Foreign Faction: Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet? Read online

  Investigators were predominantly interested in Patsy Ramsey. In addition to her handwriting style being consistent with the ransom note, photographs that had been developed from the White’s Christmas day dinner party had been reviewed, and it was discovered that Patsy had been wearing the same clothing, a red turtleneck sweater and black pants, on the morning of the reported kidnapping as those depicted in the holiday photos.

  Rick French had noted his observations about the attire in his initial police report and had also observed that her hair and makeup had been done on the morning of the kidnapping.

  The clothing seemed out of character for the former Miss America beauty contestant, and family friends had told investigators that Patsy had never been observed to wear the same outfit two days in a row. She was always meticulous about her appearance.

  Investigators were pondering if she had ever gone to bed that night, and were anxious to hear a full accounting of her story line.

  Detectives Tom Trujillo and Steve Thomas were assigned the task of interviewing Patsy and John Ramsey, and it had been agreed that the interviews would take place in a conference room at the district attorney’s office.

  Trujillo began the questioning by asking Patsy for some general background information and learned that she had grown up in Parkersburg, West Virginia. She pointed to some of the highlights of her upbringing, becoming a member of student government in junior high, mentioning that she had been a cheerleader in 10th grade, and had moved on and up to the “drill team” her senior year.

  She attended the University of West Virginia where she obtained a degree in Journalism and graduated Magna Cum Laude. During her college years, Patsy won the title of Miss West Virginia and went on to compete in the Miss America pageant. She reported winning a $2,000 scholarship during the West Virginia competition in the category of “dramatic dialogue.”

  After completing college, Patsy moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the summer of 1979 where she met her future husband, John Ramsey. They were married in November, 1980.

  Trujillo moved on to generic questions regarding her relationship with people in her neighborhood, her knowledge about the details of her husband’s business dealings, and the types of visitors who had frequented her home. She initially did not seem to be aware of any conflicts taking place in John’s work environment, but later in the interview was able to name three people who had left Access Graphics, John’s Boulder business, under difficult circumstances. Two of the men had reportedly been making threats after their departure from the business.

  She expressed ignorance about the $118,000 year-end bonus that John had received and any relevance it may have had to the ransom demand made by the kidnappers of JonBenét.

  Investigators wanted to know if she was familiar with or suspected any of the service workers who had been in the home over the years. A number of names were run past her, and she was unable to say that she recognized anyone in particular. No one stood out as a potential suspect in her early part of the interview.

  Turning their focus to the events surrounding Christmas Day, Patsy indicated that the kids had awakened her and John around six that morning. They attempted to pace themselves in the opening of presents, and when all was said and done, she made a pancake breakfast for the family.

  A number of neighborhood children came over later that morning and played throughout the course of the day with Burke and JonBenét.

  John went to the airport sometime after the lunch hour to check on his private airplane. They were scheduled to fly to their “second home” in Charlevoix, Michigan at seven a.m. the following morning to have a second Christmas with John’s older children. John Andrew, Melinda, and boyfriend Stewart Long, were flying from the south to meet the Ramseys for a quick holiday celebration.

  Another trip had been scheduled for the Ramsey family to take a cruise on Disney’s Big Red Boat in celebration of Patsy’s fortieth birthday, which was December 29th. Patsy advised the investigators that she had continued to do some packing for both trips after their pancake breakfast. This included some last minute present wrapping in the basement of the home.

  She reported that clothing for the Disney cruise was being packed into suitcases in John Andrew’s second floor bedroom.

  Clothing for the Charlevoix trip was minimal and was being placed into plastic bags.

  The family had been invited to Fleet and Priscilla White’s home that evening to join the family and their relatives for a Christmas dinner. The kids were cleaned up after their day of play, and Patsy advised that she believed they arrived at the White home sometime around 5:30 p.m. When queried about what JonBenét may have had to eat during the party, she indicated that Priscilla had specially prepared a plate of cracked crab to ensure that she would have some to enjoy. The kids reportedly liked seafood.

  Patsy believed they stayed at the party for several hours and headed home around eight or nine p.m. They made two stops on the way, delivering Christmas gifts to the homes of the Walkers and Stines.

  It was revealed that JonBenét had fallen asleep in the car when the family returned home from the dinner party, and that John Ramsey had carried her upstairs to her bedroom. Following close on, Patsy turned down her daughter’s bed and exchanged the child’s black party pants with long-john bottoms. The sequin-starred shirt that had been worn beneath a black vest remained on her daughter as she was tucked into bed for the night.

  Patsy stated on several occasions that JonBenét was “really zonked” and never awakened after returning home from the party.

  Patsy would confirm during the interview that JonBenét had not had anything to eat upon returning home that evening.

  Patsy thought that perhaps John had stayed up to play with Burke for a few minutes before going to bed. She indicated that she had returned to the task of trying to finish putting things together for the morning trip and was not certain how Burke went to bed that evening. She denied have any further contact with him after returning home from the White dinner party.

