What We Know About JonBenét Ramsey

1. The grand jury did not think JonBenét parents were innocent

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In 2013, court documents revealed that the grand jury had ruled the parents guilty of allowing their daughter to be in a dangerous situation. And, of getting in the way of the persecution against a person  (unidentified in the documents) who had committed the murder! The only reason this was not pursued is that the DA ruled that there wasn't enough evidence for a successful indictment.

2. The autopsy results

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JonBenét Ramsey's death was officially ruled in the autopsy as death by asphyxia caused by strangulation which was linked to craniocerebral trauma. This means that JonBenét Ramsey died from a blow to the head which damaged her skull, and because she wasn't able to breathe due to being strangled. Her death was ruled a homicide. S*xual assault was also not ruled out, due t a vaginal injury and the area having been wiped.

3. Finding her body

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Her body was found in the basement, her mouth had been covered with duct tape and a cord had been tied around her neck and her wrists. Her chest had been covered up using a white blanket. When her father found her body, he picked her up, taking her upstairs.

4. The paintbrush evidence

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The cord that was found around the neck of JonBenét Ramsey was also attached to part of a paintbrush. The fractured part of paintbrush was analysed, and the rest of the paintbrush which was found to match was found in one of Patsy's boxes of art supplies.

5. DNA results

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The DNA results were successfully retrieved in 2016, opening up new information in the case. They state that there were two people involved in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, not one. There are clearly two DNA results which show involvement of a second person.

6. Ransom note

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The ransom note was no ordinary note like the police had experienced before. It was two and a half pages long, and when writers of the documentary The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey timed the written letter, they claimed that it would have taken 21 minutes to write. Which, is extremely long for a letter written in supposedly hurried circumstances

7. Inside the contents of the note

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Not only that, but the forensic scientist declared that the killer had practiced writing out the ransom note before writing the two and a half pages for the final time. Inside the contents of the ransom note, it said that if the ransom was not delivered to the people who had abducted JonBenét , she would be beheaded. Beheaded was the specific threat made against the young girl. All of these were very suspicious details in the case.

8. Patsy Ramsey was considered by the FBI as the writer of the note

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police believed that the ransom note had been staged. No fingerprints could be found aside from Patsy who had found the note. The note had been written from a notepad from the family home, using a pen which also belonged tot hem. The practice note had also been found in the home, using their materials. FBI officers believed that it had been written by Patsy, or not by an outsider.

9. The ransom handwriting exerts could not rule out JonBenét mother

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The ransom note was of course analysed by handwriting experts. They compared JonBenét father who was ruled out as a result. However, JonBenét mother could not be conclusively rules out. Instead the sample given by her mother was deemed inconclusive by the experts, they could neither say it was her or it wasn't.

10. The DA ruled out the parents due to DNA

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The DA write the Ramsey family a letter to apologise, clearing them of involvement due to their DNA evidence. This piece of evidence was DNA found on her jumper, belonging to an unknown male. The Boulder Police disagreed, stating that this piece of evidence proved nothing and may not have been relevant to the case.

11. The ransom sum was too precise

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The note asking for the ransom asked the family for $118,000. This is an extremely precise number. In fact it was the exact amount that JonBenét had received as a bonus from work. Investigators ruled this not a coincidence, they claimed that whoever the wrote the note knew the family's personal details.

12. The note was left when she was already dead

Image source/The Rolling Stone 

The FBI had never experienced such a ransom note. As we've discussed, the length was one mystery. Then there was the fact that it was written at the scene of the crime - placed there by experts. And, investigation concluded that the note had been left AFTER she was dead.

13. The emergency 999 call

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There was reportedly two voices heard in the background while Pasty Ramsey was making the emergency call tot he police, reporting her daughter missing. There were two voices which were heard saying 'we're not speaking to you'

'God help me, Jesus. Help me'

and 'what did you find?'

14. A false confession

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John Mark Karr gave a false confession claiming to have been the person who was  responsible for the murder of JonBenét Ramsey. However the DNA at the scene of the crime did not match, and he was found to have been out of the state at the time of her death.

15. The reward

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A few months after the death of their baby, JonBenét parents put out a reward, publicizing in the media that they would give $100,000 to anybody who could help offer any information on their daughter's case which could help find and catch the killer.

16. No sign of a break in

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When the house was investigated, it showed that there had been no break in or forced entry. So the Boulder Police Department ruled out that there was an intruder involved. In fact Detective LouSmilt who was a homicide detective quit when the department refused to consider that there may have been an intruder involved.

17. Steve Thomas also quit after being a part of the case

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Steve Thomas was also working on the JonBenét Ramsey case, and he too quit because of it. He quit when the Boulder Police Department would not investigate the parents for the murder of their daughter. Initially they had been under investigation, until the DA ruled them out - something Thomas did not agree with.

