Forums for Justice Press Release/ Tracey Documentary Exposed

Discussion in 'The Truth About Colorado University Journalism Pr' started by Tricia, Aug 26, 2004.

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  1. Tricia

    Tricia Administrator Staff Member

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 26, 2004
    CONTACT: Tricia Griffith

    tgrif@xmission.com
    www.forumsforjustice.org/forums

    Colorado University Journalism Professor Michael Tracey’s Latest Ramsey Documentary Exposed by
    Forums for Justice.org


    An innocent man, a man who was never a suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey case according to the Boulder District Attorney’s office, was fingered as the “Prime Suspect†by C.U. Journalism Professor Michael Tracey in his latest Ramsey documentary.

    On June 16, 2004, Michael Tracey's latest JonBenet Ramsey documentary entitled "Who Killed the Pageant Queen?" aired in Great Britain. Not only is this documentary filled with errors, it also falsely implicates a man who wasn't even in the state of Colorado at the time of the JonBenet Ramsey murder.

    Thanks to Michael Tracey’s showing of John Steven Gigax’s police record, with his case number clearly in view, the people who saw the show might actually think Mr. Gigax had something to do with the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.

    However, there are serious problems with Tracey’s documentary. Mr. Gigax wasn’t even living in the state of Colorado at the time of the murder. On December 25/26, 1996, Mr. Gigax was with a large number of family and friends in a state far away from Colorado. Tom Bennett of the Boulder D.A’s office told Mr. Gigax he was never a suspect and the Boulder D.A was never looking for him to question him. A call by a Forums for Justice.org representative confirmed, through Tom Bennett, the same information.

    The documentary stated that it was the “investigators’ top priority†to find this suspect; yet, Forums for Justice found Mr. Gigax within approximately 10 minutes of hearing this claim. A simple Google search was all that was needed. Within a few days we were in contact with him and upon hearing that he was the “prime suspect,†Mr. Gigax immediately called the Boulder D.A.’s office.

    Forums for Justice would like to thank John Steven Gigax for immediately contacting the officials and offering anything they needed to clear him of any suspicion. Unlike John and Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet’s parents, Mr. Gigax did not hire lawyers and refuse to speak to officials for months. Instead he did what most innocent people do - he offered to cooperate with investigators to clear his name. But, that wasn’t necessary, because he was never a suspect to begin with.

    According to the documentary, the Boulder Police tried to hire private investigators Ollie Gray and John St. Augustin to help with the investigation the day after the murder. The two refused, instead going to work for the Ramseys.

    This is a highly questionable claim. Although Forums for Justice.org was not able to talk with Boulder Chief of Police Mark Beckner to confirm or deny this, it would be very unusual, if not bizarre, for the Boulder Police to hire outside private investigators when they had their own investigators working on the case and had access to FBI investigators as well.

    Now, according to the documentary, these same private investigators are working with the Boulder District Attorney’s office for free to help solve the case. The Boulder D. A. has “sought the help of private detectives once employed by the Ramseys to hunt the killer. These investigators have been involved from the beginning. Although now unpaid volunteers because of the DA’s limited resources, they are an important part of the new investigation and they are free to talk. They are led by Ollie Gray, one of America’s leading private detectives and his partner John San Augustin.â€

    Since the documentary clearly states that these men are working with Mary Keenan’s office, we call upon Mary Keenan to denounce this latest lie produced by Michael Tracey. Even Keenan’s own very respected top investigator, Tom Bennett, has stated that Mr. Gigax is not now, nor was he ever, a suspect, nor were they ever looking for him.

    We ask that Mary Keenan explain why Ollie Gray and John San Augustin are not held to the same standards as others in the D.A’s office (if indeed they really are working with the D.A’s office) and are allowed to share inside information and participate in the making of this documentary.

    Forums for Justice calls for the Regents at the University of Colorado to remove Michael Tracey from his teaching position as a Journalism Professor. His latest documentary is such an outrage that the University of Colorado should be hugely embarrassed by his behavior and take the appropriate action. We also call upon the Rocky Mountain News to remove Michael Tracey as a columnist for the paper. Mr.Tracey’s column deals with “ethics†in the journalism. How ironic considering what Forums for Justice.org has uncovered.

    On June 24, 2004 Michael Tracey appeared on Court TV’s Catherine Crier Live show to talk about his latest documentary and his attempt to find a U.S. distributor. Forums for Justice.org calls upon all media outlets in the United States to refuse to air any part of this documentary.

    John Ramsey once referred to the people who follow this case on the Internet as, “beer can collectors.†We would like to point out that we are not above doing whatever hard work it takes to get to the truth. Whether it’s doing a three-second Google search to find the “prime suspect†that a University Journalism Professor and “volunteer investigators†with the Boulder District Attorney’s office can’t find or doing manual labor to make money to support our efforts, we will do what it takes to help keep the truth from getting lost in the lies.



    CONTACT: Tricia Griffith

    tgrif@xmission.com
    www.forumsforjustice.org/forums

    For more information on the Michael Tracey documentary please visit this link.
    www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5150
     
  2. Tricia

    Tricia Administrator Staff Member

    Tom Bennett is a very respected detective who was brought out of retirement solely to work on the JBR case for the Boulder District Attorney's Office.

    It was Mr. Bennett who told me Gigax is not and never has been a suspect. Nor were they looking for him.

    Here is a great article about Bennett.
    http://www.longmontfyi.com/ramsey/storyDetail03.asp?ID=33
     
  3. Tricia

    Tricia Administrator Staff Member

    A heartfelt thanks to Mr. Tony Ortega, a reporter for the New Times in Palm Beach, read our press release about Michael Tracey and wrote a great article about it.

    Mr. Ortega, thank you so much for printing the truth. You have restored my faith in the media.

    http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2006-08-17/news/jonbenet-flimsy/
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 11, 2010
  4. Tricia

    Tricia Administrator Staff Member

    Here is an interesting note....

    Not one Denver/Boulder newspaper or TV station has covered this story.

    MSNBC, Fox News, Village Voice, New York Post, and others around the country certainly have covered this angle but not Denver/Boulder.

    I was asked to speak with Todd Hartman from the Rocky Mountain News last Thursday about this story. I e-mailed him my number. Haven't heard back.

    Boulder Daily Camera reporter said she tried to call me but my number was not working. I called her when I found this out and left a message. Haven't heard back. By the way, my number is working just fine.

    I wish I knew why Denver/Boulder won't cover this part of the story. Are they too mortified? Are they hoping it all goes away?

    I really don't know.

    THANK GOD FOR PETER BOYLES ON KHOW.

    Mr. Boyles is on this Michael Tracey fraud story like white on rice. I love the guy. He'll be talking about it again tomorrow, Aug.31st. Be sure and tune in.

    I can't thank Peter Boyles enough.

    www.khow.com
     
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