Linda Arndt speaks (with forked tongue)

Discussion in 'Justice for JonBenet Discussion - Public Forum' started by Watching You, Jun 28, 2006.

  1. Watching You

    Watching You Superior Bee Admin

    http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4807014,00.html
    Ex-officer reached out to Ramsey
    Arndt was in Boulder home when child's body was found

    Linda Arndt says Patsy Ramsey was "imprisoned by secrets

    Special section: JonBenet Ramsey
    By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
    June 28, 2006
    Patsy Ramsey died before Linda Arndt could fulfill her pledge to JonBenet's mother.
    "Last year, I was told just about this time of year that she was on her deathbed and gravely ill," said Arndt, the former Boulder Police officer who was the lone detective in the Ramsey home when JonBenet's body was found in the basement on Dec. 26, 1996.

    "That spurred me to reach out to her and find her again, which I did. She responded."

    Ramsey battled her disease for 13 years, succumbing to ovarian cancer early Saturday at her father's home in Roswell, Ga. She was 49. She will be laid to rest Thursday alongside JonBenet in Marietta, Ga.

    Their renewed contact in May 2005, Arndt said, "was a heart-to-heart connection, common decency, showing courtesy and empathy to someone who really had a lot of tragedy."

    She talked about what the contact between the two meant to her.

    "Knowing that she was dying, that was the impetus I needed to finish, to fulfill the promise that she asked of me," said Arndt, 45.

    Officer 'gave her my word'

    The day was Jan. 8, 1997. Arndt was at the Child Advocacy Center in Niwot where JonBenet's older brother Burke - now 19 - was being interviewed by a child psychologist.

    "Patsy and I were alone for over an hour, and she shared a lot of things in that conversation. She did, and I did," Arndt recalled.

    "And one of the things she demanded of me, she looked me in the eye and grabbed my hand and said, 'Promise me, promise me you will stay on this case and you will find out who did this to JonBenet.'

    "I don't remember my words, but I gave her my word that I would. And I cannot hold her story any longer."

    Arndt wasn't allowed by department brass to stay on the case. She was pulled off in April 1997, quit the force two years later and unsuccessfully sued the department for defamation. Arndt, who still lives in the West but is no longer a police officer, is now occupied, she said, "putting my life back together, trying to find my way back in the world."

    And she's writing a memoir in hopes of keeping her promise.

    'The right thing to do'

    In her first in-depth print interview, Arndt remembered Ramsey as "a lady of grace and courage and spirit, particularly in the face of such unrelenting adversity."

    "She was imprisoned by secrets. This whole case has been imprisoned by secrets."

    Arndt was reluctant to reveal many details of her contact with JonBenet's mother in the final year of her life.

    "I gained nothing and risked everything to contact her. And it was just the right thing to do," Arndt said.

    "There's no way to undo the wrong that was done (to the Ramsey family). But (it was) just to acknowledge what you could or couldn't do, and apologize for any error on my part and to offer myself in any way that was helpful to her."

    Arndt would not discuss her theories of the case, saying only that she doesn't hold the "prevailing view" within the Boulder Police Department, which increasingly keyed on Patsy Ramsey.

    "I'm able to confirm a lot of things that Patsy was maintaining for 10 years," Arndt said.

    Asked if what she is writing will eliminate anyone's suspicions about Ramsey, Arndt stopped short of saying so.

    "I think our expectation of the justice system is that you clear 'em or you don't, but you don't leave people hanging in the wind this long - at least, that's my interpretation," Arndt said.

    "I don't know that (the book) will exonerate. It will give people a context that they have not had before, and it will give them an understanding for everyone involved - but, particularly, for Patsy."

    Ramsey hard to reach

    National airwaves have been buzzing since Saturday with legal pundits weighing in on the question of how Ramsey's death affects the investigation - whether it represents an ending or perhaps even the opening of a new chapter.

    Arndt leans toward the latter.

    "I think it's just starting," said Arndt. "I think the real story is just coming out now. . . .

    "I think her death really shakes the foundation of what people have been content or comfortable in believing, refusing to accept or refusing to look at."

    The mere act of connecting with Ramsey, who along with her husband was identified in December 1997 as being under an "umbrella of suspicion" by then-Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner, was not easily accomplished by Arndt.

    "I contacted every attorney she's ever worked with," she said. "I was willing to contact anyone in order to get a message to her."

    Arndt spoke of a bond of trust that evolved between them during her time on the case - cutting against the grain of her department's overall approach.

