JonBenét Ramsey: Was The Ransom Note Staged? FBI Profilers Think So


The ransom note found at JonBenét Ramsey’s family home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996, has been the center of speculation for nearly 20 years. There’s no doubt that the note was left, but what’s concerning is who actually wrote it and why. FBI profilers in a new docu-series, premiering September 17, alludes that it was “clearly staged.”

People reports that according to an exclusive clip of the upcoming The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey, airing later this month on CBS, FBI profiler Jim Clemente, among others, calls into question the authenticity of the ransom note found in the Ramsey’s home on Christmas Day, 1996, the day JonBenét was found dead in the basement of her family’s home. The note demanded $118,000 from John Ramsey, who, in the 1990s, was a wealthy computer services tycoon. Since 6-year-old JonBenét was never kidnapped and was already deceased, the note reads as a cover-up, possibly for the killer to buy more time, according to experts.

A copy of the ransom note left at the Ramsey’s home in Colorado. [Photo by the Boulder Police Department]

According to Clemente, whoever wrote the note practiced several times while using a notepad and pen that came from Patsy Ramsey’s desk. While this doesn’t mean that she wrote the note, it seems odd, according to Clemente, that someone would go through the trouble of looking for a pad and pen in the family’s home instead of having a note already written. The person of interest also placed the pen and pad back in place, all the while committing a murder.

“Whoever wrote this managed to commit a murder, find the pad, find the pen, practice a couple of times because they didn’t want to show bad penmanship or something, write it and then put the pad and pen back to where they normally are kept.”

Another point the team looked into is how long it took to write the note. The clip shows the team re-creating the note, which took around 21 minutes on average, to complete. Why would someone who committed a murder stay in the home any more time than necessary? The following is according to Clemente.

“That is 21-and-a-half minutes they could have been caught. Twenty-one-and-a-half minutes that they stayed in the house longer than they needed to… I think we can all agree this letter is clearly staged.”

Even more alarming is that whoever wrote the note knew the exact amount of John Ramsey’s Christmas bonus. Aside from his wife, there were very few people that would’ve have that kind of information.

“You will withdraw $118,000.00 from your account. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills. Make sure that you bring an adequate size attaché to the bank. When you get home you will put the money in a brown paper bag. I will call you between 8 and 10 am tomorrow to instruct you on delivery.”

While the general public once placed the blame directly on Patsy’s shoulders, other weren’t so sure it was that simple. Perhaps someone was trying to implicate her in the murder of her own daughter, someone who knew that authorities would suspect her if her husband’s bonus amount was listed.

Fingerprints found on the note were not Patsy’s or anyone else in the family. So far, detectives haven’t been able to match the fingerprints to anyone at all. Furthermore, DNA evidence found on JonBenét’s underwear belonged to an unknown male, which subsequently cleared all members of the Ramsey family of the murder.

Meanwhile, Dateline NBC is scheduled to show its own JonBenét Ramsey investigation. TVNewser reports that the show will have “never-before-seen case documents” and “first-ever TV interviews.” The two-hour special is scheduled to air on Friday at 9 p.m.

[Photo by Boulder Police Department]

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