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John Ramsey's Lingering Suspicions
Courtesy of John Ramsey
Finally exonerated in the murder of his daughter, JonBenet, Ramsey talks about the loss of his wife and his wealth—and the suspicions that still haunt him.
In his first in-depth interview since being exonerated in the murder of his daughter, Jonbenet, John Ramsey speaks to The Daily Beast about the crime that shattered his life. Twelve years after finding the six-year-old beauty queen strangled in the basement of their Boulder, Colorado home, Ramsey this summer received a letter from the local District Attorney explaining that a new type of DNA test shows that a stranger killed his daughter.
The letter also apologized for the “ongoing, living hell” the Ramseys endured as prime suspects in the case, although Patsy Ramsey, who died of ovarian cancer in 2006, did not live to receive this courtesy.
Once wealthy, Ramsey has shed his plane, his boats and his cars, stopped golfing, stopped sailing. Now he is exhausting his IRAs.
Revisiting the case that tore Boulder apart, reporter Lucinda Franks reveals:
- Despite the new evidence, Ramsey is still haunted by suspicions that a close friend with access to the house had some role in the murder, and he questions this person’s alibi.
- Michael Archuleta, who was the pilot of John’s King Air Jet, and his wife, Pam—also speaking publicly for the first time—share Ramsey’s suspicions.
- Contrary to what most people imagine, Ramsey is no longer a rich man, and he describes his family’s long fall from wealth and privilege after the murder. "It takes four or five years for you to begin, just begin to get over it. Fear almost paralyzes you,” he says. “You contemplate suicide because you have no desire to live. I was afraid to cross the street. I made bad decisions.”
- Ramsey recounts how he sold the billion-dollar company he had built from scratch, then started another that failed. He shed the family’s three big homes, the plane, the boat and the luxury cars, then found that he was virtually unemployable because of negative press attention. Now, drawing down his savings, he jokes ruefully that he may end up in a trailer.
- Ramsey also describes his wife’s last years, stricken by a recurrence of ovarian cancer, and occasionally beset, as they both were, by terrible guilt that Jonbenet’s murder could have been prevented. Patsy, "wondered if the beauty contests she had put her in had drawn some pedophile," he says.
- Pam Archuleta describes an alcove outside the Ramseys’ bedroom in Boulder where Patsy displayed the photos, trophies, and crowns from her own days as a Miss West Virginia.
- Pam Archuleta also talks about hiding the Ramseys from the press as they awaited a grand jury ruling, and watching Patsy "shrivel up before my eyes.” Yet even then, Patsy could occasionally rally to make a joke about how horizontal prison stripes would make her look fat.
- Ramsey says the new evidence can “never bring back my life. Once your reputation is tarnished, it stays tarnished.” But he now campaigns to expand the national DNA registry by requiring all states to take a sample from anyone charged with a felony in the hope that “one day I will get a call from somewhere in the country and a voice will say, “We know who killed your daughter.’”
Read the full story on the next page









Heartbreak and lives lost due to the ghosts of evil still lurking in this world.
The media, the police, and undue judgement has not only murdered jonbenet, but her father and mother.
It's so sad. It makes my heart cry and want to reach out for John Ramsey.
What true vindication will he ever have?
Great story! John Ramsey is so different than he's been depicted over these long years. I'm so glad he chose to speak and share some of his pain. He is an example of dignity...showing class and grace while so broken hearted and traumatized from the loss of two children and a his beloved wife.
To investigate what happened to JonBenet you need to look at her aunt removing dolls from the crime scene. How ridiculous is at that anything was allowed to be removed. It's absurd the DA has never looked into the matter. The DA investiagated a pair of frozen underpants sent in by somebody living in a trailer yet this clue from a doll expert remains uninvestigated.
Fiber evidence doesn't lie. People do, and lawyers do.
The Daily Beast sends a reporter from New York to Michigan and Colorado, and this is all you get? What a sham.
Clearly your reporter does not know the facts of this case or its evidence, or else she wouldn't have swallowed the pap John Ramsey and his pal shoveled her way. And, by the way, this is hardly the first time the Archuletas have spoken; there's plenty of video of them protecting their friends in self-serving documentaries the Ramseys participated in.