    "I knew that would not be allowed directly during the time that I was on the case, (because of) individuals from both sides. Direct contact between the two of us was never allowed."

    During her June 2001 defamation trial at U.S. District Court in Denver, however, Arndt admitted to arranging an hourlong meeting with Ramsey in March 1997, independent of her fellow investigators, after concerns grew about Ramsey's health.

    "When Patsy heard I wanted to reach her, every time, she allowed me to meet with her and call her," Arndt said Tuesday.

    Despite the renewed contact between Arndt and Ramsey in 2005, the former detective admits she was blindsided by her death.

    Not owning a television for the past few months, Arndt got word from her brother, who lives in the Denver area.

    "I had no idea" she had taken a turn for the worse, Arndt said. "I knew she was just in Boulder (in February). Different people call and tell me, because I don't follow a lot of it. I was really stunned. I thought she had beaten it again."

    Arndt said she would "absolutely" want to attend Thursday's services for Ramsey but she won't.

    "Those around her see my presence differently than she does," Arndt said.

    "There would be nothing positive for the people assembled there from my presence. Patsy would appreciate it. I doubt anybody else would."

    Arndt admitted she doesn't have the answers as to who did what that Christmas night to the 6-year-old who, in death, became the nation's most famous child beauty queen.

    "Nobody does," Arndt said. "But I have the information, for somebody else who might. All the information is there."

    She said 90 percent of the case details have not been disclosed accurately.

    "If anyone wants to understand and make sense of this case, yes, the information I have allows them to do it," Arndt said.

    "You can make an informed decision, rather than uninformed speculation."

    Who is Linda Arndt?

    • On the case: Arndt was left by her colleagues at the Ramsey home with JonBenet's parents and family friends in the first hours of the investigation. She shouldered the blame for numerous police errors at the crime scene that day in December 1996.

    • Off the case: Arndt, a 14-year veteran of the Boulder department, well-respected as a staunch victim advocate, was taken off the case in April 1997.

    • Against the force: Arndt sued Boulder police brass for defamation, alleging a departmental gag order left her unable to defend herself against accusations that she mishandled the crime scene.

    • Off the force: Arndt quit the department in April 1999.

    • Afterward: A U.S. district court judge issued a summary judgment against Arndt in a June 2001 trial of her defamation suit. She is now 45, lives outside Colorado and is writing a book.
     
  2. LurkerXIV

    LurkerXIV Moderator

    Arndt is MorallyBankrupt

    >>>And she's writing a memoir in hopes of keeping her promise. <<<

    One more vulture feeding off the carcass of a murdered baby.
     
  3. Watching You

    Watching You Superior Bee Admin

    Well, she is from Boulder, after all.
     
  4. The Punisher

    The Punisher Member

    What a shock.
     
  5. BobC

    BobC Poster of the EON - Fabulous Inimitable Transcript

    I don't see it that way. I think Arndt has always thought John Ramsey was molesting JBR, and that Patsy was protecting him.

    I also think jA's actions towards Patsy show Patsy's incredible "cult of personality." Patsy can wrap people around her finger like nobody I've ever heard of before.
     
  6. Tricia

    Tricia Administrator Staff Member

    Didn't Linda always think that John did it? Remember the Good Morning America Interview??
     
  7. Watching You

    Watching You Superior Bee Admin

    Yep, and that is probably one of the secrets Arndt is referring to. OTOH, if she had information of that sort while she was with the BPD, then she should have turned it over.
     
  8. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Poor JonBenet. She had nothing but LE idiots surrounding her dead body that day.

    Yeah, yet another shill out to make a buck off of a dead child. How unique. And it's almost 10 years later...and Arndt is STILL putting her life back together? Of course, making money off the murder she FUBAR that day with her incompetent detective work is tops on her list of how to do that. Since she didn't bother to act like a responsible police officer afterwards, either, having secret meetings with THE PRIME SUSPECT, refusing to write police reports, and finally lying on duty, saying she "couldn't remember" what she was paid to document with precision and professionalism--yeah, SHE is to be trusted to tell the truth NOW. For a small fee....

    Not to mention, she is now claiming she has the goods, though she won't say WHAT they are...TO SOLVE THE CASE! But does she give her EXCLUSIVE info to LE? Does she make ANY EFFORT to help LE FIND A CHILD KILLER SHE CLAIMS SHE CAN ALL BUT NAME? Uh...no. BUT BUY THE BOOK AND YOU, TOO, CAN KNOW THE TRUTH!

