elannia
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Like Mama said, its in the books. I believe it was Sgt. Mason who told him he couldnt leave.
What's eating you alive re this case?
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Like Mama said, its in the books. I believe it was Sgt. Mason who told him he couldnt leave.
Mama2JML
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I find it difficult to believe John Ramsey (guilty or not) would have used a business meeting as an excuse to skip town on the 26th.
Some variations of the story...
March 2000:
"BARBARA WALTERS: It was reported also Mr. Ramsey that shortly after you found your daughter's body, that you called the pilot of your plane to arrange a flight to Atlanta. Is that true?
JOHN RAMSEY: I did. We had um ... been asked to leave the house. Within minutes of that happening the police took the house over. We had no where to go. Atlanta was our home. Uh, we lived in Atlanta for 25 years. That's where our family was. We wanted to go home."
PMPT, p. 26 (nook):
"[John] Ramsey said he had something really important to attend to." (Schiller, 1999)
IRMI, p. 361:
"The reason for giving the early instruction to his pilot to get the plane ready was he wasn't thinking clearly and just wanted to take his wife and son 'home to Atlanta.'" (Thomas, 2000)
FF: WRKJB, p. 41:
"At approximately 1340 hours, Detective Bill Palmer overheard John Ramsey speaking on the phone and making arrangements to fly to Atlanta that afternoon or evening. Upon the conclusion of the phone call, Palmer told Ramsey that he couldn't leave town as he would need to stay to assist in the investigation of the murder of his daughter.
The nature of this call was passed along to Mason, and he too spoke with Ramsey about leaving town. John Ramsey reportedly told Mason that he had to leave to attend a meeting 'he couldn't miss.' Sergeant Mason eventually convinced the father of the murdered child of the necessity of remaining in Boulder."
(Kolar, 2012)
FF: WRKJB, p. 324:
"It seemed incomprehensible to me that John Ramsey, within less than an hour of the discovery of the body his daughter, would be making arrangements to take his family and leave the state by private plane. When overheard making these arrangements with his pilot, Ramsey told Detective Bill Palmer that he had an important business meeting to attend in Georgia." (Kolar, 2012)
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Some variations of the story...
March 2000:
"BARBARA WALTERS: It was reported also Mr. Ramsey that shortly after you found your daughter's body, that you called the pilot of your plane to arrange a flight to Atlanta. Is that true?
JOHN RAMSEY: I did. We had um ... been asked to leave the house. Within minutes of that happening the police took the house over. We had no where to go. Atlanta was our home. Uh, we lived in Atlanta for 25 years. That's where our family was. We wanted to go home."
PMPT, p. 26 (nook):
"[John] Ramsey said he had something really important to attend to." (Schiller, 1999)
IRMI, p. 361:
"The reason for giving the early instruction to his pilot to get the plane ready was he wasn't thinking clearly and just wanted to take his wife and son 'home to Atlanta.'" (Thomas, 2000)
FF: WRKJB, p. 41:
"At approximately 1340 hours, Detective Bill Palmer overheard John Ramsey speaking on the phone and making arrangements to fly to Atlanta that afternoon or evening. Upon the conclusion of the phone call, Palmer told Ramsey that he couldn't leave town as he would need to stay to assist in the investigation of the murder of his daughter.
The nature of this call was passed along to Mason, and he too spoke with Ramsey about leaving town. John Ramsey reportedly told Mason that he had to leave to attend a meeting 'he couldn't miss.' Sergeant Mason eventually convinced the father of the murdered child of the necessity of remaining in Boulder."
(Kolar, 2012)
FF: WRKJB, p. 324:
"It seemed incomprehensible to me that John Ramsey, within less than an hour of the discovery of the body his daughter, would be making arrangements to take his family and leave the state by private plane. When overheard making these arrangements with his pilot, Ramsey told Detective Bill Palmer that he had an important business meeting to attend in Georgia." (Kolar, 2012)
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SuperDave,
Oh, imagine that, and to what use was the evidence employed to demonstrate?
