It was later revealed that the note was written on stationery found in the familys home. Letting them go was a big mistake, as they soon layered up and did not get to formally interview them again until May of 1997, five months after their daughter was murdered., The case was then passed to the DAs office in 2002 after the Ramseys said they had no confidence in the police.. Janet McReynolds said in the same interview that her 1970s play sounded "quaint" in light of the Ramsey murder and only made her family more empathetic to the Ramseys' loss. DNA has since cleared Helgoth of any involvement. According to The Daily Camera, the McReynolds' middle daughter, 9-years-old at the time, was abducted on December 26, 1974, and witnessed the sexual molestation of her friend. Thats who interests me a little more than his father. Apparently they're supposed to use separate clippers for each nail. Why did he want in the Ramsey house? How do you explain all the points in the crime scene of Patsy's.. inside the paint tray, the sticky side of the duct tape, embedded into the ligature? Because for years that's been what most people have heard. People would have and did believe they were innocent, though. No suspects were ever found in the case, but both children were found. Hired by Marilyn Haus to play Santa at the mall. Tracey reported Karr to the police who arrested him in Bangkok. Both children were then released. 9 yo kids kill, but it doesn't happen often enough for the Ramseys to think that Burke would be blamed. Santa was apparently coming to visit JB. To this day, questions around the note still arise. When did that happen? (It's also speculated that Patsy lashed out after finding that JonBenet had wet the bed.) McReynolds explained to theDaily Camera that it was "a fictionalized account of the 1965 torture and murder of Sylvia Likens in Indiana" and had nothing to do with JonBent. The Guardian reported that McReynolds had allegedly given JonBent a Christmas card which reportedly stated that the 6-year-old would be receiving a "special present" after Christmas. Patsy finds the ransom note hours later. I have read it was either an independent producer working on "spec" or McReynolds himself that hired the film crew. a little more than two decades earlier, in 1974, spookily or maybe synchronistically, on the exact same day jonbenet was found dead in her basement decades later, december A couple of years later the Ramseys cancelled the Reward for catching JonBenet's killer! There's no doubt about it. A. James Kolar, who led the case investigation for the Boulder DAs office for nine months, believes its unlikely the girl was killed by an intruder. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. I wish we would have done a better job of securing and controlling the crime scene on day one, said Beckner. In early 1990s the Ramseys spent $700,000 just to build the third story master suite onto their mansion! Marionumber1 Blood sample? However, the connections turned out to be purely coincidental, as both Bill and Janet submitted hair, handwriting, and blood samples and were cleared of any involvement in the crime. )(Woodward), When his own daughter was ten years old, she and another girl were kidnapped, and the friend was molested before both girls were released. According to The Daily Camera, the McReynolds' middle daughter, 9-years-old at the time, was abducted on December 26, 1974, and witnessed the sexual molestation of her friend. Police chief Mark Beckner has also said that the crime scene wasnt properly sealed off after police arrived. Both children were then released. By itself, it's not a crime. Because of their proximity to the family, the couple was questioned in February of 1997 after returning from a vacation in Spain. A little boy who was a special friend had been murdered several years previously (Thomas). New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. (BPD Reports #1-1874, #26-144, #1-41, #1-162, #1-204, #1-304, #1-2622, #5-297, #5-371, #5-2202) Could that Secret Santa have been the killer and someone JonBent knew? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Gosage took it back down the hill to the gas station and handed it to the technician from the CBI. McReynolds and her husband, a journalism professor at the University of Colorado at the time of JonBent's murder, were at the Ramsey home on December 23, 1996, playing Mr. and Mrs. Claus for the kids. A Teen Murder Victim's Horrific Diary Entry Helped Police Find Her Killer, Kai The Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker Was Arrested Months After His Viral Interview, Everyone Who Went To Jail For The Bernie Madoff Scandal, Netflix's Latest True-Crime Docuseries Dives Into A $65 Billion Ponzi Scheme, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter, By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Over the years, we