Unsolved Murder Mystery
By: María Paula Marin
Six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey made national headlines when she was found murdered inside her Colorado home in December 1996. Her case remains unsolved.
Within the early morning hours of December 26, 1996, John and Patsy Ramsey stirred to discover their six-year-old girl JonBenét Ramsey lost from her bed at their home in Boulder, Colorado. Patsy and John had woken up early to plan for a trip, when Patsy found a ransom note on the stairs requesting $118,000 for their daughter’s secure return. Despite the note’s caution not to include police, Patsy quickly called them, as well as companions and family in order to aid in the search for JonBenét Ramsey. Police arrived at 5:55 AM and found no signs of forced entry. However, they hadn’t checked the cellar, where hours later her diseased body would inevitably be found. The six- year old’s autopsy proved that she had died from asphyxiation due to strangulation, and a skull fracture. Additionally, even though there was no conclusive evidence of rape, a sexual assault had occurred.
One of the main reasons as to why her case remains unsolved, is because of investigative mistakes that were made even before her body was found. Friends, family, and police officers roamed the house, picking up things and potentially destroying further evidence. Yet what makes this whole story even more mysterious, is the theories that have been constructed, as an attempt to give closure to the crime. Personally, I find it in some situations disrespectful towards family victims whenever people start coming up with multiple theories as if their life had been some kind of fictional movie plot. Nevertheless, what makes the multiple theories of this crime somewhat justifiable (at least the ones who show profound investigation and respect) , is the fact that it feels as if the answer and evidence is in front of us; yet it’s so blurry and there’s still a lot big questions that only seem to lead to a dead end.
The following two, are the main prevalent hypotheses within the Ramsey case, the family hypothesis and the intruder hypothesis.
1. The starting examination centered intensely on the Ramsey family for numerous reasons. The police felt that the ransom note was staged because it was abnormally long, written using a pen and paper from the Ramsey’s house, and requested nearly the precise sum of cash that John had gotten as a reward prior that year. Moreover, the Ramseys were hesitant to participate with police, although they afterward said this was since they dreaded the police would not conduct a full examination and target them as suspects. In any case all three individuals of the family were addressed by examiners and submitted penmanship tests to compare to the handwriting of the letter. Both John and Burke (JonBenét’s brother) were cleared of any doubt of composing the note.
2. On the other hand, the intruder theory has lots of physical evidence to support it. There was a boot print found next to JonBenét’s body which did not belong to anyone in the family, and a broken window in the basement which was believed to be the most likely point of entry. Furthermore, drops of blood from an unknown male were found on the little girl’s underwear. The floors in the Ramsey’s home were heavily carpeted, making it conceivable for an intruder to have carried JonBenét downstairs without waking the family.
Sources:
https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/cold-cases/jonbenet-ramsey/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/young-jonbenet-ramsey-is-murdered
https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/29/us/jonbenet-ramsey-murder-fast-facts/index.html