Was it JR who cited Inside Job really so what does Smit's actions portray?
.
Mama2JML
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What were Smit's actions? What is he being accused of 'stealing'?...
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Mama2JML,
Lets put it this way. You post Lou Smit's invoice from his estate showing he held legal title to what he used in his intruder profiles and we can discount any accusation of stealing.
.
Mama2JML
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Presumption of guilt. That's not how I roll. To each their own...
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Mama2JML,
mmm. No you prove Lou Smit held legal title and I will assume LS was acting independentally rather in tandem with the R's.
Produce the documentation or accept LS was on board!
Mama2JML
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Held legal title for what? WHAT is he being accused of STEALING?
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questfortrue
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Smit provided 14 television presentations/interviews and 5+ paper media interviews. This was the Detectives Version of a Pageant. Gosh, so much fame and exposure capping his career as a detective. Smit needed those materials for his national media tour.
BTW, JR was said to visit Smit on his death bed. Wonder where those materials Smit removed from the DAs office are now. Would Smit have given them back to BPD in Boulder?
:thinking:
questfortrue,
It looks that way, the Smit TV show, an old timer besotten with the charms off, to him, a new technology, these days its passe, with Amazon Prime, the new kid on the block.
He certainly promoted the Intruder agenda big time, all on the basis of zero forensic evidence!
.
Mama2JML
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Apparently, Garnett, Kane, Hunter, Keenan, and the rest of Boulder county didn't believe Smit stole anything to do with the investigation, including evidence. There is no indication Smit violated the court's order. He was never charged with and arrested for, let alone convicted of, the crime for which he's been accused in this thread.
http://thewebsafe.tripod.com/03301999huntervssmit.htm
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http://thewebsafe.tripod.com/03301999huntervssmit.htm
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questfortrue
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Bottom line, Smit was never charged with a crime, though obviously some ws'ers think there should have been charges.
The court stipulation indicated that the role of the court was simply to clarify "misunderstandings." There was not an accusation on the part of the DA, nor was there any admission of intention on the part of Smit that he was going to misuse the documents and Powerpoint presentation. (Kind of like a "no-fault" divorce?)
It was stipulated he had to turn over his paper copies of the case timeline, lead sheets and index to the DA's office which had to promise not to destroy them. The DA's office contended those were privileged work documents. And he had to wait until October 1, 1999 before he could disclose his photos and give interviews. Very specifically he was also disallowed from ever speaking about confidential conversations he had with the DA's office. AFAIK, Smit never violated the agreement, as per the court stipulation.
Personally, I don't really think criminal charges should have been filed. That court stipulation worked to resolve "misunderstandings."
Second bottom line, and imo, the DA did choose to go to court in order to have certain items returned to them and to make sure Smit understood where the boundaries were.
The court stipulation indicated that the role of the court was simply to clarify "misunderstandings." There was not an accusation on the part of the DA, nor was there any admission of intention on the part of Smit that he was going to misuse the documents and Powerpoint presentation. (Kind of like a "no-fault" divorce?)
It was stipulated he had to turn over his paper copies of the case timeline, lead sheets and index to the DA's office which had to promise not to destroy them. The DA's office contended those were privileged work documents. And he had to wait until October 1, 1999 before he could disclose his photos and give interviews. Very specifically he was also disallowed from ever speaking about confidential conversations he had with the DA's office. AFAIK, Smit never violated the agreement, as per the court stipulation.
Personally, I don't really think criminal charges should have been filed. That court stipulation worked to resolve "misunderstandings."
Second bottom line, and imo, the DA did choose to go to court in order to have certain items returned to them and to make sure Smit understood where the boundaries were.
Mama2JML,
Everyone and their dog knows LS did not actually steal the items referenced, but in the age of the internet he might well as done!
Dissementiating them as part of his Intruder profile tells you everything you want to know about the R's and LS's agenda.
.
Timeline:
September 15, 1998. A grand jury convenes to hear evidence in the case
September 20, 1998. Smit resigned from his position with the District Attorneys Office. He was supposed to return all property of the Boulder DAs office that he possessed.
