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Bonnie M. Wells

Web site special:

Judge:

"Parents Not Involved in JonBenet Ramsey Murder"

Saturday, April 05, 2003

DENVER

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the parents of JonBenet Ramsey and criticized police and the FBI for what she said was a media campaign aimed at making the family look guilty.

Authorities never charged the parents in the death of the 6-year-old, whose body was found in the family's Boulder home Dec. 26, 1996. However, police refused to clear the couple of suspicion and ruled out the possibility that an intruder was responsible.

U.S. District Court Judge Julie Carnes of Atlanta said in the ruling this week there was no evidence showing the parents killed Jonbenet the case away from Boulder police earlier this year.

"I think this decision, coupled with Mary Keenan's decision, should allow the Ramseys to win in the court of public opinion also," attorney L. Lin Wood, who represents the Ramseys, said Saturday. "She recognizes in her order that the FBI and the Boulder police used the media to convince people the Ramseys were guilty."

Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner declined to comment.

Carnes' ruling was in a lawsuit brought by Chris Wolf, a former Boulder journalist whom the Ramseys described as a suspect in a book they wrote about the murder. Wolf had argued in the lawsuit that Patsy Ramsey killed her daughter and tried to cover it up.

The judge said that the Ramseys had defamed Wolf, but to win his case, Wolf would have had to put the Ramseys on trial for murder.

"In short, plaintiff's success in this litigation requires him to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that defendants killed their child," the judge wrote. She said she dismissed the suit "because there is virtually no evidence to support plaintiff's theory that they murdered their child."

DA: Ramsey Evidence Points To Intruder

Prosecutor Agrees With Federal Judge About Investigation

BOULDER, Colo. --

The Boulder district attorney agrees with a federal judge in Atlanta that the evidence in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case points to an intruder and not to the murdered girls parents.

Mary Keenan issued a statement Monday afternoon that said, "I agree with the (federal) court's conclusion that 'the weight of the evidence is more consistent with a theory that an intruder murdered JonBenet than it is with a theory that Mrs. Ramsey did so.'

Last week, U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes dismissed a lawsuit against the Ramseys, criticizing police and the FBI for a media campaign aimed at making the family look guilty.

Keenan agreed, saying in her statement, "For several months, my office has been investigating new and other unpursued leads, most of which involve the possibility that an intruder committed this crime. We are proceeding with the full cooperation of the Ramseys, Detective Lou Smit and the Boulder Police Department. We are all focused on the apprehension and successful prosecution of the killer of JonBenet."

"There is only one way to interpret this. I think the 6 1/2-year nightmare of John and Patsy Ramsey having to face false accusations of being involved in the murder of their child is now over," said L. Lin Wood, the lawyer who defended the Ramseys in the suit by Wolf.

"Mary Keenan is totally familiar with all the evidence in this case and she has stated in unequivocal terms that the weight of the evidence is more consistent with the theory that an intruder murdered JonBenet than Patsy Ramsey," said Wood.

Boulder police have never charged the Ramseys in the murder of JonBenet, whose body was found in the family home on the morning of Dec. 26, 1996. However, they refused to clear the parents of suspicion and ruled out the possibility that an intruder killed the 6-year-old.

Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner has referred all questions about the case to Keenan after her office took it over.

Lou Smit, a retired Colorado Springs homicide detective, quit the former district attorney's investigative team after concluding the Ramseys were innocent. He later worked for the Ramseys and is now helping Keenan.

A grand jury considering the evidence adjourned in 1999 with no indictment issued.

'No Evidence' That Ramseys Killed JonBenet

Judge dismisses a defamation suit against Ramseys,

suggests intruder may have slain their daughter

Through the prism of a defamation suit, a federal judge in Atlanta has examined the 1996 murder case of 6-year-old Colorado beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey and determined there is "virtually no evidence" to support theories that her parents killed her.

U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes, a former federal prosecutor, ruled that there is "abundant evidence" to support assertions by JonBenét's parents, John B. and Patricia P. "Patsy" Ramsey, "that an intruder entered their home at some point during the night of Dec. 25, 1996, and killed their daughter." The Ramseys buried their daughter in Marietta, Ga., and now live in the Atlanta area.

Carnes' order stems from a 2000 case filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta by Robert Christian Wolf, a Boulder, Colo., journalist who has written for Colorado Daily and The Boulder County Business Report. Wolf, who had been questioned by Boulder police as a potential suspect in JonBenét's murder, sued the Ramseys. He claimed that Patsy Ramsey and her husband, as a way of directing police suspicion away from Patsy, had hired private detectives to investigate Wolf and others "in the hope of encouraging the authorities to arrest the plaintiff for the murder of her daughter."

The Ramseys did so, Wolf contended, because they have been "under an umbrella of suspicion" since shortly after John Ramsey found his daughter's body in the basement of their Boulder home on Dec. 26, 1996.