gained knowledge of how the case was mishandled and the false stories that were leaked to the public etc so we changed our minds. (Bill McReynolds), Good idea, I may take my ashes somewhere when I die too. The Boulder Police Department was hit with a lot of criticism due to their handling of the investigation. Here are just a few of the stranger ones. "And because I'd been told by cyber-crime specialists that JonBent was precisely the kind of child, because of her beauty pageant experience, who could be sucked into the world of child porn. He was just so devastated by the mere idea anyone would suspect him of a crime," she said, according to Bill's obituary in The Daily Camera. She was a member of First Baptist Bluegrass. We are here to discuss all aspects of the case and remember JonBent Patricia Ramsey. No Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552. John and other family members were cleared of suspicion through a handwriting test, but police couldnt conclusively determine if Patsy wrote the letter. Well that's not surprising since anyone around back then would have been exposed to a massive amount "RDI" media spin. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Larry McReynolds, who is a NASCAR on FOX analyst and a two-time Daytona 500 winning- crew chief, congratulated his daughter and to-be son-in-law on this occasion. Linda Mac and I are so proud of the man that our @mkmcreynolds1 will be spending the rest of her life with! And apparently it starts out nice and then it gets up into this you left Santa Claus and, you know, went to all those fancy things and you came back to Santa Claus. I am trying to find another source for this. I've asked my wife to mix the star dust JonBent gave me with my ashes. Unless Burke had a behavior disorder, why would they even think that anyone would consider him a suspect? If he didn't do it, then there is no evidence against him. John Mark Karr confessed to murdering JonBent in 2006. (Thomas), When I die, I'm going to be cremated. McReynolds daughter was kidnapped 22 years before which caused more suspicions towards him. When you do though, the intruder theory makes the most sense and has the better scientific evidence. Particularly older people who were around in the mid nineties. They wouldnt have any reason to think the situation looked particularly bad for them. However, Olivas DNA was cleared for the murder but was later arrested for possessing child pornography. They make a beautiful couple! She won 5 major contests before her tragic murder at the age of 6. She made a profound change in me. Two It feels like you came up with a narrative first and then tried to adjust it to some of the evidence. I lived through the he saga as an adult and I know several people that believe the Intruder theory. McReynoldss own daughter had been kidnapped 22 years before. JonBent Patricia Ramsey was a six-year-old beauty pageant contestant who was brutally murdered (and possibly raped) in her home, on the night of 25 to 26 December 1996. How do they know that wasnt the same cord he was using? (BPD Report #1-1149. An Associated Press report from March 1997 stated that McReynolds and his wife, Janet, were initially questioned less than six weeks after the murder. Doesnt hold up to Occams Razor. Former CU professor Bill McReynolds died of a heart attack. The Craziest Theories in the JonBent Ramsey Case, Know a Pisces? (Bill McReynolds), He visited adult book stores and admitted to having a long-withstanding admiration for porn. The day after Christmas in 1996, the body of 6-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBent Ramsey was found in the basement of her parents Boulder, Colorado home. OK. The day after Christmas in 1996, the body of 6-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBent Ramsey was found in the basement of her parents Boulder, Colorado home. (BPD Report #1-1149. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. I was in my 20s when she was murdered and am strongly IDI. JOHN RAMSEY: . We have some letters from him. https://t.co/mbz7yh9Ug3, Larry McReynolds (@LarryMac28) January 18, 2021. They then staged the kidnapping and murder scene together to cover the whole thing up. The outlet reported that on Dec. 26, 1974, the couple's 9-year-old daughter had been kidnapped along with her friend and she witnessed the sexual abuse of her friend during the trauma. I don't recall even seeing a photo of one that was actually put up in public in Colorado. Here's an interesting exercise, one that might help bring Is it possible a parent would cover for their spouse Something Else About the Ransom Note Points to Ramsey Guilt, Press J to jump to the feed. On the morning of Dec. 26, 1996, Patsy Ramsey frantically called 911 after making a shocking discovery a ransom note was on the first floor of her home, and her 6-year-old daughter was nowhere to be found. However, it