On December 25, 1996, a six year old girl, named JonBenét Ramsey was found dead in her own home. This little girl was found in her basement, under a blanket. She had signs of strangulation and sexual assault. During this time period, investigations were not conducted as well as they are now. Because of the mistreatment of the victim’s body, the investigation suffered.
John and Patsy Ramsey called police at 5:52 in the morning when they realized that their daughter was missing. They found a ransom note, instructing them to not contact police. However, they did so anyway. The ransom note demanded $118,000. This amount of money was extremely specific. It was later uncovered that this amount matched the exact amount of money that John Ramsey received from his employer as a bonus. In addition to that, the paper that the ransom note had been written on was found in the Ramsey home. Because of this, suspicion quickly fell onto JonBenét Ramsey’s parents.
From the beginning, investigators did not take the precautions needed to preserve evidence. First, they only sectioned off JonBenét Ramsey’s room and let parents and family members roam the house, searching for clues. By doing this, the family could have destroyed evidence of a break in. Detectives also disrupted the crime scene when they allowed John Ramsey to remove JonBenét Ramsey’s body from the basement. Because of this, investigators had a hard time collecting evidence and coming up with a suspect. Also, the attacker took precautions after the murder. He or she wiped JonBenét Ramsey’s vagina clean, leaving no traces of seaman. Another odd aspect of this case was that pineapple was found in JonBenét Ramsey’s stomach. Her parents do not recall her eating pineapple the night before. However, there was a bowl found with pineapple in it. This bowl had fingerprints on it from JonBenét Ramsey’s brother.
Due to the lack of evidence, the ransom note, no signs of an intruder, and the other abnormalities of this case, JonBenét Ramsey’s murder soon caught the public’s eye and became a national sensation. Suspicion quickly fell on the father, John Ramsey. John and Patsy Ramsey refused to corporate with police, which made them look very suspicious.
There are two popular conspiracy theories associated with this case. These theories include the family theory and the intruder theory. The family theory was supported by the suspicious letter. Both of JonBenét Ramsey’s parents and her brother submitted handwriting samples to police. Although John Ramsey and his son were cleared, Patsy was not. JonBenét Ramsey’s family were also reluctant to help investigators, however, it was later uncovered that they feared the police would not conduct a full investigation and target at them as easy suspects.
On the other hand, the intruder theory was supported by evidence. There was a boot print found next to JonBenét Ramsey’s body which did not belong to anyone in the family. Also, there was a broken window in the basement which was believed to be the most likely point of entry for an intruder. To add to that, there was DNA from drops of blood from an unknown male found on JonBenét Ramsey’s underwear. Lastly, the floors in the Ramsey’s home were heavily carpeted, making it possible for an intruder to have carried JonBenét downstairs without waking the family.
This case is very complex and was poorly conducted. JonBenét Ramsey did not receive the justice she deserved and her case still has not been solved to this day. If it were up to you, would you believe the intruder conspiracy or the family conspiracy?
