Questions directed toward Burke

[DeeDee249]

The sighting of JAR from Barnhill has always bothered me as well. I would like to have him re-interviewed.

I am sure lots of people would like to see that. It'd take a Medium, though. Joe Barnhill passed away a while back.

That being said...I put his recanting with fellow neighbor Melanie Stanton's recanting of hearing the scream. (she later recanted he recanting, admitting she did, in fact, hear the scream) all down to this- Someone got to them, threatening them with legal action if they didn't recant. BTW, isn't this really witness tampering? How does LW get away with this stuff?

 

[Tadpole12]

I am sure lots of people would like to see that. It'd take a Medium, though. Joe Barnhill passed away a while back.

ty for that reminder.

That being said...I put his recanting with fellow neighbor Melanie Stanton's recanting of hearing the scream. (she later recanted he recanting, admitting she did, in fact, hear the scream) all down to this- Someone got to them, threatening them with legal action if they didn't recant. BTW, isn't this really witness tampering? How does LW get away with this stuff?

Hey DeeDee.
So is that the definitive? on the recants then? scream-MS
mysterious young man-JB
What about 'the scraping of metal sound'?



Early days, the Ramsey neighbours were very forthcoming with the press.


Dec 27, 1996 http://extras.denverpost.com/news/news103.htm
"She was a beautiful little girl,'' Diane Brumfitt said. "She was very engaging and charming.''

Joe Barnhill, another neighbor, described the family - John, Patricia, JonBenet and older brother Burke - as happy.
"They are such congenial people - the best neighbors,'' Barnhill said. Barnhill said JonBenet's mother, a former Miss West Virginia, raised a well-mannered, polite daughter.
.....

"They were so serious about this beauty queen stuff, but they never put any pressure on her,'' said Nelson Schneider, another neighbor. "She had her own float in the Colorado Parade of Lights in December 1995, and Patsy walked along the side of the float the whole parade to make sure (JonBenet) was safe,'' he said.



Dec 27, 1996
http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1996/12/27-1.html
Neighbors described Jon Bonet as a friendly, outgoing child. "She was a beautiful little girl," said Diane Brumfitt, a school counselor who lives next door to the Ramseys. "But her personality - she was very engaging and charming."

Brumfitt said police were outside the Ramsey house most of the day. The Ramseys left in a friend's car at midday, she said.
"It was almost surreal," said Brumfitt. "It just didn't seem real at all."
Joe Barnhill, who lives across the street, said he stowed the Christmas bicycle John Ramsey bought for Jon Bonet until Christmas Eve. Barnhill was outside the house Thursday afternoon walking Jon Bonet's dog - a pet he said she received as a birthday present about two years ago.
He described the Ramseys - John, Patricia, Jon Bonet and her older brother, Burke - as a happy family.
"They are such congenial people - the best neighbors," said Barnhill.
Barnhill said Jon Bonet's mother, called Patsy - a former Miss West Virginia - raised a well-mannered, polite daughter.
"She has been working so hard to groom her and raise her for the society we live in," said Barnhill. "Patsy is a doting, loving, incredible mother," said Dee Dee Nelson-Schneider, a family friend who worked with Patsy Ramsey at Flatirons Elementary School. "If anything, they spoiled Jon Bonet. For instance, one day Jon Bonet said to her mother that she didn't have enough dresses, so Patsy took her shopping and let her get some dresses."
........
"They were so serious about this beauty queen stuff, but they never put any pressure on her. She was Little Miss Colorado in 1995," said Nelson-Schneider.
"She had her own float in the Colorado Parade of Lights in December 1995, and Patsy walked along the side of the float the whole parade to make sure (Jon Bonet) was safe. That's how protective Patsy was."
......

Neighbors said the Ramseys entertained often - they had three separate Christmas parties in December. People were often seen coming and going from their house.
Many people may have had keys to the house, including caterers, a house cleaner, gardeners and landscapers, said Joe Barnhill, who lives across the street and takes care of JonBenet's dog, Jacque.
Barnhill, like other neighbors, didn't remember seeing anything suspicious at the Ramsey house Christmas Day - the day before JonBenet was murdered.


December 28, 1996
http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1996/12/28-1.html
"I didn't see a lot of people over there Christmas Day," said Barnhill, who had hidden until Christmas Eve the bicycle JonBenet's father had bought his daughter. "I didn't see JonBenet with her bike, but I did see (her 10-year-old brother) Burke ride his bike down the lawn there." Barnhill also said he saw John Ramsey's son from a previous marriage, a student at CU, come to the house.

