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The Search for JonBenét's Killer | Full Episode

December 26, 2024 / 40:46

This episode of 48 Hours investigates the unsolved murder of six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey, focusing on the ongoing quest for justice by her father, John Ramsey, and the controversial police theories surrounding the case.

John Ramsey discusses the impact of the case on his family and his desire to clear his and his late wife Patsy's names. He reflects on the media frenzy and the accusations that have haunted them since JonBenét's death in 1996.

The episode features previously unreleased police interrogation tapes of John and Patsy Ramsey, revealing the intense scrutiny they faced from law enforcement. Despite the lack of physical evidence linking them to the crime, the couple remains under suspicion.

Former detective Lou Smith shares his belief that the focus on the Ramsays has overshadowed other potential suspects, including convicted sex offender Gary Oliva, who lived nearby at the time of the murder. Smith argues that the evidence points to an intruder rather than the parents.

As the investigation continues, John Ramsey expresses hope that advancements in DNA technology may eventually lead to the identification of JonBenét's killer, emphasizing the need for closure for his family.

TLDR

John Ramsey seeks justice for JonBenét while confronting police theories and media scrutiny in this ongoing murder investigation.

Episode

40:46
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[Music] 911 emergency police what's going on there man we are [Applause] kidnapping please explain to me what's
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going on okay there we have a there's no left and our daughter's gone a note was left and your daughter
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is gone how old is your daughter she's gone T his [Applause] own she is Forever Frozen in Time John
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Bonet ramsy 6 years old dressed for a beauty pageant and we still don't know who killed her the day after Christmas
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in 1996 John Benet was reported missing with a rambling Ransom note left at the scene several hours later she was found
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dead in her own home bludgeoned and strangled it was a media sensation suspicion fell on her parents John and
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paty Ramsey the couple was never charged but early on there was a police theory that paty Ramsay may have killed her
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daughter in a fit of rage over bed weding and then covered it up now in his 80s John Ramsey is still trying to clear
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his and Patsy's names fighting the killer isn't going to change my life at this point
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but it will change the lives of my children and my grandchildren This Cloud needs to
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be removed from our family's head and this chapter closed for their benefit so there is an answer I'll have more from
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that interview later but first a time capsule a look back at how 48 Hours covered the story in 2002
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if our DNA matched anything significant they would have arrested US in a New York minute take a look at this I did
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not kill my child 48 Hours investigates has obtained the police interrogation tapes of John and paty Ramsey never made
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public until tonight I don't give a flying flip house scientific go back to the damn drawing board Aaron morard
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heads up our six-month investigation I don't think the Ramsey did it and I think they ought to start looking for
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people that did 48 Hours investigates searching for a [Music] killer she was the spark plug of our
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family because of this zest that she had she just kept things alive and hopping it's not the same without
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her why is it so hard for people ble to understand that we love this child with everything in our being we would
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never touch a hair on the head of one of our children I mean it just is inconceivable to
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me their faces are instantly recognizable but John and paty Ramsey are famous in a way no one would want
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although they've never been publicly called suspects or charged with the 1996 death of their daughter John Benet they
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are resigned to a painful reality we could find the killer tomorrow he could be arrested
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convicted and you know jailed and there'd still be 20% of the population would think that we had something to do
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with it did your daughter have a bed wedding incident that night did you get up did you get angry and did you hurt
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her no I did not what is your reaction when you know many people think that's what you did they
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are wrong I don't know what else to say how else do you say no except no no means
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no come on come onom over the last several months we have spent a great deal of time with the Ramses these
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favorite villains of the tabloids Big old tires make this hard and I've seen them in in a way few others
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have fishing box that hadn't been used in a long time on this day just this past summer old flight bag John and paty
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Ramsay are moving life has never been the same and it has basically ruined us financially
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and emotionally and everything else so we're SC back this is my wedding dress they are selling their million dooll
