Editing Killing of JonBenét Ramsey (section)

==Evidence==
===Eyewitnesses===
Scott Gibbons, a neighbor, claimed that around midnight, while looking from his kitchen window, he saw the upper kitchen of the Ramsey residence lit up with dimmed lights. Neighbor Melody Stanton reported that she was awoken shortly after midnight by the sound of a child's scream coming from the Ramsey residence.<ref>{{Cite web |orig-date=November 16, 1997 |date=January 12, 2019 |title=Jonbenet: A scream? |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/1997/11/16/jonbenet-a-scream/ |access-date=October 16, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |url-status=live |archive-date=December 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204204144/https://www.nydailynews.com/1997/11/16/jonbenet-a-scream/}}</ref>

===Ransom note===
Patsy Ramsey reported that she found a two-and-a-half-page handwritten [[ransom]] note on the kitchen staircase in their home. The note demanded {{US$|118000}} for JonBenét's return.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 21, 1997 |title=Police drop some potential suspects in Ramsey killing |website=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9701/21/ramsey.update/index.html |url-status=dead |access-date=June 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305225815/http://www.cnn.com/US/9701/21/ramsey.update/index.html |archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref> John pointed out to police first on the scene that the amount was nearly identical to his Christmas bonus of the prior year, which suggested that someone who would have access to that information would be involved in the crime. Investigators looked at several theories behind the dollar amount demanded, considering employees at Access Graphics who may have known the amount of John's prior bonus. They also considered the possibility that the ransom demand was a reference to [[Psalm 118]] and spoke to religious sources to determine possible relevance.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schiller |first=Lawrence |url=http://archive.org/details/perfectmurderper00schi |title=Perfect murder, perfect town |date=1999 |publisher=New York, NY : HarperCollins |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-06-019153-5 |page=447}}</ref>

The ransom note appears to echo film dialogue. The films ''[[Ruthless People]]'', ''[[Ransom (1996 film)|Ransom]]'', ''[[Escape from New York]]'', ''[[Speed (1994 film)|Speed]]''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jerome |first=Richard |date=2021 |title=True Crime Unsolved Mysteries |page=11 |work=Special People Edition}}</ref> and ''[[Dirty Harry]]''<ref>{{Cite web |last=McClish |first=Mark |date=2016 |title=JonBenet Ramsey Murder - The Ransom Note |url=https://www.statementanalysis.com/jonbenet-ramsey-murder/ransom-note/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=Statement Analysis}}</ref> are considered to be potential sources.

The ransom note was unusually long. The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) told the police that it was very unusual for such a note to be written at the crime scene.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://fox2now.com/2015/02/26/jonbenet-ramsey-case-10-things-the-ex-police-chief-just-revealed/ |title=JonBenet Ramsey case: 9 things the ex-police chief just revealed |agency=CNN Wires |work=Fox2News |date=February 26, 2015 | access-date=October 2, 2016 | archive-date=August 6, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806190603/https://fox2now.com/2015/02/26/jonbenet-ramsey-case-10-things-the-ex-police-chief-just-revealed/ | url-status=live}}</ref> The police believed that the note was staged, because it did not have any fingerprints except for Patsy's and authorities who had handled it,<ref name="Time Inc.">{{cite book |title=True Crimes: Cases That Shocked America |isbn=978-1-68330-516-3 |publisher=[[Time Inc. Books]] |year=2016 |pages=9–11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heSiDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|access-date=August 27, 2019|archive-date=September 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909161341/https://books.google.com/books?id=heSiDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|url-status=live}}</ref> and because it included an unusual use of exclamation marks and initialisms.<ref name="Expers dissect">{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/9271998-experts-dissect-jonbenet-ramsey-ransom-note-29249678 |title=Experts Dissect JonBenet Ramsey Ransom Note |date=September 27, 1998 |work=ABC News | access-date=October 2, 2016 | archive-date=October 3, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003103032/http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/9271998-experts-dissect-jonbenet-ramsey-ransom-note-29249678 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Stanley |first=Deb |date=February 25, 2015 |title=JonBenet Ramsey case: Former Boulder police chief Mark Beckner says police botched initial handling |url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/front-range/boulder/jonbenet-ramsey-case-former-boulder-police-chief-mark-beckner-says-police-botched-initial-handling |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080750/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/front-range/boulder/jonbenet-ramsey-case-former-boulder-police-chief-mark-beckner-says-police-botched-initial-handling |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |access-date=October 2, 2016 |work=KMGH-TV |publisher=ABC |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The note and a practice draft were written with a pen and notepad from the Ramsey home.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/05/us/bungled-jonbenet-case-bursts-a-city-s-majesty.html |title=Bungled JonBenét Case Bursts a City's Majesty |date=December 5, 1997 |work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 13, 2016|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308152251/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/05/us/bungled-jonbenet-case-bursts-a-city-s-majesty.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/09/us/report-tells-of-draft-note-for-ransom.html |title=Report Tells Of Draft Note For Ransom |date=January 9, 1997 |work=The New York Times|access-date= September 13, 2016|archive-date= November 12, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031422/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/09/us/report-tells-of-draft-note-for-ransom.html|url-status= live}}</ref> According to a [[Colorado Bureau of Investigation]] (CBI) report, there were "indications that the author of the ransom note is Patricia Ramsey." However, the evidence fell short of a definitive conclusion.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=875&dat=19970904&id=SdQLAAAAIBAJ&pg=6638,205639 |title=Patricia Ramsey's handwriting 'set off bells' |date=September 4, 1997 |work=Today's News-Herald |page=5|access-date=December 23, 2010 |location=Denver|archive-date=June 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602023953/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=875&dat=19970904&id=SdQLAAAAIBAJ&pg=6638%2C205639|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Michael Baden]], a board-certified [[forensic pathology|forensic pathologist]], who had consulted with both sides of the case, said he had never seen a note like it in his 60-year experience and that he did not think it was written by an outside stranger.<ref name="Time Inc." />