September 30, 1998. Smit was given a letter by Hunter directing him to confirm, in writing that he had returned all materials and information connected with the investigation.
January 1999. District Attorney Alex Hunter sent a letter to Lou Smit demanding that he return key crime-scene photos and other evidence.
Lou Smit said would rather "go to jail" than give them back.
January 22, 1999 and January 26, 1999. Smit admitted that he took a CD with him and a copy of the video tape of the crime scene when he resigned from his employment
February 1, 1999. Complaint for Injunctive Relief, Case No. 99CV169-2 Hunter v. Smit filed under seal in Boulder District Court
Feb. 11, 1999. Prosecutors informed Smit that his request to testify before the grand jury was denied
February, 1999. A court order was obtained prohibiting Smit from testifying before the grand jury. Smit later obtains the right to testify.
Smits lawyers in a brief listed leaks attributed to Hunter including allegations that Hunter leaked confidential information to Jeff Shapiro
March 11, 1999. Smit testified before the grand jury
March 30, 1999. Stipulated Court Order, Hunter v. Smit.
Smit is allowed to retain the investigative materials he admitted to having in his possession including his Powerpoint presentation.
Interesting that Hunter was compliant as soon as some of his dirty laundry began to see the light of day courtesy of Smit and his legal team. Coincidence, Im sure.
Three articles that shed light on the matter are below:
3/16/2000
DA let Smit keep evidence
by B.J.Plasket, Daily Times-Call
BOULDER Court records unsealed on Tuesday show the district attorney's office switched directions last year in a dispute with former detective Lou Smit first demanding the return of Ramsey -investigation material and refusing to allow him to address a grand jury and later allowing him to both keep the case material and testify before the grand jury.
Smit, in fact, is now "free to disclose any information to anyone" under an agreement he signed with District Alex Hunter on March 30, 1999.
Photographs similar to those described in the court papers are appearing in this week's edition of "Newsweek" as part of an article about Smit's theory that an intruder was responsible for the 1996 slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey .
Hunter on Wednesday declined comment on the situation. Spokeswoman Suzanne Laurion said he will "let the documents speak for themselves."
The documents all filed under secrecy and kept under seal until this week began flying on Feb. 1, 1999, when Hunter filed for a temporary restraining order and injunction requiring Smit to return a crime-scene video, a compact disc containing "investigation photographs" and items copied onto Smit's home computer. Hunter later obtained the temporary order, but it was dropped when the two signed the agreement.
Hunter's motion claimed Smit told him about the items during a January meeting. Smit had quit his contract job as Hunter's special investigator in the Ramsey case in late September 1998.
When he quit after 18 months working for Hunter on the case, Smit said he was disillusioned by law enforcement's focus on John and Patsy Ramsey the girl's parents as suspects. He maintained and still maintains an intruder entered the Ramsey home and killed JonBenet.
Hunter's motion was filed the same day he claims Smit vowed not to return the materials even if he had to "go to jail."
In his answer to the motion, Smit claimed his contract did not require him to return any information. Court papers filed by Smit also expressed concern that information held by him would be destroyed if he gave it back.
In another brief, Smit lawyers Robert Russel and Gregory Walta listed so-called leaks that had been attributed to Hunter, his office and the Boulder police. Among them were allegations that Hunter leaked confidential information to and conspired with tabloid reporter Jeff Shapiro while Detective Steve Thomas set up a "sting" to catch Hunter and Shapiro.
The DA's office, during that same early 1999 time period, made a similar turnaround in its opposition to allowing Smit to testify before the grand jury.
Ramsey prosecutor Michael Kane on Feb. 11 wrote Smit a letter telling him the grand jury had decided not to hear from him. Smit then filed a motion asking District Judge Roxanne Bailin to allow him to address the grand jury.
Although none of the documents indicate that Bailin granted the motion, Kane, in another filing, said Smit addressed the grand jury on March 11.
In that same filing Kane attacked Smit's contention that unmatched finger or palm prints were found on JonBenet's body.
