JonBenet Ramsey 1996 Homicide

JonBenet Ramsey

JonBenet Ramsey was 6 years old when she was reported missing from her home in the 700 block of 15th Street on Dec. 26, 1996. Tragically, she was later found dead in that house, and an autopsy revealed the cause of her death as strangulation.

jonbenet ramsey

Possible Kidnapping for ransom

December 26, 1996

Police responded, on Dec. 26, to the home of John and Patsy Ramsey, 755 15th Street in Boulder following a 9-1-1 call. The call, from Patsy Ramsey, stated a note had been found indicating their daughter had been kidnapped.

5:30 a.m.: When Patsy gets up to make coffee, she discovers a two-and-a-half page handwritten ransom note on the back stairs leading to the kitchen that says her daughter has been kidnapped, the note demanded

“You will withdraw $118,000.00 from your account. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills,”

6 a.m. Police officer Rick French arrives at the home and does a search. Officers initiated an investigatory response to a possible kidnapping for ransom.

  • The Boulder and Denver offices of the FBI were requested to assist, as was the District Attorney’s Office.
  • The initial stages of the investigation were directed towards preparing to comply with the ransom note instructions. Detectives remained on the scene with the family.

2 p.m.  Detective Linda Arndt, told John Ramsey and his friend White, to do a “top to bottom” search of the home. John opened the door to the basement’s spare room and saw JonBenét’s body. She had been strangled and her mouth and neck were covered with duct tape. John picked up the body and ran screaming upstairs. Arndt later moved the body closer to the Christmas tree upstairs.

10:45 p.m. The Boulder County coroner’s team removed JonBenet’s body from the house.

jonbenet ramsey

Homicide Investigation

December 27, 1996

An autopsy was conducted on Friday, Dec. 27 and the Boulder Co. Coroner’s Office has determined the cause of death is asphyxia due to strangulation. The manner of death is homicide. Report

The victim, JonBenet Ramsey, as a student at High Peaks elementary school, 3740 Martin Park Drive. The parents are John Ramsey, CEO and President of Access Graphics and Patsy Ramsey. There is an older brother who lives at home and two adult siblings who live outside the home.

December 31, 1996

JonBenet Funeral

On December 31, 1996 JonBenet laid to rest in Marietta, Georgia, next to her older half-sister Elizabeth, who had died in a tragic car accident in 1992.

jonbenet ramsey

January 3, 1997

Detectives announce that the note was written on a paper pad from inside the house, meaning it was likely written after the murder. Reportedly there was an  evidence that the person who wrote the ransom note first practiced it on another piece of paper.

jonbenet ramsey

Handwriting Analysis

March 7, 1997

A handwriting analysis eliminates John, but not Patsy. Based on expert analysis, detectives confirm that John didn’t write the ransom note, but say there is a chance Patsy may have.

March 8, 1997

The police searched the Ramsey’s Michigan home again, looking for “unrehearsed” handwriting samples to see if Patsy wrote the ransom note.

Investigation

The autopsy revealed that JonBenét had been killed by strangulation and a skull fracture. The official cause of death was “asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma.” There was no evidence of conventional rape, although sexual assault could not be ruled out.

Case Files

The Ransom Note

The ransom note was discovered in the Ramsey home, written on Patsy Ramsey’s notepad. However, several pages from the notepad were missing and were never found within the house.

A male DNA profile

A male DNA profile was developed from samples found on JonBenét’s underwear, pajamas, and fingernails, which did not match either John or Patsy Ramsey. The source of this DNA remains unidentified.

A climbing rope

A climbing rope was discovered in a paper bag in the spare bedroom adjacent to JonBenét’s room. The Ramseys stated that the rope did not belong to them, and it is unclear if the rope was ever tested

Two sets of stun gun marks were found on JonBenét’s body. However, no stun gun was found in the Ramsey home, nor is there any evidence suggesting the Ramseys owned one.

A white piece of adhesive was found on JonBenét’s face, indicating the stun gun was applied over duct tape that was previously placed on her face. The stun gun’s heat may have melted the adhesive

A baseball bat, containing a fiber consistent with the carpet in the Ramsey’s basement, was found outside in the yard near the butler’s door on the north side of the house. The Bat was not Ramseys.

Black Duct Tape

Black duct tape was placed over JonBenét’s mouth, but the roll from which it came was never located. Red fibers were found on the tape, matching fibers from Patsy Ramsey’s sweater. However, Patsy had worn the sweater while sitting on a blanket in JonBenét’s bedroom, suggesting the fibers could have transferred to the blanket and then onto the tape after it was discarded on the blanket post-discovery. No black fibers from Patsy’s sweater were found on the duct tape. Other fibers, including brown ones possibly from the perpetrator’s gloves, were found on the tape, but their source was never determined.

White Cord and Brush

White cord (olefin) was used to bind JonBenét’s hands and neck. The source of this cord was never found.