A federal court ruled it highly unlikely that Patsy wrote the note, citing six certified handwriting experts. The court lamented the existence of self-proclaimed experts—without credentials—trying to enter the case by accusing Patsy without scientific basis.<ref name=Wolf-v-Ramsey-2003>{{Cite web |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/253/1323/2567726/ |title=Wolf v. Ramsey, 253 F. Supp. 2d 1323 (N.D. Ga. 2003) |access-date=August 26, 2019 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111191944/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/253/1323/2567726/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2021}}

{{Quote box |width= |bgcolor=#c6dbf7 |align=left |title= Text of the ransom note |quote= Mr. Ramsey,<br /><br />Listen carefully! We are a group of individuals that represent a small foreign faction. We <s>do</s> respect your {{sic|bus|siness}} but not the country that it serves. At this time we have your daughter in our {{sic|po|session}}. She is safe and unharmed and if you want her to see 1997, you must follow our instructions to the letter.<br /><br />You will withdraw $118,000.00 from your account. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills. Make sure that you bring an adequate size {{sic|hide=y|attache|expected=attaché}} to the bank. When you get home you will put the money in a brown paper bag. I will call you between 8 and 10 am tomorrow to instruct you on delivery. The delivery will be exhausting so I advise you to be rested. If we monitor you getting the money early, we might call you early to arrange an earlier delivery of the money and hence a {{sic}} earlier <s>delivery</s> pick-up of your daughter.<br /><br />Any deviation of my instructions will result in the immediate execution of your daughter. You will also be denied her remains for proper burial. The two gentlemen watching over your daughter do <sup>not</sup> particularly like you so I advise you not to provoke them. Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as Police, F.B.I., etc., will result in your daughter being beheaded. If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. If you alert bank authorities, she dies. If the money is in any way marked or tampered with, she dies. You will be scanned for electronic devices and if any are found, she dies. You can try to deceive us but be warned that we are familiar with law enforcement countermeasures and tactics. You stand a 99% chance of killing your daughter if you try to out smart {{sic}} us. Follow our instructions and you stand a 100% chance of getting her back.<br /><br />You and your family are under constant scrutiny as well as the authorities. Don't try to grow a brain John. You are not the only fat cat around so don't think that killing will be difficult. Don't underestimate us John. Use that good southern common sense of yours. It is up to you now John!<br /><br />Victory!<br /><br />S.B.T.C<!-- |source=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061208031500/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/2006/0818/9699449.jpg Original text] -->}}
{{clear}}