"No such evidence exists," Kane said.
That same grand jury ended its work in October without returning indictments.
The agreement signed by Hunter and Smit allows Smit to "disclose any information to anyone" if no charges are filed by Oct. 1, 1999.
The agreement allows Smit to keep a copy of the CD containing photographs and other information, but also requires that he "not intentionally interfere with the investigation" and precludes him from relaying prior conversations with Ramsey prosecutors.
Also
3/23/2000
Owens not in on deal between Hunter, Smit
by B.J.Plasket, Daily Times-Call
BOULDER While deciding last fall not to appoint a special prosecutor in the JonBenet Ramsey case, Gov. Bill Owens was apparently unaware of a secret agreement in which prosecutors agreed to give up evidence to a former detective who now works for the Ramsey family.
While Owens and his team interviewed police and prosecutors and were made privy to most of the evidence in the case, a source close to the situation told the Daily Times-Call the governor was never told about an agreement under which former investigator Lou Smit was given total control of photographs, a crime-scene video and other information contained on a compact disc.
The agreement between Smit and District Attorney Alex Hunter was made under seal in March 1999, only months after Smit left the case and only weeks after Hunter filed a motion demanding the return of all material gathered by Smit during his 18 months as a special investigator.
Most of the information given to Smit was contained on the disc, which Smit admitted preparing with the help of a former associate in the El Paso County Sheriff's Department.
Hunter, in the sealed motion, told the court Smit's sharing of the information with an outsider was inappropriate and demanded Smit return the materials and destroy all copies.
Hunter quickly reversed his field, however, and in late March 1999 signed an agreement allowing Smit to share any case information with anyone he chose after Oct. 1, 1999.
That agreement was unsealed early this month.
Owens, through spokesman Dick Wadhams, refused to comment on the Smit information.
"The governor is not answering follow-up questions to his comments earlier this week," Wadhams said.
Owens this week got into a public exchange with John and Patsy Ramsey over the level of their cooperation in the investigation into their daughter's death. Owens also criticized Barbara Walters' interview with the Ramseys , which was broadcast by ABC-TV last Friday.
Assistant District Attorney Bill Wise on Wednesday said although he was not involved in last fall's meetings with Owens and his staff, he assumed the Smit agreement was not conveyed to the governor.
"I'm going to doubt it was brought up," he said. "It was not important within that context."
Hunter, meanwhile, has refused to comment on the agreement, which was reached shortly after Smit's lawyers brought up allegations that Hunter himself had leaked sensitive case information and had attempted to conspire with tabloid reporter Jeff Shapiro and others to discredit former Boulder Detective John Eller.
Wise on Wednesday said he has "no worries" about Smit misusing the information he took with him from the investigation.
"I have a lot of respect for Lou," Wise said.
Hunter arrived back in Boulder early Wednesday after attending a conference in Connecticut along with Henry Lee, the forensic scientist who heads Connecticut's state crime lab and who is also working on the Ramsey case.
Wise said Hunter usually "talks in generalities" with Lee about the Ramsey case at such conferences.
Wise said he has no knowledge of a meeting between Lee, Hunter and Ramsey prosecutor Michael Kane that will reportedly take place in Boulder, perhaps as soon as this week.
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner earlier this week acknowledged the FBI is still conducting tests on crime-scene evidence.
A source inside the investigation this week said the Colorado Bureau of Investigation "screwed up" tests on some evidence and that the evidence is being re-tested. It is unknown if that evidence is the same being examined by the FBI.
Funding for the Ramsey investigation including money to pay Kane's part-time salary while he practices law in Pennsylvania could run out as soon as the end of this month.
And
4/5/2000
Alex Hunter answers critics of Ramsey case
by B.J.Plasket, Daily Times-Call
BOULDER In the first 39 months following the slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey , District Attorney Alex Hunter said little publicly, even in the face of massive criticism.
But that seems to be changing for Hunter, who began granting interviews last week and has since gone on the offensive.
In a Tuesday interview with the Times-Call, Hunter angrily lashed out at his critics especially former Boulder detective Steve Thomas, whose highly critical book about the Ramsey case will be released this month.
