This was an excellent write up and mirrors a lot of my own thoughts on the case. Specifically the part where you say that all the things that happened to her could’ve been done by a child. I think anyone who hears about the case from the first time, can note the absurdity in all the things that happened that night and how juvenile and unserious it all seemed to be. Right down to pineapples and milk being had for a snack (I’ve never heard of ANYONE making this for themselves, and it sounds childish by its very nature).
The one question I continue to have is why do they keep speaking? It is frustrating to hear this family lie time and time again. The disservice they do to their daughter’s memory is beyond comprehension. And why lie about certain aspects of the case? Like Burke being asleep, or whether her shirt was red or white.
They were affluent people in an affluent community, and therefore were afforded a high level of trust when it came to the crime scene. Police never thought this affluent family who was involved in the community would have anything to hide, and thus they got away with a lot concerning the crime scene.
I think at this point, certain parties want to maintain the idea of innocence for the family, because it makes the police work look horrible by association as well. It makes them look bumbling and unprofessional.
At this point, I wish we’d move past trying to ask the Ramsey’s questions. They will never tell us the truth. Why they keep agreeing to interviews is another question entirely.
I don’t know how he can believe this though. Nearly anyone I’ve ever spoke to about this case (and this case is about 5 years older than me) has always said the family is suspect and continues to be suspect. I even remember South Park making fun of them!
They aren’t expert liars or something, they just keep shooting themselves in the foot and end up looking more suspect in the process. I wish they’d just go for the “no comment” route, so they could at least maintain some dignity.
haha, some people who believe it was Patsy/Burke and John got forced into the cover-up think he's dying and doesn't give a shit about protecting Burke anymore and is hoping people look into it and get the grand jury files released
I think Jon gets some kind of thrill out of evading the authorities and he likes playing the victim. It's also negative attention and he may like attention. I think he likes to flaunt himself in front of the country and secretly is delighted he has evaded justice for so long. I don't think the man is capable of genuine affection for anyone. His image is what matters. He may eventually let the truth be told, but I doubt it. Burke, however, may eventually let it all slip if he gets sloppy enough someday.
This was such a good read. I'm so glad I took the time to take in ALL OF IT. I've made sure to send a link to everyone I know that's been interested in the case. It's the most compelling piece I've digested about the case in years and is the perfect thing to wash down the slop that was the Netflix doc.
No, seriously, thank you. I'm the same in that I consume True Crime through the 20/20s, Datelines and podcasts and will occasionally check out these docs on streaming, but I've been so tired of these uninformative, dragged out, biased True Crime series we've been getting on them recently. So it was truly refreshing to read something so concise and laid out that answered so many questions I've had for years and even new questions that arised after watching the series.
Since sharing your piece, I've even had some people ask if they should still watch the series or read your work instead. I recommended that if they're interested in the case, it's still a good idea to watch the Netflix series and then read your piece, just so you can better understand why the story they're pushing is BS even more. I've always been a BDI person, but it's been impossible for me to properly explain it to people who aren't as familiar with the case and think the theory is ludicrous, so I'm very glad to direct anyone to this now.
Also, I saw your tweet about maybe making a Tiktok/YT video. I agree, it would be a good idea to get it in some sort of video format. You presented your theory in a very compelling and digestible way that I think many people would be interested in hearing/seeing.
Just got into this case from the netflix doc, and went online to find out more only to realize just how much was left out of the doc! Honestly such a great article and really makes me shift my thoughts on who did it.
So many details I didn’t know, wow. The theory about an attempt to use a suitcase to remove the body and leave the note that then didn’t work out explains A LOT.
Apart from being RDI I had never done a *deep deep* dive on this and so I never took BDI theories seriously. Now I'm sure this is what happened. Thanks for the excellent read!!
i never thought it was the family until reading this and now i’m on team burke hit her in the head and didn’t know how bad it was and the parents (at least one of them) did the rest to cover it up and save the one child they could save. a few things though…
wetting the bed doesn’t automatically mean sexual abuse - its very common, but did no teachers or other adults or friends or the kids ever have any other concerns? pediatricians are kind of the last people who would know about most sexual abuse bc they only talk to kids with their parents in the room. i think the leap to john was SA’ing them both and patsy knew so he had to kill her is reaching. i could see the paintbrush being part of the staging, to give the killer/kidnapper motive.
patsy being in full makeup and her clothes from the night the night before is sus af. she went to bed at ten without having packed the whole family for a vacation and then woke up and put on a full face of makeup before turning on the coffee? absolutely no way. that’s the least plausible part of the whole story.
