Episode Transcript
Amanda: Hey there, all you true crime fans. I'm your host, Amanda Russell, and this is is Colorado Crime. If you're new here, I cover cases from coast to coast with a special emphasis on cases that happen right here in colorful, crime filled Colorado. If you're returning, thanks for tuning in. Oh, my gosh, I have missed you guys so much. It's like we have these weekly coffee dates and I've missed the last two, so I'm super sorry. But I have mentioned that I'm a realtor during the day, and my step dad sold his house two weeks ago, so that took up a ton of my time. And then last week was Christmas, so I was spending time with my family and the kiddos and then our puppy, we have a four month old silver lab puppy, and she actually got into some trash over the weekend right after Christmas, and I thought she was going to die. It was really scary. We had to rush her to the vet and it was a whole thing. And then today I've actually recorded this already, so this is my second time recording, but my microphone decided to go out, so then I had to go get a new microphone and it's just been like a whirlwind. But I am so excited to be back. I hope that you guys had a wonderful Christmas. If you celebrate. I remember when I worked at the jail, the holidays were always my favorite because they were always super busy and we always have these people coming in who are fighting with their family, and I always love to hear what their fights were over. Seriously, like, holidays always brought out the worst in people. But I thank you guys so much for tuning in. Even when my upload schedule is kind of crazy, I promise I will be more consistent in 2023. That's actually, like, my goal, not my resolution, because I don't like that word. I never stick to them, but I always pick a word for the new year, and I think this year my word is going to be consistency. It really is something that I am going to really, really focus on because I really do. I want to grow our little community and I want to be able to put out better quality episodes and better quality research and just a better quality me. So I'm really looking forward to 2023 and what it's going to bring for our podcast. So I hope to see it grow and bring more attention to these victims and their stories. All right, that's enough of my rambling. Let's go ahead and jump into today's case. This one is going to be our final part of our Jumpane Ramsay case. Until any new evidence comes up this week, we're going to discuss the DNA evidence, loose Mitt and his theory, other possible theories, and the list of suspects. So let's go ahead and jump into the DNA evidence. There were a ton of things that were collected to be tested for DNA, but not all of that has been done yet. That's something that's caused much discord in this case. Currently, John Ramsay is petitioning Colorado Governor Polis to release the DNA evidence to be tested by a private lab. There's been hesitation due to the limited amount of evidence to test, which makes sense, but if not now, when? So, in June of 2008, the same year that the Ramses were publicly exonerated by Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacey, there were new items that were sent in for DNA testing. Now, when I say new items, I don't mean newly discovered evidence. I'm talking about evidence that had been sitting since 1996 untouched. So let's go over what was submitted. So there was John Bennett's long underwear, a Barbie nightgown, the ligature from Johnbene's neck, the broken paintbrush handle that was used to create the garage that strangled her, the ligature from her wrist, and the Wednesday panties. These items were all tested against John Patsy Burke. John, Andrew and Melinda. Let's go ahead and talk about the long underwear first, there were different areas on the long underwear that were tested. These results are in regards to the exterior top right half and exterior top left half. So it says the sample collected from the long underwear contained a mixture of at least two individuals, including the victim, and at least one male contributor. The unknown male profile cannot be excluded as a possible contributor to the mixture. So let's talk about the interior now. So the interior top right half and interior top left half of the long underwear contained a mixture of at least two individuals, including a major component victim profile and one minor contributor. The minor contributor is low level and it contains an alic dropout and therefore is not suitable for comparison, basically saying that the sample was not compared to the quote, unknown male sample as it did not meet the testing standards. The interior top left half was slightly different, though, as it contained a mixture of at least three individuals, including the victim, and at least one male contributor. Due to the complexity of the sample, the mixture was deemed unsuitable for any further comparison purposes. Next, let's talk about the Barbie nightgown. So there were several areas on this that were tested. The exterior and interior of the bottom front, the exterior of the left shoulder region, front and back, the exterior of the right shoulder region front and back, and the exterior and interior of the bottom back of the nightgown. So the exterior and interior of the bottom front of the nightgown showed it contained a mixture of at least two individuals, including the victim and at least one male contributor. John, John, Andrew and Melinda were excluded as possible contributors, but Burke and Patsy could not be included or excluded. And the same findings pertain to the exterior of the left shoulder region, front and back neither burke nor patsy could be included or excluded. And then lastly, the exterior and interior of the bottom back of the nightgown, the only one that could not be included or excluded was burke. And that's where the testing stops. The ligature, the broken paintbrush handle, the ligature from the wrist, and the Wednesday panties were not tested. The report reads, quote, samples two s 701-0203 and four were not processed at this time, end quote. So the ligature that somebody other than John Bonet had to tie around her neck, the paintbrush that was broken at the scene and then used in the garage to strangle her and possibly sexually assault her, the ligature from her wrist that also had to be tied by someone