"I would say to my critics," the normally soft-spoken Hunter said, "If it is all that bad (here), then head on down the road somewhere."
Hunter, who is completing his seventh and last term in office, said his administration has won "a ton of plaques" during his nearly 28-year tenure in office.
He added the majority of the public has shown it agrees with him by re-electing him six times.
Hunter also bristled when asked why Gov. Bill Owens was not told of a secret agreement made with former detective Lou Smit when Owens was pondering the appointment of a special prosecutor last year. That agreement allowed Smit now an employee of John and Patsy Ramsey to keep photographs, videotapes and other evidence items gathered while he worked on the case.
"It was old stuff," Hunter said of the material Smit was allowed to take. Smit's agreement now allows him to do anything he pleases with the material.
When asked why Owens wasn't told of the deal, Hunter snapped back, "What does that have to with it?"
He said Owens was "not privy to anything from the grand jury."
He refused to comment, however, on how Smit got his wish to address the grand jury that investigated the case for 18 months but did not return indictments.
Prosecutors at first wrote Smit a letter turning down his request to testify, but changed their minds weeks later after Smit's lawyers made allegations that Hunter's office was responsible for leaks in the case.
Hunter's harshest criticism was aimed at Thomas, who quit his job in disgust and publicly accused Hunter of sharing case information with the Ramseys .
Hunter, when asked about the ethical ramifications of his attempt to use tabloid reporter Jeff Shapiro to discredit Det. John Eller, turned the tables and pointed at Thomas, who equipped Shapiro with a body microphone in an attempt to snare Hunter.
"I have an ethical problem with putting a wire on someone (to discredit the DA)," he said.
"It gives you an insight into a zealot," he said of Thomas.
Hunter also reiterated his earlier statement that neither Thomas nor Eller his two harshest critics among the Boulder police had ever investigated a homicide.
Hunter, while saying he "doesn't think" Smit will share his grand-jury knowledge with the Ramseys , did take the detective to task.
"Lou's out of line in doing what he's doing," Hunter said. "He got off track."
Smit quit the case because he thought police and prosecutors were unfairly targeting the Ramseys and has vowed to find the intruder he believes is the killer.
When asked if he thinks police mistakes have critically wounded the investigation, Hunter said, "Look at me no."
He also claimed there were no ethical violations committed by anyone in his office.
Prosecutors and police are scheduled to meet on the case sometime soon, but a date has not been set for the Boulder meeting.
Hunter said the meeting will not determine the future of the case.
"A smoking gun won't come out of it," he said
Does this mean anyone can ask for "old stuff" from the investigative file and get it?
"It was old stuff," Hunter said of the material Smit was allowed to take.
September 15, 1998. A grand jury convenes to hear evidence in the case
September 20, 1998. Smit resigned from his position with the District Attorneys Office. He was supposed to return all property of the Boulder DAs office that he possessed.
September 30, 1998. Smit was given a letter by Hunter directing him to confirm, in writing that he had returned all materials and information connected with the investigation.
January 1999. District Attorney Alex Hunter sent a letter to Lou Smit demanding that he return key crime-scene photos and other evidence.
Lou Smit said would rather "go to jail" than give them back.
January 22, 1999 and January 26, 1999. Smit admitted that he took a CD with him and a copy of the video tape of the crime scene when he resigned from his employment
February 1, 1999. Complaint for Injunctive Relief, Case No. 99CV169-2 Hunter v. Smit filed under seal in Boulder District Court
Feb. 11, 1999. Prosecutors informed Smit that his request to testify before the grand jury was denied
February, 1999. A court order was obtained prohibiting Smit from testifying before the grand jury. Smit later obtains the right to testify.
Smits lawyers in a brief listed leaks attributed to Hunter including allegations that Hunter leaked confidential information to Jeff Shapiro
March 11, 1999. Smit testified before the grand jury
March 30, 1999. Stipulated Court Order, Hunter v. Smit.