The Netflix doc convinced me it was John Mark Karr until I looked up the evidence surrounding him and re-read the pineapple evidence that had me believe it was Burke before. I don’t understand how any journalist could leave this out of the documentary or be okay with producing misleading content for the sake of profit.
It’s interesting to hear about the family friend, the suitcase and the open/closed window - he must have some choice words to say about John surely?
Do you know whether the photo of the embedded garrote in the Netflix doc was real? I can’t help but think Burke couldn’t have tightened it like that and can’t see why the parents would have added this after the head blow either.
The Netflix doc also said the autopsy suggested skull fracture and asphyxiation happened close to simultaneously but everywhere else I read the head blow happened first - do you know why this is?
I just can’t help but think how scared JonBenet must have been in that basement :(
I hope some good comes of the documentary and it progresses to finding who did this to her.
the head blow happened first and 45 minutes to 2 hours later someone strangled her according to the coroner. grand jury members said the amount of time between the blow to the head and the strangulation was way too suspect to be an intruder. it made them think it was two separate incidents (burke, then parents). The Ramseys need to say it's "unclear" which happened when so they look less suspect
I think your theory makes total sense. I was on the Burke did it but the family covered it up train after the CBS doco, then this Netflix one swayed me until I started talking with my partner about it and he mentioned this post (thank you! This is so well put together!). The only question I have about your theory though is that if Burke got the pineapple snack himself while everyone else was asleep, why wasn’t his fingerprints on the bowl? Wasn’t it only Patsy’s fingerprints?
As a mom I’m sure Patsy’s finger prints were on the bowl b/c she probably unloaded it from the dishwasher or at some point grabbed it because someone wanted something and then changed their mind. But I agree- it is SO obvious to me that Burke prepared that bowl himself & Patsy had no idea (or she would have cleaned it up). Was this in a different kitchen than the main kitchen? I know it mentioned there was a Butler’s kitchen and then a main kitchen, I’m wondering if they used one more casually and why she didn’t see and clean up the bowl before the cops showed up.
Brilliant! I’m an elder millennial so I remember all of this super clearly (and I’m a Reddit True Crime Junkie)- I thought I knew almost everything about this case, but this was an amazing breakdown! THANK YOU!
I’m rolling my eyes at every stupid TikTok or post I see about “it was an intruder” or “I think it was Fleet White”- so this horrible Netflix documentary did its job for the “normal” people who don’t know much about this case.
The DNA misconception is HUGE. I’d love to see a full breakdown- I’ve seeen so many people talking about the DNA profile being in CODIS- what I gleaned from Reddit is that besides being degraded and a tiny amount, it is 9-10 markers on one allele from her panties. That’s beyond a joke. Absolutely useless.
I feel like I read somewhere that the panties she had on were several sizes too big? That always seemed like a weird thing for me. Did they put some kind of pull up or incontinence pads in them is that why they were so much larger than her normal size.
Anyway- thank you for your service- Iw I’ll be directing EVERYONE to this!!
Do it! I’m so damn tired of everyone with getting thousands of views and likes (its a lot of younger people who weren’t alive for the whole thing & think DNA didn’t exist in 1997, so glad you mentioned that in your post). But I swear I have a swell of rage every time I see one of these videos on TikTok shittily breaking down the case based on the Netflix documentary and NOTHING else.
Side note- I’;m not an “X” user- but if you have other social media accounts I want to make sure I follow & tag appropriately so people can find your awesome work!
Oh, and I love how you left space for at what point the parents got involved in the cover-up. As a mom (I’m also an ER doc, but I did a peds fellowship so I spend a LOT of time taking care of kids), Burke gives off ALL the signs of psychopathy or serious detachment. I don’t doubt for a moment with the history we know about (and the smeared species) that he is capable of an enraged hit on the head (it had already happened). I personally don’t know many 9yo (even boy scouts) who weren’t neurodivergent or obsessed with knots (like a kid who LOVES to sail) that would even think or be able to make a garrote or would have the ability to do it and look that nice. It is DEFINITELY possible, but I think how you summed it up in the end is more likely.