was revealed two weeks later that his DNA did not match the evidence found on JonBents clothing and he was released. Lifetime will present a TV movie called Who Killed JonBent? Mattie Moore McReynolds Knoxville - Mattie Moore McReynolds, age 103, long time resident of the Bluegrass Community, passed away October 18, 2021. Additionally, the McReynolds' 9-year-old daughter was reportedly abducted on Dec. 26, the same day JonBent was found dead, only years prior in the 1970s. Promise. The case Karr had reached out to University of Colorado Boulder professor, Michael Tracey through email. All in the Ramsey's home in such a short time span? I thought there was no dna found under her fingertips? They didn't follow procedure with the nail clippers. She was abused, tortured, andfinally killed. Karr had been living in Thailand, avoiding child pornography charges in the US. And while living in Nederland, near Boulder, he had some other scrapes with the law. When I die, I'm going to be cremated. I've asked my wife to mix the star dust JonBent gave me with my ashes. (BPD Report # 1-645. McReynolds won a Western States Art Foundation regional prize and a $7,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, but it was never published and no copy has been released to the media since. His DNA under JonBenets fingernails is the only trace of him left behind. His best chance was to work with us, so he became a picture of cooperation. Santa Claus, A.K.A Bill McReynolds recruited a younger male to kill JonBenet and film it or take pictures for him. He's quoted as saying: It seems likely that McReynolds was questioned because, like many others, he had been in the Ramsey home and interacted with JonBent in the days leading up to her death. The South Carolina native got engaged over the weekend to Kendall McReynolds, daughter of two-time Daytona 500 winning-crew chief and NASCAR on FOX analyst Larry McReynolds. Also, using the words of one of the handwriting experts, it's extremely unlikely for a random killer to have a handwriting so uniquely similar to Patsy's. Because they were bombarded by a RDI media circus and it made them biased against the parents innocence before they even knew the basic facts of the case. I hurt a little girl.. But it wasn't just Santa that investigators were interested in. I think a lot of us that lived through it were once upon a time RDI. However, John and Patsy Ramsey referred to him as a suspect in their book The Death of Innocence, and Janet stated that her husband was deeply affected by the suspicion: "He was scarred. (Thomas), McReynolds said what was truly terrible was that this wasnt the first child to die during his Santa years. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. According to a CNN report in 2006, Trip DeMuth, an original prosecutor on the case, said that McReynolds' alleged Christmas card to JonBent was particularly concerning: The McReynolds were reportedly cleared of charges after submitting DNA samples, CNN reported. According to The Daily Camera, the McReynolds' middle daughter, 9-years-old at the time, was abducted on December 26, 1974, and witnessed the sexual molestation of her friend. No suspects were ever found in the case, but both children were found. For many years, JonBents parents and brother, Burke, who was 9-years-old at the time of her death, were considered the main suspects until they were cleared of suspicion. Multiple attempts to reach out to Janet McReynolds for comment on the play and CBS docu-series were unsuccessful. Bill McReynolds dressed as Father Christmas to attend a party just days before the little girl was found murdered on Boxing Day 1996. He didnt remember, it was so long ago, about twenty-five years. Family and friends were of the Ramseys were also allowed in and out of the house before the initial investigation was completed. The Ramsey familys private investigator, Ollie Gray blasted the Boulder Police Department for not considering Oliva a credible suspect. I can make some of the smaller type out but it would be nice to read it all properly. In early 1990s the Ramseys spent $700,000 just to build the third story master suite onto their mansion! I wish McReynolds had been made to explain why he lied to Patsy. Indoor Herb Gardens That Are Cuter than Succulents, Please Just Book a Romantic Getaway in New England, Your Weekly Tarot Card Reading, by Zodiac Sign, Your Horoscope for the Week of January 15, Okay, I Need This $21 Amazon Hand Warmer ASAP, Behold: Bachelorette Party Themes That Don't Suck, 37 Boredom-Busting Girls Night Out Ideas, Um, This Boucle Sectional Kinda Changed My Life, 77 Luxe Gift Ideas Def Worth Treating Yourself To, Everything You Need to Know About Earth Signs. She wakes Burke up and the two go downstairs together where they eat pineapple. JonBent had led McReynolds by the hand on a tour of the house during the 1995 