A paintbrush from Patsy’s paint kit, stored near the room where JonBenét’s body was discovered, was broken into three pieces.

One piece was used to fashion the garrote handle. The second piece, with the brush attached, was found at the scene. The third piece was never located.

Red marks on JonBenét’s neck indicated she was alive when the injuries were inflicted. The half-moon shaped marks, located above the white cord, suggest JonBenét tried to release the pressure of the garrote with her fingernails while she was still conscious.

A beaver hair was found on JonBenét’s thigh. Although it was speculated that Patsy Ramsey may have owned boots lined with beaver hair, no additional hairs were found during a search.

Several animal hairs were discovered at the crime scene, but their source was never identified.

A hard-sided suitcase was found out of place beneath a broken basement window, five feet above the floor and 20 inches in size, fibers inside the suitcase matched JonBenét’s clothing, she may have been placed inside the suitcase. The FBI did not reach the same conclusion regarding the fibers. A piece of glass was found on top of the suitcase, someone stood on the suitcase and transferred the glass from their shoe. A close-up photo of the suitcase showed what appeared to be a shoe print impression.

Open Window

Disturbances in the debris around the basement window suggested an entry point. This window was found open, and crime scene photos depict it in this position. Styrofoam packing material from the window well was found inside the room where JonBenét’s body was discovered, raising the question of how it got there.

A Hi-Tec brand shoe print was found in the mold in the storage room where JonBenét’s body was located, but its source was never determined.

Neighbor reported someone trespassing in their yard and storage shed around the time of the incident. Cigarette butts were collected as evidence, but it is unclear what happened to them or if they were tested for DNA.

Neighbors also reported seeing two suspicious vehicles in the neighborhood—one on Christmas Eve and the other on Christmas Day. One neighbor observed a white male walking around the Ramsey home at dusk on Christmas.

JonBenet Ramsey Crime Scene

JonBenet Ramsey

The following items were never found, indicating the perpetrator likely took them:

  • The duct tape,
  • The white cord,
  • The third piece of the paintbrush handle,
  • The stun gun,
  • Hi-Tec shoes,
  • The missing pages from Patsy’s notepad.

The following items found at the crime scene, which did not belong to the Ramseys, suggest they were brought there by the perpetrator:

  • Male DNA found on JonBenét’s clothing and under her fingernails,
  • A beaver hair,
  • Animal hairs,
  • Hi-Tec shoe print.

Items did not belong to Ramsey’s and were left by the perpetrator:

  • Climbing rope in the spare bedroom
  • Maglite flashlight found in the kitchen,
  • Baseball bat in the yard near the butler’s door, which contained fibers consistent with the basement carpet.

jonbenet ramsey

JonBenét’s parents

April 19, 1997:

April 19, 1997: JonBenét’s parents become the prime suspects

April 30, 1997

Formal interviews were conducted with both parents, John for two hours and Patsy for six-and-a-half hours

jonbenet ramsey

Grand Jury

March 12, 1998

 A grand jury investigation was assembled.

September 15, 1998

The grand jury begins their investigation

October 13, 1998

 The grand jury begins hearing forensic evidence and also toured Ramsey’s family’s home in Boulder.

May 19, 1999

Grand Jury declared JonBenet Brother a witness

September 30, 1999

JonBenet’s half siblings John Andrew and Melinda testified in front of the grand jury.

October 13, 1999

Grand Jury reached a decision stated no sufficient evidence to charge anyone with the murder

June 2008

Letter from Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy Clearing JonBenet Parents

To the extent that we may have contributed in any way to the public perception that you might have been involved in this crime, I am deeply sorry: No innocent person should have to endure such an extensive trial in the court of public opinion, especially when public officials have not had sufficient evidence to initiate a trial in a court of law. I have the greatest respect for the way you and your family have handled this adversity.

We intend in the future to treat you as the victims of this crime, with the sympathy due you because of the horrific loss you suffered. Otherwise, we will continue to refrain from publicly discussing the evidence in this case.

We hope that we will one day obtain a DNA match from the CODIS data bank that will lead to further evidence and to the solution of this crime. With recent legislative changes throughout the country, the number of profiles available for comparison in the CODIS data bank is growing steadily. Law enforcement agencies are receiving increasing numbers of cold hits on DNA profiles that have been in the system for many years. We hope that one day soon we will get a match to this perpetrator. We will, of course, contact you immediately. Perhaps only then will we begin to understand the psychopathy or motivation for this brutal and senseless crime.

But by the time apology letter came Patsy was already gone, she passed away on June 29, 2006: Patsy was buried next to JonBenét

Investigation Records

The autopsy revealed that JonBenét had been killed by strangulation and a skull fracture. The official cause of death was “asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma.” There was no evidence of conventional rape, although sexual assault could not be ruled out.