After a 13-month investigation, a Boulder County grand jury in 1999 declined to indict the Ramseys, but also declined to clear them.

In his complaint, Wolf also claimed that although he had "been cleared of all suspicion by authorities" in JonBenét's death, the Ramseys named him as a suspect in their book, "The Death of Innocence: The Untold Story of JonBenét's Murder and How Exploitation Compromised the Pursuit of Truth."

According to Wolf's complaint, the Ramseys knew he was not a legitimate suspect because Patsy Ramsey had "either accidentally or intentionally" killed her daughter and then carried out "an elaborate and transparent attempt to cover up her crime."

Wolf also claimed that John Ramsey soon became aware of what his wife had done and attempted to direct suspicion away from her by hiring private detectives to investigate him and dozens of other alleged suspects.

On March 31, Carnes dismissed the case against the Ramseys on a motion for summary judgment. Noting that if Wolf could not prove "by clear and convincing evidence" that his theory that the Ramseys killed their daughter was true, "he cannot demonstrate that their statement concerning his status as a suspect was made with the requisite malice."

Carnes wrote, "Indeed, [the Ramseys] arguably understated the police department's interest in [Wolf]. Since 1997, [Wolf] has been a longstanding suspect of both the Boulder Police Department and the Boulder County District Attorney's Office in the murder investigation."

In her 93-page dismissal order, Carnes evaluated evidence that the Ramseys, Patsy Ramsey in particular, were responsible for their daughter's slaying. In her analysis, Carnes sharply criticized the botched investigation that followed the discovery of JonBenét's body; accused Boulder police of using the media to target the Ramseys; and stated that the Ramseys, despite widespread criticism to the contrary, attempted to cooperate fully with detectives investigating their daughter's murder.

The federal judge also censured former Boulder Detective Steven Thomas, who has written a book about the slaying theorizing that Patsy Ramsey was the killer, and New York attorney Darnay R. Hoffman, a frequent television commentator who represented Wolf in this case. Finally, Carnes noted in her order that Wolf remains a suspect in JonBenét's murder.

A Victory 'From A To Z'

It is the first time that a judge has reviewed all the evidence pertaining to JonBenét's murder and released a public analysis of the case, said the Ramseys' Atlanta attorney L. Lin Wood Jr.

"I just find it, from A to Z, a total, unequivocal victory for John and Patsy Ramsey," Wood said. "The court has done what I've urged the public to do from day one. Look at the evidence. ... If you look at the evidence, you will reach the same conclusion Judge Carnes reached. This is a family that has been horribly and wrongfully accused of the murder of their child."

Wood said that since Boulder County District Attorney Mary W. Keenan took office, she has rejuvenated the investigation into JonBenét's murder.

Characterizing Keenan's investigation as "very active," Wood said investigators "are doing things in that case that have never been done before," including testing foreign, male DNA that was found in JonBenét's underwear.

Information compiled by the Ramseys' own investigators also has been turned over to Keenan, Wood said. "We have reached a point where the Ramseys are getting what they wanted all along: an independent, objective, skilled investigation into the murder of their daughter."

James C. Rawls, a partner at Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy, who was co-counsel with Wood, said Carnes' order "was courageous. ... There will be folks in Colorado, and perhaps elsewhere, who have a stake in the outcome and will be critical of this. ... This decision in this case does mean that Boulder police got it wrong."

Rawls and two Powell Goldstein associates, Eric P. Schroeder and S. Derek Bauer, joined the defense of the Ramseys in 2001 at the request of the couple's Nashville publisher, Thomas Nelson & Co. and its insurance company. Rawls said that in the course of the litigation, "We became totally convinced of the Ramseys' innocence and the fact that they had really suffered from, of course, the loss of their daughter and from the devastating publicity stemming from the Boulder police."

Carnes' ruling is significant, he said because the Ramseys "have never been accused of a crime formally. They have never been arrested. They have never been indicted. But thanks to Boulder police, they have been said to be the primary suspects."

Asked via e-mail and voice-mail to comment on Carnes' ruling, Hoffman responded in a brief e-mail by attaching two exhibits filed during the litigation. One was an article published in The Rocky Mountain News regarding Keenan's renewed investigation and her decision not to discuss it publicly. The second was a handwriting analysis submitted by Hoffman's experts, whose credibility Carnes neatly eviscerated in her order.

Early in her order, Carnes noted that Wolf's allegations mirrored those of Thomas, the former Boulder detective assigned to JonBenét's murder investigation from January 1997 through June 1998. He subsequently left the Boulder Police Department and co-authored a book, "JonBenét: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation," in which he laid out his theory that Patsy Ramsey wrote the ransom note claiming her daughter had been kidnapped to cover up the murder.

