The Case of JonBenet Ramsey
By: Avery Stevens
Introduction
Imagine waking up the morning after Christmas day to find that your daughter is missing; this is exactly what the Ramsey family experienced in 1996. JonBenet Patricia Ramsey was a beautiful, young, pageant girl with a bright future ahead of her. She was the daughter of John Ramsey and Patsy Ramsey, who woke up one morning to find their daughter gone and a lengthy ransom note left in her place. Later, after calling the police, they found her lifeless body in their wine cellar:
Could Burke Ramsey JonBenet’s brother, have killed her and, Patsy and John helped in covering it up to protect him?
Was Patsy, JonBenet’s ultimate killer, over jealousy?
There are many theories on what could have happened that lead to JonBenet’s death that grim Christmas evening. However, this case has still yet to be solved. Of course, it is possible that this was a kidnapping, but there is a lot of evidence showing that this happened inside their home.
Character Analysis
Submerged deep in southern culture, Patsy participated in beauty pageants growing up. Her main claim to fame was being crowned as Miss West Virginia in 1977. Captivated by the idea of competing for Miss America, she traveled to Atlantic City in 1976 and took notes on the pageant. After earning the title of Miss West Virginia, she went on to compete for the coveted title of Miss America herself, although she did not win the competition. Adding to her determination and further pushing her to be better was her sister, Pamela Paugh. Pamela also participated in pageants with Patsy, she was crowned Miss West Virginia, three years later, in 1980. Following the birth of her two children, a new opportunity arose. With her strong determination in life, experience in pageants, and a beautiful young daughter named JonBenét, a new pageant star was born. Within the short life JonBenét lived, she won multiple impressive titles including Little Miss Colorado. In an interview with Patsy, she stated that “It was the most wonderful time of my life,” referring to the time that she and her daughter, JonBenét spent together competing in pageants.
Patsy was a very motivated individual, not only in pageants, but school, as well. Andre Brown, Patricia’s social studies teacher, noted that “She always seemed to know where she was going in life”. That motivation and passion referenced by Brown helped her to where she wanted to go. With “three banquet tables full” of awards stored in her arsenal of great attributes, she moved on to attend college. Patsy majored in journalism at West Virginia University, in Morgantown. With her unwavering will and motivation, Patricia achieved her goal. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a focus on advertising in 1978.
Patricia Ann Ramsey was determined and motivated in pageants, in school, and in life. With her many strengths, she could achieve any goal she wanted to. However, should we consider that these could be just the traits needed to commit and get away with murder? Her daughter’s case has yet to be solved, and Patsy Ramsey is still one of the main suspects, twenty-five years later. The determination, will, and motivation Patsy exemplified in pageanting and school could be just what is necessary to keep the secret of her own daughter’s murder hidden from the public eye.
Conspiracy Theories
There are many theories revolving around what may have happened on that grim Christmas night in 1996, some even as bizarre as the idea that JonBenét may still be alive and now goes by the name Katy Perry. One theory is that Burke Ramsey, JonBenét's brother, accidentally killed her in a fit of rage. After seeing what their oldest child had done, the parents, Patsy and John, decided to cover it up and make it seem like a kidnapping gone wrong. Another theory speculates Patsy was JonBenét's ultimate killer over jealousy of her daughter's success in pageanting. With this theory, the murder likely would have been pre-meditated, with an elaborate cover-up to go with it. No matter what happened, whether it be a kidnapping or a murder, the evidence pointing towards the killer of this sweet, young child had to be present. Even a first responder had some suspicions from the very beginning, “This was not really a kidnapping. I thought to myself, we’re going to find this girl's body somewhere. This is going to turn out to be a murder”.
Burke Ransey
Burke Ramsey is JonBenét’s older brother. At the time of her death, he was nine, three years older than his sister. In JonBenét’s autopsy, it notes that she had a large skull fracture from a forceful impact. She was also found to have undigested pineapple in her system at the time of her death, which raised some suspicions. While John and Patsy Ramsey claim to have no memory of giving JonBenét the fruit, both Burke and Patsy’s fingerprints were found on the bowl of pineapple left in the kitchen. Forensic Investigator Werner Spitz notes that a flashlight found on the kitchen counter perfectly fits the eight and half-inch fracture in her skull, created by a blunt object. Using this evidence, the theory concludes that Patsy made Burke a bowl of pineapple, and JonBenét stole a piece. Burke proceeded to become uncontrollably enraged by this, grabbing the flashlight and smashing her head with it. After seeing what Burke had done, Patsy and her husband John cover it up, making it seem like a failed kidnapping ending in the murder of their daughter. The parents had told investigators in multiple police interviews that Burke was not yet awake when everything had happened the morning of December 26th. However, after discovering the ransom note and her missing daughter, Patsy made a call to 911. Later, thinking she had hung up the phone, you can hear her say, “What did you do?” and Burke replying, “What did you find?”. This proves that Burke was awake, and his parents had lied in order to cover something up. What actually occurred, we may never know, but this evidence can give us a piece of the puzzle that has yet to be solved.
Patricia Ramsey
Patsy Ramsey, JonBenét’s mother, was another suspect in the murder. From the beginning, investigators were suspicious of her; Fred Patterson, a detective of the Boulder Police Department, was quoted saying, “She was wearing the same outfit she was wearing the night before”. Charlie Brennan, a reporter for the Boulder Daily Camera pointed out that “... Patsy was a former Miss West Virginia [and] would never be seen wearing the same thing twice”. Therefore, her wearing the same thing the next day was odd, to say the least. The morning of the 26th, Patsy claimed to have found a lengthy ransom note on the staircase in the house. This note was written with a pen belonging to the Ramsey’s, and on a piece of paper ripped out of a notepad found in the office. This information was very unusual because that would mean the ransom note was written inside the Ramsey’s Colorado home. The detectives, who were skeptical of the family members, tested to see if the handwriting matched either Patsy or John’s. “John’s was definitively cleared and... mine scored 4.5 out of 5. Five is definitely no match” said Patsy in an interview. This means that there is a possibility, albeit slim, that Pasty wrote the ransom note, and this did not come as a surprise. The ransom had the word attaché included in a sentence saying, “Make sure that you bring an adequate size attaché to the bank”. This word raised suspicion because of the way that it was written, with the accent above the e, which is something that few people remember. JonBenét's name includes an accent as well and Patsy was always adamant about writing it out, which ties her to the ransom note yet again. If she wrote the note, then it is likely that this “kidnapping” was a cover-up for something much more haunting. However, until the very end, Patsy insisted that she did not kill her precious daughter, “I don’t give a flying flip... Go back to the damn drawing board. I didn’t do it”.
Conclusion
The Christmas of 1966, the Ramsey family experienced every parent's worst nightmare. Patsy Ramsey and her husband John woke up to find their beautiful daughter, Jonbenet, missing. She had an incredibly bright future ahead of her and all that ended with a ransom note left on the staircase of their Colorado home. Patsy quickly called the police to report her daughter missing. Sometime after the police had arrived on the scene, John found JonBenet’s lifeless body in the wine cellar.
Could Burke Ramsey JonBenet’s brother, have killed her and, Patsy and John helped in covering it up to protect him?
Was Patsy, JonBenet’s ultimate killer, over jealousy?
Many people have worked together to formulate different theories on what may have happened to the young child known as JonBenet. However, this case is still unsolved and likely never will be. There is so much evidence and had this crime scene properly been taken care of from the very beginning then maybe JonBenet could have received the justice she deserves.