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home in Atlanta and moving to a smaller townhouse just down the road John Ramsey once the head of a
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billion dooll software company hasn't worked for 4 years while py has been quite literally fighting for her life is
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Portrait here's the my broken heart and my tears in a rare unguarded moment thought I would paint during my cancer
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treatment but I was just so sick I couldn't without her makeup without her wig without even her eyebrows drawn in
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you can clearly see the damage left by the return of her cancer how did you find out I was back in February for my
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annual checkup nine years ago paty learned she had stage for ovarian cancer she made
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what she hoped was a full recovery but earlier this year she again went through debilitating chemotherapy you lost your
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hair yes it's going back my eyebrows are growing back it all comes out but you know what
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that's very little thing to worry about in fact Patsy Ramsey has much bigger concerns almost from the moment the body
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of their six-year-old daughter John Benet was discovered Boulder Police belied John and paty killed their
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daughter and then staged a kidnapping complete with a rambling 2 and 1/2 page Ransom note to cover it up they've never
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investigated this case other than to investigate the family they have never investigated this case police say they
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haven't ruled out other theories to this day the ramies Remain the prime suspects
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as you will see in this videotape obtained exclusively by 48 hours you have not classified any individual as a
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suspect publicly correct while testifying under oath in a civil case just last November Boulder police
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chief Mark Beckner admitted what he had never before said publicly internally John and paty are considered suspects
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both of them yes are considered to have probably been involved in the death of their daughter probability yes why do
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you think you remain probably the prime suspect in the eyes of the Boulder Police I asked Mark Beckner that I came
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closer to him in the face face than I am to you Aaron and I said tell me what it
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is that makes you think I killed my beautiful precious child and he said well well it's just a lot of little
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things I think he really doesn't know but because police didn't have enough evidence sources within the
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investigation tell 48 Hours the police tried to psychologically break the ramies hoping one or both would confess
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but it was a strategy that was put in place to bring immense pressure on us to break us that strategy by summon the
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department claims John Ramsey included a Relentless campaign of leaks fed mostly
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to the nation's tabloids that had a devastating effect on public opinion they convinced the public of guilt Lynnwood
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is John and paty Ramsay's attorney you couldn't go to buy groceries for your family without passing headlines that
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said that John Ramsey had had molested his first daughter absolutely false headlines that John and paty
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Ramsey were pornographers absolutely false headlines that they were devil worshippers absolutely
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false the ramies believe that the Boulder Police still to this day continue to ignore evidence pointing to
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other suspects it's frustrating it's disappointing makes me angry you say it makes you
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angry but you don't seem angry do do you think that's also hurt you in the eyes of the public well we're not soap opera
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actors I mean I I suppose if I was an actor I could act really angry but I'm not that's who I am is what you see and
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I'm angry this is angry for me angry because John Ramsey says a killer or Killers remain free what I do know is
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that we didn't kill our daughter so let's look at the rest of the picture guys next on 48 Hours investigates my
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life has been hell from that day forward the police interrogation of the ramies you've never seen
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[Music] before today's date is uh today's is June 23rd 19983 June 1998 Broomfield Police Department right
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at the time approximately 904 a year and a half after John Benet was murdered John and paty Ramsey sitting in separate
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rooms at the same time were questioned by Boulder authorities in a Colorado police station these tapes have never
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before been seen publicly there's been a lot of speculation by a lot of people that maybe you didn't know anything
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about the murder but maybe P questioning John is Lou Smith a homicide detective them working for the boulder DA's office
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it's Preposterous I mean py uh loves both her children dearly uh but frankly she and John B