Patsy Ramsey, according to that theory, discovered that JonBenét had wet her bed and grew so angry that, while in her daughter's bathroom, she "slammed" JonBenét's head against a hard surface, possibly the tub, and inflicted a fatal head wound. Then she staged the kidnapping, strangulation and sexual assault of her daughter to hide the crime.

Carnes's order scoffed at that scenario, dismissing it as "merely speculation." "In Mr. Thomas's scenario, rather than being grateful that her child was alive, Mrs. Ramsey nevertheless decided to finish the job off by fashioning a garrote from one of her paintbrushes, looping the cord around the girl's neck, and then choking JonBenét to death."

She also was critical of suggestions by the plaintiff that Patsy Ramsey's depression over a shaky marriage may have prompted her to kill her daughter. "Although plaintiff presents such evidence in support of his theory ... if accepted as true, [it] cuts against plaintiff's theory that Mr. Ramsey assisted his wife in the 'cover-up' of JonBenét's murder. In other words, if the marriage was shaky, it arguably seems less likely that the innocent spouse would help the guilty spouse cover up her murder of their child."

Crime Scene 'Compromised'

Carnes also criticized Boulder police, saying that "a series of events compromised the crime scene" and that its officers, including Thomas, had little or no experience in homicide investigation.

In addition, police adopted a suggestion by the FBI "to publicly name [the Ramseys'] as suspects and apply intense media pressure to them so that they would confess to the crime." The police department's attempt to "smoke out" the Ramseys as their daughter's killers utilized the media as a tool, according to Carnes' order.

"In addition to this intentional use of the press, a number of leaks of confidential information, at various stages of the murder investigation, served to hamper the ability of the Boulder Police Department to conduct an effective investigation into the crime."

Indeed, "many people have attempted to capitalize on and profit from the widespread interest in JonBenét's murder," Carnes' order stated, among them, Wolf, who attempted to secure his own book deal, and Thomas, "the chief theorist behind [Wolf's] claims." Wolf, the order pointed out, "has appeared before the media and profited from discussing and critiquing the murder investigation."

Although in his complaint Wolf alleged the Ramseys defamed him by suggesting he was a suspect, he gave an interview in 1997 to the television show "Hard Copy" "in which he claimed to be a suspect." He was paid $5,000.

Hoffman, Wolf's attorney, also insinuated himself into the Ramsey murder investigation early on, Carnes' order noted. As early as March 1997, Hoffman wrote a letter to then-Boulder County district attorney Alex Hunter suggesting that the Ramseys had killed JonBenét.

"The Boulder authorities did not take Mr. Hoffman's unsubstantiated theories seriously and considered much of his submissions to be 'off the wall,'" Carnes' order stated.

In mid-1997, Hoffman began soliciting handwriting experts to tie Patsy Ramsey to the ransom note. Carnes rejected one's being an expert because "she is not qualified to provide expert testimony ... has never taken a certification exam, completed an accreditation course in document examination, or been an apprentice to an ABFDE [American Board of Forensic Document Examiners] certified document examiner or worked in a crime lab."

Carnes also discounted testimony of a second handwriting expert recruited by Hoffman, ruling that he offered "no hint of the methodology" he used in determining that the ransom note "with 100 percent certainty" was written by Patsy Ramsey.

Hoffman also began filing a series of suits in Colorado, New York and, finally, Atlanta, sometimes on his own behalf, and sometimes on behalf of others. One suit filed in Colorado attempted to force the Boulder County district attorney to explain why he had not charged the Ramseys with murder.

According to Carnes' order, the Ramseys did attempt to cooperate with law enforcement authorities investigating their daughter's death. "During the course of the investigation, defendants signed over one hundred releases for information requested by the police, and provided all evidence and information requested by the police."

Carnes added, "Despite widespread criticism that defendants failed to cooperate in the murder investigation, defendants note that they agreed, on at least three occasions, to be interviewed separately by representatives of the police and of the Boulder County district attorney's office."

Proof Of An Intruder

Carnes' order also lists a series of largely uncontested facts that suggest an intruder entered the Ramsey home and murdered JonBenét. Among them:

At least seven windows and a door in the Ramsey home were found open or unlocked after JonBenét disappeared.

The alarm was off and windows were accessible from the ground level, including three that opened into the basement.

Evidence suggested that an intruder climbed through a basement window and walked through the room where JonBenét was found.

JonBenét's body was bound with complicated rope slipknots and a garrote that the order described as "sophisticated bondage devices" by someone "with an expertise in bondage." No evidence suggests the Ramseys knew how to tie such knots.

Black duct tape found on JonBenét's mouth was never found in the Ramsey home, although evidence suggested "it came from a roll of tape that had been used before."

Nothing in the Ramsey home matched dark animal hairs found on the duct tape and JonBenét's hands.

