I feel as though the BPD dropped the ball in the early weeks, and the Ramseys were unfairly maligned because Patsy let JBR participate in baby beauty pageants. No matter what anyone thinks about those pageants (I hate them), there's no evidence parents of baby beauty queens are any more abusive than any other parents.
I agree, particularly in regards to BPD dropping the ball. For example, under what circumstances is it appropriate for a detective to ask a parent and their friend to search the house to look for a missing child? Shouldn’t that be LE’s responsibility, especially considering statistically most child homicides are committed by a parent or stepparent, they already suspected the Ramseys and they didn’t know JR’s friends from Adam and they asked them to do so alone, with no LE supervision or official following them and noting their movements or behaviors? How would they know at that time that JR if involved wouldn’t just move and hide JBR’s body further, contaminate evidence and then bribe or convince his friend to go along with it all? In the likelihood JR did come across something what was their plan to prevent contamination of the evidence and preservation of the scene of the crime afterwards? It is not like JR is an LE official, so suspect or not, it could not be expected that he, or any civilian, would be aware of or considerate of any of those details in the search and discovery of his daughter. That was under LE’s purview.
The same when it comes to the Ramsey house. Media has pointed suspicion at the Ramseys for having friends and neighbors coming in and out of the home after alerting LE that their daughter was missing and possibly taken for ransom. However, it is LE’s job, not the Ramseys, to lock the place down. Whether media is right or not that Ramseys intended to contaminate evidence, their intentions matter little when LE had the power and authority and need to cordon the place off to preserve evidence and make it easier for investigators to do their job. It was their responsibility to tell everyone that was not PR, JR and BR to go get out or to go home and if they had testimony or statements they think they might be helpful, arrange for investigators to meet with them at their homes or locations or conduct interviews at the station. Apparently, early in the investigation they only sectioned off JBR’s bedroom as a potential crime scene and not the rest of the house. It makes sense why JBR’s bedroom was looked at so thoroughly but LE knew early on that if a crime did occur neither she or her remains were left there. Considering her parents were looked at as suspects, they were in their home and they suspected JBR had moved or had been moved from her bedroom wouldn’t it have made sense to also lock down the rest of the house as a potential crime scene altogether? In particular when considering LE would want to track or look for evidence indicating where exactly the murder had occurred, if and where an assault took place, look for any place that the parents could be hiding or storing any weapons and in the likelihood that JBR was already deceased, where in the home they may have hidden, move or stored her remains? This would mean no visitors in or out to decrease the risk of contamination and evidence being misplaced or moved around, investigators looking in and around and outside the house for any clues or discrepancies, leaving no floor unexamined and asking JR and PR not to touch anything as they recounted events to LE and showed them around before secluding to one space or area of the home as the investigation continued. The fact that LE did not go in the basement and discover JBR themselves and allowed guests to enter does make one wonder what kind of protocol was being followed in the search for a missing and possibly even deceased child?
As a BPD official has stated years later, PR and JR should have been interviewed and interviewed separately, within the first 24 hours or more specifically while they and the investigators were still searching the home instead of months later. As heartbreaking as it is to not allow a grieving parent to touch or hold their recently deceased child, PR should not have been allowed to embrace JBR’s remains since it could have lead to contamination of evidence or the transference of fibers or materials that muddles or confounds LE investigation of the crime, like the fibers from PR’s coat that were later found on JBR.
