Recently, the case of the mysterious death of 5-year-old pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey has flooded the internet. After 29 years of wondering what happened to the beautiful young girl, people remain more curious than ever.
To summarize the story, on Christmas night, JonBenet was killed. Left in the house was a bizarre ransom note stating a demand for money to get JonBenet back safely. The note stated that the person who wrote it would call in the morning to return JonBenet and to receive the 118,000 dollars. It was later found out that 118,000 dollars was John Ramsey’s Christmas bonus that year.
The morning of her disappearance, around 5 am, Patsy Ramsey (her mother) found the note and then called Boulder police to inform them her daughter had been kidnapped. For a couple of hours, it was assumed JonBenet had been abducted, not killed. However, around 10 am that morning, John Ramsey found JonBenet in the basement. Around her neck was a garrote and around her mouth was duct tape.
One of the main reasons this case has never been solved is because of the tampering of all of the evidence. John immediately ripped the duct tape off her mouth, picked her up, and carried her upstairs. The Boulder police also had a major role in the downfall of this case. With improper contamination of a crime scene, many key evidence factors were destroyed. Many of the Ramsey friends came into the house as a way to show support, but while doing this it messed up any evidence that may have been there.
So many different theories have been thought of regarding the case, and they all make sense until they don’t. Nothing adds up in this case.
Some things that we do know is JonBenets family attended a Christmas party that evening and did not get back until pretty late. We know the basement window was broken before the crime. Found below the window was a suitcase, as if someone used it to get in and out of the basement window. Everything used to write the ransom note was found inside the house.
The main suspects are family friends of the Ramseys, John and Patsy Ramsey, Burke Ramsey, or possibly a random intruder.
The Ramsey house was incredibly complex. With many floors, hidden hallways, and rooms, it seems weird that an intruder would be so comfortable navigating the home while also taking the time to write a 3-page ransom note. Why would an intruder demand money for a kidnapping that never happened? Why would JonBenets parents kill their child? Would her 10-year-old brother be able to commit such a crime?
If you believe it’s an intruder, you can go back to the ransom note, the window with the suitcase, and the unidentified male DNA found on JonBenet that belonged to no family member. Many men were definitely “fascinated” with the beautiful JonBenet. Many people believe she was sexualized while doing pageants despite being a 5-year-old little girl. Many of these industries result in sexual abuse and grooming of the young children in it.
If you believe that maybe Patsy Ramsey or John was involved, you can use the fact that in many interviews, Ramsey’s story would sometimes change, it never really seemed to be consistent. However, the parents will use the fact that they would never hurt their beautiful little girl. One thing that freaks me out is the short period that Patsy’s call was recorded before dispatch answered. She was completely calm, and when 911 answered she began screaming and crying. The Ramseys did not want to talk to police, and in many interviews, they didn’t seem as distraught as they should. However, it’s incredibly hard to assume what went on behind closed doors. One thing that is a fact is the comparison of handwriting between Patsy’s examplar and her journal. The handwriting in the original ransom note was shaky and seemed forged. When you compare the two, it is pretty freaky how many similarities there are.
If this case intrigues you, I recommend watching the new documentary on Netflix. I can’t fit everything here, but there’s much more that goes into it.
