Hunter met with Hill ( who brought along Krebs) because Hartman asked him to

Thanks so much to Ginja for finding this. It was originally posted at Purgatory. Bold is mine.

No Ramsey link found
By Matt Sebastian
Camera Staff Writer

Boulder police say there is no connection between the killing of JonBenét Ramsey and a California woman's allegations that she was the victim of a child-sex ring.

"We just haven't been able to come up with any evidence to point us in that direction," Chief Mark Beckner said Monday.

Detectives spent 11 weeks investigating the 37-year-old woman's allegations that she was abused in a manner similar to the way JonBenét died.

Investigators determined the woman, who lives near San Luis Obispo, was sexually abused by a relative 20 years ago — but found no ties to the Ramsey case.

"There is simply no credible evidence to link anything she alleges to the death of JonBenét," said prosecutor Michael Kane, who led a grand-jury inquest into the 6-year-old's death.

The woman's story drew attention because she claims to have met JonBenét's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, through the family of Fleet White, a key witness in the homicide investigation.

White was with John Ramsey on Dec. 26, 1996, when Ramsey found JonBenét's beaten and strangled body in the basement of the Ramseys' 15th Street home.

Beckner reiterated Monday that Fleet and Priscilla White are not under suspicion in JonBenét's death. "We have never had evidence to support such an allegation," he said.

The Whites couldn't be reached for comment Monday.

Boulder detectives did corroborate a link between the woman's mother and Fleet White's father. "They did know each other and were friends back in California," Beckner said.

But investigators were unable to support the woman's claim she had met John and Patsy Ramsey, who remain under suspicion in their daughter's death. The couple have maintained their innocence.

The Ramseys' attorney couldn't be reached Monday. Beckner said police have no evidence the Ramseys were part of a child-sex ring.

The woman contacted Boulder attorney Lee Hill in February after seeing him on a cable news network discussing the Ramsey case.

Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter initially refused to meet with Hill about the woman's allegations but reconsidered at the behest of Barrie Hartman, editor of the Daily Camera's editorial page.

Hunter initially said he found the woman "very believable," telling the Daily Camera in late February that "even if only 15 percent of what she says is true, this case warrants investigation."

A day later the district attorney backed off his assessment, saying "opinions about believability are premature before a full investigation is complete."

Hunter didn't return phone calls seeking comment Monday.

The woman told Boulder detectives and prosecutors she suffered years of abuse at holiday parties where children were sexually and physically assaulted for the gratification of adults.

She said the sessions sometimes involved garroting and blows to the head. JonBenét was asphyxiated with a garrote and suffered a severe blow to her head.

"She did not so much present her theory of what happened (to JonBenét) as she shared with law enforcement officers her life history, which includes many apparent parallels to the Ramsey investigation," Hill said.

The woman was re-interviewed by Boulder detectives last week. Since February, three investigators interviewed 22 people, reviewed medical and psychological records, and consulted with a forensic psychiatrist.

Boulder detectives also traveled to California and compared the woman's allegations to the physical evidence and current knowledge of the Ramsey case.

Beckner said the investigation of the California woman's allegations isn't the first time his detectives have looked into possible links between pedophilia, pornography and JonBenét's death.

"That's been something that's been part of the investigation since the very beginning," Beckner said, referring to early theories the girl's death was connected to her participation in child beauty pageants.

Police also looked into child-sex allegations after Denver author Steven Singular began working on a book about such possible connections to the Ramsey homicide, Beckner said.

The California woman, who is in hiding, also met last week with Lou Smit, a former homicide investigator who quit the district attorney's staff in 1998. In his resignation letter, he declared the Ramseys innocent in their daughter's death.

"I'm kind of hesitant to talk about it," Smit said Monday. "But I'm sure the police have looked into this thoroughly."

Beckner said his investigators have forwarded information about the woman's allegations to the FBI's field offices in California. The chief wouldn't say whether the woman's general claims of a child-sex ring are credible.

"We didn't want to come to any conclusion on that out of respect for her," he said. "Our investigation was whether JonBenét's death was the result of a child-sex and pornography ring. We didn't find any evidence of that."

Hill said he hopes California law-enforcement agencies will take up the investigation into the woman's other claims.

"We appreciate the work that the Boulder Police Department did," he said. "The witness is very pleased that the information she brought forward has been shared. All she has ever requested is that her information be investigated."

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My question again is, What in the hell was an editor of a newspaper doing calling in a favor from the D.A. to interview a witness with holes in her story so big you could drive a truck through them?

The comment about Hunter refusing to met with Hill ( and Krebs too as it turns out) until Hartman asked him to should have gotten Hartman fired right there. At the very least Hartman should have removed himself from reporting anything on the case.

I keep forgetting. Hartman asked permission of Hunter if he could blast the police.

I wonder what other things Hartman asked permission for from Hunter?

 

Thanks Flashlight.

Flashlight since you have done the reading and you appear to be a "fresh face" if you will on the forums I would like to ask you something.

Is there anything that you have read in the public files that you feel points to just a smidgen of what Nancy says is true? Is there one point that made you pause for just a moment before you continued on and made you say, "hmmm."

Just curious because now that the file is made public I can't imagine why in the world anyone would believe Nancy's story either. I would be mortified if I had backed mame or anyone connected to this story.

Just wondering if I have a jaded view of this whole mess.

Tricia