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Authors: Steve Thomas
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assigned Detective Arndt to arrange a formal interview.
A short time later an agitated Pete Hofstrom came into Eller’s office.
“Pete, we need to talk to the Ramseys,” the commander told the prosecutor.
“You can’t ransom the body for an interview,” Hofstrom shot back.
“We are not ‘ransoming’ the body. It’s just premature to release it.”
“You can’t ransom the body,” Hofstrom repeated, as if he had not heard Eller’s words.
“I’m not suggesting that,” the commander said, laying out the forensic and evidentiary concerns.
“You can’t ransom the body,” Hofstrom insisted for a third time.
Eller grew irritable. “Pete, they are unrelated issues. Go make your deal with them, that’s what you do. We need an interview.”
We would later learn that Hofstrom went to see Mike Bynum, who was already representing the Ramseys behind the scenes, and announced, “We’ve got a problem.” We was the word that shook us.
That evening, John Ramsey went to Crist Mortuary to discuss funeral arrangements. In addition to the usual rites, transportation was needed for burial in Atlanta.
Patsy awoke while he was gone and staggered from the bedroom to a couch, barely able to speak, and told her sisters she needed some things from Fifteenth Street. John was overheard to ask someone quietly, “Did you get my golf bag?” When I learned of that statement, it seemed totally out of order. There had been two golf bags in the house, but he had not specified which one he wanted. Neither bag was collected by police. Moreover, it was winter in Colorado, Michigan, and Georgia, not exactly optimal golfing conditions. Why would a man whose daughter had just been murdered be wanting his golf clubs anyway? I wondered what else might have been in the bag that was so important that Ramsey would even think to ask about it.
On the night of December 27, the day after the debacle on Fifteenth Street, Detective Arndt and Sergeant Larry Mason arrived at Tin Cup Circle at 9:30 P.M. to schedule the formal interviews. But instead of stepping forward to cooperate, the Ramseys seemed to be fast fading from view.
John Ramsey was there but would not talk to them alone. Also present were his brother, Jeff Ramsey; Dr. Beuf, the pediatrician ; Rod Westmoreland, Ramsey’s financial adviser from Atlanta, who introduced himself as an attorney; and the influential local lawyer Mike Bynum, who had once worked in the DA’s office. Bynum made his role official when he said he would be providing John Ramsey with legal advice.
It was the first time police had had a chance to speak with Ramsey since he had left his house the previous afternoon, yet he sat there with two lawyers.
The session lasted only forty minutes, during which time the detectives learned little. Ramsey asked no questions about the murder, the autopsy, or how JonBenét was killed. I later considered this very peculiar behavior. Parents usually want to provide information as soon as possible to help police find who harmed their child before the trail goes cold.
He confirmed that he had been locked out of the house about four months earlier and had removed the metal grate over the window well and kicked in the pane to gain entrance. That explained the broken window. But he made a point of mentioning that the grate was not secured by a lock and that the window had never been fixed.
Giving some family background, Ramsey mentioned how Patsy had conquered cancer over the last few years, then added that this was a tough time of year for his family. His eldest daughter, Beth, had died in a car accident on January 8, 1992. JonBenét was to be buried next to her in Atlanta. A private memorial service was planned in Boulder on Sunday, then the family would fly to Georgia for the funeral on Tuesday, December 31.
Ramsey said he was considering posting a reward. When he was asked again about possible suspects, he repeated the name of Jeff Merrick, who had been
A short time later an agitated Pete Hofstrom came into Eller’s office.
“Pete, we need to talk to the Ramseys,” the commander told the prosecutor.
“You can’t ransom the body for an interview,” Hofstrom shot back.
“We are not ‘ransoming’ the body. It’s just premature to release it.”
“You can’t ransom the body,” Hofstrom repeated, as if he had not heard Eller’s words.
“I’m not suggesting that,” the commander said, laying out the forensic and evidentiary concerns.
“You can’t ransom the body,” Hofstrom insisted for a third time.
Eller grew irritable. “Pete, they are unrelated issues. Go make your deal with them, that’s what you do. We need an interview.”
We would later learn that Hofstrom went to see Mike Bynum, who was already representing the Ramseys behind the scenes, and announced, “We’ve got a problem.” We was the word that shook us.
That evening, John Ramsey went to Crist Mortuary to discuss funeral arrangements. In addition to the usual rites, transportation was needed for burial in Atlanta.
Patsy awoke while he was gone and staggered from the bedroom to a couch, barely able to speak, and told her sisters she needed some things from Fifteenth Street. John was overheard to ask someone quietly, “Did you get my golf bag?” When I learned of that statement, it seemed totally out of order. There had been two golf bags in the house, but he had not specified which one he wanted. Neither bag was collected by police. Moreover, it was winter in Colorado, Michigan, and Georgia, not exactly optimal golfing conditions. Why would a man whose daughter had just been murdered be wanting his golf clubs anyway? I wondered what else might have been in the bag that was so important that Ramsey would even think to ask about it.
On the night of December 27, the day after the debacle on Fifteenth Street, Detective Arndt and Sergeant Larry Mason arrived at Tin Cup Circle at 9:30 P.M. to schedule the formal interviews. But instead of stepping forward to cooperate, the Ramseys seemed to be fast fading from view.
John Ramsey was there but would not talk to them alone. Also present were his brother, Jeff Ramsey; Dr. Beuf, the pediatrician ; Rod Westmoreland, Ramsey’s financial adviser from Atlanta, who introduced himself as an attorney; and the influential local lawyer Mike Bynum, who had once worked in the DA’s office. Bynum made his role official when he said he would be providing John Ramsey with legal advice.
It was the first time police had had a chance to speak with Ramsey since he had left his house the previous afternoon, yet he sat there with two lawyers.
The session lasted only forty minutes, during which time the detectives learned little. Ramsey asked no questions about the murder, the autopsy, or how JonBenét was killed. I later considered this very peculiar behavior. Parents usually want to provide information as soon as possible to help police find who harmed their child before the trail goes cold.
He confirmed that he had been locked out of the house about four months earlier and had removed the metal grate over the window well and kicked in the pane to gain entrance. That explained the broken window. But he made a point of mentioning that the grate was not secured by a lock and that the window had never been fixed.
Giving some family background, Ramsey mentioned how Patsy had conquered cancer over the last few years, then added that this was a tough time of year for his family. His eldest daughter, Beth, had died in a car accident on January 8, 1992. JonBenét was to be buried next to her in Atlanta. A private memorial service was planned in Boulder on Sunday, then the family would fly to Georgia for the funeral on Tuesday, December 31.
Ramsey said he was considering posting a reward. When he was asked again about possible suspects, he repeated the name of Jeff Merrick, who had been
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