Just like an impending train wreck, we all see tragedy about to unfold but we can’t help but watch anyways. We all have a fascination for disaster as long as it’s not happening to us, right? Nothing could be further from the truth than the JonBenet Ramsey case. I think we also have a insatiable need to know how such a tragedy can occur especially for such members of the elite. In this case we all know how the sadly the story ends but not much else. We have a ransom note and a seemingly invisible intruder that just vanished into thin air like they never existed. Perhaps they didn’t. In other words, someone committed the perfect murder if there is such a thing. In this blog, I will pick up where I left off a few days ago, with JonBenet’s lifeless body under the Christmas tree on the morning of the 26th, December 1996.
JonBenet’s body was found in the obscure little room that was jammed when the police had searched the house earlier. She was covered in a white blanket that had a barbie doll nightgown still clinging to it as if it had recently been in the dryer. Her mouth was duct taped, her hands were bound over her head with a ligature around her neck, tightened by a crudely made garrote and what appears to be stun gun marks on the face and back. On her left hand was a red ink drawing of a heart and a gold ring on the middle finger with the date “12/25/96” engraved on it, a gift from Patsy’s sister.
When found, her body was in full rigor mortis, meaning she had died around 1am that morning of the 26th. From the looks of it, JonBenet had died by strangulation. As in life, death is often deceiving. After an autopsy, it was revealed that she had a huge blow to her scull with a blunt instrument which was the actual cause of death. The crudely fashioned garrote that was twisted by the end of Patsy’s paintbrush was an attempt to throw police off the track, nothing more. The rust colored ‘stun gun’ marks turned out not to be so and that question remains open. JonBenet also had green pieces in her hair that were consistent with the garland used for decoration on the spiral staircase almost as if some one had drug her down the stairs.
On a sicker note, there was trauma to the vaginal area but no signs of seminal fluid and the area looked like it had been wiped down. There were signs of digital penetration looking like she had been sexually abused over a period of time, not just the night of the murder. Someone somewhere had ready access to the child. As a parent, this really really disturbs me. there’s one scenario that say that the father was caught by the mother and in an effort to attack him with the nearest object, JonBenet got in the way and was struck, which is believable. In a panic, thinking he would go to jail for child abuse, they couldn’t risk taking the still breathing girl to the hospital so they finished her off. I know the end sounds ridiculous but people do crazy things under duress and people have a history of killing their children. The theory that a parent would not harm their child is often what gets a killer off the hook, Casey Anthony is a perfect example.
From what the parents say, JonBenet went straight to bed that night. Despite being tucked in for the night, JonBenet an autopsy revealed she had partially digested pineapple in her small intestines, meaning it had to have been eaten 1 to 1 1/2 hours before the murder. Pineapple was not served at the party the Ramseys had attended that night, meaning someone had given it to her sometime during the night. The cracked crab she had eaten at the party was already fecal matter, indicating she ate the pineapple after she got home. Patsy denies giving her any or even buying it, for that matter, despite the bowl of pineapple with a spoon in it in the kitchen with Patsy’s fingerprints on it. This means something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Something does not add up. Had JonBenet been lured by a ‘friendly’ intruder with the promise of pineapple, one of her favorite foods? Why were there no fingerprints on it other that Patsy and Burke’s? Did Burke feed her the pineapple? Questions, questions. One thing we do know is that someone did. But who? The pineapple was eaten about an hour before death. I would like to know what went on in that hour prior to. That would be the key to the who mystery.
The Ramseys insist Burke was asleep until he was woken up around 7am to go their friends’ house. He was asleep this whole time? Was he, now? We know the 911 call was placed at 5:52 am. What was lifted off the tape was eye opening. After the call, Patsy fumbled to place the phone on the cradle. During this time, before the call was terminated, we hear John tell someone sternl “We are not talking to you.” We also hear burke’s voice.asking “What did you find?” I may not be Agatha Christie but to me that would mean he was not asleep. Why would they lie about such a trivial fact?