Smit is allowed to retain the investigative materials he admitted to having in his possession including his Powerpoint presentation.
Interesting that Hunter was compliant as soon as some of his dirty laundry began to see the light of day courtesy of Smit and his legal team. Coincidence, Im sure.
Three articles that shed light on the matter are below:
3/16/2000
DA let Smit keep evidence
by B.J.Plasket, Daily Times-Call
BOULDER Court records unsealed on Tuesday show the district attorney's office switched directions last year in a dispute with former detective Lou Smit first demanding the return of Ramsey -investigation material and refusing to allow him to address a grand jury and later allowing him to both keep the case material and testify before the grand jury.
Smit, in fact, is now "free to disclose any information to anyone" under an agreement he signed with District Alex Hunter on March 30, 1999.
Photographs similar to those described in the court papers are appearing in this week's edition of "Newsweek" as part of an article about Smit's theory that an intruder was responsible for the 1996 slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey .
Hunter on Wednesday declined comment on the situation. Spokeswoman Suzanne Laurion said he will "let the documents speak for themselves."
The documents all filed under secrecy and kept under seal until this week began flying on Feb. 1, 1999, when Hunter filed for a temporary restraining order and injunction requiring Smit to return a crime-scene video, a compact disc containing "investigation photographs" and items copied onto Smit's home computer. Hunter later obtained the temporary order, but it was dropped when the two signed the agreement.
Hunter's motion claimed Smit told him about the items during a January meeting. Smit had quit his contract job as Hunter's special investigator in the Ramsey case in late September 1998.
When he quit after 18 months working for Hunter on the case, Smit said he was disillusioned by law enforcement's focus on John and Patsy Ramsey the girl's parents as suspects. He maintained and still maintains an intruder entered the Ramsey home and killed JonBenet.
Hunter's motion was filed the same day he claims Smit vowed not to return the materials even if he had to "go to jail."
In his answer to the motion, Smit claimed his contract did not require him to return any information. Court papers filed by Smit also expressed concern that information held by him would be destroyed if he gave it back.
In another brief, Smit lawyers Robert Russel and Gregory Walta listed so-called leaks that had been attributed to Hunter, his office and the Boulder police. Among them were allegations that Hunter leaked confidential information to and conspired with tabloid reporter Jeff Shapiro while Detective Steve Thomas set up a "sting" to catch Hunter and Shapiro.
The DA's office, during that same early 1999 time period, made a similar turnaround in its opposition to allowing Smit to testify before the grand jury.
Ramsey prosecutor Michael Kane on Feb. 11 wrote Smit a letter telling him the grand jury had decided not to hear from him. Smit then filed a motion asking District Judge Roxanne Bailin to allow him to address the grand jury.
Although none of the documents indicate that Bailin granted the motion, Kane, in another filing, said Smit addressed the grand jury on March 11.
In that same filing Kane attacked Smit's contention that unmatched finger or palm prints were found on JonBenet's body.
"No such evidence exists," Kane said.
That same grand jury ended its work in October without returning indictments.
The agreement signed by Hunter and Smit allows Smit to "disclose any information to anyone" if no charges are filed by Oct. 1, 1999.
The agreement allows Smit to keep a copy of the CD containing photographs and other information, but also requires that he "not intentionally interfere with the investigation" and precludes him from relaying prior conversations with Ramsey prosecutors.
Also
3/23/2000
Owens not in on deal between Hunter, Smit
by B.J.Plasket, Daily Times-Call
BOULDER While deciding last fall not to appoint a special prosecutor in the JonBenet Ramsey case, Gov. Bill Owens was apparently unaware of a secret agreement in which prosecutors agreed to give up evidence to a former detective who now works for the Ramsey family.
While Owens and his team interviewed police and prosecutors and were made privy to most of the evidence in the case, a source close to the situation told the Daily Times-Call the governor was never told about an agreement under which former investigator Lou Smit was given total control of photographs, a crime-scene video and other information contained on a compact disc.
