The interrogation ultimately took place at a different police department and the Boulder investigators were forced to watch from a separate building. McReynolds won a Western States Art Foundation regional prize and a $7,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, but it was never published and no copy has been released to the media since. No wonder she is still frozen in time -- forever six. His wife had written a play about a child getting molested and then murdered in a basement. He was 72. We dont want them there.. Waltrip was one of the most famous voices in NASCAR for 19 years. The McReynolds vehemently denied any involvement in JonBent's murder and Janet stated that the couple felt "sensitive to the horror" due to what had happened to their own child. Larry is an only child. Many sleuths believe that Helgoth had heard he was a suspect in the case, with a popular theory believing that it was his footprint at the crime scene. hidden valley ranch recall; world record for wearing the same clothes. Why murder her? It said that she would receive a "special present" after Christmas, and the note was found in the trash at the Ramsey home during the initial investigation. Bill McReynolds Other suspects included neighbor Bill McReynolds, a local Santa Claus who visited the Ramseys a few days before the girl's death. The story of the girls brutal murder is a hot topic of discussion as her killer was never brought to justice. Unless Burke had a behavior disorder, why would they even think that anyone would consider him a suspect? The police quickly decide John and/or Patsy killed JonBenet. Don't Talk to Me, Steven Thomas The Santa Claus figure in the JonBent Ramsey murder case died over the weekend from a heart attack. But were not gonna stop investigating. Arndt suggested that John Ramsey look around the house for any signs that his daughters belongings were out of place. The team referred to the database Smit had created to begin narrowing down suspects. Yet Burke and both his parents have been officially exonerated (see Part 1), based mainly on the most recent DNA evidence. In Part 2, we examined the alleged ransom note in the JonBenet Ramsey case. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Mind-boggling! Could she have had a very special surprise visitor waiting there for her later that Christmas evening, perhaps one previously invited by her parents? Were not investigators. The family moved to Florida when Robert was six years old. But speaking to JonBents parents, the main suspects in the case at that point, as part of a formal interrogation at the police station was challenging. Why not take JBR from the home and to a secluded place where they could do a lot more than just take a few pictures. When he got sick with cancer he knew that his time was limited and so, during that time, he just talked to others about not letting this case die, said Cindy Marra, Smits daughter. (b1930-d:09-02-2002) (Rollinsville, Colorado) Retired CU Journalism Professor 1968-1992. One of the most heated debates surrounding the case is the theory that JonBent might have been murdered by an intruder. Clearly, whatever the perpetrator's identity, some combination of pedophilia and sexual sadism could be reasonably inferred from the grotesque state in which JonBenet's body was found, assuming that this was not purposely staged by Patsy and John to disguise what truly happened, as some still contend. My play was loosely based on, or suggested by, a Apart from it, how come the killer left no traces behind? For instance, if neither John nor Patsy Ramsey was responsible for directly causing their daughter's death, who did? But they also know that he couldn't have written the note and they know that neither one of them wrote it or did anything wrong because they were together the entire time. | Photo: Getty Images. McReynolds' big heart made him a popular instructor, said Doug Cosper, who taught with him at CU. But although the grand jury may have believed one of the parents was culpable and the other helped, they couldn't say who did what, and Hunter ultimately announced that they did not have sufficient evidence to file charges against the parents. Another theory was that John Ramsey accidentally killed his daughter and made Patsy write the ransom note. Barry Williams/Getty Images News/Getty Images, will air a six-hour, three-part documentary. According to The Daily Camera, the McReynolds' middle daughter, 9-years-old at the time, was abducted on December 26, 1974, and witnessed the sexual molestation of her friend. Yet, according to the "official" timeline for Christmas night, 1996, the Ramsey family reportedly attended a Christmas party, returning home around 9 or 9:30 p.m. that night, at which time JonBenet was supposedly promptly carried to her room and put to bed. John Mark Karr confessed to murdering JonBent in 2006. Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. Cindy Mara is one of the daughters of Lou Smit, who investigated JonBenet Ramsey's case and whose dying wish was for his family and friends to find her killer. A former Boulder, Colo., police detective who spent almost two years investigating the killing of JonBenet Ramsey . | Topics It also said that JonBents parents would receive a call from the supposed kidnapper tomorrow between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. It was awful, John Ramsey told ABC News Barbara Walters in 2000. The Boulder Police Department was hit with a lot of criticism due to their handling of the investigation. JonBent Ramsey was an American child beauty queen. The now late Bill McReynolds was also a suspect in the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. Fuller's first small role was as an extra in the 1952 film Above and Beyond. Janet McReynolds said in the same interview that her 1970s play sounded "quaint" in light of the Ramsey murder and only made her family more empathetic to the Ramseys' loss. With everything that was known it really was no wonder. Since it was Christmas, the department was short-staffed and was not prepared for the scene they were faced with at the Ramsey House. The outlet reported that on Dec. 26, 1974, the couple's 9-year-old daughter had been kidnapped along with her friend and she witnessed the sexual abuse of her friend during the trauma. The week before the murder, McReynolds had dressed up as the local Santa and entertained children at a Christmas gathering. JonBent Ramsey's 1996 murder case remains unsolved. Smits daughter, Cindy Marra, said the interviews firmed up his belief that the Ramseys had nothing to do with JonBents murder. JBR could just have been bragging. McReynolds' death was sudden, his wife said, although he had undergone a bypass