Court

This last line cracks me up. Whoops, left my note and tools at home! Hmm, let me hang out here watching this movie while I write a note. Oh, oops, dropped it down the stairs, I'll just leave it there! Someone will find it! (I realize that I shouldn't find this funny. I'll admit it, I have a weird sense of humor.) There could have been more than one intruder? Or do people pretty much agree that it was one intruder?

And why did no one stop them!??

Plus, the friends were cleaning up!

Before she was found, both friends, family, and police had already searched the house. I can see how someone unfamilar with that labyrinth of a huge house could miss that wine cellar. The FBI told Arndt to have JR search the house again as a way to calm him down. I don't think either of them expected him to find her. A few points to remember about Arndt. She had never worked a homicide before. Boulder averages maybe 1 homicide a year. She should have never been left alone at the house. Also, they believed it was a kidnapping so they concentrated the resources outside of the house. I hope they did call in the police on call and on vacation but if they were out of state, that's difficult to do. Boulder is a small community and the Ramsey's status there is likely why the police did some of the stuff that baffles us today. The police did an awful job but I don't believe she is soley to blame. The neighbor and friends were also told not to talk to the police. I understand asking them to not talk to the media, but the police part I have more difficulty with. What if one of the friends was the killer? What if they had knowledge or important information and didn't realize it?

I have another question regarding the ransom note. Did the intruder write it before the murder or afterwards? What are the theories regarding that?

Carter was blackmailing her then I thought some other person blackmailed her as well for CIA information. Ok, that's convoluted.

I couldn't make out words (besides Jesus) on the call but I do hear a voice. I do think it is weird that she hung up on 911. I called when my middle daughter stopped breathing for a couple minutes and the operator wanted us on the phone until help arrived. She was my lifeline at the time. Someone else may react differently. For me, the fact that she was killed in her own home is why I have difficulty believing the Ramsey's have no involvement. I said previously that I couldn't imagine a 9 year old had any involvement but I'm changing my mind. It makes sense that the parents would stage a scene to protect their child. I'm not convinced but I can see it. If it was an intruder, I don't believe it was a stranger. It was someone well known to the Ramsey's, IMO. In regards to the handwriting, it's never been definitive. Even the A&E special said multiple experts couldn't exclude Patsy from being the writer but they also couldn't confirm it. It's also so easy to make any of the evidence fit whatever side you take of the case. The police botched the scene but there is also the possibility they're right. Or they're wrong. Vaginosis does not exclude previous sexual abuse. It just muddies the waters and no one can say whether it existed or not. I can see how an intruder got in the basement, easily. Did anyone try to get out with the suitcase? Was that possible? Wasn't Patsy holding JonBenet after she was found? This part confuses me since many have said John placed her on the floor? My DVR didn't record the last 15 minutes since football ran over, what did I miss?

I think it's pretty clear to see how the evidence can point to both theories. At this point, unless the killer confesses, we won't ever know.

There's been speculation that he didn't because of the Ramsey's status in the community. Some believe that status is why the police allowed everyone to traipse through the house. Does anyone know the name of the PR firm the Ramsey's hired?

I don't care about the DOJ part at all. I think it's becoming more common to let patients recover at home. There is less chance of an infection. I understand nthe family was wary about it but I found them really rude to the fiancée.

Just as the police didn't want to hear the intruder theory, the DA wouldnt listen to anyone who thought the opposite. Maybe the police had 200 points pointing towards the Ramsey's. You can have vaginosis and be a victim of sexual abuse. These are not mutually exclusive. It just muddies the water. They only used 4 markers to identify it using touch DNA. 13 is the standard. Supporting that claim is Gordon Coombes, who worked as an investigator in the Boulder County district attorney’s office — though not directly on the JonBenét case — from 2008 to 2011. He joined the office under DA Mary Lacy when they were testing the victim’s long johns for “touch” DNA. According to Coombes, during this time, Lacy used to host occasional lunchtime sessions for the staff to make the case, internally, that JonBenét was killed by an intruder — which struck the former cop as odd. “I was told when I went to the DA’s office, ‘Don’t voice against the intruder theory because you may be forced out if you don’t fall in line. If you don’t believe in it, just keep your mouth shut,’ ” Coombes tells The Post. “It just seemed weird the whole premise of … this attempt to influence the entire agency.” There's a rumor that Lacey and John Ramsey were more than friends.

