DA: "Death won't affect JonBenet Case."

Discussion in 'Justice for JonBenet Discussion - Public Forum' started by Greenleaf, Jul 1, 2006.

  1. Greenleaf

    Greenleaf FFJ Senior Member

    Publish Date: 7/1/2006

    DA: Death won’t affect JonBenet case
    Patsy Ramsey spent years ‘defending her name’ in slaying

    By Amanda Arthur
    The Daily Times-Call

    LONGMONT — Patsy Ramsey’s death will not affect the investigation into the long-unsolved death of her 6-year-old daughter, Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy said this week.

    Ramsey, 49, died June 24 in Georgia after a years-long battle with ovarian cancer. She was thrust into the national spotlight Dec. 26, 1996, when her daughter JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the family’s Boulder home.

    Though Patsy Ramsey and her husband, John, became a central focus of investigations into the girl’s death, the couple steadfastly maintained their innocence. Police never officially named them as suspects but said they were “under an umbrella of suspicion.â€

    In 2003, Lacy took a controversial stance when she openly defended a federal judge’s ruling supporting the theory that an intruder — not Patsy Ramsey — was responsible for JonBenet’s murder.

    That same year, investigators said they were unsure her killer would ever be found.

    “My honest answer on this is I do not know if it’s solvable,†Tom Bennett, the lead investigator on the Ramsey case for the district attorney’s office, told the Daily Times-Call in 2003.

    Lacy said this week she has a policy of not speaking to reporters about the case. Bennett also remained mum.

    Bennett came out of retirement and returned to the district attorney’s office in May to again take over the Ramsey investigation after the man who replaced him, Jim Kolar, left the office to return to Telluride.

    In a statement released this week, Lacy said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Patsy Ramsey. The Boulder District Attorney’s Office extends our sincere and heartfelt sympathy to John and (son) Burke Ramsey and to all of Patsy’s family members and friends.â€

    Though some have speculated that Patsy Ramsey’s death will lend further weight to skeptics’ claims that the case will never be solved, others remain optimistic that JonBenet’s killer will be brought to justice.

    Former Deputy District Attorney Trip DeMuth, who attended Patsy Ramsey’s funeral in Georgia this week, said he was impressed by the outpouring of support for the Ramsey family.

    DeMuth was a lead investigator on the Ramsey case until 1998. He left the district attorney’s office in 2000, after an unsuccessful bid for the top job against Lacy.

    In a telephone interview from Georgia, DeMuth said, “Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that an innocent woman had her daughter tragically murdered, was targeted by the police and spent the last years of her life defending her name.â€

    DeMuth, who now works for an international civil law firm, said he believes JonBenet’s case is solvable but that the chances that will happen become slimmer as time passes.

    “If (the case) is being investigated, it’s not being investigated very aggressively,†he said. “And if that’s the case, her death isn’t going to affect the investigation at all.â€

    DeMuth said he believes the case might have been solved already had the Boulder Police Department “taken a more broad investigative approach than simply focusing on the Ramseys.â€

    “Everything about this case is tragic,†he said. “Itâ™s tragic that it hasn’t been solved.â€

    Amanda Arthur can be reached at 303-684-5215, or by e-mail at aarthur@times-call.com
     
  2. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    I'm telling you, these people are suffering from something in the water! There can't be this much incompetence in one state! Can there? Nobody seems to make any sense at all!

    I mean, FOLLOW THE BOUNCING BALL!

    So...DID Keenan SAY what they said she said...she IS the DA, isn't she? Or DID she uphold her policy and not comment on the case?

    And which is it? Is the case solvable, or not?

    And shouldn't the headline read "AS IT'S NOT BEING INVESTIGATED ANYHOW, PATSY'S DEATH ISN'T GOING TO AFFECT THE CASE"?

    Could someone tell me just HOW MUCH TIME MUST PASS before DeMuth thinks the case is in trouble? 15 years? 20? 100?

    Well, DeMuth got one thing right. This case is tragic. And it's also tragic that no one associated with it can put two coherent thoughts together on it, either.

    (Thanks for bringing the article here, Greenleaf.)
     
  3. RiverRat

    RiverRat FFJ Sr. Member Extraordinaire (Pictured at Lef

    :putemup: :verdict: :bsflag:


    Two months before Karr hit the news, the Fix was in.
     
