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 