The agreement between Smit and District Attorney Alex Hunter was made under seal in March 1999, only months after Smit left the case and only weeks after Hunter filed a motion demanding the return of all material gathered by Smit during his 18 months as a special investigator.
Most of the information given to Smit was contained on the disc, which Smit admitted preparing with the help of a former associate in the El Paso County Sheriff's Department.
Hunter, in the sealed motion, told the court Smit's sharing of the information with an outsider was inappropriate and demanded Smit return the materials and destroy all copies.
Hunter quickly reversed his field, however, and in late March 1999 signed an agreement allowing Smit to share any case information with anyone he chose after Oct. 1, 1999.
That agreement was unsealed early this month.
Owens, through spokesman Dick Wadhams, refused to comment on the Smit information.
"The governor is not answering follow-up questions to his comments earlier this week," Wadhams said.
Owens this week got into a public exchange with John and Patsy Ramsey over the level of their cooperation in the investigation into their daughter's death. Owens also criticized Barbara Walters' interview with the Ramseys , which was broadcast by ABC-TV last Friday.
Assistant District Attorney Bill Wise on Wednesday said although he was not involved in last fall's meetings with Owens and his staff, he assumed the Smit agreement was not conveyed to the governor.
"I'm going to doubt it was brought up," he said. "It was not important within that context."
Hunter, meanwhile, has refused to comment on the agreement, which was reached shortly after Smit's lawyers brought up allegations that Hunter himself had leaked sensitive case information and had attempted to conspire with tabloid reporter Jeff Shapiro and others to discredit former Boulder Detective John Eller.
Wise on Wednesday said he has "no worries" about Smit misusing the information he took with him from the investigation.
"I have a lot of respect for Lou," Wise said.
Hunter arrived back in Boulder early Wednesday after attending a conference in Connecticut along with Henry Lee, the forensic scientist who heads Connecticut's state crime lab and who is also working on the Ramsey case.
Wise said Hunter usually "talks in generalities" with Lee about the Ramsey case at such conferences.
Wise said he has no knowledge of a meeting between Lee, Hunter and Ramsey prosecutor Michael Kane that will reportedly take place in Boulder, perhaps as soon as this week.
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner earlier this week acknowledged the FBI is still conducting tests on crime-scene evidence.
A source inside the investigation this week said the Colorado Bureau of Investigation "screwed up" tests on some evidence and that the evidence is being re-tested. It is unknown if that evidence is the same being examined by the FBI.
Funding for the Ramsey investigation including money to pay Kane's part-time salary while he practices law in Pennsylvania could run out as soon as the end of this month.
And
4/5/2000
Alex Hunter answers critics of Ramsey case
by B.J.Plasket, Daily Times-Call
BOULDER In the first 39 months following the slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey , District Attorney Alex Hunter said little publicly, even in the face of massive criticism.
But that seems to be changing for Hunter, who began granting interviews last week and has since gone on the offensive.
In a Tuesday interview with the Times-Call, Hunter angrily lashed out at his critics especially former Boulder detective Steve Thomas, whose highly critical book about the Ramsey case will be released this month.
"I would say to my critics," the normally soft-spoken Hunter said, "If it is all that bad (here), then head on down the road somewhere."
Hunter, who is completing his seventh and last term in office, said his administration has won "a ton of plaques" during his nearly 28-year tenure in office.
He added the majority of the public has shown it agrees with him by re-electing him six times.
Hunter also bristled when asked why Gov. Bill Owens was not told of a secret agreement made with former detective Lou Smit when Owens was pondering the appointment of a special prosecutor last year. That agreement allowed Smit now an employee of John and Patsy Ramsey to keep photographs, videotapes and other evidence items gathered while he worked on the case.
"It was old stuff," Hunter said of the material Smit was allowed to take. Smit's agreement now allows him to do anything he pleases with the material.
When asked why Owens wasn't told of the deal, Hunter snapped back, "What does that have to with it?"
He said Owens was "not privy to anything from the grand jury."
He refused to comment, however, on how Smit got his wish to address the grand jury that investigated the case for 18 months but did not return indictments.