If this is the sloppy way The Daily Beast will cover high-profile crime stories, I'll stop reading right now. You need coverage by professionals who know the territory and know when they're being lied to and why. You need reporters to ask the right questions and know the difference when they are given inadequate or absurd answers. The victims, including young JonBenet Ramsey, deserve better treatment that you have given here.
As for Lucinda Franks, why not go to California and interview Charlie Manson? He'll tell you he's falsely imprisoned. You can sell your big exclusive to some other uncritical editor!
The statement is made in this article that "As both a public service and a personal crusade, Ramsey now spends much of his time promoting state laws that mandate the lifting of a DNA sample from anyone accused of a felony, which would substantially expand the national DNA registry. (His website is DNAFINGERPRINTLAW.COM.)"
In fact, the site mentioned is registered to John and Bobbie Rathsgen, not John Ramsey. In addition, it directs people to a unspecified address for a non-existent company in Washington, DC, in the name of a foundation which does not exist. In most contexts, this information would be indicative of a scam of some sort.
This article states, "Since the murder, Ramsey has sold three big homes, in Atlanta, Boulder, and Charlevoix. He has shed his plane, his boats and his cars, stopped golfing, stopped sailing."
In fact, John Ramsey still owns his plane. He did sell one, but the author neglects to note that John then subsequently purchased a replacement plane, which he continues to fly even as recently as yesterday, October 13th. So he apparently is not as financially bad off as the author tries to convey.
The article states, "A famous restaurant owner went to jail for wielding a pipe at a reporter." In fact, the man involved wielded a baseball bat, but he was actually arrested for unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon when it was found that he had a loaded gun in his car nearby.
I have to whole heartedly agree with ellbee and jahazafat. This story reeks of an amateur salesman trying desperately to sell John Ramsey to the public at large and not a prize winning author who should check the facts BEFORE printing a story.
As of October 14, TODAY, John Ramsey continues to OWN AND FLY his own private plane.
The website that the author attributes to John Ramsey as his personal crusade for justice, dnafingerprintlaw.com has nothing at all to do with John Ramsey. It is owned and registered to people who are NOT Ramsey and have nothing to do with Ramsey. In fact, it is NOT his project at all and is a glorified search engine for OTHER websites dealing with this issue. So, like his campaign and other promises, John Ramsey speaks of his crusades, but actually has none. Why didn't the author ask about the foundations and charities that he and his wife set up, only to be outed as projects never started and funds that went to nobody other than the Ramseys themselves. Now THAT would have been an appropriate question.
Those who have never followed this case will swallow this up hook, line and sinker; Ramsey as a victim of the cruel world
How about getting a job John instead of complaining that you haven't worked in 12 years. With all your history, surely you could have opened your own business to make a living; still can. You were able to fund your campaign in Michigan when you ran for office, but can't afford to find a way to make a living without selling your plane, which you didn't have to do, either it seems
How about you stop pointing the finger at those you know damn well had nothing to do with this crime and start looking inward instead. It is there you will find the criminal/s you are looking for.
As for this author, her remarks leave me with the impression that she is courting him (although I understand she is married)
What's with the "hair the color of cornstalks in winter" remarks? Get a room! This is as biased an article as it gets, which by itself is acceptable, EXCEPT when the subject is a murdered six year old child who has never received justice and with Mary Lacy exonerating the prime suspects without legal nor scientific cause is just disgraceful!
Shame on you
But don't take my word for it anyone; check all the facts yourselves.
The article states, "After Geraldo Rivera broadcast a mock trial of the Ramseys, Patsy went to bed for two days. They took all of the TV sets out of the house and cancelled the newspapers."
In fact, the statement about the "TV sets" is not necessarily true, as video of John and Patsy (shot for the first Michael Tracey documentary) taken in the same house claimed as having had its TV sets removed shows them relaxing calmly in their living room, watching their TV set. This footage was filmed just shortly after the "mock trial."
The article states, " 'A Japanese camera crew even broke into Burke's school,' John says."
In fact, the camera crew did not break into the school. They were caught filming on the playground outside of the school, which is an act of trespass but far from "breaking in."
Oh brother. What a mess this article is. You didn't think you could fool us with a Ramsey press release, did you? Lucinda Franks is married to a prosecutor too, the top dog in Manhattan. You'd think she'd know something about crime, but nope. She didn't display one ounce of research or critical thinking here. She should know that John's "wheat colored" locks are as phony as the story he told her.