Let’s talk about the obscure room in the basement for a minute. To me this is less interesting because I don’t believe anyone or anything came through that basement window that night but we must touch on it and there is evidence there. We just need to look. We have an unidentified HiTech footprint in the concrete dust, a palm print that turned out to belong to Patsy’s sister and a broken window which John Ramsey said he broke after he was locked out in the summer. There were no footprints outside the house with an intact spider web was found outside on the window well grate. To me this would indicate that the point of entry was not the basement since spiders don’t do double time overnight in the winter. To me, the HiTech footprint could have come from the killer but also from anyone that has done work on the house, or both, since it is a work boot. To me there is very little evidence of an intruder. The suitcase containing a blanket and a Dr. Seuss book could have been put their by anybody to make it look like a kidnapping. It’s possible that this would have been their point of exit had JonBenet not have been murdered. Regardless of whatever plans an intruder had, they did not break in. Whoever or whatever it was was already in the house, possible already there while the Ramseys were away, patiently waiting for the Ramseys to arrive or someone or someone that lived in the house.
With a few of tha hard facts out of the way, I will delve into more scenarios in the next JB blogpost. I will get into some more theories and speculation. With this case being 2nd to Jack the Ripper, there are some really interesting ones so please stay tuned 
I know- there are always those issues that seem to be in the foreground of these kinds of investigations, especially in the media- but for every antagonist, there is a protagonist. I mean, perception can remain a certain way if that is the only way we have been taught to see a case/ scenario- and the way the media is, and their “camera angles” and “journalism angles” as well, it’s easy to produce a common feeling in the general public/ reader audience.
But when we look at things from a new perspective, and approach a case as though we don’t already have a bias- open the mind up, and presume that the accused is innocent, just to give it a different perspective- sometimes we see things we couldn’t see before.. In paralegal studies, we were taught to look at every case from BOTH sides, and try to see the good, the bad, and the ugly from both the prosecution’s perspective and the defense’s as well. Pretend you are not only serving your own client, but attempt to see the case as though you are working for the opposing side also, so as to avoid courtroom surprises. It’s kinda cool how much you can allow yourself to see when you turn off the blinding emotional light that is a bias, and begin to feel the case as though you are looking at the forest as a whole once again. You see new trees- new shadows, and new light. I don’t know what happened to that poor child, but I still am not ruling out the parents. There are plenty of other options though- a registered sex offender nearby, for instance, and then the multitude of people in JonBenet’s life that maybe didn’t have a record in the system but who had motivation based on pageants being very costly and hard to win, etc. I mean, who knows. I look forward to seeing more posts from you about this case, though. It’s good that you are revisiting it. =)
Thanks Gillian. It was my pleasure writing it. I don’t think we will ever know what happened that night. Somethings in this world we will never have an answer for. Whether guilty or not, I do wish more time had been devoted to looking further than the parents. This case was really bungled from the beginning. Whatever is believed about the Ramseys, I agree with them in that while they are the sole focus,the killer could be on the loose. The logical part of me says that the parents covered it up but the motherly side of me says otherwise and that someone wanted to get at the father some reason.
If I hadn’t decided to become an artist, I think I would have become a detective or a forensics expert like Quincy. The problem is, I don’t think my heart could take seeing dead children on a daily basic. I guess we are all meant to do something, right
I also don’t understand why someone would use a stun gun on a small child. It makes about as much sense as the accusation (that I still don’t believe) that Casey Anthony used chloroform to knock Caylee out. It’s stupid. No fit and healthy grownup or even young teenager would feel the need to knock out a little person that young in order to gain physical control over them. I mean, that is just the dumbest thing, right!!! I truly believe that in JonBenet’s case, IF the stun gun was actually used prior to her death (and was not inflicted postmortem as a cover up) then that would whittle down the suspects to people with severe handicaps, or people who are extremely weak, brittle, frail, very elderly, or very young. it doesn’t make sense to include healthy adults and teens in the suspect pool. Who does that leave as a suspect?? Aside from jonBenet’s competition, anyways??
I don’t think a stun gun was used. The markings were measured and it did not add up. I don’t know where the marks came from. I will do some more research and see what I find out. I think she knew whoever killed her and no coercion was needed. That’s just my opinion.
Now you got me looking this stuff up. The only comment I want to make right now is: Regarding Patsy’s fingerprint on the spoon; like the factory worker, imagine being implicated in a murder just because you did the dishes. Meanwhile, sitting on the edge of my seat with the others waiting to read your next blogpost.
Let’s just say, someone gave JB pineapple that night and it was either Patsy or Burke. Glad you enjoyed it. I will have it up as soon as I can