  4. Show Me

    Show Me FFJ Senior Member

    DA's office say it won't talk case, then releases statements.

    John Ramsey is sick of the media, then makes tv appearances.

    And Wooooody threatens Wendy Murphy and Murphy tells him to shut up.

    At least Murphy gives me some hope.
     
  5. Freebird

    Freebird Active Member

    No one who makes a stand clearing the Ramseys should be allowed to participate in the investigation or prosecution of the case. There's nothing impartial about it.
     
  6. RiverRat

    RiverRat FFJ Sr. Member Extraordinaire (Pictured at Lef

    Exactly, FreeBird & ShowMe!

    To: Colorado Governor Bill Owens

    TO COLORADO GOV. BILL OWENS TO APPOINT A
    SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO FINALLY RESOLVE THE QUESTION:
    WHO KILLED JONBENET RAMSEY?

    We believe that justice for JonBenet Ramsey and an end to the doubts surrounding her killing and the embarrassing failure to find her killer can only be achieved through the intervention of Colorado Governor Bill Owens. He can remove JonBenet’s murder investigation from the Boulder District Attorney (BDA), who has failed to take appropriate steps to resolve the matter and appoint an experienced and objective special prosecutor and staff whose subsequent investigation will be unbiased and not influenced by the Ramseys, their attorneys, their hired investigators, or analysts.

    As an Assistant DA assigned to the Ramsey investigation, Keenan expressed her belief that an intruder killed JonBenet and focused her efforts on the Ramseys’ neighbor, Bill McReynolds. Since her election to office, District Attorney Keenan has not involved herself in this case. She has forwarded any actions involving “anything Ramsey†to Assistant DA Bill Nagle. Dissatisfied because the police evidence led to them, the Ramseys’ lawyer, Lin Wood, threatened to sue the Boulder Police Department (BPD) and the City of Boulder if Keenan did not remove the investigation from police hands. Keenan appears to have succumbed to that threat by removing the case from the BPD and assigning it to her only two BDA staff investigators, neither of whom have homicide experience. These are the BDA’s only investigators and are, at the same time, responsible for all other investigations by the BDA. Supplementing her inexperienced and short staff, Keenan hired the Ramseys’ friend, and nationally recognized intruder theorist, Lou Smit.

    Keenan’s refusal to investigate this homicide, or to thoroughly review the police evidence, or to ask for any assistance from experienced professionals was made evident in April 2003 when she endorsed U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes’ opinion that the evidence in a civil libel case pointed to an intruder (which opinion was made without benefit of official investigation evidence collected and analyzed by law enforcement but instead, on unsubstantiated intruder evidence assembled by Lou Smit). "I agree with the court's conclusion," Keenan said, "that the weight of the evidence is more consistent with a theory that an intruder murdered JonBenet than it is with a theory that Mrs. Ramsey did so.â€

    Keenan’s prejudice for an intruder theory, together with:
    · her appearance of surrendering to threats of a lawsuit made by a civil attorney representing the people who are “under the umbrella of suspicionâ€
    · her actions severing the BPD from further involvement
    · her reliance on inexperienced staff
    · her hiring of intruder theorist Lou Smit
    · her biased, public statements
    make clear her refusal to acknowledge the official police evidence in this case and her determination not to pursue that evidence or the suspects to whom it points. In effect, Keenan has set the suspects free. Ramsey attorney Lin Wood sums it up perfectly: Keenan is "making it undisputed that she finds . . . an intruder killed JonBenet.â€

    Appearing on Larry King Live on May 28, 2001, Lou Smit stated:
    "I believe that perhaps they should get in fresh minds and fresh eyes, experienced people that can take a look at this case with an unbiased view point. That means getting rid of perhaps even the detectives that are working on it now. Getting rid of Lou Smit. Let somebody else in there that can objectively take a look at that case."

    We agree with Mr. Smit: The people of the State of Colorado, JonBenet Ramsey and everyone else concerned about this tragedy need “fresh eyes†and “experienced peopleâ€. We also agree with Lin Wood: Turn the case over to an “unbiased†agency.