    I swear, the Ramseys attract crazy people like a dryer filter collects lint.

    I used to feel a bit of pity for Arndt, just another victim. Now...I can see that she was truly the idiot who blew the case as far as her total lack of professionalism could. OH, yeah, I bet she was putty in Patsy Ramsey's hands.
     
  9. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    BAM! And that's what I'M talking about, too! The nerve of these mental cases! A child was murdered! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU, ARNDT! Some victim advocate you were!
     
  10. The Punisher

    The Punisher Member

    Let's see what she has to say. Then we can make our decisions.
     
  11. VP

    VP Member

    At this point

    she can say Patsy told her, in privacy, anything she wants to. Who will dispute it? Ooops, I forgot, LinwishIhadaWoody will.

    Hopefully she will give any proceeds from her memoir to a missing childrens foundation.
     
  12. RiverRat

    RiverRat FFJ Sr. Member Extraordinaire (Pictured at Lef

    What happened to her Amnesia?! Obviously, she must have bumped her head....and now remembers everything that happened after she counted the bullets in her gun with her mind exploding with the "Ahaaaaaaa" moment between her and John Ramsey.

    RR
     
  13. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Yeah, and THAT'S why I said SHE LIED ON DUTY!

    As far as I'm concerned, she OBSTRUCTED JUSTICE!

    Of course, in Boulder, they have raised OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE to an ART FORM!

    Oh...this really fries me.... :steamed:

    Punisher, what difference does it make what she has to say? Like VP said, she can say anything she wants since the "secrets" were said in private. And she is a PROVEN LIAR BY HER OWN WORDS.

    And Woody can't do a damn thing about it. You can't sue on a DEAD PERSON'S behalf.

    And obviously, Arndt isn't going to point the finger at John, because Wood CAN SUE on his behalf.
     
  14. RiverRat

    RiverRat FFJ Sr. Member Extraordinaire (Pictured at Lef

    Thanks, Candy!

    The article's claim that Patsy Ramsey "collapsed" on her daughter's body also is not accurate, Arndt testified.

    "The top part of Patsy's body was on the lower part of JonBenet's body, which was covered by a blanket," Arndt said.

    http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_622280,00.html

    Linda herself blew the Ramseys explanation for the fibers from Patsy's clothes found in the garrotte.........which was no where near the lower part of her little body. Around her neck is where the rope & fibers were entwined. :thumbsup:

    Love It!
    RR
     
  15. The Punisher

    The Punisher Member

    I'm sick of running from that goon!
     
  16. Watching You

    Watching You Superior Bee Admin

    I'm wondering what's going to happen now that Patsy is dead and no longer exists. Will the columnists and reporters finally pick up where they left off before Woody blackmailed them all into writing and talking only pro-Ramsey crap? Wood's threats to sue on Patsy's behalf are empty threats, now. While I'm not so sure he wouldn't try to sue on the premise that Burke and JR were damaged by any claims Patsy killed her daughter, he wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on.
     
  17. BobC

    BobC Poster of the EON - Fabulous Inimitable Transcript

    The main problem with what Arndt is saying, IMO, is the fact that the police and FBI were all looking at the same evidence and came to a different conclusion than the one Arndt came to. Ressler said he has always felt that this crime was an accident that was made to look intentional.

    Soooo Arndt saying she has info that will lead anyone to her same conclusion is not true. In fact, Arndt was the least involved of all the officers afterthat first day. Still, I'd certainly read her book.
     
  18. The Punisher

    The Punisher Member

    We can only hope. I know Jeff Shapiro last night said that the majority of LE say the totality of evidence pointed to her.
     
  19. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    :hopmad: :sucks: :curse: :moron: :lier: :verdict: :curses: :6web:
     
  20. Shadow

    Shadow FFJ Senior Content Moderator

    BobC - "The main problem with what Arndt is saying, IMO, is the fact that the police and FBI were all looking at the same evidence and came to a different conclusion than the one Arndt came to. Ressler said he has always felt that this crime was an accident that was made to look intentional.

    Soooo Arndt saying she has info that will lead anyone to her same conclusion is not true. In fact, Arndt was the least involved of all the officers afterthat first day. Still, I'd certainly read her book."


    I totally agree! I have admitted for years that I don't know who killed JBR, but I seriously doubt it was an "intruder." And I'll read her book just to see what she has to offer that Steve Thomas didn't.

    And BTW, the FBI talked openly about obstruction of justice all over the place in the case, but didn't have the balls to charge anyone.
     
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