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were extremely close a Christmas morning photo of the kids Detective Tom Haney questioned py who at the time was taking
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medication for both anxiety and depression if I told you right now that we have prce evidence that appears to
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link you to the death of John Benet what would you tell me that's is totally impossible go test
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how is it impossible I did not kill my child I didn't have a thing to do with it and I'm not talking you know
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somebody's guest or some rumor or some story I'm I don't care what you're talking about I'm talking about
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scientific evidence I don't give a flying flip house scientific go back to the damn drawing board I didn't do it
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John Ramsey didn't do it and we didn't have a clue of anybody who did do it so we all got to start working
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together from here this day forward to try to find out who the hell did it 48 Hours investigates has acquired these
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tapes hours upon hours of footage that take you inside the investigation while the tapes show how
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strongly prosecutors believe John and paty Ramsey were responsible for the death of their daughter frankly there
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isn't a lot of physical evidence that links them so questioners looked for inconsistencies and focused on minute
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details from the crime scene what have you heard about pineapple well we were asked you know to J to eat pineapple and
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and uh because apparently it was found in her system I think part of the question was what did she eat it in when
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she got home you know I'm sure she didn't because she was absolute sound asleep the ramies told police that John
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Benet had gone straight to bed that night and had not eaten at home but autopsy results did find undigested
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pineapple in John benet's stomach and police discovered fingerprints on a bowl of pineapple left in the family's dining
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room on the morning of the murder I didn't put the bowl there okay I did not put the ball there I would not do this
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set up like this okay but let's go back to your line of reasoning here if they weren't no talk to me okay look at
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me if they're not not yours and they're not John's then they would be somebody else's but now I'm telling you they're
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not somebody else's those pars belong to one of the two you they did you're sure well I don't know I did not put
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that there the fingerprints on the bowl are Pais according to police suggesting that she's the one who gave the fruit to
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her daughter but if py did give it to John Benet and is lying about it then investigators wondered could she be
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lying about everything you know sometimes the simplest most obscure little thing could be so
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significant right I did not be J P okay so I don't know how it got in her stomach I don't know where this B of
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pineapple came from I can't recall putting that there after 3 days of questioning the interrogation in 1998
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ended and even though the ramies were not indicted Boulder authorities continued to believe they were guilty so
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in August of 2000 prosecutors flew to Atlanta where the ramies were living asking to see and hear new evidence 48
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Hours has also acquired those tapes if ever there were going to be an intruder on trial the defense is going to be the
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you did it remember that I remember that but um I'm not here to prove my innocence
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I'm here to find K my daughter with John prosecutors asked questions mostly about
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leads he had uncovered on other suspects but with paty interrogators were more accusatory suggesting they had new
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evidence clothing fibers that would tie her directly to the murder you were shown photographed wearing a red coat
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it's kind of a black and red and gray fleece cut more like a a Blazer though it's like a peac
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coat Bruce Levan from the boulder District Attorney's Office led the questioning this is ramsy I have
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scientific evidence from forensic scientists that say that there's fibers in the paint tray that match your red
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jacket the paint tray is significant because a brush from it along with some rope was used to strangle and sexually
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abuse John Benet we believe that fibers from jacket were found in the paint tray
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were found tied into the ligature found on John benet's neck were found on the blanket that she's wrapped in we found
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on the duct tape that's found on her mouth I have no evidence from any scientist to suggest that those fibers
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are from any Source other than your red jacket well but that's come on I mean they what other sources did they test
