Jeff Shapiro: Patsy Did It, Hunter Agreed She Was Only Logical Suspect, Lacy Wrong!

Discussion in 'Justice for JonBenet Discussion - Public Forum' started by Cherokee, Dec 26, 2011.

  1. Cherokee

    Cherokee FFJ Senior Member

    Read the full article at:

    http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011...eys-killer-15-year-anniversary-retrospective/


    My Search for JonBenet Ramsey's Killer – a 15th Anniversary Retrospective

    By Jeffrey Scott Shapiro

    Published December 26, 2011
    FoxNews.com


    Nearly 15 years ago, I was recruited by the Globe tabloid to investigate the murder of JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colorado.

    My story was chronicled in Lawrence Schiller’s New York Times bestseller, “Perfect Murder, Perfect Town,” which featured my tale as a cub reporter immersed in the most sensational child murder case in American history.

    During my time on the JonBenet Ramsey case, I tracked down the origin of the murder weapon, infiltrated the Ramsey’s church, spent nights tracking intruder suspects, worked for the Boulder Police Department as a confidential informant, had secret conversations with District Attorney Alex Hunter, and made presentations to the F.B.I. I even became acquainted with John and Patsy Ramsey.

    For several years, I secretly hoped I could prove the Ramseys were innocent. Not only did I feel compassion for them in the wake of relentless media attacks, my interaction with them forced me to recognize them as real people instead of mere names in newspaper print.

    In 2006 however, after Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer, I came to terms with the fact that the most compelling evidence suggested that she was somehow involved in the death of her daughter – even if it was just an accident covered up to look like an intentional killing.

    When the Ramseys woke up the morning of December 26, 1996, they allegedly found a three-page ransom note left on the spiral staircase of their home demanding the odd sum of $118,000. It was signed, “Victory! S.B.T.C.”

    In my opinion, the handwriting in the ransom note had striking similarities to samples of Patsy’s that I’d collected over the years, and there were also what I considered to be coded messages in the note that had special significance for Patsy.

    Many reporters assumed the $118,000 ransom demand was somehow connected to the $118,000 bonus John Ramsey coincidentally received that year from his company, Access Graphics, but what most people do not know is that the number 118 had a sacred meaning to Patsy.

    As a devoutly religious woman who had relied on Christian faith healing, two of Patsy’s favorite books on the matter held the key.

    In 1994, the Colorado Woman’s Daily did a cover story on Patsy in which she admitted that she was relying on Christian faith healing to overcome her illness. In that article, Patsy said she relied heavily on a spiritual book by Dodie Osteen called, “Healed of Cancer.”

    Osteen wrote in her book that she recited Psalm 118, Verse 17 every night before going to sleep over and over again. It read: “I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord.”

    Patsy’s neighbor, Betty Barnhill referred another book to me that she had loaned Patsy called “Be Healed,” by Marilyn Hickey. In the second paragraph of the very first page, the author also reiterated the importance of reciting Psalm 118 regularly.

    It was undeniably clear to me that the number 118 had a deeply profound importance in Patsy’s life, and so the appearance of this odd number in the ransom note was unlikely to be a coincidence.

    [snip]

    I then tried to imagine – if a deeply Christian woman wanted to make it appear that an intruder had killed her daughter on Christmas night, what kind of person would she envision as the killer?

    Who would she want to blame it on?

    To me, the answer was obvious.

    During the 1980’s and 1990’s, many people believed stories about Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA). Typically, SRA involved the attempted kidnapping of children for sexual molestation and sacrifice, and in some stories, children were strangled or tied up.

    [snip]

    It is my firm belief that JonBenet’s killer was a deeply religious person who was calling out to God for help in a hysterical panic after the little girl died, someone who was trying to convince themselves that Satan was responsible for their actions.

    Who would believe such a delusion?

    Someone who believed their illness was caused by Satan, someone who read books that blamed every bad worldly occurrence on the dark angel; someone deeply religious who actually believed there were Satanists out there and knew about Satanic Ritual Abuse; someone who thought if they staged the murder to look like a cult killing, police may believe that’s what it was, unaware of the fact that the SRA phenomenon had already been widely discredited within law enforcement circles.