operation and replacement of aorta valve in 1996. He would never fully recover from that kind of suspicion.". | Photos The $118,000 figure also seemed suspicious to authorities. He grew his long natural white beard when cast as a tavern owner in the play, "Les Miserables" for Unity of Boulder Church. Nonetheless, all this provided these jurors with a unique perspective on the complex facts comprising the case, one which I believe merits our attention and serious consideration right alongside the actual evidence itself. We had a higher priority at that point and that was to bury our daughter.. Very suspicious. Im gonna guess not a lot of people, Garrett said. "He was scarred. You have her pad and a wrote it with her pen and can match her handwriting. His NASCAR career began in 1975. The outlet also reported that Janet had penned a play with a few eery similarities to the case the plot revolved around a girl who was molested and murdered in her basement. | At the time of Bill's death, the couple resided in Cape Cod they reportedly left Boulder in 1998 in order to seek a new beginning, far from where the tragic murder occurred. The family friend, who died in 2002, was considered in JonBent's murder. Such inappropriate secretive sexual behavior can include undressing the child, masturbating, touching, fondling, performing fellatio or cunnilingus, or penetrating the child's vagina, anus or mouth with fingers, penis or, notably perhaps, in this case, foreign objects (e.g., wooden paintbrush handles). edwin lara andrea mays; luke g jones gemma jones; where was the clue to love filmed; . It is often jokingly stated in legal circles that a grand jury, by its very nature and relatively low burden of proof required, "will indict a ham sandwich" if asked to by the District Attorney. The McReynolds said at the time that the coincidences between their daughter's abduction, the play, and JonBent's death were all just coincidence. Have you read The Greenland Theory? In March 1997, Bill McReynolds told The Chicago Tribune, "In my heart, I know there's no connection. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1982 to 1989 and was Sorted into Gryffindor House. what happened to baruch shemtov. J. MCREYNOLDS: The basic thrust and the parallel that I am now seeing with the JonBenet case is that the victim, in my play, was a scapegoat for the sins of the community. Her case remains unsolved. Why Are So Many Young Men Single And Sexless? The Guardian reported that McReynolds had allegedly given JonBent a Christmas card which reportedly stated that the 6-year-old would be receiving a "special present" after Christmas. He had been living in the area on and off and when police allegedly found a magazine with pictures of the girl in his backpack. The police are faced with lawyers and wealthy friends. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. It was nearly 20 years ago when the mysterious JonBent Ramsey murder case shocked, and mortified people around the world. The first non-family suspect in the case was a friend, Bill McReynolds who was at the house two days before her death and liked to dress up as Santa Clause. Since they didn't, any DNA was mixed and contaminated. But even as he stepped away from his official role in the case, he continued to push for justice for JonBent while standing on her parents side, Marra said. They didnt do it.. And 20 years later, the conversation will likely continue on a mainstream level. I had seen evidence of an intruder in the house that night., With his intruder theory regarding JonBents murder increasingly pushed by the wayside, Smit ultimately chose to resign from the case, writing in a letter to Boulder District Attorney Hunter: Even though I want to continue to participate in the official investigation and assist in finding the killer of JonBenet, I find that I cannot in good conscience be a part of the persecution of innocent people, said Smit, referring to JonBents parents. The murder of JonBent Ramsey Mysterious Death. But even as dozens of people visited him each day to pay their respects at the hospital, and later in hospice, he never stopped talking about JonBents case, according to his other daughter, Dawn Miller. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. JonBents parents initially thought she had been kidnapped during the night. Another suspect was Bill McReynolds. I place particular importance on this aspect of the JonBenet Ramsey case because this group of eight men and four women had access to a massive amount of evidence related to the circumstances surrounding JonBenet's death, and sufficient time to consider it in depth and detail. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride and new circuit court Judge Dana McReynolds enter the courtroom for a swearing-in ceremony Wednesday morning at the Henry County . What we all share in common is that commitment to fulfill Lous dying wish that this case doesnt die with him, said John Anderson, a friend of Smits and former sheriff of El Paso County in Texas. Arndt confirmed to him that the child had died. Mr. McReynolds died in 2002 of a heart attack at the age of 72, six years after the death of JonBenet. Or, in this case, an evil Santa? I kind of joked with her, saying that, If somebody did get in that house, it mustve been Santa Claus coming down the chimney.. It was after this test that Lacy wrote a letter to John Ramsey stating that her office does not consider him, his wife Patsy Ramsey or anyone in their immediate family to be under suspicion for the death of JonBent. It's certainly a mysterious, and heart-breaking case that has long raised many questions about the young girl's death. A little more than two decades earlier, in 1974, spookily or maybe synchronistically, on the exact same day JonBenet was found dead in her basement decades later, December 26, the day after Christmas, McReynolds' own 9-year-old daughter had evidently been abducted along with her friend and reportedly witnessed the sexual molestation of her fellow victim during the abduction. I wish we would have done a better job of securing and controlling the crime scene on day one, said Beckner. Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer in 2006 and was buried next to JonBent in Georgia, JonBents half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey, said. How come the killer left no traces behind they were faced with at the House! Was never brought to justice that John Ramsey look around the House for any that... And Wizardry from 1982 to 1989 and was Sorted into Gryffindor House with at. Were faced with at the Ramsey House pen and can match her handwriting a higher priority at that point that. 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