http://forums.previously.tv/forum/2694-the-case-of-jonbenét-ramsey/ There's a forum for it. :)

A&E was heavily biased towards the parents. Dateline was more balanced, imo. The pageant comment should have been left out but many then did see that as weird. I don't but bleaching your 5 year olds hair for pageants is over the top. But the rest of it appeared to present the evidence as balanced. The issue is some things can point to the parents and the intruder. A DA has no authority to exonerate anyone. Only a judge can do that. The DNA only used 4 markers, 13 is the standard. It is highly likely a judge wouldnt even allow it in trial. Smit's involvement and evidence is also a point of controversy. The DA that hired him believed he became too close to the Ramsey's to properly investigate the case. He actually went to work for them after resigning from the DA. Many believe he shared confidential information with them which he was not allowed to do. The sexual abuse is dependent on who you ask. They truly don't know. While the vaginosis could explain signs of sexual abuse, that doesn't mean there wasn't any. A child can have vaginosis and be sexually abused. The vaginosis could have been caused by it. Or the vaginosis is common and there was no sexual abuse. The Ramsey's used the media as much as the PD did. The police and prosecutors were at odds from the beginning for a few reasons. One was the DA doesn't try cases he can't win. A&E didn't mention that the grand jury had voted to indict on a charge. The charge was the one that the Ramsey's were involved in some way.

Interesting! I'd like to know why the FBI didn't believe it was a kidnapping from the start.

You're correct. It was the FBI's jurisdiction when it was a kidnapping. Tbr FBI let everyone in and traipse over the place. The police made plenty of mistakes but that one is on the FBI. Once it was a homicide, it became BPD, the local jurisdiction. The FBI guy said bye, this is your problem and you have a contaminated crime scene. In regards to the DNA, it's highly possible that it wouldn't even be allowed in trial since they only used 4 markers when 13 is the standard. If allowed, the defense would say it is unreliable because of the contamination and the above. I don't have a problem with them getting a lawyer. They also hired a media relations firm. The police had more questions and they did a TV interview instead which their lawyer had no clue about! He said he would have advised against it had he known. That's odd to me. They did refuse to speak to the police after obtaining the lawyer and said they would only answer written questions submitted through the lawyer and then he would return them. Also, after Lou Smit resigned, he went to work (unpaid) for the Ramsey's on the case. This was seen as unethical by many considering his knowledge of the case and access to the records. The Ranseys were still under investigation and it's speculated he shared confidential information with them.

I'm no fan of Patsy but she was also heavily sedated during those interviews. They hired a media relations firm pretty quickly so I'm sure they practiced the lines beforehand. The DNA only used 4 markers instead of 13 which is the standard. A&E left this out. That makes it more difficult to identify or exclude someone. It's also not that reliable.

Dreads were my first thought. How many books are there?

I wanted to hear more about the DNA and how touch DNA works. I had to fast forward through the Karr part. It was too disturbing.

Chris Hansen's voice is so annoying. It sounds pretentious and too dramatic. I'd like the show better without him. I do like that I haven't been familiar with most of the cased he's covered.

My bus stop attire is whatever I wore the day before. Or what I grab off the floor. Then I get ready for the day after the kids are off.

It wasn't mentioned here but I think Dateline said two victims advocates were also called in as well as Patsy's friends. Who called them? The FBI? The police?

They aired it Monday night. I know that doesn't help but maybe they'll air it again soon?

I don't think the clothes are suspicious and I've always thought the parents were involved in some fashion. However, in the A&E special, her good friend did say that was unusual and that Patsy was a fashion plate. Again, I think it means diddlysquat.

We did see one of the boys go to a counselor. Most therapists won't allow their sessions to be filmed as that would violate privacy. Also, these people have been taught their entire lives that doctors aren't necessary. Leaving doesn't immediately change things that have been ingrained in you since birth. Getting far away seems obvious to us but I'm betting most of these girls wouldn't go to Canada. They want to stay near to help their siblings and mom in small ways. Or to have some contact with them. That blog seems really self-centered. The author just keeps congratulating herself on what shed done and seems mad/jealous she wasn't involved. Also, only one person was a minor.(I think.) She ended up returning to the order. Everyone else has been 18 and older.

I would also like to see more follow up. I wonder if the girls don't want it for various reasons. Many of them are still living in fear.