Newly made, unidentified shoe prints, including one with a HI-TEC brand mark, were found on the basement floor. None of the Ramseys' shoes matched those prints.

A palm print on the wine-cellar door where JonBenét's body was found does not match the Ramseys' palm prints and has never been identified.

A baseball bat found outside the house with fibers consistent with fibers found on the carpet in the basement where JonBenét's body was found did not belong to the Ramseys.

Brown cotton fibers found on JonBenét's body, the paintbrush used as a garrote, the duct tape and the ligature around her neck did not match anything in the Ramsey home.

Male DNA found under JonBenét's fingernails and in her underwear does not match that of any Ramsey and has not been identified yet.

A pubic hair found on the blanket covering JonBenét's body did not match that of any Ramsey.

Injuries found on the child's body are consistent with the use of a stun gun, according to a forensic pathologist. The Ramseys swore they had never owned or operated a stun gun and none was found in their home. Carnes cited testimony by A. Louis "Lou" Smit, a homicide detective originally hired by the Boulder Police Department to investigate JonBenét's death but who later began working for the Ramseys.

Smit has said he believes JonBenét was subdued by a stun gun.

Carnes reserved special criticism for Thomas, the former Boulder detective upon whose theories the Wolf complaint was based. "Whereas Detective Smit's summary testimony concerning the investigation is based on evidence, Detective Thomas' theories appear to lack substantial evidentiary support," she wrote.

"Indeed, while Detective Smit is an experienced and respected homicide detective, Detective Thomas had no investigative experience concerning homicide cases prior to this case. In short, the plaintiff's evidence that the [Ramseys] killed their daughter and covered up their crime is based on little more than the fact that defendants were present in the house during the murder," Carnes wrote.

And about all that's left for me to say at this point is ..... "Thank you Lord. It's been a long time in commin', but I just knew someone with a little bit of sense had to come along sooner or later.

And when this is all over.... all said and done .....and it will be, one day soon .... I have another message. This one is for those people who have purchased books 8 and 8a from my Pure Coincidence series. Some of you have commented on my story and theory, and to those I say thank you. Others have remained suspiciously silent. As far as I'm concerned, they can remain that way. I'm not one to allow the world to shape my thoughts and opinions, and have very little respect for those who do.

I took a stand early on in the Ramsey case, and I did some of the best psychic research that was ever conducted in the case. It matters not to me whether anyone ever admits this or not. But I didn't stop with my own research. In fairness, I read almost every book written about the case and followed as many news reports as I could obtain. No where did I find any evidence that indicated John, Patsy or Burke Ramsey killed JonBenet.

It was a few years after JonBenet's murder (2002) when another case arose that involved a nine year old child, and the abduction of that child's sister. I won't name the case here, but anyone who watches the news is aware of it. In that case I was amazed and sickened by the vast difference that was shown to that family as compared to the Ramsey family.

In the 2002 case, the nine year old was never considered a suspect like little Burke was. Never accused of anything, even though the child's "eyewitness reports" changed from day to day. The child was never interrogated by police without the family, and never put under any pressure to "confess" to having a part in the disappearance of the other family member.

John and Patsy Ramsey's lives were devastated by the death of their daughter, but that wasn't good enough for a blood thirsty media. No, they could not be content until the people were driven from their home, had lost jobs, friends and reputation. How differently family number two was treated. Their "privacy" was so precious that no one ever discovered where the father worked, or what he had done in his past. No one "investigated" his entire background like they did John Ramsey. No one tried to tear the family to pieces because their child had been abducted.....and could have been dead, just as easily as JonBenet was .... in fact could have been killed in her own bedroom just as JonBenet was ....had the intruder so desired.

I know how it feels to tell the truth and be called a liar, only to watch the real liars picked up and hailed as heroes. I will never forget, and I will never be part of such action, and I don't care if the entire world refuses to acknowledge my efforts! It will take more than the likes of them to change my mind. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I stand by my work on the Ramsey case ......and all the other cases I've worked on ..... until it is all said and done. Then I will return and either admit I was wrong {oh yes, I can do this too!} or I will proudly proclaim...."I told you so." And better yet, I'll list all the names of those that I told!!! What, you all thought I forgot? Not a chance.

Meanwhile, someone better see if they can con people like Lou Smit into training a few of our new rookie cops before they bestow "detective" status on them without any requirements, and before they toss them into investigating cases such as the Ramsey case. It seems to me that the killers are running away with us. Perhaps it's time to get back to the old ways and forget all this modern computer bs. It doesn't seem to be working .....and neither are the cops who are supposed to be trained investigators. Cases that are solved by scientific methods...DNA....etc. long after they have gone cold in their local districts can not be held up as shinning examples of good police work. Good lab work, maybe, but not good police work.

B.M.W.

Bonnie M. Wells

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