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paty's attorney Lynn wood asked prosecutors to produce the evidence when they wouldn't he refused to let go on
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the record but she did go on the record with us what do you think about these fibers
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after John discovered the body and she was brought to the living room when I laid eyes on
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her I knelt down and hugged her but I was had my whole body on her body my sweater fibers or
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whatever I had on that morning are going to transfer to her clothing in all the questioning the prosecutors focus more
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on paty than John following their belief that she was the killer John Benet got up and somebody in that house legally
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lawfully in the house one of the three of you also happens to be up or gets up because she makes noise
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and there's some discussion or something happens there's an accident somebody going down the wrong
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path buddy okay somebody accidentally or somebody get upset over bad wedding that's one of the
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things that's been proposed didn't happen if she got up in the night and ran into somebody it was
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somebody there that wasn't supposed to be there I don't know what transpired after
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that whether it was an accident intentional premeditated or or whatnot but it was not one of her three family
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members that were also in that house period and these tapes don't always show the Ramsay at their best but remarkably
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it was the ramies who made them available saying they want all the information on this case out in the open
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as for the Boulder Police and prosecutors they denied repeated requests from 48 hours to discuss these
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tapes or any of the issues were're raising tonight their only comment on the ramsy murder investigation is no
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comment I mean I appreciate being here I appreciate it it's very hard to be here
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but it is a damn sight harder to be sitting at home in Atlanta Georgia wondering every second of every day what
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you guys are doing out here you know have you found anything are we any closer is the guy out here watching my
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house you know it's my son safe my life has been hell from that day forward and I want nothing
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more than to find out who is responsible for this you just saw this man interrogate
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the ramies as a detective I'm looking for Clues wait until you hear what he has to say about the case now they may
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not like what I say but I'm going to say it 100 miles away from where John Benet
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Ramsey was murdered in a modest home in Colorado Springs how often do you think about this case now probably every day
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67-year-old Lou Smith works every day alone trying to find her killer I keep a picture of her in my wallet you have
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John Benet in your wallet I keep it all the time do you have it with this is the
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same Lou Smith you saw interrogating John Ramsey back in 1998 I concentrate my investigation on
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you a veteran detective this was like the homicides that I worked on with such an impressive record for solving
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homicides that the boulder district attorney hired him on the ramsy murder case I have to stick up for the Boulder
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Police for a little bit and when you started who did you believe killed John Benet Ramsey my gut feeling was app
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parents did it but as Smith followed the evidence and questioned the ramies the more he became convinced that the
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Boulder police were focusing on the wrong Suspects John Ramsey came through very very sincere so when I first found
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her I was like thank God I found her when I left that interview there was no doubt in my mind that he had nothing to
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do with the death of his daughter SMI quit the investigation in disgust they hired me as a detective to take a look
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at this case they may not like what I say but I'm going to say it I don't think the Ramsey did it and I think they
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ought to start looking for people that did you how would you describe L Smith he's My Hope in finding out who killed
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my daughter as a detective I'm looking for Clues what is it that convinces Lou Smith that someone other than the Ramsay
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killed their six-year-old daughter first and foremost the brutality of the crime
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nearly every medical expert who has seen the autopsy report agrees on one thing this was not an accidental death John
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Benet Ramsey was cruy and deliberately murdered we need to warn you that what you are about to see is very disturbing
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what do we see here John Benet was strangled not once says SMI but twice with this intricately made device known
00:21:36
as a garat that had to been made by the killer during the murder you see hair right inside the windings of that cord