Dec 29, 1996
http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1996/12/29-1.html
Meanwhile, neighbors said a close family friend and John Ramsey, the girl's father, discovered the body of the aspiring beauty queen Thursday afternoon in the home's basement.
.....
"They found her in a hidden area down there, so whoever killed her had to be somebody that knew the house," said Joe Barnhill, who lives across the street from the Ramseys and cares for JonBenet's dog
....

But family friends say discussing the death with police and loved ones has devastated the family. "She was killed after she went to bed, so they never got a chance to say goodbye, and it's terribly difficult for them," said a close family friend. "They're all together now just trying to get through this. It's just seared their hearts."
....
I'm sure people are more fright ened now, and I feel more vulnerable," Barnhill said. "We feel that this has been a very secure and quiet neighborhood, and that's why it's such a shock."

Patty Limerick, who lives across the street from the Ramseys, said the murder concerns her as well. She learned of the crime when she returned home Thursday night from her parents' 60th wedding anniversary party in California.
"It's very disturbing because something terrible happened to an innocent human being," she said. "The neighborhood has always been very pleasant, safe and convivial."
Other residents said they have had difficulty sleeping and have placed chairs in front of their doors to prevent intruders from entering their homes at night. "I just don't know what happened, and that's what's so scary," said one neighbor who declined to give her name. "There just isn't much crime here, which is why it's so terrifying to think that somebody really entered that house and killed her. And until they figure out what happened, I don't think I'll ever feel safe here again."


Barnhill in particular. until ..... they were advised otherwise.

 

[Tadpole12]

re: until ..... "requested" to do otherwise.


Dec30, 1996
http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1996/12/30-1.html

"I don't think there was a dry eye in the house," said neighbor Joe Barnhill, who has been watching JonBenet's dog. "I know he's been emotional before but he talked very well. It's obvious he is accustomed to public speaking."
Family friend Bill McReynolds also spoke at the service and said Ramsey told a story about one of JonBenet's pageant medals that Patsy Ramsey's sister was able to take from the house recently and give to John Ramsey.
"At the last minute she saw the medal and brought it to John and put it around his neck," McReynolds said.
McReynolds said Patsy Ramsey especially was quite emotional during the service. "She's a very strong woman - I've always admired her very much. I've never seen such anguish in a person's face as I did in Patsy's (today)," McReynolds said. "She had put so much into that little girl."
......

Barnhill said he would be not be surprised if some of the family - including Patsy Ramsey - don't return to Boulder. "She told me she doesn't ever want to come back to that house," Barnhill said. "I have the feeling we've lost a neighbor."

Dec 31, 1996
http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1996/12/31-1.html
A family friend said about 10 Boulder residents will attend services in Georgia. "John and Patsy are staying with Patsy's parents for an indefinite amount of time," the friend said.
.....
But that does not reassure neighbors. "I'm scared," said one neighbor, who declined to give her name. "I just won't be able to sleep until they figure out who killed this girl. I mean, there could be a killer on the loose."


Jan 1, 1997
http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1997/01/01-2.html

Shirley Brady of Americus, Ga., who worked as a nanny and baby sitter in Atlanta for JonBenet and her brother, Burke, 10, said the family was loving and close-knit. "They had strong family ties. They never raised their voices, never argued," Brady said.


Until:
Jan 1, 1997
http://www.denverpost.com/jonbenet/ci_4191191

After giving numerous interviews to the media, neighbor Barnhill yesterday declined to speak with reporters, saying the Boulder police had asked him to stop giving interviews.
Barnhill said the family had made the request through the police department. Barnhill has been contacted by reporters from Los Angeles, New York and the British Broadcasting Corp.

About that time, Dennis Covington, a Redbook correspondent from Birmingham, Ala., showed up on the scene.
Other neighbors said they hadn't been told not to give interviews but declined to do so. ""I know they're interested in keeping it quiet until all the information comes out,'' said one woman who wouldn't give her name. ""Some of the things that leaked out weren't from the police.'' ""We, as neighbors, really prefer to respect the dignity and privacy (of the Ramseys),'' said another neighbor. ""This is a horrible situation.''

 

[Tadpole12]

A question. Regarding first leaks and first casualties, lawsuits.

Dec 28, 1996
http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1996/12/28-1.html
It demanded an undisclosed amount of money in exchange for JonBenet, Eller said. He would not comment further on the note's content, but Denver broadcast media reported that the ransom amount was $118,000.