And again, they shouldn’t have asked JR and his friend to look around the house themselves, especially not alone, as it led JR’s discovery of the deceased JBR and incidentally could have further altered or contaminated the crime scene. It is not even clear if they were given instructions about what to do if they did discover something or why a parent would be the best the person to ask. Even if a parent was not involved I think instinctively many would bundle up and hold close the deceased remains of their loved ones upon discovery and perhaps even carrying them away or up from the place of discovery. Some may think it was JR was just trying to further contaminate evidence by taking JBR up the stairs I think alternatively grief could have also been responsible as it doesn’t cause us to think logically but emotionally as you still can’t comprehend that someone is well and truly gone or that you couldn’t protect them. In that case JR was not thinking like a LE official or investigator in terms of preserving the evidence and crime scene and as a civilian he is not supposed to. LE was obliged to take charge, they have the public’s trust to collect, maintain and preserve evidence and to conduct searches for a missing and/or murdered child, including one whose life was taken in their own home, because of their training, expertise and resources. Yet somehow JR and his friend were still asked to do an essential part of the job despite being civilians, with one under suspicion, and neither with any forensic or investigative training. LE said it was suspicious for JR went right to the basement where JBR’s remains were recovered however if it was one of the few places LE refused or neglected to look, it would make sense that if JR noticed, he would make a beeline down there just to rule it out for himself. Plus he admitted that he used the broken window to get inside his own house sometimes so if he did think an intruder broke in, it would make sense to him that the basement would be one of the entry points one would use. I think in terms of quality of the investigation LE bares should ask themselves that if they were supposed to lead the investigation why would they give the okay for anyone besides themselves, including two civilians, conduct their own search for JBR, especially when they were on location? How long were they on scene and yet no one from their team checked the basement? What happened to leaving no stone unturned and whether JR was guilty or not, the fact that he was credited with finding JBR and not the investigators, doesn’t look good for them.
John Ramsey has been pushing for a more in-depth investigation using newer DNA methods for years. He would not do that if he thought there was a chance that would incriminate Burke. We know there was male DNA on JBR's underwear that did not belong to anyone in her family. Yet there it was, and it's worth further investigation.
I agree. I am kind of surprise that LE does not appear too concerned with discovering the owner or identity of this unknown males’ DNA or why his DNA was found in her underwear, under her fingernails and long Johns. It does not seem like Dr. Henri Lee’s explanation of the DNA in the underwear incidentally originated a from factory worker or manufacturer and thus was unrelated can explain how that same DNA can then be shown to originate from the same unknown male that left DNA on her long Johns? If it was left incidentally by the factory worker or manufacturer who produced her underwear, how did it also get it on her long Johns and under nails? This is question is answered by forensic scientist Dr. Williamson in 2006 who stated the fact that the DNA from the underwear is consistent with that found on the long johns makes it far more likely that the DNA belongs to the perp than is the result of contamination from a factory or manufacturer.
Even in the case that LE possibly doesn’t believe this unknown male is responsible for JBR’s murder, shouldn’t they still wonder or be curious as to why this person left his DNA in places his person should not have touched or had access to, such as JBR’s underwear and long Johns? Or what type of interaction, if any, could have possibly occurred between them to lead to this unknown male’s DNA to become located under JBR’s fingernails? What type of interction or relationship did this person have with JBR, if any, and how far removed by person, neighborhood, activities is he or someone mutual between them, from her life? Is it possible to infer by the location of this unknown male’s DNA alone he may have sexually assaulted, or at least attempted, JBR and thereby, be indicative of a crime committed against her and one LE should could still investigate by doing further DNA and genealogical testing as suggested to identify the identity of this individual in hopes of bringing him in for further questioning or getting some type of profile on them?
BPD once said this is not a DNA case. Maybe. Could it help? Maybe, maybe not. IMO, until the results it yields has been analyzed, I think the usefulness of DNA testing shouldn’t be minimized or simply predetermined. Let the evidence or lack thereof it may yield speak for itself after all this is about bringing justice and closure in regards to JBR’s sexual assault and murder. DNA testing has helped solve other cold cases and bring justice to several families and counties so with that in mind there is no shame in LE using any and all avenues at their disposal, even if some are not as successful as others, in their pursuit of answers.
Whoever duct-taped JonBenét Ramsey’s mouth shut, bludgeoned the 6-year-old Colorado girl and strangled the child beauty queen in her own home has evaded capture for almost 28 years.
amp.cnn.com
In December 1996, six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was found murdered in her family’s Boulder, Colorado home, sparking a decades-long mystery. A chilling ransom note, a botched police investigation, and DNA evidence pointing to an unknown male left more questions than answers. Now...
www.firstpost.com