===911 call and initial search for the child===
The only people known to be in the house on the night of JonBenét's death were her immediate family: Patsy and John Ramsey and their son Burke.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Adams |first=Char |date=August 2, 2016 |title=JonBenét Ramsey Case: 5 Things to Know About the 19-Year-Old Mystery |url=http://www.people.com/article/jonbenet-ramsey-case-5-things-to-know |url-status=live |magazine=People |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004094535/http://www.people.com/article/jonbenet-ramsey-case-5-things-to-know |archive-date=October 4, 2016 |access-date=September 30, 2016}}</ref> The ransom note contained specific instructions against contacting police and friends, but Patsy telephoned the police at 5:52&nbsp;a.m. [[Mountain Time Zone|MST]].<ref name="DC Tragic case">{{cite news |author=Brennan |first=Charlie |date=January 27, 2013 |title=JonBenet Ramsey's death a tragic, bizarre case from the start |newspaper=Daily Camera |url=http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_22446420/jonbenet-ramsey-case-history-grand-jury |url-status=live |access-date=September 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404225017/http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_22446420/jonbenet-ramsey-case-history-grand-jury |archive-date=April 4, 2019}}</ref> She also called family and friends.<ref name="Maloney">{{cite web |url=http://www.crimemagazine.com/murder-jonben%C3%A9t-ramsey |title=The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey |last1=Maloney |first1=J. J. |last2=O'Connor |first2=J. Patrick |date=May 7, 1999 |website=Crimemagazine.com| access-date= November 19, 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141129041656/http://www.crimemagazine.com/murder-jonben%C3%A9t-ramsey| archive-date= November 29, 2014 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Two police officers responded to the [[9-1-1]] call and arrived at the Ramsey home within three minutes. They conducted a cursory search of the house but did not find any sign of forced entry.<ref name="Maloney" />{{efn|name=window|It was later determined that some windows and a door had been left unlocked that night. In addition, a basement window was previously broken by John Ramsey when he was locked out of the house.<ref name="Newsweek 2016" /> [[Lou Smit]], a retired homicide detective, was brought in to investigate the case. He quickly became a proponent of the theory that an intruder had been behind the killing, believing that the intruder entered through a window in the basement of the Ramsey residence. A suitcase was found on the floor almost directly underneath this window. Smit theorized the attacker(s) planned to use this suitcase either to take JonBenét alive as a [[kidnapping|kidnap]] victim or move her body out of the house, but this proved impossible.<ref name="DC Smit theory">{{cite news |url=http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/2001/01lrams.html |title=Smit presents intruder theory |first=Christopher |last=Anderson |newspaper=Daily Camera |date=May 1, 2001 | access-date=September 29, 2016 | archive-date=January 22, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122094819/http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/2001/01lrams.html | url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Officer Rick French went to the basement and came to a door that was secured by an additional wooden latch at the top of the door frame. He paused for a moment in front of the door, but walked away without opening it. French later explained that he was looking for an exit route used by the kidnapper; since the wooden latch was holding the door closed from inside the house, the kidnapper could not have used this door and then closed the latch from the inside, ruling this out as a possible exit. JonBenét's body was later found behind the door.<ref name="Newsweek 2016">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newsweek.com/jonbenet-ramsey-door-cops-never-opened-501705 |title=JonBenét: The Door The Cops Never Opened |magazine=Newsweek |date=September 23, 2016 | access-date=September 28, 2016 | archive-date=February 24, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224174135/https://www.newsweek.com/jonbenet-ramsey-door-cops-never-opened-501705 | url-status=live}}</ref>

With JonBenét still missing, John made arrangements to pay the ransom. A [[forensic]]s team was dispatched to the house. The team initially believed that the child had been kidnapped, and JonBenét's bedroom was the only room in the house that was cordoned off to prevent [[Contaminated evidence|contamination of evidence]]. No precautions were taken to prevent contamination of evidence in the rest of the house.<ref name="Newsweek 2016" /> Meanwhile, friends, victim advocates, and the Ramsey family's minister arrived at the home to show support. Visitors picked up and cleaned surfaces in the kitchen, possibly destroying evidence.<ref name="Newsweek 2016" /> Boulder detective Linda Arndt arrived at about 8:00&nbsp;a.m. MST, in anticipation of receiving further instructions by the kidnapper(s), but there was never an attempt by anyone to claim the money.<ref name=Oliva />