Who's the media source? or speculated source? of revealing the rn amount?



and re Sgt. Larry Mason
http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1997/12/09-1.html
Eller accused him of revealing details of the case in the investigation's crucial first days. It later came to light that Ramsey family attorneys had discussed the details, which later aired on CNN.
An internal investigation cleared Mason and allowed him to return to work after being placed on paid leave Jan. 5. But, according to Mason, Eller failed to supply exonerating facts - such as a taped conversation with Mason showing that Eller never told Mason the sensitive information he was accused of revealing - until Jan. 15. Eller also failed to promptly disclose the true source of the media leak.

What details?
The Jan 4 reports?

http://www.denverpost.com/jonbenet/ci_4191077
1997 Jan. 1: John and Patsy Ramsey grant an exclusive interview to CNN. Mrs. Ramsey tells viewers: "There is a killer on the loose." Jan. 4: Reports surface that JonBenet's skull was fractured and the ransom note was written on paper obtained from a tablet in the Ramsey home.

http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1997/01/04-1.html
January 4, 1997
Investigators found the notepad used to write a ransom note in 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey's murder inside the Boulder family home, sources close to the investigation confirmed Friday. "It was made of the same kind of paper used in the ransom note, and it may have imprints from the pen used to write the note," said a Boulder friend of the Ramseys.
.....
Patsy Ramsey found the three-page letter demanding $118,000 on the back stairs about 6 a.m. Dec. 26 and called police. A small, foreign group reportedly wrote the letter addressed to John Ramsey, president of Lockheed-Martin subsidiary Access Graphics, said Boulder friends who asked not to be named to protect their privacy.
.....

"I don't think it said anything really bad about John, but it had a problem with some of the countries his (American) company was doing business with," said one friend. "They really ... said how they would kill his daughter."
Although JonBenet's disappearance was reported as a kidnapping, there was no sign of forced entry at the Ramsey house. The family had not activated the house's security system Christmas night, the last time JonBenet was seen alive, sources said. About eight hours after the girl was reported missing, John Ramsey and a family friend found JonBenet strangled in the wine cellar in the basement of the home at 755 15th St. The 6-year-old aspiring beauty queen was wrapped in a blanket, with duct tape over her mouth, strangled with a cord similar to a parachute rope with a handle on the end.
....
The former Little Miss Colorado had been sexually assaulted, although sources close to the investigation would not say in what way. Handwriting, blood and hair samples were taken earlier from family members; those samples are now being analyzed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

 

[Tadpole12]

I guess those initial leaks culminate with comments regarding the rn, by two sources, on Jan 8, 1997 and are preceeded by Mason's removal.

http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1997/01/08-1.html
Wednesday, January 8, 1997

Investigators found a second, "practice" ransom note involved in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey inside the family's home, sources said Tuesday.
"The letter was kind of in shaky handwriting, and it looks like it was a felt-tip kind of pen," a source said. "The real note used a felt-tip pen, too." "It looks like the person just tried to write a note and just stopped for some reason," another source said. "But both letters had black writing and they're from the same notepad." Police earlier had discovered the tablet used to write the ransom note found early on the day after Christmas.
.....

Earlier Tuesday, officials said they removed the lead Boulder police detective from the team investigating the case. And a judge sealed the search warrant for the Ramsey house despite objections by the Daily Camera and other media. Boulder Police Chief Tom Koby dropped Sgt. Larry Mason from the murder case effective last Sunday, authorities said.

 

[DeeDee249]

The "scraping on metal" sound was heard by the husband of neighbor Melanie Stanton (who heard the scream). When Melanie woke him up (because she the scream woke HER up) he didn't hear the scream (because he was asleep. It woke his wife, not him). He DID hear what he described as metal scraping concrete after he woke up (this would have been right after the scream. The RST uses that claim to say that it was the intruder leaving via the metal window grate. IMPOSSIBLE. Why? Many reasons, but first of all it happened too close to the scream. Almost immediately after. There was still the garrote to make, child to strangle, redress, wipe down, blanket to search for (after all, no intruder could possibly know it was in the basement dryer) and wrap her in, panties to search for (and no intruder could know there were fresh new panties wrapped in a gift box in the basement). Then they had to go upstairs, write a 3-page note, replace the pen and pad where they belong, put the note on a stairwell that leads right up to the parent/sibling bedrooms, wipe the flashlight AND remove, wipe and replace the batteries. And then, while upstairs, with so MANY doors right there steps away, go back to the basement, pull a chair through a closed door after themselves, balance on a suitcase while climbing up a wall and squeezing through the window well and replace the grate without breaking a spider web that was probably impossible to see in the dark. All with the family asleep upstairs.
Got all that? Exhausting, right? No problem. Never happened.