    That is why we, the undersigned, set forth our signature herewith in protest to the biased and unprofessional handling of JonBenet’s murder investigation by Boulder District Attorney Mary Keenan and her office. We petition Governor Owens, based on the aforementioned facts, to remove this case from the hands of the Boulder District Attorney’s Office. We further petition Governor Owens to assign this matter to an experienced and objective special prosecutor and staff whose subsequent investigation will be unbiased and not influenced by the Ramseys, their attorney, or their private investigators.

    Assigning this matter to a special prosecutor will guarantee professional handling of a homicide investigation free of bias and influence. It will guarantee full-time personnel experienced in homicide investigation and prosecution. It will guarantee resolution. It will guarantee justice for JonBenet Ramsey.

    http://www.petitiononline.com/jbr246/
     
  7. Voyager

    Voyager Active Member

    Hi RR....

    I'll second that! :)

    Voyager
     
  8. RiverRat

    RiverRat FFJ Sr. Member Extraordinaire (Pictured at Lef

    Meet ya back in Boulder, V!

    It might need a little updating, but the Shoe Still Smits!
     
  9. Deja Nu

    Deja Nu Banned

    “If (the case) is being investigated, it’s not being investigated very aggressively,†he said...DeMuth said he believes the case might have been solved already had the Boulder Police Department 'taken a more broad investigative approach than simply focusing on the Ramseys.'

    Let's see, a non-aggressive Ramsey-only investigation won't solve the case.

    Non-aggressive? Read the Boulder letter released last week disclosing BDA's expenditures on this "non-aggressive" investigation. Try non-existent! All Lacy's done to "investigate" this case is let Tracey, Smit, St. Augustin and Gray run amok all over the place making fraudulent fantastic claims and wasting taxpayer money doing it.

    Simple Ramsey focus? How is a ridiculous sensationalistic and fraudulent focus on several innocent people "more broad"? Try just as narrow away from the Ramseys, anybody but the Ramseys, even if they have to make it up.

    Patsy's death change the case??? Guilt is guilt, Mr. DeMuth, and the only thing Patsy's death changes is the prosecution efforts of the guilty.

    Stupidity won't solve this case, either, Mr. DeMuth. BPD had their shot, Smit's had his. And by comparison, BPD's is far more credible, especially since Lacy still will not openly state that she is clearing the Ramseys, and especially considering fiber evidence from the actual crime scene, as opposed to NO evidence from any other person.

    No, stupidity, and Boulder, are clearly not going to solve this case. I second the petition and demand that this case be turned over to the FBI.
     
  10. The Punisher

    The Punisher Member

    "DeMuth said, "Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that an innocent woman had her daughter tragically murdered, was targeted by the police and spent the last years of her life defending her name.""

    What evidence is HE looking at? Oh yeah, I forgot. This is the same man who said that a dead ten-month-old's 28 fractures didn't prove murder.

    "Try non-existent! All Lacy's done to "investigate" this case is let Tracey, Smit, St. Augustin and Gray run amok all over the place making fraudulent fantastic claims and wasting taxpayer money doing it."

    Outrageous, isn't it?

    "Patsy's death change the case??? Guilt is guilt, Mr. DeMuth, and the only thing Patsy's death changes is the prosecution efforts of the guilty."

    I'd like a chance to tell him that.

    "Stupidity won't solve this case, either, Mr. DeMuth."

    He's an expert on that.

    "BPD had their shot, Smit's had his. And by comparison, BPD's is far more credible, especially since Lacy still will not openly state that she is clearing the Ramseys, and especially considering fiber evidence from the actual crime scene, as opposed to NO evidence from any other person."

    Damn skippy.
     
  11. tylin

    tylin Banned

    DeJa Nu posted:

    Great post DeJa Nu and you're darn right. The FBI needs to be brought in asap. I mean really, what are they waiting for??? It's still hard for me to believe that a little girl's violent death has escaped justice for 10 years. 10 YEARS!!! :verdict:
     
  12. VP

    VP Member

    Ummmm, wtf?

    Why does anyone interview DeMuth in the first place?? He was removed from the Ramsey case in 1998 by Gov. Roy Romer. He and Ainsworth(less).

    Where is Michael Kane? I'd love to hear his take on this.
     
  13. The Punisher

    The Punisher Member

    Yeah, Kane was more involved in the case than DeMyth ever was.
     
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