Prof. Tracey's Last Scam Reminder

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.
http://www.forumsforjustice.org/for...read.php?t=5150
__________________
tgrif@xmission.com
Snail Mail:
Forums for Justice C/O Tricia Griffith
P.O. Box 682453
Park City UT
84068

 

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/county_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2423_4923972,00.html

Tracey mum on suspect
By Camera Staff
August 17, 2006


Michael Tracey, the University of Colorado journalism professor whose correspondence with John Mark Karr led to a startling break in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case, said Thursday that Karr should be presumed innocent and declined to comment on the case against him.

Swarmed by reporters at the Boulder County Justice Center, Tracey said his first contact with Karr came in a e-mail about four years ago. He would not elaborate on the amount, content or credibility of Karr's correspondence or say what prompted him to contact police.

"He has the right to be presumed innocent," Tracey said. "The justice system has to take its course. That right was denied to the Ramseys. They were presumed guilty from the get-go, and that was wrong."

Tracey, who has produced three video documentaries about the Ramsey case, dismissed suggestions that he stands to gain personally from Karr's arrest. One reporter asked him to respond to talk-radio allegations that he has "a dog in this fight."

"I don’t believe John and Patsy Ramsey harmed their daughter," Tracey said. "The only thing they did to her was love her. If that means I have a dog in this fight, then absolutely."

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

.
Well said RiverRat!!!! I applaude you.

Norm Early (on CNN/Nancy Grace), all but outright accused Tracey of promoting his non selling book.

 

Show Me - the press needs to be aware of the fact that Tracey has a history of producing false leads, this is one way to help out since the local press there seems to have forgotten that.

Just like the Ransom Note - this act has been practiced already.

RR

 

Glenn Beck, on Cnn, just showed the suspect and 'sketchman'.

His co host, a female FBI profiler, said John was not cleared and the suspect doesn't add up. DNA, handprint etc...is needed to convict, not a confession.

 

Rr

I saw that sleazy polecat Tracey on one of the evening TV shows. He is being very coy about his role in all this.

He should be! When Karr is exonerated (like ALL of Tracey's other bogus suspects), Tracey will be shown to the whole world for the great fraud that he is.

He will end up like that other fraud, Ward Churchill.

 

Yes yes yes Tricia - let's use this to get the case looked at again. Mary Lacy Looks like an idiot, the evidence is still pointing at the Rs, there are strangers to the case (Tracy, Smit, this Ollie person) who are using interstate commerce to commit fraud and obstruction of justice.

 

This is really backfiring on Tracey. And it will look horrible for Lacy when
they can't indict this guy because there is no evidence except his lame confession.

I watched alot of shows in the last few hours, and when you have Trip DeMuth, Larry Posner and Jerrlyn Merrit expressing skepticism, that speaks volumes.


And Show Me, he didn't all but accuse Tracey -- he DID accuse Tracey and he was laughing when he did. I don't think Tracey has fooled many of the smart people. And then again, CTV aired his documentary which pointed to Helgoth at 6:00 P.M.!!

 

Tricia,
Best of luck on getting the press release ready for all to see. The general public needs to be aware of what this guy really did.

 

Listening and watching this sleazy character Michael Tracey on CNN today, was
hard to bear. When Wolf Blitzer finished asking him a question, he looked as if he was going to break down into laughter before he spoke. Ech, he gave me the willies. He talked as if he lived with the Ramseys. What the hell does he know? I could have slapped him one if given the chance. Then I would have been arrested, but just the thought of it makes me feel better.

Good for you Tricia! I'm looking forward to it.

 

Lacy was the third one to give me the creeps today, Wombat. I thought she was a very bad speaker to be District Attorney. She reminded me of one of those dogs with hair falling all over its face, but then this style suit her.

 

I missed that part Sabrina! What irony CTV was airing his previous documentary of another killer.....way too funny.

 

I heard that CTV was going to air that show, as well, right before I passed out and ignored all the nightly news shows, because I'd just had it. They said nothing we didn't know every time Smit, Tracey and the RST pulled out another dog and pony show for the last 10 years.

I was very glad that CTV was going to show the last unconscionable Tracey debacle. I hope people noticed, while VIEWING POLICE PHOTOS OF A SUICIDE VICTIM, FULLY REVEALED FACE IN DEATH, AT THE SCENE, Tracey sure wasn't letting THE JUSTICE SYSTEM WORK.