===Discovery of the body===
At 1:00&nbsp;p.m. MST, Detective Arndt asked John Ramsey and Fleet White, a family friend, to search the house to see if "anything seemed amiss."<ref name="Newsweek 2016" /> They started their search in the basement. John opened the latched door which Officer French had overlooked; his daughter's body lay in one of the rooms.<ref name="Newsweek 2016" /> JonBenét's mouth was covered with [[duct tape]], a [[nylon]] cord was found around her wrists and neck, and her torso was covered by a white blanket.<ref name="RS" /><ref name=Douglas /> John picked up her body and rushed upstairs. When JonBenét was moved, the crime scene was further contaminated, and critical forensic evidence was disturbed for the returning forensics team.<ref name="Newsweek 2016"/>{{efn|Former FBI profiler [[John E. Douglas]], who was brought in to assist the Ramseys' lawyers on the case in January 1997 to assess whether the Ramseys were involved, stated that if a family member was involved in a murder, they would generally construe events so that another person found the body. In this case, John found the body and his friend followed him into the basement room. According to Douglas, when a family member is involved in a murder, they are likely to cover their child's body in a protective manner, covering all but their head. In this case, just the torso was covered, which did not denote the kind of act a parent would generally perform. In addition, John removed the duct tape from her mouth and loosened the cord around her, which goes against the theory of "staging" the body. Arndt made an error when she moved JonBenét into the living room.<ref name=Douglas>{{cite book |chapter=The JonBenét Ramsey Murder |title=The Cases That Haunt Us: From Jack the Ripper to Jon Benet Ramsey, The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Sheds New Light on the Mysteries That Won't Go Away |url=https://archive.org/details/casesthathauntus00doug | url-access = registration |author=[[John E. Douglas]] and Mark Olshaker |publisher=Scribner |year=2001 |isbn=0-671-01706-3}}</ref>}}

Each of the Ramseys provided handwriting, blood, and hair samples to the police. John and Patsy participated in a preliminary interview for more than two hours, and Burke was also interviewed within the first couple of weeks following JonBenét's death.<ref name=Douglas />

===Autopsy===
The [[autopsy]] revealed that JonBenét was killed by [[strangulation]] and a [[skull fracture]]. The official cause of death was "[[asphyxia]] by strangulation associated with [[craniocerebral trauma]]."<ref name="Klaver"/><ref name=AutopsyReport>{{cite web |url=https://www.denverpost.com/1996/08/13/text-of-jonbenet-autopsy-report/ |title=Text of JonBenét autopsy report |date=December 27, 1996 |publisher=Office of the Boulder County Coroner | access-date=September 9, 2021 | archive-date=October 23, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023182740/https://www.denverpost.com/1996/08/13/text-of-jonbenet-autopsy-report/ | url-status=live}}</ref> There was no evidence of conventional [[rape]], although [[sexual assault]] could not be ruled out. Although no [[semen]] was found, there was evidence that there had been a vaginal injury. Evidence also suggested that the paintbrush used in the garrote was also used for sexual assault.<ref>{{cite web |title=The List: Who Killed JonBenét? Full Episode |url=https://abc.com/shows/2020/episode-guide/2021-01/15-the-list-who-killed-jonbenet |website=ABC |access-date=December 27, 2023}}</ref> At the time of the autopsy, the pathologist recorded that it appeared her vaginal area had been wiped with a cloth.<ref name="DP Evidence">{{cite news |author=Augé |first=Karen |date=October 14, 1999 |title=No indictment: Evidence voluminous but tricky |newspaper=[[Denver Post]] |url=http://extras.denverpost.com/news/ram1014k.htm |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112000600/https://extras.denverpost.com/news/ram1014k.htm |archive-date=November 12, 2020}}</ref> Her death was ruled a [[homicide]].<ref name="Chan">{{cite magazine |last=Chan |first=Melissa |title=JonBenet Ramsey: What to Know About the Beauty Queen's Murder 20 Years Later |date=September 12, 2016|access-date=September 29, 2016 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://time.com/4478185/jonbenet-ramsey-murder-20-years/|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108102408/https://time.com/4478185/jonbenet-ramsey-murder-20-years/|url-status=live}}</ref>