    [snip]

    I wasn’t the only one who felt that religion somehow played into the cover up of the murder.

    Several years after lead detective Steve Thomas publicly professed his unequivocal belief that Patsy was the killer, another investigator, James Kolar examined the case.

    Kolar, concluded that Patsy was the killer because many of the religious statements she made to the media after JonBenet’s death mirrored the types of deeply religious statements Susan Smith made after she killed her own children.

    After Kolar made his presentation to Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy, she did the unthinkable by releasing a written statement clearing the Ramseys. Lacy however, was not the original district attorney who investigated the crime, Alex Hunter was, and Hunter had always told me in private that he believed Patsy was the only logical suspect – as did almost all my sources in the Boulder Police Department, Colorado Bureau of Investigations and F.B.I.


    Shortly after Lacy’s announcement that she exonerated the Ramseys, I wrote a piece for Fox News Opinion explaining why I believed she had made a fatal mistake. Since her successor Stan Garnett took over, law enforcement officials have resumed investigating their original theory that Patsy was involved.

    [snip]

    As much as I’d love to believe that DNA was not an unrelated, accidental transfer and that Patsy was completely innocent, I cannot. In addition, I do not believe that any other member of the Ramsey family was involved in JonBenet’s death or the cover up of her murder, because neither proposition is what the totality of the evidence suggests.

    Finally, there were personal observations I made that led me to think Patsy could have been involved.

    One summer day in 1997 I sat beside the Ramseys in church only a few months after JonBenet’s passing. At one point, the reverend, Rol Hoverstock put his hand on John’s shoulder and compassionately whispered to him, “You’re a good man, John. I know you didn’t do this.”

    Minutes later, when he walked by Patsy sitting alone in an empty pew, the two made eye contact, but instead of greeting her as he did John, he angrily looked away and drifted right past her.

    That stunned me.

    [snip]

    Jeffrey Scott Shapiro is an investigative journalist who has researched the JonBenet Ramsey murder case for nearly 15 years.
     
  2. Karen

    Karen Member

    Very interesting article Cherokee. Thank you.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody!
    Sorry it's a bit belated.
     
  3. Elle

    Elle Member

    Thank you for posting this very interesting article, Cherokee. It puts finality to the case for me. Like Steve Thomas, I believe Patsy was responsible for the accidental death of JonBenét Ramsey. I think it was a Rage Killing!
     
  4. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Yes, thanks, Chero, for posting this. I have only read your quotes, so I must go to the site to finish. I'm wondering if Shapiro notes the prior molestation. If he's truly trying to set the record straight or give a fully researched article, he can't have missed that, can he?

    Because I agree all the evidence points to Patsy, but there is some evidence that needs further explaining. The fibers from JR's shirt found on JonBenet's genital area could have been transfer, but JR's subsequent lies told to LE are not so easy to dismiss. Of course, JR could simply have been covering up for Patsy after the fact as far as the murder, but who was molesting the child before that night? That's a question absolutely NO ONE who was closely involved in this case first hand ever even mentions. When people go to such lengths to avoid the one piece of evidence that clearly and unequivocally needs explaining as a criminal element in the murder, evidence which would in all probability lead directly to the killer, I HAVE TO ASK: WHY? Team Ramsey has spent 15 years denying the evidence even exists, thought it's in the autopsy as plain as the nose on your face, so you know it's very important.

    Thanks to Shapiro for this: being honest about his period of turnabout, when he suddenly declared his belief in the Ramsey's innocence and only added fuel to the faux intruder fire. Oh, how the RST loved that.

    Edited to add: Read the entire article and Jeff does mention the unexplained evidence of prior molestation:

    http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011...iversary-retrospective/#content#ixzz1hqJZqm3M


    :justice:

    Hey, Karen and Elle. :wave:
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2011
  5. zoomama

    zoomama Active Member

    This article is interesting in that it is now a more mature Jeff Shapiro looking back at 15 years after the crime. In his beginning assessments he clearly states that he "tracked down the origin of the murder weapon". Whaaaat is that? I don't remember which item that might be...yet he knows. My remembering of this case has become so fuzzy over the years but there are a few things that still ring as clear as that bell announcing lunch break! What have I missed here?
     