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that's John benet's hair it's a device says Smith that was not left there for show whoever killed John Benet used the
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garat to strangle her Smith believed she was fighting for her life there were marks s that look a lot like scratches
00:22:00
on her neck she did have her own DNA under her fingernails I'm pretty sure that's a
00:22:06
scratch to get that off I think she was struggling then at some point the child was then hit over the head with such
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force it crushed her skull but her nightmare wasn't over shortly before she died investigators believed she was
00:22:20
sexually assaulted with a piece of the paintbrush that was used to make the garat there's no motive for the parent
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to do that the evidence says SMI simply does not support the popular theory that
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the ramsy struck their daughter and then tried to cover it up it's not a mother waking up in the middle of the night
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saying oops I think I hurt my child oops I got to bring her downstairs and fashion one of these things then I'm
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going to put it around her neck and I'm going to tighten it a couple times while
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she's struggling now if you want to believe that go ahead I can't say this on air but that's bull but what about
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those fibers from paty Ramsay's jacket that police say were in the paint tray and on the sticky side of duct tape
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covering Jan's mouth is the fact that there were fibers that were consistent with paty Ramsay's jacket incriminating
00:23:11
sure but does that shake your faith that the Rams were not involved no you just can't rely on fiber evidence because
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fibers could come off of a jacket or something similar to the jacket what's more says smid there were also dozens of
00:23:24
unidentified fibers that didn't come from the ramies and Smith is unaware of a single case where a parent used a
00:23:31
garat like this to kill a child this is one of the best Clues left behind by the
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killer this shows what's going on in his mind this is a sexual device I'm looking
00:23:42
for a pedophile that's a sexual stus that's what Lou Smith's looking for Smith's not the only one well there's 57
00:23:50
pages of names that have come out of the tip files and Colorado private detective
00:23:55
olly gray and his partner John sanagustin were hired by the ramsy two years ago that would be John benet's room right
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here on the second level even when the Rams ran out of money Olie and John stayed on the job we probably do
00:24:09
something on it two or three times a week even though you're not getting paid sure they became convinced of the
00:24:15
Ramsay's innocence after seeing this lab report I acquired a document that you see right here that names John and paty
00:24:24
Ramsey as suspects was submitted for an is reference DNA just days after John Benet
00:24:31
was murdered her parents were asked to give DNA samples to the Boulder Police the two of you have given DNA evidence
00:24:38
to the police absolutely blood hair DNA every we've given them everything they've asked for their DNA was compared
00:24:47
to foreign DNA found under their daughter's fingernails and in her panties which may have been left by the
00:24:53
killer does any of that DNA match anyone in the Ramsey family no this analysis eliminates the ramies if our DNA matched
00:25:02
anything significant they would have arrested US in a New York minute and don't ever think they wouldn't have if
00:25:12
not the ramies then who killed John Benet this is where I believe that the killer
00:25:32
got in retired homicide detective Lou Smith was still working on the official investigation when he concluded that a
00:25:39
stranger came into the Ramsey home he opened a great he went in and killed their six-year-old
00:25:46
daughter there's three Windows there the center one was the one that was open take a look real closely at the window
00:25:52
on the left what you're going to see is leaves and debris pressed right up against the window now let's take a look
00:25:58
at the one again in the center no leaves or debris which says that window was open directly below that open window you
00:26:06
have a suitcase directly around that suitcase you have leaves and debris from that window well around that suitcase
00:26:13
also see if you look very closely you're going to see a Mark that goes right down
00:26:16
the wall right here a scuff mark that Smith believes was left by someone either climbing in or climbing out you
00:26:24
can fit through that window oh without any problem in fact he has as you can see in this video shot is part of
00:26:31
Smith's investigation it is much easier to go out that window if you stand on something you put the suitcase in front
00:26:38
you step on the suitcase and you're right out into the window well lift the grate you're gone it's that easy but why
00:26:46
would an intruder who intended to kill John Benet leave the bizarre 2 and a half page Ransom note written with paper
00:26:53
and a pen belonging to py Boulder Police have always believed that py used it to
00:26:58
make the killing look like a kidnapping but if someone had been targeting John B
00:27:05
Ramsey wouldn't he least bring the the paper and the pencil to write this Ransom note I mean well if you want to
00:27:12
look at it from a sophisticated criminals mind they probably wouldn't bring it in why would you bring in
00:27:18
something that can be traced back to your house where you have actual the pen and the ink and you have the uh the
00:27:25
paper right there that it was written on but you can't count on finding that in the house can't count on it most houses
00:27:31
have that no expert could eliminate paty Ramsey as the writer of The Ransom note
00:27:37
that's damning isn't it no not at all you always are going to have similarities in handwriting to sit down
00:27:43
and write a note like that with all of those details in there after you brutally killed your daughter you'd