One of the “complaints” I see a lot is “how can a 9yo not tell more”- and I think you’re right that they caught him after the flashlight hit- he went up in a rage and THEN smeared feces while they were cleaning up (mad about his whole night ruined when all he wanted to do was play with this toys and it is always about Jon benet)- and they lied to him & he believed it.
I also FULLY believe this is John Ramsey’s last attempt to leave a legacy of doubt for Burke so he can die & believe nothing will happen.
The saddest part to me as an ER doc, is that Jon Benet’s head injury was clearly life-ending (or life-limiting, if she survived by some miracle, she’d have had a severe TBI and probably wasted away in a vegetative state for YEARS)- I also think there’s an element of that here. Would her parents want to see her languishing around on a ventilator in a long-term care facility for TBI survivors? Doubtful. She was their show pony.
Protection of Burke for sure, but more protection of their reputation & the fact they knew she’d never come back from this & be normal. She HAD to die. I know they loved her, but people do CRAZY things to protect their family & their family “reputation”— I hate to think both of those kids were being sexually abused, but the evidence is clearly there.
The sexual abuse is a mystery to me b/c I don’t think it was John. My personal opinion is that Burke was born w/some issues (sociopath?)- going through his mother having cancer at a young age he was probably left with a lot of people (my brother had a TBI when I was 7 & was in the hospital for a long time- I was passed around to random families). But having a terminally ill parent is a HUGE stressor- add on top of that a perfect little beautiful sister who was probably doted on by John & the mother. RIPE for severe sibling rivalry. That could explain some of his bedwetting and rage. And the more he acted out, the more he was rejected.
If Burke had been abused even once- this might be something he could still perpetrate on his sister at that age, repeatedly. I’ve seen it MANY times in the Peds ER (one of my hardest jobs is examining babies & kids for CSA), people massively discount how OTHER kids can perpetrate this, even when they don’t fully understand what it is.
Sorry for the long-winded reply- I’m just marinating now on all of the things I’ve seen & experienced that make me sure Burke did it, although I’m unsure about the point at which the Ramsey parents got involved in the cover up (before or after the paintbrush).
I also don’t necessarily think it was fear of discovering a sexual assault that caused the cover up (although I wouldn’t discount it). I think it was Burke & their reputation. It takes a SICK parent to shove a paintbrush up their child’s vagina (and worse to fashion it into a garrote & kill her off)- as a parent I can’t even begin to fathom it. But I’ve seen parents let their kids die or even help b/c they’d rather they be dead than super disabled and ruin their reputation.
I’ll go to my grave wanting to know what happened here but I think you’ve nailed down the most likely scenarios!
Wow, you have brought up some things that I've never thought about before, and haven't heard others talk about before. First, the possibility that Burke could have been molested when at somebody's house during his mother's cancer. When I was little, the father next door was molesting/having sexual intercourse with all 8 of his children (boys and girls. He tried to molest me once, but I screamed and he stopped.) My siblings and I witnessed the boys re-enacting sex acts with their sisters. I've known lots of kids who've been abused and subsequently did the same to other kids, often younger.
Hi Ashley. I am pretty new to the case and I am not particularly leaning towards any theory at the moment. But would love to know about two things;
1. Why do you think the parents didn't know about the pineapple bowl and thus forgot to remove it from the scene if Patsy's fingerprints were on it?
2. Why did you think the American Doll being ordered to John's office has credibility? It sounds absolutely stupid to order that doll in JonBenet's name and to his own office unless he wanted to deliberately incriminate himself. Was the new doll ever found with John? It seems very easy for anyone to call up Police and say someone ordered a doll in JR'S name.
1. this is in the article in the "Pineapple Lie" section. The whole part about the kids sleeping in each others room and Burke and the nanny saying they'd get up after the parents went to bed, despite Patsy saying they never did. the parents didn't know because Burke got out of bed after everyone went to sleep like he said on dr. phil and made the pineapple. Patsy probably handled the bowl in her kitchen earlier, but only burke's prints are on the glass
2. Well, the police didn't call anyone up to say that. the American Girl Doll company alerted the police when they noticed someone bought a doll with a money order for a dead girl in a nationally famous case. The police tried to look into it and found the order was sent to John's office, but John said he knew nothing about it. This is also in the article
patsys fingerprints could have easily been on the bowl from unloading the dishwasher or moving the bowl to the side in the cabinet to get a different dish
Wow, this is so impressive. I did not even know most of these details until today and have not researched this crime and yet I have been team BDI for a long time. Initially I suspected Patsy because of her coldness, but over time I realized it was likely the son and that they covered it up. I had no specifics as to why I thought this except that he likely had strong feelings about JBR getting so much attention. But now i see there was more to it. The whole thing is so sad and so angering. The rich get away with everything.
