Michael T. Griffith

2002

* I have watched several interviews with John and Patsy Ramsey. They come across to me as being truthful, sincere, and devastated over the death of their daughter. I don't think they are the kind of people who would do what was done to their daughter.

* By all accounts, the Ramseys were kind, loving parents, who rarely even became angry with JonBenet.

* According to friends who were with the Ramseys in the hours and days immediately following the discovery of JonBenet's body, John and Patsy Ramsey were visibly almost in shock over their daughter's death, especially Patsy.

* Both John and Patsy Ramsey were (and still are) considered by their friends, neighbors, and acquaintances to be persons of good character.

* JonBenet's pediatrician said there was no evidence whatsoever that JonBenet had ever been sexually abused or molested.

A few weeks ago renowned homicide detective Lou Smit went public with his reasons for believing an intruder killed JonBenet. I would like to start by summarizing them:

* A basement window in the Ramseys' house in Boulder was found open after the girl's body was discovered, with signs that debris in the window well had been recently disturbed. Leaves and foam packing peanuts found in the window well also were found inside the basement. One foam pellet was found in the basement storage room where JonBenet's body was found, 60 feet from the window.

Detectives from the Boulder Police Department have said they examined the window and found an undisturbed spider web across a portion of it. However, according to experts, a spider could have repaired a damaged web between the approximate time of JonBenet's murder and the time the police said they found the spider web. Also, a check of the weather for that day indicates the weather could have been suitable for a spider to have come out and repaired the web.

* A sole print from a Hi-Tec hiking shoe was found near the body. No one in the Ramsey family or their close friends owned that brand of shoe.

* A suitcase, with what looks to be a shoe print on it, was found lying flat below the window, as if it had been used as a step.

* A metal baseball bat was found outside the basement window with fibers on it that matched those from the carpet in the room where JonBenet's body was found. JonBenet's skull was fractured by a blow to the head.

* Two pairs of small spot-like wounds were found on JonBenet, one on her back, another on her face. The marks were not visible when she was photographed during the Ramseys' holiday dinner at a friend's home on the afternoon before she died. The marks nearly match those that would be left by a specific type of stun gun called an Air Taser.

Arapahoe County Coroner Dr. Michael Doberson called the stun gun theory "compelling" when he recently examined photos. Other experts who have examined the evidence agree.

* The garrote used to strangle JonBenet and found with her body was fashioned from the broken handle of one of Patsy Ramsey's paintbrushes. Around the stick, tied in a complex knot, was a length of nylon rope. Nylon rope is seared at each end to prevent fraying; only one end of the garrote rope was burned. The other burned end was never found. Although Smit would not comment on it, sources have said the other piece of the broken paintbrush was not found either, suggesting the killer took it with him or her.

* The piece of duct tape over JonBenet's mouth did not match anything found in the Ramsey home.

Other indications that suggest an intruder was involved include the following:

* The DNA from JonBenet's genital area and from her panties does NOT match John or Patsy Ramsey's DNA. Experts have determined the DNA is from a male.* Police found an unidentified palmprint on the door to the cellar where JonBenet's body was found. That palmprint has yet to be identified.

* There was a scuff mark on the wall beneath the basement window, which might have been made by an intruder as he climbed in or out of the window.

* One of crime-scene photos shows a photo from the BOULDER BUSINESS REPORT. The photo shows John Ramsey and some other people. An X was drawn over the heads of the other people, but a heart was drawn around Ramsey's head. A heart was also found drawn on JonBenet's body. When John Ramsey was shown the photo, he was shocked. He had never seen it before. He told investigators he was certain an intruder must have left the magazine. It should be noted that a man who was at one time a suspect used to work at the magazine.

* The police initially reported that the ground cover around the basement window grate had been disturbed. Bear in mind that this is the same window by which the bat was found and under which the scuff mark and the suitcase were found. The window was broken long before the murder. As mentioned, pieces of glass were found on the suitcase, which suggests they could have been knocked onto the suitcase as an intruder entered through the window.

* No parent who has strangled a child has ever used a garrote to do so.

As I have studied the JonBenet case, a few questions have came to mind about the belief that the parents killed JonBenet:

* If one or both of the parents had killed JonBenet, would they have used one of their own paintbrushes, which could be linked to them later? Wouldn't they have disposed of the garrote entirely?* If one or both of the parents had written the ransom note, would they have used their own pen and paper pad and then leave them to be found by the police?

Would they have left such a massive handwriting sample (nearly three pages)?

* Would either of the Ramseys have known how to tie the complex knot that was used for the garrote? That's not the kind of knot your average person would know how to tie.

* "Wasn't the ransom note written by Patsy Ramsey?" There is wide disagreement among handwriting experts on this issue. Some experts believe she wrote. Other experts say she "can't be ruled out" as the author. And other experts are certain she did not write the note.

* "Didn't the Ramseys act 'suspicious' and 'unusual' in the aftermath of their daughter's death?" I would defy anyone to define exactly how a person should always act in such a situation. The Ramseys were depressed, grief-stricken, and shocked over the death of their daughter, according to virtually everyone who had contact with them in the hours and days after the murder. They have spent thousands of dollars on newspaper ads offering a reward for any information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of their daughter's killer. They continue to maintain a home page from which they present evidence relating to JonBenet's death and appeal for help from the public in finding their daughter's murderer (http://www.ramseyfamily.com/).

* "Why wouldn't the Ramseys cooperate with the police?" They spoke with the police for hours on the day JonBenet's body was found. John Ramsey says he told the police he agreed to be interviewed by them if only they would come to the house where he and his wife were staying. Patsy Ramsey was practically in shock and in condition to speak with anyone at the time. The Ramseys felt they were unfairly targeted early on as the prime and only suspects in the murder. They were under no legal obligation to speak with the police. Yet, the Ramseys later agreed to interviews with the police. The Ramseys have also given several interviews with journalists.

* "Why did John Ramsey call to arrange a flight to Atlanta less than an hour after the discovery of his daughter's body?" He wanted to leave Boulder as soon as possible. He and his wife didn't feel safe there. Can anyone blame them? Their daughter had just been murdered.

"Why didn't John Ramsey volunteer to take a polygraph?" The police never asked him to take a polygraph. He says he would have taken one if the police had asked him to do so. He has also said he's still willing to take a polygraph.

* "Did John Ramsey take steps to obtain the amount of money demanded in the ransom note?" Yes, he did. This has been clearly established.

* "What about the fact that fibers found on the duct tape were from the same material as the sweater Patsy Ramsey was wearing the day before?" Those fibers could have easily, naturally gotten on the tape by means of what's known as secondary transfer. For example, the fibers could have been transferred to the child's blanket as Patsy tucked her into bed that night and then could have adhered to the duct tape even if Patsy never came into contact with it. After all, the police found the duct tape ON THE BLANKET. So it's not at all surprising that fibers from Patsy's sweater were found on the tape.

For more information on the case of the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, I would recommend Lawrence Schiller's book PERFECT MURDER, PERFECT TOWN (New York: HarperCollins, 1999) and John and Patsy Ramsey's book THE DEATH OF INNOCENCE (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000).