User:CaroleHenson/Death of JonBenét Ramsey theories

There are two primary groups of theories for explaining the death of JonBenét Ramsey, a six-year-old American beauty queen who was killed in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 25, 1996, – those that say her death was caused by a family member (her mother, father, or older brother) and those that say she was killed by an intruder.

One of the types of theories is the intruder theory, in which a non-family member came into the Ramsey home the night of December 25 / December 26, 1996 and sexually assaulted and murdered JonBenét. An intruder could have been a pedophile and/or sexual sadist, according to investigator Lou Smit. Alternatively, the murder could have occurred as an act of revenge or retaliation against one of the Ramsey family members, such as JonBenét's father John Ramsey.

Evidence deemed to support the intruder theory includes DNA analysis that excludes the Ramseys, use of a garrote in her death, presence of an unknown Hi-Tec boot print that was found near her body in the basement, and presence of abrasions by a stun gun, believed to immobilize the young girl. A factor supporting this theory is that there was no behavioral history  to suggest that one of the Ramsey family members would kill JonBenét in the manner that she was killed, particularly involving a sexual assault and use of a garrote to strangle her. Her body was not found in a manner in which she would likely be found if she had been killed by a family member, according to former FBI profiler John E. Douglas.

First, Douglas says, a guilty family member would likely stage the events so that another person found the body. Secondly, her body was not covered in a manner that a parent would likely cover their dead child. Douglas contends that although there were no signs of forced entry, an intruder could have entered the home through a basement window or other means.

Another type of theory is the family member theory. People that espouse this theory include investigators James Kolar and Steve Thomas. Evidence ruled out John as the author of the ransom note and her brother Burke Ramsey was ruled out entirely as a suspect by both the police and DA. DNA was believed by Mary Lacy, the Boulder District Attorney, to have ruled out JonBenét's mother Patsy. Patsy may have killed JonBenét in what began as an initial accidental event, according to former Boulder police investigator Steve Thomas.

The key basis of this theory is that a lot of the evidence was staged, starting with the ransom note, according to Boulder police and reporting by Denver Post's Mark Obmascik. Patsy has not been ruled out as the author of the unusually long ransom note. The ransom note and the practice note were written in the home, which is highly unusual. The ransom demand for $118,000 happens to be the amount of John Ramsey's bonus. Theories that a family member was involved assert that there was an accidental event that killed or nearly killed JonBenét, which led to a series of cover-up activities. This is inconsistent with the Ramseys' past behavior, particularly the sexual assault and creation and use of a garrote to strangle the young girl.

The case was difficult to prosecute because District Attorney Alex "Hunter and others did not feel confident that all the evidence pointed in one direction," said Former Boulder Police investigator Steven Thomas. For instance, according to the New York Times, "The conflicting views, which mirror conflicting evidence, were largely the reason Mr Hunter dismissed a grand jury last October that heard evidence in the case for 13 months without indicting anyone. Legal experts claimed that the grand jury case "was penmanship vs. panties." The DNA on JonBenét's panties belonged to an unknown person and the ransom note, "the most damaging information against any one suspect", was believed by some to have been written by Patsy Ramsey.

Events preceding JonBenét's death
There were several events that occurred in the week preceding JonBenét's death. John Ramsey hosted an Access Graphics company party to celebrate having reached $1 billion in sales, an accomplishment which was published in the local paper on December 21, 1996. The following day, JonBenét—who had regularly participated in beauty pageants—sang and danced at a holiday event at a Denver mall.

On December 23, the family hosted a holiday party in which a neighbor, who was later to become a suspect in the case, played Santa The Ramseys said they feared that there could have been a connection between any of these events and the death of their daughter.

Evidence analysis
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and a private laboratory, Cellmark, were two organizations involved in the analysis of evidence in JonBenét's death. Mark Stolorow of Cellmark and Pete Mang of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation have described evidence analysis generally for the types of evidence found in this case.

One of the primary types of evidence analysis performed in the case is DNA analysis of blood, hair, fingernail scrapings and other body fluids, such as dried vaginal secretions, found at the crime scene. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation researchers compare the DNA evidence against that of suspects in the case, targeting 13 DNA markers. Cellmark then performs analysis of the DNA on additional markers. Although they could not discuss the findings, Stolorow and Mang state that they have tested a "number of people" involved in the case. The DNA evidence is significant because DNA is unique among people and DNA matches "can definitively place an individual suspect at the scene of the crime."

There were dark fibers found on the white rope used for the garrote and from JonBenet's genital area. Mang said "When two people come in contact with each other, there's going to be an exchange of fibers." The offender could have picked up fibers and may have left behind fibers, such as the "dark fibers" found in this case. Chemical analysis and microscopes are used to compare the chemical makeup of the fibers, such as the dyes used on the fibers. Structural analysis includes evaluation of cross-sectional shapes of different types of fibers. The evidence is more compelling if there are a number of fibers collected at the crime scene that match to a suspect. Other evidence, such as the paintbrush, duct tape and garrote, were analyzed for cellular material, fibers, and fingerprints that may tie to a suspect.

The ransom note was analyzed from several perspectives. The paper that the note was written on and the ink used to write the note were analyzed for chemical composition. For instance, the chemical composition of ink from pens collected from the Ramsey house were compared to the chemical composition of the ink used to write the note. The handwriting was analyzed for size and shape of the letters, pressure of the pen on the paper, and comparison of "quantitative characters" on the note to samples provided by suspects for consistency between the documents.

Shoe prints, such as those made by Hi-Tec or SAS shoes found in and outside the Ramsey home, were compared to shoes of suspects by size, tread design and wear pattern.