Come on, Daily Beast. Leave the crime stories alone if you don't know what you're doing. You wouldn't give science stories to a cartoonist, would you? We crime fans are a huge audience, don't insult us with garbage.
Why did the Ramsey's obtain services of separate lawyers immediately post murder? What explains the handwriting in the ransom note that was virtually identical to Patsy Ramsey's? Why invite friends over to your home that was assumed at the time to be a virgin crime scene of their daughter's kidnapping? Answer these hard questions first, Mr. Ramsey, before boring us with bemoaning the loss of multiple houses and rich man's play things.
This would be a good time for Ms. Franks to sit down with her husband, actually review this case with a prosecutor who would only be ashamed of his counterparts in Boulder.
I would ask that you do your homework Ms. Franks and read up on this case, consult your husband, and then come back and write an article about this case if you dare and if you aren't afraid of Lin Wood's threats.
I think those who follow crime and follow this case particularly would have a great deal more respect for you if you checked your facts first and then wrote a proper story based on the realities, not John Ramsey's fantasies about himself
I have alway believed that John and Patsy are innocent. Police were totally inept. Somebody killed their beautiful little girl and it is a sin that this case has never been solved.
How could unidentified DNA eliminate the Ramseys (or anyone) as suspects?
Why would JR not be able to bear hearing a child cry?
Why does he keep lying all the time?
Stay out of Vegas John
I only read the piece because Lucinda Franks wrote it. I had no interest in J Ramsey, but now I feel that Franks is on to one of the great American tragedies of the last century. As far as I can see, there's no proof, no motive, and nothing to gain for Ramsey. You can believe what you want, but what Franks does superbly is to present the man as he is now, after an endless investigation that has set him wandering from place to place, left him friendless, jobless, and nearly destroyed.
People are so judgmental until the tragedy becomes theirs. Then they want the sympathy and understanding of the world. Until then then are cruel and heartless. John Ramsey has been through his hell here on earth and I pray for him. Those that think otherwise I'm sure don't have true facts or knowledge on which to base their opinion. People gather their prejudices along with their ignorance. Dasl929
To all the New Yorkers who don't know anything about the Ramsey case. Here it is, in a nutshell, the special treatment afforded ONLY to the Ramseys by the Boulder DA's office, from a police detective who resigned over the DA's office being "hopelessly compromised", and sold out to the Ramseys:
crimeADM: How different would this case have been handled if this had been a normal, middle-class family?
stevethomas: imho, drastically and completely different. the Ramseys were afforded opportunities, concessions, and privileges that i had never seen any other suspect afforded in any criminal investigation, ever. we could go on for hours on this topic alone.
http://jfjbr.tripod.com/truth/stchat.html
One of the new DA's top advisors just happens to be a former prosecutor under Robert Morganthau. The kid gloves treatment and one sided piece by Morganthau's wife stinks. It is offensive to everyone who knows ALL the facts about the Ramsey case, and John Ramsey, that she deliberately avoids.
For all of you know-it-alls out there, did you know that there was an exact duplicate crime of this nature in the Boulder area approximately one year after the Ramsey case. A person broke into and hid in a house and when the mother and 12 year old daughter returned home (the father was out of town) and went to bed, the stranger crept into the daughter's room and tried to quiet her and carry her out of the room and down the stairs. The girl did not stay quiet but she let out a tremendous scream that brought her mother running. The creep then ran down the hall and actually crashed through a second story window out of the house and escaped. I suppose that was Burke or John Ramsey too? Who cares about his plane and/or boat.. the real truth is that this family had a terrible crime happen to them and then was crucufued by an inept government entity (is that redundant?)
Mr. Ramsey,
I am so sorry for the hell that you and your family has gone through. It is indeed a haunting life story. I find it hard to believe that your daughter's killer will not be found out eventually...forensics should find the answer. Have you ever considered contacting Dr Henry Lee the forensic expert? He's quite amazing forensically.
May you find some peace in your life for the rest of your life. My heartfelt condolences.
Quote: Have you ever considered contacting Dr Henry Lee the forensic expert? He's quite amazing forensically.
Yes indeed. He worked on the case, and he's in the Ramsey did it camp. Keep dreaming. World class experts are on our side, Dr. Henry Lee, Dr. Cyril Wecht, Dr. Werner Spitz.