Prosecutors at first wrote Smit a letter turning down his request to testify, but changed their minds weeks later after Smit's lawyers made allegations that Hunter's office was responsible for leaks in the case.
Hunter's harshest criticism was aimed at Thomas, who quit his job in disgust and publicly accused Hunter of sharing case information with the Ramseys .
Hunter, when asked about the ethical ramifications of his attempt to use tabloid reporter Jeff Shapiro to discredit Det. John Eller, turned the tables and pointed at Thomas, who equipped Shapiro with a body microphone in an attempt to snare Hunter.
"I have an ethical problem with putting a wire on someone (to discredit the DA)," he said.
"It gives you an insight into a zealot," he said of Thomas.
Hunter also reiterated his earlier statement that neither Thomas nor Eller his two harshest critics among the Boulder police had ever investigated a homicide.
Hunter, while saying he "doesn't think" Smit will share his grand-jury knowledge with the Ramseys , did take the detective to task.
"Lou's out of line in doing what he's doing," Hunter said. "He got off track."
Smit quit the case because he thought police and prosecutors were unfairly targeting the Ramseys and has vowed to find the intruder he believes is the killer.
When asked if he thinks police mistakes have critically wounded the investigation, Hunter said, "Look at me no."
He also claimed there were no ethical violations committed by anyone in his office.
Prosecutors and police are scheduled to meet on the case sometime soon, but a date has not been set for the Boulder meeting.
Hunter said the meeting will not determine the future of the case.
"A smoking gun won't come out of it," he said
Does this mean anyone can ask for "old stuff" from the investigative file and get it?
"It was old stuff," Hunter said of the material Smit was allowed to take.
questfortrue
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~RSBM~
Ha Ha! All this time I thought wed have to hire some free climbin rock jock to scale the evidence warehouse (like a cat burglar), and now we see the simplest solution. Just ask for the old stuff.
Seriously, quite a saga in this post. Can you imagine what would have happened if AH had charged LS and LS had charged AH, and Chief B had charged SS for impersonation, and charged reporter Shapiro for stalking nurse PN, and investigated ML for unauthorized breach of the LE evidence room, and freelance photographer FC had filed charges against JR for attempted assault. Im probably leaving some stuff out.
Aye yi yi . . .
Ha Ha! All this time I thought wed have to hire some free climbin rock jock to scale the evidence warehouse (like a cat burglar), and now we see the simplest solution. Just ask for the old stuff.
Seriously, quite a saga in this post. Can you imagine what would have happened if AH had charged LS and LS had charged AH, and Chief B had charged SS for impersonation, and charged reporter Shapiro for stalking nurse PN, and investigated ML for unauthorized breach of the LE evidence room, and freelance photographer FC had filed charges against JR for attempted assault. Im probably leaving some stuff out.
Aye yi yi . . .
What's eating me alive is that there are people that now everything about what happened that night. But due to fear, misguided loyalty, greed and apathy, they do not want to come forward and tell the full story. The answers we need in this case are locked in the brains of a few people. I hold those people as equally in contempt for JonBenet's murder as I do her murder(s).
elannia
Active Member
Well for me, its the big hole punched out in her skull, and the long crack in her skull... This was no accident, you cannot accidentally hit someone in the head that hard and it do that. I am just wondering who was full of rage that night to bash her skull in like that. And the fact that the R's havent, probably still arent looking for the person(s) who could have done this to their 6 year old daughter (unless of course it was them then no bother looking) Makes me sick
Has always bothered me in this case. The easiest way to clear your family's name would be to find the real killer. This is someone ruthless enough to kill your daughter and is probably ruthless enough to kill other members of your family. It is imperative that person is found. John seemed more concerned with making sure his family members had lawyers than in creating a massive manhunt for this killer.
The Ramseys will tell you the put considerable resources in to finding the killer. IMO they simply offered a huge reward (that they knew would never be claimed) in order to drum up leads from every nutcase in America. Then they could go to the media and say LE wasn't following up on the many leads they were sending them. JR isn't a stupid guy, he does everything for a reason.