twizzler333 said:
Perhaps there was a time when the chair had been propped up that way and that is what he is recalling.
Twizzler,
That is exactly what I am saying. John let the cat out of the bag when he said he moved the chair during his solo visit to the basement sometime around 10 A.M. He couldn't have moved it at that time because Officer French and Fleet White had already been in the train room at 6 P.M. and they didn't report anything about a chair blocking the door. He obviously moved the chair BEFORE 6 A.M. This means John Ramsey was in the train room before the 911 call was made, and it proves that John searched the basement before the cops got there -- even though he claims he didn't search the basement at all.
John Ramsey lied, and his own statement about moving the chair from in front of the door to get into the train room at about 10 A.M. proves he lied. John correctly recalled moving the chair, but he forgot that it actually occurred BEFORE 911 was called.
Here's some of the testimony during the 1998 interviews re' the chair:
LOU SMIT: "You said you went through the house at another period of time?" (between the time the cops got there and when he went with Fleet White at 1:05 P.M.)
JOHN RAMSEY: "Yes."
LOU SMIT: "Did you ever go down to the basement?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "Yes. I went."
LOU SMIT: "Who was with you at that time?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "I was by myself. I came down the stairs. I went in this room here. This door was kind of blocked. We had a bunch of junk down here and there was a chair that was in front of the door. Some old things. I moved the chair, went into this room, went back in here. This window was open, maybe that far (less than an inch)."
Later in the interview:
LOU SMIT: "Was there lighting down there at the time?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "With the lights off at night it would have been hazardous because there's a lot of junk piled in here. This door was kind of blocked with boxes and a little chair. And you could move the chair and walk right in. But it would have been pitch black; it would have been tough.
LOU SMIT: "Did you say you had to move that chair to get in?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "Yes."
LOU SMIT: "You didn't go to the wine cellar at that time?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "No."
LOU SMIT: "How long would you say you were down there?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "Oh, a minute. Thirty seconds to a minute."
MIKE KANE: "When was this?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "It was probably some time between seven and nine. That's as close as I can come. It was earlier in the day."
LOU SMIT: "Did you notice if any police officers had checked that before?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "NO. I didn't. I don't know. My impression was that when they first came that morning that one of them looked around."
LOU SMIT: "Would that have been before you went down there?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "Yeah. Yeah, it might."
Later in the interview:
Mike Kane: "Did you go to the basement?" (prior to making the 911 call)
JOHN RAMSEY: "No, I didn't go to the basement till later."
MIKE KANE: "Was there a reason?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "No."
MIKE KANE: "Okay. And then I think you said you did go to the basement."
JOHN RAMSEY: "Well, when I came down, I mean, one of the things I noticed, okay, that door is still blocked."
MIKE KANE: What do you mean it was blocked?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "Well, there were some boxes and there was like a barstool kind of thing sitting there. It wasn't obvious to me that anyone had gone through because I had to move the chair to get in, which I did."
But someone HAD "gone through". Officer French had gone through; Fleet White had gone through; and the crime technician had gone through, all right around 6 A.M., and the door wasn't blocked. John blew it. He unconsciously had referred to the time HE had gone through and had to move the boxes and the chair. That had to be BEFORE 6 A.M. Therefore, John apparently lied about not searching the basement prior to calling 911.
JMO