  6. cynic

    cynic Member


    Hey Zoomama, JS is referring to the following:

    After church, Jeff Shapiro called Frank Coffman, an occasional contributor to the Colorado Daily. Coffman, a friendly guy about to turn fifty, had first met Alex Hunter in 1982 during a citizens’ meeting and was currently writing articles on the Ramsey case. Coffman agreed to meet Shapiro at the Trident bookstore and café on Pearl Street, next door to the Rue Morgue mystery bookstore.
    Over coffee, they talked about the case and eventually reached the topic of the garrote stick. In the photo the Globe had published, the wood looked like a manufactured item, slightly glossy and tapered. Then they looked at the autopsy and crime scene photos, which Shapiro had been given by his editor. Coffman said he’d once seen some white cord at the Boulder army-navy store that looked similar to the cord around JonBenét’s wrist.
    That afternoon, Shapiro visited the store Coffman had mentioned, which was just a few blocks from the Access Graphics offices. Sifting through the boxes of white cord, he found some that matched what he’d seen in the autopsy photo. Shapiro asked the cashier if John or Patsy Ramsey had ever been in the store.
    “Not that I can recall,†the clerk said.
    That evening, Shapiro wrote a letter to Alex Hunter. He mentioned what he’d found and said that according to the clerk, the police had never visited the store to inquire about cord.
    “People like you are going to make a difference,†Hunter told Shapiro on the phone after receiving his letter. “Other journalists come in to get information. You come in to give me information.†The comment gave Shapiro a huge boost.
    Meanwhile, his editor was pushing him to develop a police source. Call Steve Thomas, Mullins said. Shapiro thought he was joking, since Mullins had blown Shapiro’s cover by calling Thomas earlier in the year.
    Nevertheless, Shapiro called Thomas and left a message, saying he had information the cops might need. Surprisingly, Thomas called back.
    “I still have a working file on you,†the detective said. “I look forward to seeing whatever it is you have to tell me.â€
    Shapiro dropped off a note for Thomas at police headquarters. In it, he mentioned the white cord he had found—and also that the movie Speed contained a line similar to one rumored to be in the ransom note: “Don’t try to grow a brain John.â€

    Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, Lawrence Schiller, pages 406-407


    During the second week in June, Jeff Shapiro visited the Boulder public library to research garrotes. He learned that the Spanish conquistadors who colonized the Philippines had executed native revolutionaries by strangling them with a garrote in the same manner the media believed JonBenét had been murdered. Shapiro discovered that the garrote became the symbol of the Philippine revolution of 1872 and that every Filipino schoolchild learned that the revolutionaries had been garroted to death in public. José Rizal, who inspired the revolution, was himself sentenced to death on December 26, the same day of the year that JonBenét Ramsey died.
    I knew John Ramsey had been stationed at Subic Bay in the Philippines, and he must have known about the role garroting played in the history of the islands.
    I started to freak out.
    I called Steve Thomas. Soon after that, he and Detective Jane Harmer saw me. I read them the material about the Philippines.
    “I really want to help,†I told Thomas.
    “It seems like you’ve got the right intentions,†Thomas said. “You care about this little girl—you seem to want justice for JonBenét.

    Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, Lawrence Schiller, page 435
     
  7. Elle

    Elle Member

    zm and cynic,

    I listened to the recording of Tricia's broadcast last night. Heard your voices and said to myself..."I have posted with zm and cynic, and I have posted and actually met with Peggy Lakin and here you all were on the air. One needs patience to wait until you are called upon while other guests are still speaking. Don't think I have enough!(?). I think I would have been too nervous for something like that! More power to y'all! You all did very well; especially if you were not used to doing something like this.

    I'm anxious for the new year to chime in and hear whatever news Tricia will be able to release about the JonBenét Ramsey case. Intriguing isn't it? This was how she closed her show.
     
  8. Elle

    Elle Member

    Hello there KK :wave: .. why weren't you speaking on the radio with the others?
     
