Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings

Murder of a Little Beauty Queen: The JonBenet Ramsey Murder

Introduction

How could a case get so botched up by police investigators? The murder of 6-year-old beauty queen, JonBenet Ramsey reached media sensation 23 years ago.

JonBenet Ramsey was found by her father, John Ramsey, with duct tape across her mouth, a ligature buried deep in the young beauty queen's skin on the neck by the use of a garrote that was made from cord and a broken paintbrush from Patsy's art supplies. Same cord was used to loosely bound JonBenet's right wrist. The autopsy also showed a linear fracture to right side of skull, from single blow from blunt object.

The cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma. Signs of vaginal trauma were visible, despite whether it was predated at the time of murder. JonBenet's body also showed marks possibly made by stun gun, despite investigators attempts to dismiss stun gun theory.

The Ransom Note

The day after Christmas 1996, police were called to the scene when Patsy Ramsey received a ransom note saying they had her daughter and demanded payment for return of the girl. The odd peculiarity was that it was a 2-page handwritten note on paper found in the Ramsey home. The question stands, is why would a perpetrator waste time inside the home handwriting a 2-page ransom note and not run the risk of getting caught by a family member? Forensic scientists re-wrote the ransom note, timing themselves, and finding out it took them nearly 20 minutes to write the note. Another odd peculiarity is the amount—almost the exact amount of John Ramsey's bonus from his employers--$118,000. John and Patsy's handwriting were analyzed by handwriting experts. John's was ruled out, but Patsy's was ruled "inconclusive."

Conspiracy Theories

Many theories abound about how JonBenet was murdered:

Theories say that Patsy flew of the handle and beat JonBenet for bedwetting. Theories run rampant that Patsy panicked after she realized she killed her own daughter. Speculation suggests the murder was staged by the ransom note and a botched kidnapping. While John and Patsy were indicted for child abuse resulting in the possible death of their daughter, the DA ruled against citing insufficient evidence.

The unidentified boot print found at Ramsey home—supposedly belonging to Michael Helgoth, an electrician in dispute with Ramsey family—offers supposed motive for murder. But he committed suicide before the Boulder Police Department questioned him, and his DNA didn't match found that found at Ramsey home.

The wild animal theory is speculative as it raises questions after animal hair was found on JonBenet's clothes and the duct tape covering her mouth. The only question is, how could an animal write a ransom note?

One puzzling conspiracy theory suggests pop singer Katy Perry is JonBenet Ramsey, noting similar facial expressions as "proof" the singer is Ramsey. But the fact that Katy Perry is 6 years older debunks this conspiracy theory.

Mistakes in the Investigation

Despite being prime suspects in their daughter's murder, John and Patsy Ramsey, along with JonBenet's brother, Burke, deny any involvement in the murder.

Still, mistakes abound by police that have botched a cold case still unsolved over the last 23 years...

With the oddities of evidence from those inside the Ramsey household, Patsy's panicked phone call the day of the "kidnapping" could be due to Patsy being unaware of what was happening; or could be due to police overlooking the uncooperation by Patsy during the police investigation.

City of Boulder Police officers arriving at the scene of the crime should have shut down crime scene (Ramsey home) immediately and taken statements from JonBenet's parents. (According to Mark Beckner, BPD police chief, fewer people were unable to get to scene due to crime happening on Christmas Day).