This was an excellent read. This case always intrigued me. I was 10 when JBR died and always thought how her parents behaved was strange. I noticed language they use often referring to her as that child or trying hard to actually cry when speaking about what happened. The Netflix doc is absolutely a setup to protect Burke for years to come. If I didn’t always end up in a rabbit hole looking at evidence every time I see something JBR related, they could have swayed me.
I agree that either Burke struck JB, and her parents did the rest to cover it up, or he struck, strangled and used the paintbrush and the parents protected him. I love that you touch on possible SA happening to Burke and JonBenet by someone in the family. I’ve thought the same, we automatically assume John, but I don’t rule out Patsy, especially to Burke. Or possibly both one way or another. Do you have any thoughts about North Fox Island, John’s grandfather supervising the airstrip? I know some people believe there could be a family connection with trafficking and child abuse that dates back.
*Note, I edited this on 11/29 at 9:57pm PST to add more links if you read it before that!
This was an excellent write up and mirrors a lot of my own thoughts on the case. Specifically the part where you say that all the things that happened to her could’ve been done by a child. I think anyone who hears about the case from the first time, can note the absurdity in all the things that happened that night and how juvenile and unserious it all seemed to be. Right down to pineapples and milk being had for a snack (I’ve never heard of ANYONE making this for themselves, and it sounds childish by its very nature).
The one question I continue to have is why do they keep speaking? It is frustrating to hear this family lie time and time again. The disservice they do to their daughter’s memory is beyond comprehension. And why lie about certain aspects of the case? Like Burke being asleep, or whether her shirt was red or white.
They were affluent people in an affluent community, and therefore were afforded a high level of trust when it came to the crime scene. Police never thought this affluent family who was involved in the community would have anything to hide, and thus they got away with a lot concerning the crime scene.
I think at this point, certain parties want to maintain the idea of innocence for the family, because it makes the police work look horrible by association as well. It makes them look bumbling and unprofessional.
At this point, I wish we’d move past trying to ask the Ramsey’s questions. They will never tell us the truth. Why they keep agreeing to interviews is another question entirely.
I think they genuinely think money and PR can control the narrative. John is dying and hopes a Netflix doc will protect Burke from the grave
I don’t know how he can believe this though. Nearly anyone I’ve ever spoke to about this case (and this case is about 5 years older than me) has always said the family is suspect and continues to be suspect. I even remember South Park making fun of them!
They aren’t expert liars or something, they just keep shooting themselves in the foot and end up looking more suspect in the process. I wish they’d just go for the “no comment” route, so they could at least maintain some dignity.
haha, some people who believe it was Patsy/Burke and John got forced into the cover-up think he's dying and doesn't give a shit about protecting Burke anymore and is hoping people look into it and get the grand jury files released
I think Jon gets some kind of thrill out of evading the authorities and he likes playing the victim. It's also negative attention and he may like attention. I think he likes to flaunt himself in front of the country and secretly is delighted he has evaded justice for so long. I don't think the man is capable of genuine affection for anyone. His image is what matters. He may eventually let the truth be told, but I doubt it. Burke, however, may eventually let it all slip if he gets sloppy enough someday.
This was such a good read. I'm so glad I took the time to take in ALL OF IT. I've made sure to send a link to everyone I know that's been interested in the case. It's the most compelling piece I've digested about the case in years and is the perfect thing to wash down the slop that was the Netflix doc.
Thank you!!
No, seriously, thank you. I'm the same in that I consume True Crime through the 20/20s, Datelines and podcasts and will occasionally check out these docs on streaming, but I've been so tired of these uninformative, dragged out, biased True Crime series we've been getting on them recently. So it was truly refreshing to read something so concise and laid out that answered so many questions I've had for years and even new questions that arised after watching the series.
