I want to get back to Steve Thomas’ reconstruction, but whoever is guilty of murder, we’re still not clear on what happened to missing pieces of evidence. Were these various items evanescent? Where is the rest of the rope used to tie and strangle JonBenét? Where is the original roll of duct tape? What happened to the other piece of the broken paintbrush? Did they disappear into Boulder’s thin, cold Christmassy air? We believe that’s exactly what happened.
Let’s address just one of these objects before moving on. The duct tape across JonBenét’s mouth was similar to duct tape that had been used to fix two painted canvasses to their frames. One of these paintings was hung in JonBenét’s bedroom.
Patsy was an amateur painter and John was a man who habitually engaged in remodelling. Duct tape can also be used to protect surfaces from being contaminated by paint splatter, such as window and door frames.
Since my own brother is a professional artist, and since I also have canvasses prepared for photographic printing, I know how often duct tape is used in mounting canvasses onto frames. For this reason I’m inclined to think the duct tape belonged to or was bought by Patsy. If that’s the case it may explain why red fibers from her outfit worn on Christmas night were found on the discarded duct tape in the basement. If the duct tape was Patsy’s, she knew where it was and she retrieved it. Did she apply it to her daughter’s mouth? Unknown.
What’s interesting is that the duct tape found was torn on either end, which proves it was used. This suggests at least the possibility that it came from the home. If so, what happened to it? What happened to the other end of the paintbrush and the nylon rope? I believe they were burned. At Christmas it’s not unusual to have a fire going. Of course one of the first things that sticks out when looking at the Ramsey residence is the enormous chimney.
Some of the best footage we have of the fireplace is…
Last month, Investigation Discovery aired their special on JonBenet Ramsey titled An American Murder Mystery. Beth Karas was a featured legal analyst on the program and offered insights on the suspects, including Mark Karr.
This week, she joined Nick and I for a discussion on numerous aspects of the case spanning the 20 years that have passed since the murder of JonBenet.
We delve into Alex Hunter. Were his investigative choices strategic? Should the Grand Jury indictment have been filed? What about Lou Smit; were his findings objective? We also touch on Linda Arndt, Steve Thomas, Ollie Gray… and many more. And of course, we discuss the Ramseys.
For more on the JonBenet case, read The Craven Silence, parts 1 and 2, available on Amazon Kindle.
Beth Karas will be featured on the Reelz Channel program Hollywood Homicide Uncovered offering her expertise on the Phil Spector case.
From the chapter…
On February 15, 2016, the West Seattle Herald published Amanda’s View: Ghosts
In response, we discuss our view on Amanda
By Danny Presley on October 15, 2015 Format: Kindle Edition | Verified Purchase
Brilliant work…it gave me insights towards trying to understand what is the truth…we will probably never know why this happened…but these narratives help me with my own humble opinions…Also, I trust these authors…
A week ago on Sunday, Nick and I Skyped with Sydney-based journalist, Emma Reynolds, to share our take on the Ramsey case. Emma works for news.com.au, which according to Nielsen Online Ratings, was Australia’s most popular news website as of January 2015.
On the day we spoke, September 25, the CBS program The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey had already aired, but that was a week after our book The Craven Silence was published. A point Emma was keen not to miss.
We weren’t entirely surprised, however, when she wanted to get to our theory of the murder quickly. For us, the story isn’t as simple as identifying the murder weapon. The real story of JonBenet is rooted deeply in the maddening obstruction of justice. How and why did so many people stand in the way of getting answers for a murdered little girl? Once you begin to understand that, the details of the murder start to fall into place. Regardless, when the article published yesterday, the headline’s focus was, of course, on the weapon used.
Up to this point, the article does a nice job of capturing some of the observations we expressed were relevant to this case. Where the article strays from what we discussed is the assertion that we believe Burke used “a pair of bats” to bash his sister. Although we brought attention to the two bats found outside the home, we never claimed both were used in the commission of the crime. We believe one may be a decoy, being placed outside to suggest an intruder dropped it on his way out. We believe the same possibility exists with the golf clubs seen stashed in a small cubicle closet off the train room where Burke frequently played.
Another element we feel may have been over-simplified in this article is the reasoning behind the theorized cover-up by the Ramseys. The article states it was “a plan to protect their only remaining child.” While we believe that is a part of the reason, there are other factors at play in the need to cover-up that are examined thoroughly in our book.
One other detail to rectify is the use of “middle-class mansion” to describe the Ramseys and their home. In actuality, the Ramseys were an upper class, affluent family, and their home certainly reflected their wealth.
An area that we would have liked to discuss in more detail, had time allowed, was the psychology of the Ramseys, particularly Burke. It’s a topic we cover extensively in The Craven Silence 2, our follow up book due out next week.
KIIS 101.1 a radio station in Melbourne, has also picked up our story as part of their promotion for an interview they’re airing with John Ramsey over the next 3 days. So much for Dr. Phil being his “last” interview.
We will be conducting additional interviews in the weeks ahead to share more discoveries and insights on this case. Stay tuned for those times and dates.
If you’d like to read The Craven Silence, it’s currently available exclusively on Amazon Kindle.
Our full discussion with Emma Reynolds can be heard below at the SoundCloud link.
#SHAKEDOWN 