Two-faced, lying, conniving, self-serving, self-promoting, disingenous, pathetic excuse for a journalist, riding on the back of a child murder victim, insufferable snot that he is.... :snake:

 

Two-faced, lying, conniving, self-serving, self-promoting, disingenous, pathetic excuse for a journalist, riding on the back of a child murder victim, insufferable snot that he is....

You forgot greedy, cold blooded, nasty, unethical, callous and just plain SICK.

 

Before Michael Tracey gained international attention for leading investigators to the suspect in JonBenet Ramsey's homicide, he was telling his University of Colorado journalism students about a mysterious globetrotter who reeled in his interest with e-mails that flaunted insider details.

Tracey — who teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level courses at CU's School of Journalism and Mass Communication — shared tantalizing details of his research in the Ramsey case with his students months before he alerted authorities.





At one point, the man who withheld his name from Tracey sent a childhood picture of himself that was purportedly taken on a Christmas morning with a white Santa Claus teddy bear, several of Tracey's former students told the Daily Camera. The stuffed animal was just like one that curiously showed up in JonBenet's bedroom and puzzled her family and investigators.

Amanda Walker, a CU senior, took an introductory media class with Tracey during the fall 2005 semester. Tracey, she said, told her class that at one point he had tried to corner the mystery man he was in communication with by telling him to send a letter to Patsy Ramsey.

Knowing that DNA could have been extracted from a letter, the man wrote back and told Tracey: "I'm not stupid," according to Walker's account.

"Professor Tracey told us about this guy who was contacting him through e-mails and alluding that he knew facts that police didn't know," Walker said. "He was trying to put it in Tracey's face. It was like he was saying, 'I know all these things, and nobody's going to catch me.'"

Tracey — a media critic — has been writing a book about the unsolved homicide, and he had planned on finishing it by December, in time for the 10-year anniversary of the 6-year-old's death. Tracey on Thursday said the latest developments put his book on hold.

He has also produced three documentaries relating to the case, and suspect John Mark Karr, 41, first got in touch with him under the pretense that he was interested in the research.

Walker said it has been interesting to watch the case against Karr unfold this week with the context that Tracey shared with her class almost a year ago.

"He spent so much time and energy on the case," she said. "He even said, 'If I can crack this case, I'll do it myself.'"

CU student Kate Pedersen also took a course with Tracey last year and recalled the chilling teddy-bear connection. She said Tracey seemed to become increasingly disturbed with the e-mails he was receiving from the man, who first contacted Tracey four years ago.

Paul Voakes, dean of CU's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said Tracey's work showcases important elements of journalism, and the professor is a "home-grown example" of investigative reporting.

At some point, Voakes said, Tracey "must have realized that he was getting close to having a key to unlock this mystery."

In May, Tracey received an e-mail so disturbing that he took it to investigators.

"There was one particular thing that made me decide I had to do something," he said. "I'm not going to say what it was."

Tracey told reporters that he wasn't trying to solve the case, and when asked whether his information was essential to the arrest, he said: "apparently."

At Thursday morning's news conference held by the Boulder County District Attorney's Office, top prosecutor Mary Lacy made a point to thank 20 officials and agencies involved in the apprehension of Karr. However, she made no mention of Tracey and said nothing about his involvement in breaking the case.

Tracey showed up to the news conference wearing a suit, and he answered questions from reporters who swarmed him.

The media critic was surrounded by the media.

One reporter, questioning Tracey's motives in the case, asked the professor if he had any "dogs in the fight." Tracey responded by saying that he has long believed JonBenet's parents were innocent. As he turned away from the reporter, he barked in jest.

He declined to give details about Karr, whose name he said he learned for the first time Wednesday.

"Let him have his day in court," Tracey said. "I do not like trial by media."

Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at (303) 473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com.
http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/county_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2423_4926259,00.html

 

"I watched alot of shows in the last few hours, and when you have Trip DeMuth, Larry Posner and Jerrlyn Merrit expressing skepticism, that speaks volumes."

I'll say. Does the name "Wile E. Coyote" mean anything?

 

Has Tracey explained why he is leaking information/evidence yet? Or is he also immune from prosecution in Boulder?

Had the Governor of Colorado listened to The People, he would have taken this case away from Keenan before she got to this point and appointed a Special Prosecuter, so let's not forget who enabled her little game here. This may end up being a good time to bring this to his attention again!

RR