Since sharing your piece, I've even had some people ask if they should still watch the series or read your work instead. I recommended that if they're interested in the case, it's still a good idea to watch the Netflix series and then read your piece, just so you can better understand why the story they're pushing is BS even more. I've always been a BDI person, but it's been impossible for me to properly explain it to people who aren't as familiar with the case and think the theory is ludicrous, so I'm very glad to direct anyone to this now.
Also, I saw your tweet about maybe making a Tiktok/YT video. I agree, it would be a good idea to get it in some sort of video format. You presented your theory in a very compelling and digestible way that I think many people would be interested in hearing/seeing.
This was such a fascinating read! Someone needs to commission your documentary
Agreed!
wow i have never cared about this case before now. thank you for laying everything out so succinctly!
thank you!! a few updates to it just went live if you had any questions about the note, her room, the DNA, or Burke!
OK so I am upgrading to paid based on this alone. Thank you for your service!!!!
Just got into this case from the netflix doc, and went online to find out more only to realize just how much was left out of the doc! Honestly such a great article and really makes me shift my thoughts on who did it.
Not sure we can believe someone's random theory online.
well it’s not a random theory. It’s the theory from DA Mary Lacy’s lead investigator from 2005-2006. read the article! that’s why there are citations!
I've read it all
So many details I didn’t know, wow. The theory about an attempt to use a suitcase to remove the body and leave the note that then didn’t work out explains A LOT.
Apart from being RDI I had never done a *deep deep* dive on this and so I never took BDI theories seriously. Now I'm sure this is what happened. Thanks for the excellent read!!
thanks for reading!!
i never thought it was the family until reading this and now i’m on team burke hit her in the head and didn’t know how bad it was and the parents (at least one of them) did the rest to cover it up and save the one child they could save. a few things though…
wetting the bed doesn’t automatically mean sexual abuse - its very common, but did no teachers or other adults or friends or the kids ever have any other concerns? pediatricians are kind of the last people who would know about most sexual abuse bc they only talk to kids with their parents in the room. i think the leap to john was SA’ing them both and patsy knew so he had to kill her is reaching. i could see the paintbrush being part of the staging, to give the killer/kidnapper motive.
patsy being in full makeup and her clothes from the night the night before is sus af. she went to bed at ten without having packed the whole family for a vacation and then woke up and put on a full face of makeup before turning on the coffee? absolutely no way. that’s the least plausible part of the whole story.
The Netflix doc convinced me it was John Mark Karr until I looked up the evidence surrounding him and re-read the pineapple evidence that had me believe it was Burke before. I don’t understand how any journalist could leave this out of the documentary or be okay with producing misleading content for the sake of profit.
It’s interesting to hear about the family friend, the suitcase and the open/closed window - he must have some choice words to say about John surely?
Do you know whether the photo of the embedded garrote in the Netflix doc was real? I can’t help but think Burke couldn’t have tightened it like that and can’t see why the parents would have added this after the head blow either.
The Netflix doc also said the autopsy suggested skull fracture and asphyxiation happened close to simultaneously but everywhere else I read the head blow happened first - do you know why this is?
I just can’t help but think how scared JonBenet must have been in that basement :(
I hope some good comes of the documentary and it progresses to finding who did this to her.
the head blow happened first and 45 minutes to 2 hours later someone strangled her according to the coroner. grand jury members said the amount of time between the blow to the head and the strangulation was way too suspect to be an intruder. it made them think it was two separate incidents (burke, then parents). The Ramseys need to say it's "unclear" which happened when so they look less suspect
i’m sure leaving out the burke theories were a condition of john’s for participating. whatever the truth is, he’s trying to protect burke.
the colorado cold case team opened a case on this in 2023 and im wondering if they're going to share something the ramseys want to get ahead of
I dont think I can add pics here, but I have the timeline, ill add it
I think your theory makes total sense. I was on the Burke did it but the family covered it up train after the CBS doco, then this Netflix one swayed me until I started talking with my partner about it and he mentioned this post (thank you! This is so well put together!). The only question I have about your theory though is that if Burke got the pineapple snack himself while everyone else was asleep, why wasn’t his fingerprints on the bowl? Wasn’t it only Patsy’s fingerprints?
burke and patsy's fingerprints were on the bowl. just burke on the glass.