other than John Bonet. And the Wednesday panties where small amounts of blood were found. None of those items were tested. And I have scoured the internet to find the reports from the DNA testing for these items, and I've come up empty handed. Either boulder police department hasn't made these public, or these potentially crucial items are still waiting to be tested. Those items could hold the identity of her killer. And it's just crazy to me that these things are just sitting there. And don't even get me started on all the rape kits that are just sitting there waiting to be processed, because I could do an entire rant episode on that topic alone. But I digress. Until all the evidence is tested, we won't have any resolve. I really do feel like this case is dependent on DNA evidence to bring a conviction forth. That being said, let's go ahead and talk about Mr. Lou Smith. So Lou smit was a retired homicide detective from Colorado Springs who came out of retirement to assist with the Johnnette Ramsey case. Lou smit solved over 200 homicides and was called in by Boulder police department to offer his expertise, something that would cause Boulder police some headache later on. Lou Smith fought hard and diligently to have the intruder theory looked into further. He was integral in maintaining the Ramsay's innocence. Lou was certain that DNA would be the key to solving this case. Boulder police department had their sights set on the Ramsays almost immediately and were very quick to write off the intruder theory. Lou Smith studied the crime scene photos and was actually able to find several discrepancies from what the police were reporting. Police believed that if an intruder had entered the home, there would have been shoe prints found in the snow, but none were located. However, on the opposite side of the house, where the snow had already melted, lou discovered a perfectly preserved shoe print that could not be matched to anyone in the house. Secondly, Lou noticed that a somewhat small, rectangular shaped window grate could be easily and quietly removed from its normal location to allow a person to climb into the window well and enter through a large window. He was even able to demonstrate this himself. From crime scene photos, you can see that a suitcase is positioned underneath the window that was open when officers did their photos. There is a chance that the murderer used this suitcase to stand on it and escape. It's also thought that Jean Bone was put into the suitcase and was meant to be carried out. Now, this window isn't directly in the same room where John Be was found, but it was in the basement opposite of where the wine cellar was located. And I have a few thoughts, but I'll save them for the end. There was also an unidentified palm print that was discovered on the handle of the door leading into the wine cellar. So how would someone enter a home, kidnap a small girl, carry her to the basement and kill her without making a sound? Well, let's remember back to the injuries that she received. There were two small, round, puncture like wounds found among the list of injuries. It's suspected that the intruder used a stun gun to subdue John Bonet in order to continue on with his plan. All of the Ramsays slept on the third and fourth levels of the home, so it would be likely that none of her family would have heard anything if she had screamed. Someone did hear something, though. A neighbor reported to officers that they heard what sounded like a small child screaming in the early morning hours. Officers didn't put much stock into this claim as none of the ramses heard anything. It was later discovered that event leading from the wine cellar out of the house was open and therefore sound could have traveled the mere 150ft to the neighbor's home. That same neighbor also claimed to hear a sound they described as metal hitting concrete. Maybe that was the sound the metal great made as the intruder quickly replaced it and left. Unfortunately, Lou Smith passed away before he could see the justice he so ferociously fought for. In 2010, Lou Smith died from cancer, leaving behind a long list of success and his own investigative documents. Into this murder, he left his spreadsheet and list of suspects to his daughter, Cindy Mara so she could continue to investigate the case. Currently, Cindy and several other members of Lu's family as well as other investigators are still working together to finish the work that he started. So let's go ahead and discuss some of the possible suspects in this case. We'll start with the obvious three. The family members, the people closest to the victim are always looked at first. So we have Patsy. It was speculated that Patsy killed her daughter in a fit of rage over yet another bedwetting incident. She hit Jean Bonet on the bathtub or on a counter, causing the skull fracture. The garage that was found around JonBenet's neck was made from using a paintbrush found in Patsy's art kit, just a little bit away from where the six year old girl was found. Patsy was the only family member that could not be definitively excluded from writing the ransom note. Then there's John. John was the one who discovered his daughter's bruised and beaten body in the basement of the family home. There were several things he did after finding the body that investigators found odd removing the tape, moving the body, covering the body, touching the body, things like that. When it was announced that John Bonet had been sexually assaulted, it was speculated that John was the one who had committed the crime, although no evidence was ever found to support that claim. And lastly, we have Burke. Burke was nine years old at the time, but he did have a history of anger issues, having hit her in the face with a golf club previously. The bowl of pineapple had Burke's fingerprints on it and it was known to be a favorite snack of his. A flashlight was found in the kitchen of the Ramsay home, though they claimed to not know where it came from. And it's theorized that Jean Bonet took a piece of pineapple from Burke, maybe taunting him like little sisters do, and then he hit her with a flashlight in a fit of rage, leaving the Ramsay parents to finish the job with the garage. Then we have our first non family suspect. His name was Gary Oliva. Gary was a known drifter and sex offender in Boulder. He was 32 