A [[garrote]] that was made from a length of nylon cord and the broken handle of a paintbrush was tied around JonBenét's neck and had apparently been used to strangle her. Part of the bristle end of the paintbrush was found in a tub containing Patsy's art supplies, but the bottom third of it was never found despite extensive searching of the house by the police in subsequent days.<ref name= courttv>{{cite web |url=http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/specials/jonbenet_anatomy_of_a_cold_case.html |title=JonBenét: Anatomy of a Cold Case |publisher=Court TV | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060709195643/http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/specials/jonbenet_anatomy_of_a_cold_case.html | archive-date=July 9, 2006}}</ref>

The autopsy revealed a "vegetable or fruit material which may represent [[pineapple]]," which JonBenét had eaten a few hours before her death.<ref name=AutopsyReport/><ref name="hickey">{{Cite book |last=Hickey |first=Eric W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dDOW75aJMR8C |title=Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime |date=July 22, 2003 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-0-7619-2437-1}}</ref> Photographs of the home taken on the day when JonBenét's body was found show a bowl of pineapple on the kitchen table with a spoon in it.<ref name=hickey/> However, neither John nor Patsy said they remembered putting the bowl on the table or feeding pineapple to JonBenét.<ref name=hickey/><ref name=interrogation/> Police reported that they found Patsy Ramsey's fingerprints on the bowl.<ref name=interrogation>{{cite news |title=Searching: The Interrogation Tapes |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/searching-the-interrogation-tapes/ |publisher=48 Hours (CBS News) |date=October 1, 2002|access-date = July 11, 2008|archive-date = October 29, 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200143/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/01/48hours/main523875.shtml|url-status = live}}</ref>

===Blood samples===
In December 2003, forensic investigators extracted enough material from a mixed blood sample found on JonBenét's underwear to establish a [[DNA]] profile.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonbenet-dna-rules-out-parents/ |work=CBS News |title=JonBenet: DNA Rules Out Parents |date=December 16, 2004 |access-date=July 16, 2006 |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103203052/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/16/48hours/main661569.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> That DNA belonged to an unknown male person, and excluded the DNA of each of the Ramseys. The DNA was submitted to the FBI's [[Combined DNA Index System]] (CODIS), a database containing more than 1.6 million DNA profiles, but the sample did not match any profile in the database.<ref name="DC Brennan" /> In October 2016, a report said that new forensic analysis with more sensitive techniques revealed that the original DNA contained genetic markers from two individuals other than JonBenét.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crime-jonbenet-idUSKCN12T007 |work=Reuters |title=DNA cited to clear JonBenet Ramsey family in murder in question: report |date=October 28, 2016 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108141851/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crime-jonbenet-idUSKCN12T007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/jonbenet-ramsey/ci_30514220/jonbenet-ramsey-dna-evidence |work=Daily Camera |title=DNA in doubt: New analysis challenges DA's exoneration of Ramseys |date=October 27, 2016 |access-date=October 29, 2016 |archive-date=April 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415015754/http://www.dailycamera.com/news/jonbenet-ramsey/ci_30514220/jonbenet-ramsey-dna-evidence |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

A. James Kolar, who was a lead investigator for the DA's office, said that there were additional traces of male DNA found on the cord and paintbrush that Boulder district attorney Mary Lacy did not mention, and that there were six separate DNA samples belonging to unknown individuals that were found by the test.<ref name="Time Inc."/> Former FBI profiler Candice Delong believes that the DNA, having shown up identically in several different places on multiple surfaces, belongs to the killer.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kieran |first1=Nicholson |title=Burke Ramsey hopes JonBenét murder investigation finds killer |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2016/09/19/burke-ramsey-hopes-jonbenet-murder-investigation-finds-killer/ |access-date=December 22, 2020 |work=[[The Denver Post]] |date=September 22, 2016 |archive-date=November 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103223759/https://www.denverpost.com/2016/09/19/burke-ramsey-hopes-jonbenet-murder-investigation-finds-killer/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Former Adams County, Colorado, District Attorney Bob Grant, who has assisted the Boulder DA's office on the case for many years, also believes that the DNA evidence is significant, saying that any resolution of the case would have to explain how the DNA showed up on several pieces of JonBenét's clothing.<ref name="DC Brennan" /> Forensic pathologist Michael Baden said, "Trace amounts of DNA can get on places and clothing from all different, nonsuspicious means. There is no forensic evidence to show that this is a stranger murder."<ref name="Time Inc."/>