Red Flags and Ramseys: The Evidence That Justified Police Suspicion
Red Flags and Ramseys: The Evidence That Justified Police Suspicion
Red Flag Behaviors
If police suspected a married couple of staging a fake kidnapping to cover up the death of their child, the red flag behaviors they would be looking for are crucial clues that could unravel the truth behind the tragic death of JonBenet Ramsey.
Inconsistent Stories: Conflicting accounts of events or stories change over time.
Did JonBenet deliver presents to friends, or was she asleep? Did she walk up to the house under her own power, or was she carried? Did John read to JonBenet before bed, or was she asleep? Was the ransom note found first, or was JonBenet's room checked first? Was the note found on the stairs? How did it get on the floor? Did Patsy hand John the note? Or did John read it in his skivvies on the floor?
Lack of Emotion or Overreaction: Unusual emotional responses, such as a lack of genuine grief or overly dramatic reactions.
The police described John as calm, composed, and cordial, but Patsy was hysterical—two extremes from the same event. Patsy was described by police as wailing and throwing herself on the body, asking Jesus to raise her from the dead and invoking the story of Lazarus. Patsy's statement on CNN, "Keep your babies close to you, there's someone out there," like she was Carol Anne from Poltergeist, was overly dramatic, to say the least. Her tone fit the tone of the ransom note pointing to the perpetrator: Goldfinger with a stun gun and a pocketful of pineapple. He's out there!
Behavioral Anomalies: Overly cooperative or unusually defensive.
By the time they reached Fernies' house, the Ramseys had a lawyer representing them, and they were dictating the extent of their cooperation. Patsy was too drugged. Burke was off-limits. John provided limited answers for 40 minutes and then shut it down. It took months to interview them again. Throughout the decades, the Ramseys misdirected all of their ire and anger on Boulder Police, as if the police killed JonBenet.
Forensic Evidence: Forensic evidence that doesn't align with witness statements.
Pineapple was on the table and in JonBenet's duodenum, and Patsy's fingerprints were on the bowl, but no one knows where it came from. Fibers found in key areas around and on the garrote, cord, and body indicate that the parents were present at the time of death. Burke admitted that he was awake after everyone went to bed and awake the next morning while pretending to be asleep.
Evidence Handling: The discovery of poorly or hastily hidden evidence.
The alleged kidnapper returned the pad and pen to their original locations. Police found a practice note in Patsy's pad. The perpetrator left her nightgown next to her body. Lawyers from the Ramsey legal team turned the package of Bloomingdale's panties, the source for the ones found on JonBenet's body, over to police months after the murder. Police found Patsy's paint tray covering the urine stain in the basement. The crime scene shows all of the stress and trauma of the night—suspects vacillating between moments of clarity to sheer panic and desperation.
Interactions with Authorities: Evasiveness, lack of cooperation, or controlling behavior during interactions with police.
Burke was escorted off the scene before police could ask him anything that might help them find his sister's kidnapper. The Ramseys left the scene within 75 minutes of finding their daughter's body in the basement and roughly 35 minutes after police backup arrived—before police ever questioned them about the death. From then on, the Ramseys dictated the conditions of their cooperation. It took police months to negotiate the terms of their questioning. They insisted their first police interrogations not be videotaped. They wanted written questions and to review all case information before lawyers would allow police access to the Ramseys.
Alibi Verification: Trouble providing a consistent timeline.
What time did they visit with the Stines? Was JonBenet awake delivering presents or asleep in the car? Did the Stines see the whole family looking happy before 10 PM, or was JonBenet asleep in the car? Was JonBenet asleep after 10 PM, or was she awake eating pineapple? Was Burke awake at 5:52 AM or asleep? Was he awake when police entered his room to check on him? When did Burke wake up?
Witness Testimony: Contradictory testimonies from friends, family, or neighbors.
Fleet White III testified that Burke had a pair of Hi-Tec boots, which Burke confirmed in his testimony, and then later on Dr. Phil. According to witness testimony from the Fernies, the Ramseys had broken a door months prior, but they indicated to police that it was evidence of an intruder. A window John admitted to breaking months earlier suddenly became the focal point of the intruder theory.
Conclusion: I'm revisiting this information for one apparent reason: to challenge the Ramsey family's consistent narrative that the Boulder Police unfairly targeted them. Even if we assume the Ramseys genuinely believed they were defending themselves against unfounded accusations, the blatant inconsistencies in their behavior and statements created legitimate red flags for investigators. When a child is found dead under suspicious circumstances, the actions and responses of the household members naturally draw scrutiny—and in this case, they warranted it.
The Ramseys' obstructionism, whether deliberate or born from a desire to protect themselves, played a far more significant role in stalling the prosecution than the early missteps by the Boulder Police Department. Contrary to the family's claims of being unfairly targeted, the evidence suggests the BPD treated them with too much deference. By allowing friends and victim advocates on site, the crime scene was irreparably disturbed. By giving the Ramseys space to dictate the terms of their cooperation, the BPD hindered its own investigation, delaying critical interviews and allowing inconsistencies to go unchallenged. The idea that the Ramseys were victims of overzealous investigators is not only inaccurate but also a distortion of the deference the BPD extended them. They should've said, "Thank you."