18. The case was full of mistakes

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Right from the beginning there were too many mistakes made during the case. Rick French, a police officer, searched the Ramsey home after the parents reported finding the ransom note. However, he did not enter the room where her body was. So, her father found the body along with a friend and contaminated the crime scene.

19. The crime scene was left open

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Even after this first mistake, the crime scene still wasn't closed due to the fact it took so long to find the crime scene in their home. So even after her father had contaminated the crime scene, the family were sill allowed to move around in the room. This compromised evidence which could not then be used in the case.

20. JonBenét Ramsey's brother was interviewed at 9 years old

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Burke, was JonBenét Ramsey's 9 year old brother. He was interviewed after the murder of his sister. His behaviour was declared as strange and anxious, which it was of course thought that this could be as a result of the terrible situation. He did however tell the doctor that if he had any secrets, he probably wouldn't tell them.

21. An open case

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The boulder Police department have not, and stated that they will not, give up on this case. It is a case which shocked the world, and speculation and fear continues to surround the case. In the year 2016, the police department pledged to find whoever did it.

22. JonBenét knew her killer

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The police investigators are fairly confident in their assumption that JonBenét knew her killer. One of the factors that led them to believe this to be the case because she was lured downstairs to the basement out of bed, without causing a fuss. So they believe she knew and trusted them.

23. Over 400 people have been investigated

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The case which has caused so much attention all over the world had a lot of time and money put into it. There were over 400 people in total who have been investigated in connection with the murder of JonBenét Ramsey. It is not know if the killer has not been interviewed yet, or if there wasn't enough evidence to pursue one of those already investigated.

24. A U.S. District Court Judge claimed the killer was an intruder

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The District Court Judge Julie Carnes stated that she believed the evidence in the murder case suggested and point to the killer having been an intruder. Of course, her opinion clashes with other people involved in the case who strongly believe otherwise.

25. Her father dated someone with a similar tragedy

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The father of JonBenét in the past had dated a woman named Beth Twitty. Twitty had a young girl, who disappeared in Aruba in the year 2005. The case also was catapulted into the media, and Beth Twitty too temporarily became under speculation.

26. There were 38 s*xual offenders in the area

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In the area where the Ramsey family lived, there were a shocking 38 registered s*x offenders living right there in the neighbourhood. These facts came out after the murder of JonBenét , as each became someone in the case who had to be ruled out as a suspect.

27. Her beauty Pageant career

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Now, all over the world JonBenét has become known as the pageant baby. Her mother had enrolled her in multiple beauty pageants. She had won many titles such as National Tiny Miss Beauty and America's Royale Miss as well as Little Miss Colorado amongst many more. All of these details were focused on and sensationalised in the media after her death.

28. The intruder theory was pushed

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The intruder theory started to circulate round the District Attorney's office, with more and more of the investigators stating that they believed the intruder theory. Lacy who was head of the office apparently told officer Gordon Coombes not to go against the theory, or he may lose his job.

29. The family have filed many defamation lawsuits

Because the case of JonBenét Ramsey shook the world and took over the global media, there were many sensationalised stories surrounding the case. Some, would point the finger towards her parents. So, Patsy and John filed lawsuits against several media agencies and against the creators of The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey.

30. The suspected Santa

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The town's yearly Santa came under suspicion due to the fact he had written her a card that year telling her she'd receive a special gift after Christmas day. His own daughter had died exactly 22 years earlier, on the same day - 26th December. And, his wife had written a play and the storyline was strangely similar to the case

31. John Ramsey had another daughter - who also died

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Before he'd met and married JonBenét's mother, Patsy, John Ramsey had actually had another daughter with a previous partner - and tragedy had also struck here, too. His daughter, Elizabeth, died not too long before JonBenét's death - making it doubly tragic.

32. The suitcase found at the crime scene? It belonged to John Andrew

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In the basement, where the body of JonBenét was found, there was a suitcase directly underneath the window where it was alleged an intruder may have gotten in. Patsay, JonBenét's mother, had said that the suitcase didn't belong to anyone in the family - but the suitcase belong to John Andrew, the eldest son.

33. There were disturbing things found inside the suitcase

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John Andrew, at the time the suitcase was found, was a college student. This isn't to say that college students - or even adults - can't read children's books, but inside the suitcase was found a Dr Seuss book. Not only that, but there was a blanket with semen on it - his semen.

34. John and Patsy wanted to be present when the police questioned John's ex-wife

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At the time, John and Patsy claimed that they wanted to be supportive, and that's why they took a flight out to be with John's ex-wife, Lucinda, when she was questioned by police. But the flight they took was pretty hasty, and could it have been because they wanted to see what Lucinda would say?

