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Thanks to Rickamorti of Purg for transcribing, and giving permission to carry to other forums.

Labs Battle Over 911 Call Evidence in JonBenet Murder

Did parents lie to cops when they said brother Burke was fast asleep?

by Don Gentile

word for word

Six years after the death of little Jonbenet Ramsey, a tape of the 911 call made by her mother to report the little girl missing has been made public- setting off yet another controversy in the still- unsolved murder case.

Police say the tape contains a brief conversation between John Ramsey and Jonbenet's brother Burke that was recorded when Patsy Ramsey made the call from the family's Boulder, Colo., home at 5:52 a.m. on Dec. 26, 1996.

If Burke's voice is actually on the tape, then the recordings may prove the Ramseys lied when they told authorities at first that Burke was asleep during the call.

Now the Ramseys and their attorney Lin Wood dispute Boulder cops' assertions that the voices are there.

Two audio firms hired by NBC- which first aired the 911 call on its Today and Dateline shows- agree with the Ramseys. However, the renowned high-tech company that enhanced the tape for the Boulder police says its original findings that Burke's voice is on the tape is correct.

"We stand by our work," Linda Brill, spokesperson for The Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, Calif., told the Enquirer.

The company maintains a division of a Department of Justice - funded institute that offers space-age expertise to police departments nationwide.

"We are top shelf," said Brill. The NE broke the story about the 911 call in a world exclusive published in our Sept.1, 1998, edition.

We revealed that in the weeks following Jonbenet's murder, detectives listening to the 911 tape thought they could here background conversation at the end of the call after Patsy failed to hang up the phone properly.

Boulder Detective Melissa Hickman took the tape to the Aerospace Corporation for enhancement. There, experts enhanced the tape.

At first they heard Patsy saying "Help me, Jesus, help me, Jesus," and Burke saying, "Please, what do I do?" according to a source. After further analysis, they heard three distinct voices, then gave the enhanced recording to Det. Hickman.

"Hickman heard John Ramsey say, "We're not speaking to you," in what sounded like a very angry voice," the source said. "Patsy then says, "Help me Jesus, help me Jesus," and finally Burke is clearly heard to say "Well what did you find?" with an emphasis on the word "did."

Wood obtained copies of the call on tape and compact disc from Boulder District Mary Keenan for a civil lawsuit brought against the Ramseys. He shared them with NBC, who then had them enhanced by Legal Audio of New York and Team Audio of Toledo, Ohio. The companies told the NE they couldn't hear any of the controversial dialogue.

But a technician at Legal Audio, who did not want his name used, admitted, "There is what I perceived to be a male voice that is so buried in noise, you can't tell."

The NE learned that Detective Hickman returned to Bolder for Aerospace with two tapes: one, the original tape she brought for analysis, and an enchanced version.

The enhanced version has not been released and is still evidence in the case.

Lin Wood charged that reports of a conversation between Burke and John Ramsey were "based on a lie," telling NE "If Aerospace Corporation stands behinds its work, it should immediately release all details."





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