenty years, they still have not received the jail time they deserve. While people sit back and debate whether or not the evidence is valid enough to punish the Ramseys, the family continues to live a peaceful life as if they never murdered their little girl.