  9. zoomama

    zoomama Active Member

    Thank you Cynic for once again shedding light on the subject. I admire your ability to pull together these facts. My own knowledge has faded with time. sometimes I can recall a thing or two once it has been mentioned. I did read the book, APM, A P Town, but that quote has surely escaped my attention.

    It is so good of you to go on the radio and ask or explain about the details of this case or any other case.

    In the chat room while the program was going on I read a question from one of the Chatters asking if anyone had visited the graves of JonBenet and Patsy on this anniversary. No one knew the answer and I still wonder.
     
  10. RiverRat

    RiverRat FFJ Sr. Member Extraordinaire (Pictured at Lef

    It was Sooo Good to hear your voice again and I was proud of you for calling in as an Extra Special guest!

    Now...about those chatters...I know exactly who was wondering if JonBenet and Patsy were all alone once again with no visitors at Christmas :yes: but I did not know that those on the radio were reading the chat! Not that VP and I were not on our best behavior or anything like that...

    What was this thread for again? Shapiro and his yet once again stunning revelation?! Oh ~ zzzzzzzzzzzzz!

    RR
     
  11. zoomama

    zoomama Active Member

    Oh, Ratty! Of course I saw your little mousey tail switching back and forth. :wave: Both you and VP were the ones discussing the grave site. And of course I remembered your pictures when you visited it. How come you didn't call in and share your wisdom? That would have been so great!

    At one point I had to turn off my phone because I caused a "BUZZ". I'll bet it was because I was watching the chat room with my sound off. Anyway for as long as I was watching I enjoyed all of the chatters comments.
     
  12. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Tricia had it all laid out and I'm completely thrilled with her panel. They went for 2.5+ hrs. as it was! If they'd had my big mouth on there, you'd still be listening. :winko:

    Always good to see you, Elle. You're the best supporter on the forum, hands down! :heart:

    Cynic, you were awesome on the program. But you knew that. :cool2:

    Zoomama and Rat, y'all staying out of trouble? Hope not! I'd hate my fellow pyrates to lose their sullied reputations at this point. :pirate:
     
  13. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    Fantastic article by Shapiro. The most important thing about this article, at least for me, is that it confirms all the comments attributed to Shapiro by Schiller in PMPT.

    I'm going to re-read those comments now because I remember there are some very important conversations between Shapiro and Rol and Shapiro and John. I posted a thread, on another forum, once about Shapiro's testimony given in PMPT and how they almost proved PR was involved. Some posters replied that Schiller's book was full of errors and I should not place any trust in those stories. I now know I can.

    What do you all think about Shapiro's indication that the new investigation is again focusing on PR? Is this why Shapiro has now come out with such a straightforward article? Could he know some inside info?
     
  14. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Good points, as usual, Learnin. I hadn't thought of it that way. But then, the old brain is struggling, these days.

    I guess Shapiro could still have some good inside sources. He was right there in the thick of it, playing his part, however tabloidy that was. One thing I can't deny about Shapiro: the most accurate info we were getting in those days came to us from the tabs. Who knew?!

    So if Shapiro actually knows that LE is again looking at Patsy (post Keenan/Lacy's disasterous deadlock on the investigation), that would be something. Should we trust that his sources are fast and he's not exaggerating to up his caché? (Lord, I have become totally jaded with this case, haven't I?)

    Well, it's a dream, isn't it? Though I have no idea what good could possibly come from it, as LE will never be able to prosecute Patsy, and she gives everyone else reasonable doubt. It would be nice if somehow Boulder LE was able to release the case files to the public, at any rate. JonBenet deserves the truth to be known, no matter what doesn't happen to the person(s) who murdered her.

    Good observations, Learnin. You always make me think.
     
  15. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    Thanks, kk. I was always very interested in Shapiro's comments contained in PMPT. One very important conversation took place between Shapiro and John. Shapiro managed to get hold of John on the telephone and he started out by saying how bad he felt for John because of all the negative publicity he received in the press, etc. I think John thanked him or something and then Shapiro said something to the effect of: "But, I think Patsy is involved."
    Shapiro says there was nothing but silence on the other end. Now. This conversation wasn't played out in front of the public, and if it had been a public conversation, John would probably have gotten angry or corrected Shapiro. But this was a private conversation and John's silence really screams out, IMO.

