by A recent investigation into the unsolved murder of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey has implicated her older brother, Burke, in the slaying.
The allegation came at the end of a CBS documentary, “The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey,” that aired on Sept. 18. Investigators, including retired FBI special agent Jim Clemente, said they believe that Burke, who was 9 at the time, struck his sister in a fit of rage, killing her by accident.
The investigators also allege that JonBenet’s parents, John and Patsy, covered up the crime.
One thing pointing to Burke as the killer, the investigators said, is the fact that JonBenet’s bedroom was reportedly smeared with feces after her death.
“After they sealed off JonBenet’s room, the crime scene technicians went through it, [and] they apparently found feces smeared on a box of candy she had [gotten] for Christmas,” said former housekeeper Linda Hoffman, according to the Daily Mail.
Hoffman recalled a time when she allegedly found “fecal material the size of a grapefruit on the sheets” of JonBenet’s bed.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz, who was featured in the documentary, indicated that Burke had a history of such behavior. He said Burke had previously put feces on the wall of one of the bathrooms.
“The brother is not exactly thinking straight,” Spitz said. “The behavior is [indicative] of somebody who’s got a problem. When I think of putting feces in the sister’s bed … he was doing that.”
It all started with a bowl of pineapple, which the Ramseys had given to Burke as a snack on the night of the murder. The investigators believe that JonBenet tried to steal some of her brother’s pineapple, at which point he struck her with a flashlight, killing her.
“My hypothesis was that I think the Ramseys came home at around 9:30, 10 o’clock,” said James Kolar, former chief investigator for the District Attorney in Boulder, Colorado. “I think JonBenet was asleep. I think John did carry her upstairs, Patsy remained downstairs with Burke and served him the tea and the pineapple.”
“I think that accounts for the physical evidence as well as the latent print. Then she got JonBenet up to make sure she used the toilet, so she didn’t wet the bed that night,” Kolar continued, adding that, once up, JonBenet may have gone downstairs for a snack.
“In the meantime, Patsy continued packing for the Michigan trip,” he said. “I think if Burke was upset about circumstances or Christmas presents, he probably would have been upset about her trying to snag a piece of pineapple. Out of anger he may have struck her with that flashlight.”
The investigators agreed that JonBenet’s death was an accident. However, they are convinced that John and Patsy deliberately confused the police investigation.
“The Ramsey family did not want law enforcement to resolve this case and that’s why it remains unresolved,” said former FBI agent Jim Clemente.
Another retired FBI agent, James Fitzgerald, said the family’s response to the crime was suspicious. Normally the parents of a murder victim become highly involved in the case.
“We didn’t see that here,” Fitzgerald said. “But maybe we did. Maybe we saw it with her brother — ‘do everything we can to protect this child.'”
The investigators also maintain that JonBenet was not sexually assaulted, and that the DNA found on her underwear may have gotten there during the manufacturing and packaging process.
When asked why they decided to put in the time and effort to investigate the 20-year-old case, Fitzgerald said he believes it can still be solved, but that it’s going to require someone with information about the killing to come forward.
“In the 20 years since this horrendous death, I have no doubt someone involved in this homicide talked to someone about what happened and I would only hope at some point the persons who might have heard something from John Ramsey, from Burke Ramsey, from perhaps the late Patsy Ramsey, would still come forth,” he said, according to E! Online. “I would love to hear from them.”