As a mom I’m sure Patsy’s finger prints were on the bowl b/c she probably unloaded it from the dishwasher or at some point grabbed it because someone wanted something and then changed their mind. But I agree- it is SO obvious to me that Burke prepared that bowl himself & Patsy had no idea (or she would have cleaned it up). Was this in a different kitchen than the main kitchen? I know it mentioned there was a Butler’s kitchen and then a main kitchen, I’m wondering if they used one more casually and why she didn’t see and clean up the bowl before the cops showed up.
I agree with this. I don't think Patsy was around for the pineapple. The cover up starts later. the bowl was found on the dining table I believe.
Brilliant! I’m an elder millennial so I remember all of this super clearly (and I’m a Reddit True Crime Junkie)- I thought I knew almost everything about this case, but this was an amazing breakdown! THANK YOU!
I’m rolling my eyes at every stupid TikTok or post I see about “it was an intruder” or “I think it was Fleet White”- so this horrible Netflix documentary did its job for the “normal” people who don’t know much about this case.
The DNA misconception is HUGE. I’d love to see a full breakdown- I’ve seeen so many people talking about the DNA profile being in CODIS- what I gleaned from Reddit is that besides being degraded and a tiny amount, it is 9-10 markers on one allele from her panties. That’s beyond a joke. Absolutely useless.
I feel like I read somewhere that the panties she had on were several sizes too big? That always seemed like a weird thing for me. Did they put some kind of pull up or incontinence pads in them is that why they were so much larger than her normal size.
Anyway- thank you for your service- Iw I’ll be directing EVERYONE to this!!
Really think I'll have to make a "No, Fleet White did not do it" post. I can't believe anyone thinks that makes sense.
Well, I mean I know it's because the Ramseys have tried to frame Fleet and make him seem like a suspect since day 1
Do it! I’m so damn tired of everyone with getting thousands of views and likes (its a lot of younger people who weren’t alive for the whole thing & think DNA didn’t exist in 1997, so glad you mentioned that in your post). But I swear I have a swell of rage every time I see one of these videos on TikTok shittily breaking down the case based on the Netflix documentary and NOTHING else.
Side note- I’;m not an “X” user- but if you have other social media accounts I want to make sure I follow & tag appropriately so people can find your awesome work!
Oh, and I love how you left space for at what point the parents got involved in the cover-up. As a mom (I’m also an ER doc, but I did a peds fellowship so I spend a LOT of time taking care of kids), Burke gives off ALL the signs of psychopathy or serious detachment. I don’t doubt for a moment with the history we know about (and the smeared species) that he is capable of an enraged hit on the head (it had already happened). I personally don’t know many 9yo (even boy scouts) who weren’t neurodivergent or obsessed with knots (like a kid who LOVES to sail) that would even think or be able to make a garrote or would have the ability to do it and look that nice. It is DEFINITELY possible, but I think how you summed it up in the end is more likely.
One of the “complaints” I see a lot is “how can a 9yo not tell more”- and I think you’re right that they caught him after the flashlight hit- he went up in a rage and THEN smeared feces while they were cleaning up (mad about his whole night ruined when all he wanted to do was play with this toys and it is always about Jon benet)- and they lied to him & he believed it.
I also FULLY believe this is John Ramsey’s last attempt to leave a legacy of doubt for Burke so he can die & believe nothing will happen.
The saddest part to me as an ER doc, is that Jon Benet’s head injury was clearly life-ending (or life-limiting, if she survived by some miracle, she’d have had a severe TBI and probably wasted away in a vegetative state for YEARS)- I also think there’s an element of that here. Would her parents want to see her languishing around on a ventilator in a long-term care facility for TBI survivors? Doubtful. She was their show pony.
Protection of Burke for sure, but more protection of their reputation & the fact they knew she’d never come back from this & be normal. She HAD to die. I know they loved her, but people do CRAZY things to protect their family & their family “reputation”— I hate to think both of those kids were being sexually abused, but the evidence is clearly there.