 

[Ames]

The "scraping on metal" sound was heard by the husband of neighbor Melanie Stanton (who heard the scream). When Melanie woke him up (because she the scream woke HER up) he didn't hear the scream (because he was asleep. It woke his wife, not him). He DID hear what he described as metal scraping concrete after he woke up (this would have been right after the scream. The RST uses that claim to say that it was the intruder leaving via the metal window grate. IMPOSSIBLE. Why? Many reasons, but first of all it happened too close to the scream. Almost immediately after. There was still the garrote to make, child to strangle, redress, wipe down, blanket to search for (after all, no intruder could possibly know it was in the basement dryer) and wrap her in, panties to search for (and no intruder could know there were fresh new panties wrapped in a gift box in the basement). Then they had to go upstairs, write a 3-page note, replace the pen and pad where they belong, put the note on a stairwell that leads right up to the parent/sibling bedrooms, wipe the flashlight AND remove, wipe and replace the batteries. And then, while upstairs, with so MANY doors right there steps away, go back to the basement, pull a chair through a closed door after themselves, balance on a suitcase while climbing up a wall and squeezing through the window well and replace the grate without breaking a spider web that was probably impossible to see in the dark. All with the family asleep upstairs.
Got all that? Exhausting, right? No problem. Never happened.

Not to mention that Fleet said that he placed that suitcase there, while he was looking for glass from the broken window, the morning that JB was "found". So, when the "intruder" left...he didn't have anything to hoist himself up and out the window with...because the suitcase was NOT THERE at the time. Maybe "he" just took off running, and leaped through the air, and out of the window. That's the only way that "he" could have done it, without the help of that suitcase.

 

[Tadpole12]

The "scraping on metal" sound was heard by the husband of neighbor Melanie Stanton (who heard the scream). When Melanie woke him up (because she the scream woke HER up) he didn't hear the scream (because he was asleep. It woke his wife, not him). He DID hear what he described as metal scraping concrete after he woke up (this would have been right after the scream. The RST uses that claim to say that it was the intruder leaving via the metal window grate. IMPOSSIBLE. Why? Many reasons, but first of all it happened too close to the scream. Almost immediately after. There was still the garrote to make, child to strangle, redress, wipe down, blanket to search for (after all, no intruder could possibly know it was in the basement dryer) and wrap her in, panties to search for (and no intruder could know there were fresh new panties wrapped in a gift box in the basement). Then they had to go upstairs, write a 3-page note, replace the pen and pad where they belong, put the note on a stairwell that leads right up to the parent/sibling bedrooms, wipe the flashlight AND remove, wipe and replace the batteries. And then, while upstairs, with so MANY doors right there steps away, go back to the basement, pull a chair through a closed door after themselves, balance on a suitcase while climbing up a wall and squeezing through the window well and replace the grate without breaking a spider web that was probably impossible to see in the dark. All with the family asleep upstairs.

Hi DeeDee,
Ty for the reply. You always lay out all those details in such a comprehensive way.

Got all that? Exhausting, right? No problem. Never happened.

Yes, it's exhausting. Just imagining all that was done, all that movement through the home. It's too much.

 

[Ames]

Hi DeeDee,
Ty for the reply. You always lay out all those details in such a comprehensive way.



Yes, it's exhausting. Just imagining all that was done, all that movement through the home. It's too much.

And supposedly all of this was done by an intruder...while John, Patsy and Burke snoozed away.

 

[Nehemiah]

I have never thought that Burke had anything to do with the death. I don't think we will see him making any statements or being requestioned at this point. His father is really the only thing he has left familywise and is most likely his sole source of support at the moment.

My problem with the Burke killed her and the parents staged this as the cover up has been

A. that Burke as a child never said a word to anyone, even during great emotional distress. Any normal human being causing a death truly by accident would have some guilt about the incident and the effect on his mother. As a child I doubt he had the sociopathic skills needed to just go on playing games and hanging with friends while his world fell apart.

B. if this was a sibling accident and parents chose to cover it up the last scenario I would imagine one coming up with is a sex crime killing. It is so repugnant on every level and says something about the person who goes to that scenario as an explanation. You would expect an accident scenario, something falling on her, something of that sort.

moo

I agree.