Hello, I am new here. I have a theory but it is rather a long one. Sorry about this. I have also borrowed elements of other posters' theories. I hope this is okay.
See what you think........
Upon returning home the family started getting ready for bed. Burke and JBR got up and went down to the kitichen. JBR snaffled a piece of the pineapple from Burke's bowl and he picked up the flashlight and hit her on the head, causing her skull to cave in. She looked dead.
BR had a lot of animosity towards his sister. She was her mother's favourite and got all the attention. He decided to use a garotte on her - as he may have seen in one of his magazines. A lot of kids like macabre stuff. He could also have done the sexual molestation. 9 year old boys tend to be sexually curious.
Patsy, who hadn't gotten undressed yet came downstairs to find out what was going on. She saw her child dead on the kitchen floor. THAT is the scream the neighbours heard.
She called John and together they agreed on a plan. They sent Burke to bed with the STRICTEST instructions not to move from the bed or talk to ANYONE. I suspect old Patsy could be quite intimidating when she wanted to be.
Now what to do? Panic panic. How would it look to family and friends, and their church, if JBR was found dead in their locked home? They were the only people present.
They HAD to invent an intruder in order to save themselves. That is when they formed a plan. It would be a kidnapping.
Patsy put on plastic gloves, got out her pad and pen and began to write…
They took JBR's body out to the garage and put her in either Patsy or John's car, then they would drive out and leave her somewhere. Then they got cold feet - supposing they were seen? Or forensics discovered the car had been used a lot later than 10pm when they returned from the party?
Then they devised a better plan……
The next step was to call the police, which Patsy did.
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The Plan
The Ramseys may have thought that they would NOT actually have to leave the house. They may have thought the police and FBI would turn up and do whatever they needed to do, and then, when the kidnapper's call didn't materialize, would then leave. Leaving the Ramseys alone.
They may have thought that the police would not search the house. Why should they? It was a kidnapping after all. Their child had been 'taken'.
A while later, after the police and detectives had left, the Ramseys would have then called the police again and claimed that JB had been "returned to them" dead, the kidnappers having killed her because they called the police. That was going to be their story.
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The house was still, no one was moving. Patsy was pretending to cry and was being comforted by all her friends and the Pastor.
John then realized then that putting JBR's body in the car was a BIG mistake. He had to move her. This is where John's 'missing' time comes into it. While everyone was pre-occupied he went out to the garage, took JBR's body and took her down to the little basement room. He hadn't realised that Fleet White had checked the room earlier looking for JBR. He wrapped the blanket around her and went back upstairs.
John was in mental torment. The police were showing no signs of going; something had to be done.
He couldn't take the agony of waiting around anymore because he knew JonBenet was in the basement, that's why he headed straight down there. He wanted to "find" JonBenet and get it over with. And he knew he had to get the family out of there ASAP before the detectives started asking awkward questions. John knew that Patsy and Burke would crack under strong questioning.
John knew he had to distance the family from the crime and that is why (half an hour after he 'discovered' his daughter's body) he phoned his pilot to ready the plane to fly the family to Atlanta. (The flight was later cancelled by telephone by John's friend Fleet White).
After JonBenet was found and after the Ramseys prayed over her they just up and left, Patsy vowed never to come back to that house. They didn't even make sure their daughter got to the morgue. If Patsy was so worried about her baby, she would have stayed close by until they took her child out of the house. They left her behind like she was an old pair of shoes.
What do you think?