years old at the time of the murder. He was apprehended in 2000 and a magazine cutout of Jeanbene was found in his belongings. A friend of Oliva's also came forward, supporting the Ramsay's private investigator's claims that Oliva was a viable suspect. Apparently, not long after the murder, Oliva phoned his friend and confessed repeatedly that he had, quote, hurt a little girl, end quote. Oliva's friend also claimed that the knots used to fasten the garage were similar to knots used by Oleva when he had tried to strangle his mother with a phone cord. Along with the picture of Jeanbenet. A stun gun was also found in his possession. He was cleared by DNA, however. Next. There's Michael Helgoth. Michael was an electrician who worked at a nearby salvage yard. Apparently there had been a small dispute between the Ramses and Helgoth. He was cleared by DNA in the case, but he did commit suicide in 190 97, just two days after a press release where Boulder Police Department announced that they were narrowing in on a suspect. Probably one of the most well known suspects was John Michael Carr, who is now going by the name Alexis Reach. John was a school teacher at the time of the murder and made national headlines after he confessed to killing Jeanbenet. He was living in Thailand but was brought back to the US and was interrogated. He was quickly ruled out as he was not in the state at the time of the murder and his DNA did not match that found in the case. John had many diary entries where he detailed his deranged fascination with the little girl. He is currently living back in the US full time, under a new gender and new identity. And not even the housekeeper, Linda Hoffman Pew, was excluded from the list of suspects. Linda was the Ramsay's housekeeper at the time of the murder and had a key to the home. Her husband, Mervyn, was a handyman and had done several repairs at the Ramsey home. Patsy had suggested that Linda struggled for money and may have been responsible for the murder, as Linda had possibly seen the bonus amount that John Ramsay had received and saw this as a way to extort the family. Linda also did not match the DNA profile. And lastly, we have Bill McReynolds. Bill was the town Santa who had visited the Ramsay home and paid a bit too much attention to John bonet, even telling her Santa would have a special present for her on Christmas. His DNA didn't match the profile, but it's been reported that when Bill had heart surgery, he took a vial of glitter with him that was given to him by Jeanbenet. Years later, when he passed away, he was cremated and his ashes were mixed with the glitter Jeanbene had given him. And while that may not be a smoking gun for a conviction, it's definitely weird. All right, so let's go ahead and get into it. Let's talk about what my theory is. And I have tried for years to come up with a straight theory and unfortunately, I don't think I can give you that today. This is my theory and mine alone. I am basing my theory on my own research of facts. This is all alleged in all my own opinion. So for years and years, I thought the family had done it. I thought it was Patsy at first, then I thought it was John, and then, of course, Burke. I thought it was a compilation of all the things bedwetting and jealousy, sexual assault that was going to be exposed, a jealous rage from a nine year old. I was able to read what I wanted, mainly from tabloids and my theories fit every one of those narratives. It wasn't until I was an adult and I could take a step back and look into this case for myself, that I came to believe that an intruder was responsible for John Bennett's murder. Now, before you decide to leave this podcast because our opinions differ and you don't think that this was an intruder, just hear me out. I think the person was somewhat familiar with the family. I think that he entered the home while the Ramsays were away at Christmas dinner, wrote the ransom note, which is why a practice note was found, partially written, in a trash can of the Ramsey home. And I think he laid and wait for them to return. I do think this was initially meant to be a kidnapping for money. That's why no fingerprints were discovered, because he wore gloves and he was careful not to leave much evidence. But I think this man, because yes, I believe it was a man who committed this crime, let his sexual desires get the best of him and he accidentally killed her, causing her to scream beforehand, and that's what the neighbor heard. Then I think he got spooked and left as quickly as possible. I think that he left out the basement window, which is why the suitcase was found below the window and the neighbor reported hearing metal hitting concrete. I don't think he committed another crime. I think this was a one off thing and he possibly even committed suicide or left the country afterwards. Okay. And I know it's super vague and it doesn't point to any one of our suspects, but that's just my opinion of what happened. And now I want to hear yours. What do you think happened? Do you think this case will ever be solved? And I really do hope for John Bennett and her family's sake, that they see justice for her murder. It's now been 26 years, and that is 25 too many do not have any answers. My heart and prayers go out to John and Burke and Jonathan's, other siblings. So send me a message on Instagram, email me, find me on Facebook. But I want to know what your thoughts are, I want to hear your theories and I want to discuss what you guys think. But that is it. That will wrap up our John Bennett Ramsay case. Thank you all so much for tuning in for our conclusion today. I am really looking forward to 2023. If you have any case requests or suggestions, please send them my way. If you haven't already, please subscribe so you can be notified every time I upload. And if you're feeling generous, please go ahead and leave a review on Apple podcast as that will help my podcast grow. New episodes are released every Friday at 10:30, a.m. Mountain Standard Time. Please follow me on Instagram at Colorado Crime Pod for more information on next week's episode, as well as other true crime happenings. I will give you guys an update on the Idaho University murders as soon as more information comes out, but I hope you have a beautiful day wherever you are. Happy New Year, and as always, stay safe. Thank you.
