John And Patsy Ramsey example essay topic

JonBenet Ramsey's murder still remains a mystery. One still asks the burning question, 'Who killed JonBenet?' Substantial amounts of evidence against JonBenet's parents have made them the primary suspects. Based on neighbors' testimonies, the behavior of the Ramsey's, and the conditions of the ransom note, one can conclude that John and Patsy Ramsey murdered JonBenet. On Christmas night 1996, in a quiet neighborhood in Boulder, Colorado, a beauty queen was murdered. Six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found strangled in the basement of her parent's home (Wecht and Bosworth 9).

There were no eyewitnesses to this horrendous crime. The only valid piece of evidence was a three-page ransom note found on the Ramsey's back staircase. When questioned by Boulder police, two neighbors claimed that they observed bizarre activity the night of the murder. One woman awoke to a piercing scream just after midnight.

She also stated that she heard the sound of clashing metal against concrete. Another neighbor affirmed he saw odd, dim lights coming from the Ramsey's kitchen. Both of the neighbors disregarded these peculiar actions and did not report them to officials (Wecht and Bosworth 9-10). When questioned by police, the Ramsey's said they did not hear anything unusual or witness anything suspicious. Neighbors' testimonies were not as incriminating as John and Patsy Ramsey's peculiar behavior. While talking with police, John and Patsy remained calm and did not show any grieving affection or consolation towards each other.

JonBenet's mother did not cry as she told police that her daughter had been kidnapped (Wecht and Bosworth 20). The Ramsey's told Boulder Police Department the well-known "Intruder Theory". John suggested a kidnapper climbed through a small broken basement window. Officials deemed this tiny gap unlikely. The Ramsey's claimed that they locked the doors the night before but did not turn on the alarm. There were no signs of forced entry into the $700,000 mansion and no footprints in the snow (Wecht and Bosworth 21).

The Intruder theory was only one of the tales that the Ramsey's would tell. Patsy Ramsey gave Officer Richard French two versions of how she found the ransom note. When Officer French first arrived, she claimed that she found the note after she realized JonBenet was missing. Later, she would say that she found the three-page letter on her way to JonBenet's bedroom. The note was found on the back staircase that led to JonBenet's room (Wecht and Bosworth 20-21).

One of the most suspicious events happened when John Ramsey found the body of his daughter while police, family, and friends were in his home. Detective Arndt instructed John to check the house for anything missing or unusual. John and his close friend, Fleet White, went straight to the basement. There were several rooms and many doors but John Ramsey set out to the storage room where his daughter's body would be found (Wecht and Bosworth 23). Fleet White had checked the windowless room earlier unsuccessfully. Police and investigators were in utter shock when John ingeniously disturbed the crime scene.

He touched doorknobs, light switches, and the blanket JonBenet was covered with (Wecht and Bosworth 23). He ripped the duct tape off of her mouth, unwrapped the cord from her wrist, and carried her upstairs. He placed her in front of the Christmas tree for everyone to see. He destroyed any possible evidence such as hair, semen, or fibers.

Several investigators and detectives would later say that John "staged the crime scene" and "got away with murder" by destroying useful evidence that might indict him (Wecht and Bosworth 74). In an interview with Barbara Walters, the Ramsey's were asked "Why did you leave Boulder so soon after JonBenet's death?" John claimed he tried to fly his family to Atlanta because the police told him to leave immediately. "We had nowhere to go", John said. "We had lived in Atlanta for 25 years". When questioned why the crime scene looked staged, John replied, "If I had staged it, I would " ve wanted the police to see it as I'd staged it". (Cloud and Walters 50).

The neighbors' testimonies and John and Patsy's strange behavior are all very disturbing, but the ransom note was the most influential piece of evidence against the Ramsey's. Patsy Ramsey found a three- page ransom note on the back staircase of her home around 5: 45 a.m. The note was addressed to 'Mr. Ramsey' and demanded the amount of $118,000 in $20 and $100 bills (Wecht and Bosworth 17). Coincidentally, $118,000 was the same amount of John Ramsey's annual bonus. (Miller and Glick 34). The letter promised a phone call between 8 and 10 a.m.

There never was a kidnapping or a ransom call (Wecht and Bosworth 17). Rumors flew when police discovered an 8.5 x 11 inch legal pad in the Ramsey's home that the ransom note had been torn from. They also found a "practice note" on the page before the note that was torn out. This note was addressed to 'Mr. And Mrs. Ramsey' (Wecht and Bosworth 79-77). A kidnapper would not risk taking the time to sit in the victim's home and write an extensive ransom letter. One would agree that a perpetrator would most likely bring the note with him or her (Schiller 58).

In an interview with CNN, the Ramsey's would admit that the note had been written with Patsy's felt-tip pen. (Wecht and Bosworth 51). Another startling discovery showed that the ransom note had distinct similarities to the movie "Ransom" with Mel Gibson. In the movie, Gibson portrays a rich pilot and businessman, similar to John Ramsey. When his son is kidnapped, Mel Gibson endures an exhausting course of events to get him back. In the ransom note, John is warned to prepare for a rigorous ordeal of physical activity.

When Mel Gibson sees his son, his mouth his taped. JonBenet's mouth was taped when John found her. The comparison has led officials to believe that the ransom note was thought up quickly. A true kidnapper would not duplicate a movie (Wecht and Bosworth 77).

Another reason why the ransom note was unlikely written by a kidnapper was the grammar and format. The letter was written with proper borders and paragraphs. It was unusually long for a ransom note and was very professional. It was addressed to 'Mr. Ramsey' and included too many details (Wecht and Bosworth 47).

John and Patsy Ramsey persuaded jurors and were not convicted of their daughter's murder (Glick and Keene-Osborne 36). Six years after JonBenet's death, no arrests have been made. Her murder is a puzzle that is yet to be solved. Based on the evidence, one can construe that JonBenet Ramsey's parents murdered her.

Bibliography

Cloud, John, and Barbara Walters. "Find The Killer". Time 20 March 2000: 50.
Glick, Daniel and Sherry Keene-Osborn. "No Justice for JonBenet". Newsweek 25 Oct 1999: 36.
Miller, Mark and Daniel Glick. "The Bogeyman Came". Newsweek 27 March 2000: 34.
Schiller, Lawrence. "A Death In Paradise". Newsweek 02 Feb. 1999: 58.
Wecht, Cyril and Charles Bosworth, Jr. Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey? New York: Penguin Group, 1998.