That other case referred to by this poster: UbetterUbett
Sorry, this press conference by Pete Peterson makes it VERY clear who that "intruder" was:
RPTR: Who was that person? Can you name him, the psychiatrist?
Peterson: Dr. Steve Dubovsky of Boulder.
RPTR: How do you spell that?
Peterson: D-u-b-o-v-s-k-y, probably...s-k-i, possibly.
RPTR: You'd think he'd know.
Peterson: (OFF MICROPHONE) ...home, yes. He was out of town. The wife was there and the wife kept on bringing the guy into the house. He went out, went off the balcony. There were a lotta similarities there. This was about three months after the Ramsey murder.
http://thewebsafe.tripod.com/09241999petersonconference.htm
As I noted previously, the Ramseys, and ONLY the Ramseys, have been receiving preferential treatment by the Boulder DA's office since the beginning of this case, culminating in ONLY THEM receiving a cleared letter from the Boulder DA, in spite of over 160 suspects in this case. Fleet and Priscilla White had to complain to the Governor of Colorado to get the same type of letter, with no "terribly sorry" or any of that, just grudging acknowledgment. And it was John Ramsey and the people around him who gave the Whites names to the police without one shred of evidence.
One of the many ex-collegues and ex-friends of Ramsey's, thrown under the bus by John Ramsey, who also, didn't receive any "cleared" letter:
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4893483
Named in Ramseys' book
Some suspects were publicly named by the Ramsey family or legal experts they hired. One was Jeff Merrick, who was described as a suspect in a book by John and Patsy Ramsey.
"I was flabbergasted I had been named. I was fingered for a horrendous crime," said Merrick, a former employee of John Ramsey's at Access Graphics. "It had a tremendous impact on my life."
Merrick said John Ramsey three times asked authorities to investigate him, apparently on a theory that Merrick was a disgruntled former employee seeking revenge.
But Merrick said that he was laid off by Access Graphics, which has since changed its name, only because he was a whistle-blower and he received a settlement from Ramsey's company. By the time of JonBenét's murder, he had a higher-paying job at another company, he said.
"There was no reason at all that I would be motivated to kill his daughter," Merrick said. "I was a very, very unlikely suspect. Maybe (John Ramsey) wanted to take revenge."
With all the press hounding them and just loosing their child, I always felt sorry for the family. I kept wanting to believe they did not do it but the press was so relentless.I finally bought the book they wrote. Yes, it was self serving. Yes, it was to help defray the costs of the attorneys.
In the final analysis, I don't have privy to all the information. I don't know all the forensic issues. I don't know every detail. For me, the bottom line IS that people like this do not suddenly become murders.
I don't mean their wealth, I mean their lives, as caring parents, principled people and just plain mom and dad and children. Not only do they not suddenly become murderers, they cannot just turn around the next day and still be caring parents, principled people and just plain mom and dad and son.
No one has had to tell me they were innocent, I knew so in my heart.
I hope Burke can make his way in life without too much pain. He is the one who needs your prayers.
Pat
Thanks so much for this insightful report. It was a public service to give John Ramsey a chance to reclaim his good name and generous of a writer of Franks' caliber to do it.
It takes my breath away to imagine how much this man has lost, his child, his wife, his livelihood and his reputation. It is all of it tragic and the last is unspeakably so because they got it wrong. The improved DNA testing can give John Ramsey his name back, but so late it can't entirely repair the enormous harm. Kudos to The Beast.
The Boulder DA did the right thing by sending an apology to the Ramseys while publicly clearing them. As for the other prominent folks in Boulder who didn't get the same special apology letters they should take solace in the fact that they are not a household name in America synonymous with child killer, like the Ramseys are.As for who killed JonBenet, I doubt we'll ever find out. The Boulder police department screwed this case up royally and they threw the Ramseys under the bus to cover up their mess. And the media and the general public were more than happy to have the parents be the killers, because otherwise it means that no matter how rich you are, someone can come into your home in the middle of the night and murder your child while you sleep. On Christmas night, no less. The Boulder police's refusal to admit that this was the case is why whoever did it got away with it.Heck, the Boulder police searched the house from top to bottom but never found JonBenet. It was her own dad seven hours later doing his own search with the police still in the house that found her. Stop criticizing the Ramseys and look at the Boulder cops for an explanation as to why we don't know who the killer is.
Thank you.
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