Christmas party, including her bedroom and the basement to see where the Christmas trees were kept, and had given him a vial of glittery stardust to sprinkle in his beard. However, amongother things, the book largely relies on the belief that JonBent's cause of death was head trauma, but in reality, the autopsy revealed that it was asphyxiation. McReynolds got angry, and that only fed the paranoia of the DAs people. JonBenet is not in her room. Karr eventually came out as a transgender woman in 2010. There was some talk of him doing a new series of segments called "An American Moment" edit: but he did not sign with CBS to do this series until 1997( there is a book by that name published posthumously). Lacy was very suspicious of him and as far as I know he was eliminated to her satisfaction by DNA testing. from the 1998 interview: JOHN RAMSEY: . We have some letters from him. were officially cleared of any involvement in the murder, JonBenet Ramsey's murder, including Bill McReynolds, the man hired by Patsy to play Santa Claus at the Ramsey family's Christmas parties, McReynolds and his wife, Janet, were initially questioned, police sources never considered he or Janet "serious" suspects. Ready for our forever and always. A. James Kolar, who led the case investigation for the Boulder DAs office for nine months, believes its unlikely the girl was killed by an intruder. I am not accusing anyone in particular, just pointing out the multiple bizarre similarities and things that give me pause. John Mark Karr confessed to murdering JonBent in 2006. How closely was Bill investigated? So in this theory, did John lie about the chairs in the basement, or did the killer magically slip out among all the family and LE there? The Ramseys protested their innocence for years, appearing on national television to tell their story. What were they planning to do with the body? We have a tape from him . . it was a tribute to JonBenet or something like that. We are here to discuss all aspects of the case and remember JonBent Patricia Ramsey. Karr had been living in Thailand, avoiding child pornography charges in the US. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. On what grounds did Steve Thomas and the BPD dismiss them? (Thomas). Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS, Shock first photos inside Serena Williams' crumbling childhood home, Ana Walshe's pals reveal what 'delayed her fate' after husband charged, Child's body found in search for missing girl, 4, who was 'beaten to death', Missing woman's husband charged with murder after blood found in basement, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, JonBent Ramsey was strangled to death twenty-five years ago and her killer has never been brought to justice, John and Patsy Ramsey were prime suspects for years but were later exonerated when DNA testing had cleared them of any involvement, Investigators could not prove whether or not Patsy wrote the ransom note but she was later cleared by a federal court, Gary Oliva, a sex offender, was found with magazine photos of JonBent in his backpack when police arrested him on drug charges, John Mark Karr falsely confessed to killing JonBent in a 'love game' gone wrong but DNA had cleared him, Many people believe that an intruder killed JonBent but it has never been proven by police. ", In 2000, a California woman told police that she believed the same child sex ring that she'd been a victim of as a child was responsible for JonBent's death due to similarities in how they'd been tied up. If they were so anxious about it anyway, why not just remove the pineapple and avoid saying that Burke had a snack with her & getting the police to actually look for their daughter's killer? There are an unusual amount of coincidences surrounding the McReynolds family that I find difficult to turn a blind eye to. We also should have separated John and Patsy and gotten full statements from them that day. I was in my early twenties when this all unfolded. How about Jesse though? This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. And another creepy coincidence that raised investigators' suspicions was a play written by McReynolds's wife Janet about a girl who was sexually assaulted, then murdered in her basement. (BPD Report # 1-645. The case has fascinated the nation for the past 20 years, but it remains unsolved. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. The day is December 26, 1996, in Boulder Colorado where the Ramsey family lives. Thus the kidnapping charge. Shortly after Ramsey was found dead, investigators pursued a number of suspects, including the 6-year-old's parents, Patricia and John Ramsey but the couple weren't the only suspects on the investigators' radar. Other suspects included neighbor Bill McReynolds, a local Santa Claus who visited the Ramseys a few days before the girls death. Someone is out there!".