Portion of JonBenet autopsy released
By Charlie Brennan and Fawn Germer
%%byline%%By Charlie Brennan and Fawn Germer
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writers
BOULDER -- JonBenet Ramsey's autopsy reveals hemorrhaging in her brain, scrapes and bruises from her head down to one of her legs, and "chronic inflammation'' of her vagina.
It also confirms she was strangled to death.
"It looks like she was beaten up some, too, '' said Dr. Richard Krugman, a University of Colorado Medical Center professor and an expert on child abuse and pathology. He reviewed the autopsy for Rocky Mountain News.
The grim, stark facts of the 6-year-old beauty queen's brutal death came to light Friday when Boulder District Judge Carol Glowinsky unsealed part of the child's autopsy report.
Family spokesman Patrick Korten had not seen the report Friday evening, but had heard about its contents.
"It says there is evidence of 'chronic vaginal irritation,' which can be an indication'' of prior sexual abuse, Korten said. "In this case, it is not.''
JonBenet's pediatrician, Dr. Francesco Beuf, has said there was absolutely no evidence of prior abuse of any kind, Korten said.
Glowinsky's four-page ruling was the largest breach in the dam of official silence since John and Patsy Ramsey's youngest child was found in the basement of their luxurious home the afternoon of Dec. 26.
Boulder coroner Dr. John Meyer had sought to keep the autopsy sealed until an arrest is made, a request contested in court Wednesday by several media organizations represented by lawyers Tom Kelley and A. Bruce Jones.
Glowinsky did not release the entire report. She ruled instead that only a censored seven-page version should see daylight while JonBenet's killer is at large.
Meyer released a statement that said the material he was most concerned about becoming public is in the portions Glowinsky withheld.
Glowinsky said the balance of the report will stay sealed for 90 days or until an arrest is made, whichever comes first.
Dr. Robert Kirschner, a nationally renowned forensic pathologist who specializes in child abuse and has been an expert witness in hundreds of cases, supported Korten's statement that the "chronic inflammation'' of the vaginal tissues could have more than one interpretation.
It could be a sign of an infection or a collection of white blood cells, said Kirschner.
"There is not enough information there to say,'' said Kirschner, retired deputy chief medical examiner in Chicago who is now on the faculty of the University of Chicago.
"It is much more important to me to see what they observed and see the pictures of the vagina.''
The autopsy reveals evidence of a sexual assault, he said, because there is an abrasion of JonBenet's vaginal membrane. Since the report does not describe the hymen "it does not necessarily imply penile penetration. It could be sexual assault with a finger or some object.''
A source close to the case said the assault was the result of digital penetration.
The kind of bleeding found in the girl's brain suggests that "it would have to have been a pretty hard blow,'' Kirschner said.
Lisa Levitt Ryckman contributed to this story.
February 15, 1997
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RDI, in a nutshell: Accidental death caused by fit of rage by PR, jointly covered up by PR and JR, including adding injuries to mask prior abuse.
Initial impression by MD's: JBR was sexually assaulted, beaten, hit hard over the head, and strangled to death. A brutal death.
Popular RDI theory: JBR was chronically abused. She was sexually assaulted the night of the murder to coverup signs of the previous abuse. In a fit of rage, she was hit over the head and that nearly killed her. Later a garrote was placed on her with the presumption that she was already dead. Not a brutal death, but a coverup of a rage accident that caused JBR's head injury.
Evidence against this RDI theory: JBR was injured all over while alive. She was very much alive when strangled.
RDI should then explain why JBR is injured all over, if it was only an accident that she hit her head. What are all these other injuries?
The autopsy report and medical interpretation are stating that JBR was very much alive when strangled. In fact, the coroner lists the official cause of death as asphyxiation by strangulation.
RDI goes against the evidence, and says that the garrote was only staging. The evidence suggests the garrote was the murder weapon, as JBR died by asphyxiation.
Even back in 1997, the argument for RDI was dubious and not fully supported. The grand jury decided there was not enough evidence to arrest. And this was all BEFORE the CODIS DNA that we have today. Now, the argument for RDI is even weaker, as the DNA found mixed with blood in JBR's underwear, that matches skin cell DNA found on her longjohns, was not placed there innocently.
Now, there is no RDI publicity. Not even in the tabs.