35. JonBenét may have been s*xually assaulted long before her death

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When JonBenét's body was inspected after her death, there were signs of s*xual abuse - but investigators noted that the size of her vaginal opening was large enough to suggest abuse that had started a long time ago - it was apparently twice the size it should be for a six year old.

36. There was a 911 call from the Ramsey house - 3 days before the murder

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On December 23rd, three days before JonBenét was tragically murdered, there was a 911 call placed from inside the Ramsey house. The caller never said a word, and they hung up before the police could get anything out of them. The family said it was "irrelevant" - but who made the call?

37. JonBenét was forced into pageants

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We don't think there's ever a young child would willingly says 'I want to enter a beauty pageant' off their own bat - it's usually the parents that encourage it in the first place. And apparently it was her grandmother who pushed JonBenét into pageants, after JonBenét's own mother failed at them.

38. And her father, John, thought they were 'creepy'

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JonBenét's own father, in hindsight, was upset about letting his daughter compete in the pageants. He at first thought it was 'dress-up' fun, but since her death has said that it would have put his daughter in the 'wrong light' and gained the wrong attention from people.

39. There was even a strange man who approached the parade car

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Proving John's point in his daughter's pageantry attracting the wrong kind of attention, there was even an incident where a strange man had approached the car JonBenét was sitting on top of during a pageant parade at Christmas time. It apparently made John "cringe".

40. John Ramsey dated Natalee Holloway's mother

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Natalee Holloway was another young girl whose death came under mysterious circumstances - and John Ramsey had actually dated Natalee's mother, Beth. It was claimed in the media at the time that Beth may have been involved in the murder. John and Beth's relationship didn't last very long.

41. A jeweler thought the Ramsey family was guilty - and tried to stop a wedding

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When John Ramsey got married again after Patsy's death, his fiancé went into a jeweler's to pick up her refitted ring. The jeweler behind the counter, recognizing the name 'Ramsey', apparently tried to talk her out of marrying Ramsey, and saying that the family had something to do with it.

42. JonBenét's brother had a habit of smearing poo everywhere

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Her brother, Burke, had a habit when he was young of smearing his poop everywhere he could - including his sister's bedroom. Some took this behavior as a suggestion that he didn't like his sister, and suspicions about his involvement grew, though it could have just been a child with a problem.

43. JonBenét had issues with bed wetting - which can suggest s*xual abuse

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Alongside her brother's problems with pooping around the house, JonBenét herself also apparently had problems with bed wetting. This gave way to many theories, including that her mother might have killed her out of anger of her bed-wetting, but some were quick to point out that wetting the bed can also be a sign of s*xual abuse.

44. And the suspicious fecal matter found in JonBenét's bed

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It's suspicious that both JonBenét and her brother had problems relating to the toilet - but even more suspicious is that apparently fecal matter 'the size of a grapefruit' was once found in JonBenét's bed. This could mean either her brother knowingly did it right in her bed - so why? - or JonBenét herself also had problems with faeces, and she herself had done it.

45. JonBenét's brother thought his mother was 'overreacting' after her death

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How you can say any parent is overreacting after their child's death is shocking in itself, but for the murder victim's brother to say it, about his own mother? Apparently when questioned by police, Burke said that his mother was overreacting and that his mother was "going psycho".

46. Disturbingly, he also seemed happy and trouble-free when talking about his sister's death

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When he was questioned, Burke also seemed apparently very happy and relaxed in nature. He apparently said that he was too busy with his video games to worry about what had happened to his sister. To say his sister had just been brutally murdered, this reaction worried a lot of people.

47. And that didn't change 20 years later

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Some people might say that you can't judge Burke too much on his initial reaction because he was still a young boy and maybe he didn't really understand what was going on. The problem is, his reaction to his sister's death as an adult 20 years later, when talking about it in interviews, has been to smile and laugh.

48. The strange facts around Gary Oliva

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One of the suspects tied to the death of JonBenét Ramsey is a man named Gary Oliva, and he apparently claimed that he'd hurt a young girl not too long after the death of JonBenét. Not only that, but he apparently tried to strangle his own mother - in a very similar way to how JonBenét had been strangled. But Oliva's DNA didn't match the crime scene.

49. All of the Ramsey family remain under suspicion to this day

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Even though Patsy Ramsey has now passed away, that doesn't mean some people don't still suspect she did it. In fact, the entire Ramsey family to this day are still considered suspects in the case of JonBenét's death - at least with the general public and media, anyway.

50. The electrician who committed suicide

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There was a boot print found at the Ramsey's home, which was never formally identified - but it was strongly considered to belong to an electrician named Michael Helgoth, who had visited the family home. Helgoth was considered a suspect when it was found he was apparently in a fallout with the Ramseys - but he committed suicide before they could question him.