    Here's the thing about Shapiro, Thomas and others who were able to witness certain people's behavior, etc. Take, for instance, Shapiro's witnessing of Patsy, Rol and John at Church. He relates an episode whereby Rol comes down to John and is very consoling....apologetic so to speak in regards to what John is putting up with in the press....and Shapiro says that Rol wouldn't even look at Patsy. I've always thought that behavior, and witnessing a person's actions, are more telling than anything when determining guilt. We can't throw the book at anyone upon behavior alone but, by golly, a person's behavior is more telling than a boat load of circumstantial evidence. One of the things that we owe Shapiro is the fact that he was able to infiltrate the DA's office, get close to the Ramseys and Rol and even the Boulder detectives. In this recent article, Shapiro verifies the stories which Schiller related concerning himself.

    I really think it means something that Shapiro says the new investigation is focusing on Patsy. We were told it would be focusing on linguistics and DNA which, no doubt, is true but could the advances in computer technology and linguistics be revealing some new information in regards to the author of the ransom note. I find it quite fascinating that Shapiro mentions the religious overtones in the ransom note and how he noticed similarities way back when by comparing many PR writings...he even indicates he had a lot more to look at than what we have on the internet to look at. At any rate, is he wanting to take a little credit because he is privy to some new linguistical leads???
    Just conjecture.
     
  16. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Didn't the Rev. Rol refuse to talk to Boulder detectives? Or at least was very hostile and helped very little? Or was that the one in Atlanta? Or both?

    See, I've never been able to understand all the so-called upright, good citizens who treated the detectives like Boulder murdered the child. All the familiy who claimed to so love JonBenet but turned to stone when they could have helped find her killer? It makes me wonder if they already knew who did it but just wanted to protect the killer/s because they didn't know or wouldn't believe the child had been molested before. Or maybe they just didn't care, because incest is a family tradition. Maybe they thought it was all an unfortunate accident, maybe thought Burke was involved, as well.

    Whatever inspired so many "good Christians" to help a child abuser/murderer get away, I wonder if they smugly think about it today, how they fooled everyone, all of them, and how clever they are?

    They are all cursed.
     
  17. cynic

    cynic Member

    It was just the Atlanta pastor that was uncooperative.
    And, BTW, why were you not on the anniversary show? I’m not sure I can forgive you.
    Ok, I forgive you, but you better be there next time. (Hopefully threatening posters isn’t against TOS.) :banme: :runaway:

    The Reverend Rol Hoverstock told police about a phone call made that morning to Patsy’s parents, Nedra and Don Paugh, in Atlanta. Mrs. Paugh, he said, mentioned that Linda Hoffmann-Pugh had commented about how beautiful JonBenét was and expressed the fear that someone might kidnap her. The housekeeper’s name had come up several times in a short period, and police had already been told she had a key. She became the first suspect, and police made plans to contact her immediately.
    JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation, Steve Thomas, page 26

    Father Rol Hoverstock came by the police department to give hair and handwriting samples—we were even checking out the family minister—and we asked his opinion about Psalms 35 and 36, without revealing why. That started him thinking about that book of the Bible, and when Detective Gosage and I met him later in the day at his home, Father Rol suggested that we take a look at Psalm 118. He thought it might be the origin of the $118,000 ransom figure. And in his sonorous voice, he read aloud one of the verses, which contained the phrase “bind the sacrifice with cords.â€
    JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation, Steve Thomas, pages 68-69