  After spending approximately 30 minutes on last-minute packing, Patsy indicated that she believed she had washed her face, brushed her teeth, and changed into pajamas for bed.

  She estimated that she turned in around ten or ten-thirty p.m. Her husband joined her not long thereafter.

  Patsy stated that she rose from bed around five-thirty the following morning, December 26th, just after John had got up to shower. She reported that they had awakened without the use of the alarm. When queried about her activities upon rising, Patsy indicated that she had put on her makeup and done her hair and put on the same clothing worn from the dinner party the previous evening.

  She stated that she stopped briefly in the hallway at the laundry machines located outside JonBenét’s bedroom door. It appeared slightly ajar the way she had left it the previous evening, and there was no light emitting from the room. Patsy then proceeded downstairs, intending to make some coffee and prepare a little breakfast before the morning flight.

  She indicated that she did not check on her daughter until after finding the ransom note at the bottom of the spiral stairs at the rear of kitchen.

  As she descended the rear circular stairway, Patsy noticed some papers spread across one of the lower treads. She stepped over them and turned to see three pages spread out from left to right. There was no indication that a light had been turned on in the darkened hallway, but she said that she leaned over to read the note.

  She could not recall if she had handled the ransom note, and had only read the first few lines before seeing the part about someone having her daughter. She immediately ran back upstairs to check on JonBenét.

  Patsy indicated that she pushed open the door to JonBenét’s bedroom and immediately saw that she was not there. The lamp next to her daughter’s bed was not on, and she screamed for John.

  John rushed down stairs from their 3rd floor bedroom, and Patsy told him about the note and that JonBenét had been kidnapped.

  Photo 15 - Rear kitche
n hallway and spiral stairs leading to 2nd floor. The Ransom Note was found on the bottom stair treads. Source: Boulder PD Case File / Internet

  At some point, a quick check of Burke’s bedroom was made by her husband before police were called. He had come downstairs in his underwear, and had moved the note from the stair tread to the floor near the entrance of the kitchen. John was on his hands and knees reading the note when Patsy called 911 from a nearby kitchen wall phone.

  Patsy did not believe that John had gone to the basement before the first officer arrived on scene and indicated that he had run back upstairs after the 911 call to dress.

  It was indicated that Burke had remained asleep throughout the entire ordeal and that he had remained in his room until Fleet White suggested that he could hang-out at his home with visiting family in south Boulder. White did eventually drive Burke to his home where he remained until after the discovery of his sister’s body.

  An initial suspect reported to police that morning was the Ramsey housekeeper, Linda Hoffmann-Pugh. Patsy mentioned that Hoffmann-Pugh had requested a $2,000.00 loan, and she thought that the handwriting on the ransom note looked similar to that of the housekeeper.

  Patsy failed to mention to investigators during the April interview anything about Hoffmann-Pugh’s previous comments about “kidnapping.” On the morning of December 26th, as investigators were investigating the case, it came to their attention that Linda Hoffmann-Pugh had once asked Patsy if she was ever concerned about JonBenét being kidnapped. Hoffmann-Pugh thought her to be such a pretty little girl that she might be an attractive target for someone who was so inclined.

  At the close of the interview, Patsy denied writing the ransom note or knowing anything about a foreign faction or the meaning of “SBTC,” the purported signatory to the ransom note. In addition, she disavowed any knowledge about, or participation in, the death of her daughter.

  Trujillo and Thomas began their interview of John at three that afternoon, and he confirmed some of the details about putting JonBenét to bed after returning from the White dinner party, as had been provided by his wife.

  He estimated that they had left the Whites around eight-thirty, quarter to nine and had then delivered some presents to the homes of the Walker and Stine families. They arrived home at around nine to nine-fifteen.

  JonBenét had fallen asleep in the car, and John carried her to her bedroom upon their arrival home. She remained asleep throughout the process, and Patsy reportedly followed him several minutes later to prepare her for bed. That was the last time John saw his daughter alive.

  Burke was interested in putting together some type of toy that he had received for Christmas, and John indicated that he spent a little time with him downstairs helping to assemble it. They spent approximately 15 minutes working on the project. Anxious to get to bed because of their early morning flight, John then had Burke prepare for bed, changing his clothes, brushing his teeth, and getting him settled in for the night.

  John did not think that Burke had anything to eat after returning home that evening.

  John then prepared himself for bed and took a Melatonin tablet to help him fall asleep quickly. He joined Patsy in their bed sometime around ten. He thought he may have read for a little bit and estimated that the lights were out by ten-thirty or ten-forty. Neither he, nor Patsy, were thought to have gotten up over the remainder of the night.

  He rose the next morning at about five-twenty-five, before the alarm went off that had been set for five-thirty. Patsy was still in bed as he headed for the shower.

