Jonbenet Ramsey Case Study

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JonBenet Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty pageant queen, was found murdered in her Boulder, Colorado home on December 26, 1996. JonBenet was the daughter of John and Patricia Ramsey and had a brother, Burke Ramsey, who was nine-years-old at the time of her death. On the morning of December 26, JonBenet was reported missing, as her parents woke up to a strange ransom note and could not find the child. She was later found in the basement of her own home, sustaining a broken skull from a shock to the head a garrote around her neck which strangled her. The case has many strange details and factors, including untrustworthy DNA evidence and a bizarre ransom note. The death of JonBenet remains unsolved to this day, as the case is still open and the 20-year …show more content…
The intruder theory suggests that an outsider entered the Ramsey home and murdered JonBenet. “The Ramsey family mansion reportedly wasn't located in the nicest neighborhood, with reports of more than 100 burglaries in the area in the weeks and months before JonBenet’s death”, as well as a number of known sex offenders in the perimeter (Edwards). On the night of December 25, John and Patsy Ramsey hosted a Christmas party, making it particularly easy for an outsider to get in. In contrast the the intruder theory, some believe that a member of JonBenet’s family accidentally killed her and staged the murder scene. Police noticed “a “small triangle of cobwebs” in the window from which the supposed intruder entered the home that went completely undisturbed during the abduction” (Edwards). John Ramsey ruined precious DNA evidence that could have possibly convicted him and the strange ransom note “[…] demanded $118,000 be given to the “foreign faction” by 10 a.m. the next day, which was later figured out to be the same amount of John Ramsey’s Christmas Bonus from his company Access Graphics” (Lovitt). To this day, the case is still open and police have been unable to determine which theory or suspect is responsible for the tragic death of