By Katherine Littlejohn, Staff Writer
The case of JonBenét Ramsey has returned to the media spotlight due to a special investigation by CBS near the 20th anniversary of her death. In 1996, the 6-year old beauty queen was found dead in her parents’ basement the day after Christmas. Her death was ruled a murder. Yet, to this day, her assailant has never been caught, and the motive is still unresolved due to the obtuse circumstances and evidence surrounding the situation.[1]
Unaware of the specifics of her murder, Patsy Ramsey, JonBenét’s mother, found a 2 1/2-page, handwritten ransom note demanding $118,000 for her daughter’s return. Later that day, the child’s body was found in the basement. After analysis, the police determined this note was written on paper from a notebook within the Ramsey household.
Both Patsy and John Ramsey, JonBenét’s father, underwent handwriting analysis to rule them out as suspects. While John’s analysis came back negative, Patsy’s came back inconclusive.[2] Other evidence, however, would lead investigators in a different direction. There is conflicting evidence surrounding the manner of death that has led to even more confusion as to how and why the young beauty queen was murdered.
“We know from the evidence she was hit in the head very hard with an unknown object, possibly a flashlight or similar type item,” said Mark Beckner — the police chief of Boulder, Colorado, at the time of the murder — in a now-cached “Ask Me Anything” Reddit thread. “The blow knocked her into unconsciousness, which could have led someone to believe she was dead. The strangulation came 45 minutes to two hours after the head strike, based on the swelling on the brain. While the head wound would have eventually killed her, the strangulation caused her death. The rest of the scene we believe was staged, including the vaginal trauma, to make it look like a kidnapping or sexual assault gone bad.”[3]
While police were investigating her parents as well as any possible adult involved in the case, her then-9-year-old brother, Burke Ramsey, was also a possible suspect. Later on, when no true murderer was found, several media outlets and police began to speculate that the child was not as innocent as he seemed; yet, there was no definitive evidence that would point to JonBenét’s brother.
On Sept. 12, 2016, Burke underwent his first interview since his sister’s death with Dr. Phil in a three-part series. While Dr. Phil was questioning him about the death, he continued to smile, causing some to question his culpability.[4] CBS recently aired a docu-series regarding the mystery of JonBenét’s murder. The experts who investigated her death determined that Burke accidentally hit his sister in the head, and their parents covered it up.[5]
Pursuant to the CBS docu-series, Burke’s attorney has threatened CBS for libel for using “lies, misrepresentations, distortions and omissions with very few grains of truth” in order to accuse Burke.[6] Pursuant to his lawyer’s statement, the network responded that “CBS stands by the broadcast and will do so in court.”[7] It will be interesting to follow the development of the libel case against CBS as we approach the anniversary of JonBenét’s death in December.
Sources
[1] http://www.parentherald.com/articles/70146/20161001/jonbenet-ramsey-news-update-lifetime-release-preview-who-killed-jonbenet-telepic.htm
[2] http://www.cnn.com/US/9703/08/jonbenet/
[3] http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/ex-police-chief-reveals-new-details-jonbenet-ramsey-murder
[4] http://www.drphil.com/videos/jonbenet-ramseys-brother-on-why-he-is-speaking-out-for-the-first-time-about-his-sisters-death/
[5] http://nypost.com/2016/09/21/jonbenet-ramseys-brother-to-sue-cbs-over-false-documentary/
[6] http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/22/media/burke-ramsey-jonbenet-cbs/
[7] http://nypost.com/2016/09/21/jonbenet-ramseys-brother-to-sue-cbs-over-false-documentary/