The sexual abuse is a mystery to me b/c I don’t think it was John. My personal opinion is that Burke was born w/some issues (sociopath?)- going through his mother having cancer at a young age he was probably left with a lot of people (my brother had a TBI when I was 7 & was in the hospital for a long time- I was passed around to random families). But having a terminally ill parent is a HUGE stressor- add on top of that a perfect little beautiful sister who was probably doted on by John & the mother. RIPE for severe sibling rivalry. That could explain some of his bedwetting and rage. And the more he acted out, the more he was rejected.
If Burke had been abused even once- this might be something he could still perpetrate on his sister at that age, repeatedly. I’ve seen it MANY times in the Peds ER (one of my hardest jobs is examining babies & kids for CSA), people massively discount how OTHER kids can perpetrate this, even when they don’t fully understand what it is.
Sorry for the long-winded reply- I’m just marinating now on all of the things I’ve seen & experienced that make me sure Burke did it, although I’m unsure about the point at which the Ramsey parents got involved in the cover up (before or after the paintbrush).
I also don’t necessarily think it was fear of discovering a sexual assault that caused the cover up (although I wouldn’t discount it). I think it was Burke & their reputation. It takes a SICK parent to shove a paintbrush up their child’s vagina (and worse to fashion it into a garrote & kill her off)- as a parent I can’t even begin to fathom it. But I’ve seen parents let their kids die or even help b/c they’d rather they be dead than super disabled and ruin their reputation.
I’ll go to my grave wanting to know what happened here but I think you’ve nailed down the most likely scenarios!
Wow, you have brought up some things that I've never thought about before, and haven't heard others talk about before. First, the possibility that Burke could have been molested when at somebody's house during his mother's cancer. When I was little, the father next door was molesting/having sexual intercourse with all 8 of his children (boys and girls. He tried to molest me once, but I screamed and he stopped.) My siblings and I witnessed the boys re-enacting sex acts with their sisters. I've known lots of kids who've been abused and subsequently did the same to other kids, often younger.
Hi Ashley. I am pretty new to the case and I am not particularly leaning towards any theory at the moment. But would love to know about two things;
1. Why do you think the parents didn't know about the pineapple bowl and thus forgot to remove it from the scene if Patsy's fingerprints were on it?
2. Why did you think the American Doll being ordered to John's office has credibility? It sounds absolutely stupid to order that doll in JonBenet's name and to his own office unless he wanted to deliberately incriminate himself. Was the new doll ever found with John? It seems very easy for anyone to call up Police and say someone ordered a doll in JR'S name.
1. this is in the article in the "Pineapple Lie" section. The whole part about the kids sleeping in each others room and Burke and the nanny saying they'd get up after the parents went to bed, despite Patsy saying they never did. the parents didn't know because Burke got out of bed after everyone went to sleep like he said on dr. phil and made the pineapple. Patsy probably handled the bowl in her kitchen earlier, but only burke's prints are on the glass
2. Well, the police didn't call anyone up to say that. the American Girl Doll company alerted the police when they noticed someone bought a doll with a money order for a dead girl in a nationally famous case. The police tried to look into it and found the order was sent to John's office, but John said he knew nothing about it. This is also in the article
patsys fingerprints could have easily been on the bowl from unloading the dishwasher or moving the bowl to the side in the cabinet to get a different dish
Wow, this is so impressive. I did not even know most of these details until today and have not researched this crime and yet I have been team BDI for a long time. Initially I suspected Patsy because of her coldness, but over time I realized it was likely the son and that they covered it up. I had no specifics as to why I thought this except that he likely had strong feelings about JBR getting so much attention. But now i see there was more to it. The whole thing is so sad and so angering. The rich get away with everything.
This was an excellent read. This case always intrigued me. I was 10 when JBR died and always thought how her parents behaved was strange. I noticed language they use often referring to her as that child or trying hard to actually cry when speaking about what happened. The Netflix doc is absolutely a setup to protect Burke for years to come. If I didn’t always end up in a rabbit hole looking at evidence every time I see something JBR related, they could have swayed me.
I agree that either Burke struck JB, and her parents did the rest to cover it up, or he struck, strangled and used the paintbrush and the parents protected him. I love that you touch on possible SA happening to Burke and JonBenet by someone in the family. I’ve thought the same, we automatically assume John, but I don’t rule out Patsy, especially to Burke. Or possibly both one way or another. Do you have any thoughts about North Fox Island, John’s grandfather supervising the airstrip? I know some people believe there could be a family connection with trafficking and child abuse that dates back.