Tonight: new evidence about the murder of a six-year-old beauty queen and the prime suspect who might have killed her. Real Crime [with Mark Austin] s4e4: Who Killed the Pageant Queen? Prime Suspect, ITV 2004
The police arrived within minutes: from the outset they suspected the parents. ibid.
They include two men living near the Ramsey home who left Boulder immediately after the murder: both have criminal records yet neither has been interviewed. Two convicted paedophiles who lived nearby have also never been eliminated. ibid.
From the very beginning the Boulder police had DNA evidence now believed to be the killer’s, but for whatever reason failed to test it. ibid.
More mystery DNA found under her fingernails: both had come from the same unknown white male: it all but cleared the parents but the Boulder police said nothing. ibid.
Three months after the murder of JonBenet Ramsey the Boulder police were told that this man, Michael Helgoth, might have been involved: they ignored the information. ibid.
Likely that more than one person was in the Ramsey home that night: the footprints suggest this as did the number of objects taken in and out of the house … and the ransom note also suggests more than one person was involved. ibid.
A series of intrusions and attempted assaults. ibid.
‘My name is Hannah and I’m auditioning for the role of JonBenet Ramsey.’ Casting JonBenet, 2017, child auditions, 2017
‘For me it’s the pearls that make who Patsy was.’ ibid. lady auditions
‘And everyone pointed their finger at Patsy.’ ibid.
‘It feels like a legacy thing for Patsy actually.’ ibid.
The most thorough investigation yet into the murder of JonBenet. And John Ramsey responds to the media storm that marked the 20th anniversary of his daughter’s death. Killing of JonBenet: Her Father Speaks, CI 2018
She was taken from her bed on Christmas night, taken down these stairs to a basement and tortured, strangled and beaten to death. Who killed JonBenet? It’s a question that has gripped America. ibid.
A patrol car was there within seven minutes. ibid.
‘And I heard John scream …’ ibid. mother
They were besieged by the media. ibid.
Video from the pageants began to emerge. ibid.
The Kiddie-Porn Killing. ibid. Sunday Times magazine cover
‘It really wasn’t that difficult coming in that window.’ ibid. Lou Smit, investigator
‘These are stun gun injuries.’ ibid. chief medical examiner
Mixed with JonBenet’s blood was the DNA of an unknown male; it was consistent with the DNA found under her fingernails … The Boulder police ignored it. ibid.
‘This was a very brutal killing.’ ibid. Lou Smit
They listed over 200 pieces of evidence pointing away from the parents. ibid.
‘Armed with new DNA evidence that points to an unknown male as JonBenet Ramsey’s killer, Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy on Wednesday took the extraordinary step of publicly exonerating the child’s parents and immediate family in her death’. ibid. newspaper article
Christmas Day 1996: Six hours after Patsy Ramsey’s frantic 911 call, JonBenet Ramsey’s body was found in the basement of her own home … It’s been two decades since six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found murdered in a basement of her family’s mansion … The brutal killing remains unsolved. Overkill: The Unsolved Murder of JonBenet, YourTV 2018
#1) Did contamination of the crime scene prevent the killer from being caught? #2) Could a parent kill their child in such a horrific way? #3) Can conflicting evidence ever point to a single person? ibid.
She is so brutalised that at first authorities say there is no way a parent could inflict that kind of damage on their own child. Because of that, early speculation is that an intruder came into the home that night …’ ibid.
‘We just don’t know whose DNA it is.’ ibid. expert
Where did the cord come from that bound her hands? ibid.
‘The beauty pageant videos were very damaging.’ ibid. Paul Woodward, Denver journalist and author
The Ramseys hired a squadron of lawyers. ibid.
Lawrence Schiller: Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: The Uncensored Story of the JonBenet Murder and the Grand Jury’s Search for the Truth. ibid.
Some facts are completely open to interpretation. ibid.
‘That’s not the way good detective work works.’ ibid. Lawrence Schiller
There were too many possibilities at the crime scene that pointed away from the family. ibid.
New theories, new leads and a new investigation into the most notorious cold case in American history: the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. Now a mysterious source inside this Colorado prison says she can identify the people who killed JonBenet and left behind the world’s strangest clue: that bizarre ransom note and its cryptic signature SBTC. Hunting JonBenet’s Killer: The Untold Story, Elizabeth Vargas reporting, CI 2019
Ties to an apocalyptic cult leader. And that’s not the only theory: was it a dangerous drifter, a pageant father or someone else on this former detective’s vast database of leads? ibid.
‘New DNA tests point to a mysterious man who is not a member of the family.’ ibid. television news
‘Why would those fibres from her clothing end up in that suitcase [by basement window]?’ ibid. investigator
It’s the connection to these pageants that is the foundation of a new theory … The Pageant Dad … The woman’s name is Bernice Johnson and she’s currently serving time in prison for attempted murder … She’s been sending letters to our producer … Bernice’s theory is that this was a kidnapping for hire gone wrong … Bernice meets Todd Fuss. ibid.
Scott Caruthers: In the mid-90s the leader of a cult in Maryland, a cult called BDX … She goes on to claim that Scott Caruthers hired Todd Fuss to kidnap JonBenet Ramsey. ibid.
Todd & Aaron Schonlau: This theory comes from retired police officer Jim Benish who worked in the Colorado area: he sees possible connections between the Ramsey case and another unsolved murder committed years earlier. ibid.
Todd Fuss: DNA not a match. ibid.