    Father Rol was trusted by both sides. Perhaps something might come of this. The next day I told him that the police department was willing, and all the Ramseys had to do was choose a time. “If they agree, we’ll be out there on the next thing smoking,†I said.
    I did not mention that Commander Beckner had asked If it could wait fourteen days so we could get a better airfare.
    A week later Father Rol showed up at our headquarters. Beckner joined us in a conference room, and I asked, “Any good news?â€
    Rol pursed his lips and shook his head. Team Ramsey lawyer Bryan Morgan had learned of the proposal and insisted on being at any meeting between the Ramseys and the Boulder cops. The pastor said he was “reamed†by the lawyer for becoming involved and had become so annoyed with the whole process, he vented his anger on all of us. “Enough of the ********,†Rol said.
    But instead of an interview, all he could now offer was a meeting over coffee in the Ramseys’ living room. “That’s unacceptable,†I said. We weren’t about to fly to Georgia for a coffee klatch with a lawyer. “We’re back to square one.â€
    JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation, Steve Thomas, pages 284-285

    Trujillo and I went over to the Peachtree Presbyterian Church to talk with the Reverend Dr. Frank Harrington the next morning. He knew the family well, had married John and Patsy, buried Beth, baptized JonBenét, and had just buried her, too. If anyone could provide us with some insight, it should be the Reverend Harrington.
    The minister met us with a frosty demeanor and a curt, “I’m not sure I want to talk to you. I will tell you I will share no privileged information.â€
    That set me thinking about the rules of privilege, in which information can legally be kept in confidence, such as between doctor and patient or lawyer and client. Also privileged would be a confession by a parishioner to a clergyman. “Is there privileged information?†I asked.
    “I won’t answer that,†Harrington said. “Do I need an attorney?â€
    “We’re not here as adversaries, and you’re not a suspect,†I said, hoping to smooth things out. But we had to wait around for ten minutes until both a witness and a lawyer arrived, and our brief exchange yielded little information.
    Why would a man of God reach for a lawyer rather than voluntarily give police everything he could to try to solve the terrible murder of a child, particularly if he wasn’t violating the sanctity of confession? But Harrington wasn’t alone in that peculiar behavior. I would repeatedly run into that same wall of silence, and more lawyers than I can remember, in the coming months. I wanted to cream at these people, “Don’t you even care?â€
    JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation, Steve Thomas, pages 98-99
     
  18. cynic

    cynic Member

    Thanks Zoomama, and I enjoyed being on the show with you and Peggy. It's nice to be able to put a voice with the name.
     
  19. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Thanks for being so understanding. :floor:

    In all honesty, Tricia knows she has but to ask. You guests on this show were all superb and there really was no need to add my "passion" (read, CALM DOWN, KOLDKASE!) to the mix. You covered everything I could have and more, as your questions and points were brilliant.

    Not to mention I'm a bit of a...wild card...for a live show. :pirate: The show I was on, I could visualize Tricia cringing as I careened out of control through our air time. I was so grateful I didn't have a chance to talk with Dr. Wecht, who strikes me as a man who doesn't suffer fools gladly. As you know, I have some issues with his "sex game gone wrong" theory, though I respect him immensely. It wouldn't have been pretty: it's hard to suck up and argue at the same time. :tsmile:

    Bless Steve Thomas, he is one of the few who exposed these people for who they are, pulling no punches.

    Thanks for these quotes. For some reason I thought Rev. Rol at some point hid behind his lawyer, but it's easy to confuse things with this cast of thousands, at this point.

    I will never, ever understand how so many people abandoned JonBenet so quickly and so thoroughly in her hour of greatest need: her blood family; her friends; professionals whose job it was to seek justice for the crimes committed against her and to uphold the law; even her ministers who for some reason felt more allegiance to John and Patsy than to JonBenet when all they had to do was openly tell the truth to LE; and too many more to name.

    Patsy couldn't have been more wrong: JonBenet's legacy is that she exposed the hypocrisy and evil among those who exhalt themselves as followers of Christ. They have NO IDEA what the teachings of Christ really mean, nor those of the Bible. If they do, then they are willfully as wicked as any Devil they ever denied.

    Dang. There I go again, getting all passionate. :dammit::curses::rage::gavel: :justice:
     
  20. Elle

    Elle Member

    Thank you for this kind thought KK!

    I just heard the recording of the show. I missed the posted information about it. It is good Tricia is determined to find justice for JonBenét. What a girl! It is good there are many younger ones like yourself still plodding away :imonline:for answers. It feels good to have taken part in trying to help. Now when do we read the good news that's coming? :tsktsk:
     
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