  Part way through his morning ritual, he heard a scream of panic from Patsy, and he could tell from her tone that something was wrong. He ran down the back staircase and met her midway at the landing. He remembered her showing him the note, and he thought that he had run back upstairs to check JonBenét’s room and then on Burke. Burke was still asleep, and reportedly had not been awakened by Patsy’s scream.

  John was not certain if Patsy had handled the ransom note, but recalled that it was he who moved it to the hallway floor near the entrance of the kitchen and read it as Patsy called 911. It was spread out across the floor, and he was hunched down over it so he could read it quickly.

  After finishing the 911 call, John was aware that Patsy had called the Whites and the Fernies, and he ran back upstairs to finish dressing.

  Officer Rick French was the first to arrive on the scene, and he reported that French directed them to the first floor solarium. He couldn’t remember the exact sequence, but other police officers arrived along with the family friends who had been summoned to the home.

  When asked about the security of the home, John indicated that the connecting door between the house and the garage was typically left unlocked and that he usually checked the rear door that the kids used to access the back yard.

  John indicated that he believed he had checked all of the first-floor doors on the morning of the 26th. He went outside at one point to check an exterior door that accessed the garage. The interior of that door was blocked with boxes, and he couldn’t get to it from inside the garage. He estimated that he was outside no longer than 30 seconds and had gone out a side door to check the security of that door. John did not report finding any other ground floor door open or unsecured.

  John walked the investigators through his discovery of his daughter’s body, explaining that Detective Arndt had asked that the home be checked for anything unusual. John led Fleet White to the Train Room of the basement and explained that he had broken in through that set of windows when locked out of the house the previous summer. They inspected the area for broken glass, and then John moved out of the room and down the hallway to the Wine Cellar.

  He reported that he unlatched the wood block that secured the door and immediately saw a white blanket on the floor inside the room. John advised that he observed JonBenét lying on the blanket and it was “kind of folded around her legs.” Her arms were tied behind her head, some pieces of black tape were on her legs, and her head was cocked to the side.

  John immediately removed a piece of tape that covered her mouth and tried to untie the bindings around her wrists. He was not successful at fully removing them, and grabbed his daughter beneath her arms and carried her upright to the first floor of the house. He noted that her body was stiff, and he placed her on the floor after arriving upstairs.

  The big surprise came for investigators when John revealed that he had been to the basement earlier in the morning, before being directed to check the house by Detective Arndt at approximately 1:00 p.m. that day.

  John indicated that he had seen the broken Train Room window during his earlier trip. There was no glass around, and he presumed that it had not been repaired from his previous forced entry that summer. He stated that the window was open approximately 1/8” and he latched the window before returning upstairs.

  When pressed for a time frame of this first undeclared visit, John thought that it had probably been before ten a.m. Investigators wondered why he would be leaving the room where a trap and trace and recorder had been established to accept the ransom call from kidnappers to explore the far reaches of the basement. To them, it seemed more likely that he had made this trip to the basement a little later in the morning when Detective Arndt first reported losing track of his whereabouts around 10:40 a.m.

  John offered the theory that someone had come through the basement window and mentioned the Samsonite suitcase sitting below the window. He pointed out that someone could have gotten into the home without it, but that something would have been needed to step on in order to climb out of the window.†

  He noted that the window-well grate would not have been obvious to someone walking by the home. The ground-level grate was not visible from the front, street-side of the home, nor was it readily visible from the rear alley.

  John had commented shortly after the discovery of JonBenét’s body that whoever had committed the crime had to have been someone on the “inside” and cited these init
ial thoughts as one of the reasons housekeeper Linda Hoffmann-Pugh had been first named as a possible suspect. She and her husband were intimately familiar with the Ramsey home and the layout of the basement.

  The interview with John Ramsey concluded at approximately five p.m. on the afternoon of April 30, 1997. Patsy’s interview had taken nearly six hours. His lasted a mere ninety minutes. Husband and wife left the building in the escort of a cadre of attorneys.

  Investigators would learn some new things that had not been revealed during the “hours of interviews” that had been conducted with parents on the day of JonBenét’s kidnapping. A number of topics were broached over the course of the day including the use of polygraphs. A later chapter will speak to that particular issue.

  Patsy seemed to handle the questions with composure, but in some instances appeared to be evasive, according to the personal observations of the investigators. A number of questions were answered with “I don’t remember,” or “I can’t recall,” something that could have been reasonably expected given the time delay between the event and the date of this interview.

  It was Thomas’s opinion, however, that Patsy had been well-rehearsed in advance of the interview, and that a different woman sat before him than what he had experienced during the December 28th non-custodial evidence collection procedure.

  Some minor inconsistencies had developed during the interview, and a few other important details were pinned down by investigators.

  The initial reporting of JonBenét going to bed wearing a red turtleneck top had changed between the time of Patsy’s first interview on the morning of December 26th and that conducted on April 30th. It is not clear from Patsy’s April interview what became of the red sweater, but crime scene investigators had located the top balled up on the bathroom counter of JonBenét’s bathroom during their processing of the crime scene.