00:27:48
never done that before come on give me a break but more than any other evidence Smith believes small marks left on John
00:27:56
benet's face and back prove an intruder killed her the killer had a stun gun I am sure the killer had a stun gun a stun
00:28:04
gun an electrical weapon used to incapacitate the little girl in order to move her to the
00:28:10
basement Smith believes only an intruder would need to use one there's no reason at all for the
00:28:18
parents to have used a stun gun to help stage the murder of their daughter was there any indication that that the ramsy
00:28:25
had ever owned a stun gun there is nothing to indicate the ram is everyone a stun gun What's significant about
00:28:31
these injuries says Smith is that those on the child's face and those on her back appear to be an equal distance
00:28:37
apart it's approximately 3.5 CM much like the prongs of this stun gun and they're approximately 3.5 CM apart and
00:28:45
if I push this Dr Michael doerson you can see the electricity arcing the coroner for neighboring arapo County
00:28:56
also believes the marks on John Benet were left by a stun gun if it's not a stun gun I'd like to know what it is
00:29:03
three other Pathologists agreed but the Boulder police are relying instead On this man's opinion how sure are you that
00:29:10
it's not a stun gun well I'm 100% sure because stun gun injuries don't look that way Dr Werner Spitz a nationally
00:29:17
known forensic pathologist who has worked on major cases including the assassination of John F Kennedy a stun
00:29:24
gun injury is a um is an electrical burn is a burn essentially and these don't look like Burns unfortunately with only
00:29:32
photographs to go by no expert not Dr Spitz nor Dr doerson can be 100% sure wouldn't that have been the best way to
00:29:42
know or come the closest to knowing is if you could have exed the body and line up a stun gun and see if it matches
00:29:50
those injuries sure I believe that uh that would have probably been the most accurate way to do it l Smith admits
00:29:57
that in the months following John benet's death investigators consider going to court to have her body exume
00:30:03
but decided against it we had buried our child she was at peace that was just an
00:30:09
a an abhorent thought but John that might have been the one way to know for sure that could have resolved the whole
00:30:16
issue because if a stun gum was used it was not the parents certainly and we've got people that have told us that know
00:30:23
what they're doing that with 95% medical certainty that a stun gun was used no question but you would have known with
00:30:28
100% certainty if you had exume the body as tough as that would have been my child you're talking about it's not a
00:30:34
body it's different still Smith believes a stung gun is the key to John benet's murder and he's searching for a killer
00:30:42
or Killers who own one the person who did this if we're right he's still out there what do you make of the Intruder
00:30:51
Theory see more of the evidence at 48 hours.com [Music] on the cold December night that marked
00:31:08
the one-year anniversary of John benet's murder dozens of mourners showed up for
00:31:13
a candlelight vigil outside the Ramsay [Music] home one man in particular caught
00:31:25
investigator L Smith's eye many times criminals do return to the scene and that was on the anniversary that puts
00:31:32
him right there at the Ramsey house a year later he's Gary Oliva a 38-year-old convicted sex offender from Oregon who
00:31:41
lives in Boulder he definitely is a sex offender for assaulting another seven-year-old girl in Oregon they spent
00:31:48
time in prison for that Smith is convinced that a pedophile came into the Ramsey home and killed their daughter on
00:31:55
my computer I probably got uh 25 good leads and I probably have another 50 pages of other leads to follow among the
00:32:04
files he's keeping on sex offenders in Boulder Gary oliva's name stands out in 1991 the year after he sexually
00:32:13
assaulted the little girl police reports say he tried to strangle his mother with
00:32:18
a telephone cord and in December 1996 Oliva may have been only a few houses away from John benet's bedroom
00:32:28
window this is the alley behind this the alley that runs behind the Ramsey home leads into the backyard to the garage
00:32:34
area it wasn't uncommon for John Bay and Burke to ride their bicycles around the
00:32:39
alleyway John sanagustin and olly gray the Ramsay's private investigators say Oliva frequented these buildings owned
00:32:47
by a local church a lot of Transit people come here for food and also to pick up their mail but why is this
00:32:54
relevant the ramsy home is what 10 houses right up this alley right up this alley what did the
00:33:02
Boulder Police do with this nothing according to Lou Smith the police didn't follow up on 95% of the more than 3,000
00:33:10
phone tips that came in in oliva's case they didn't investigate him until nearly
00:33:15
four years after John Benet Ramsay's death when he was caught with drugs and guess what else a stun gun did you ever
00:33:23
use that stun gun on a child no Oliva who is wanted in Oregon for parole violations turned himself into the
00:33:31
Boulder Police 2 weeks ago did you hurt or killed John B Ramsey no no I didn't didn't you tell your friend that
00:33:44
you were attracted to little girls I don't think I want to answer that okay you were living in Boulder at the time
00:33:51
JN B was killed yeah just down the street yeah what he will admit to is an obsession with John Benet I believe that
00:33:59
she came to me after she was killed and revealed herself to me as it turns out were not the only ones interested in
00:34:08
Oliva a Boulder police officer showed up to take notes I would be concerned if any lead was not fully taken to ground
00:34:18
former Boulder district attorney Alex Hunter says police tried to follow up on pedophiles but admits that early on the
00:34:26
force was clearly over whelmed didn't your office have to tell police officers you got to look at these other leads you
00:34:33
can't just focus on the Rams well it was said probably not in quite that language
00:34:38
but yes can I have a cigarette why didn't authorities take a sex offender like Oliva more seriously
00:34:45
just this week Boulder Police said Oliva is not a suspect sources say his DNA doesn't
00:34:52
match evidence at the scene nor does ours what do you think of that I think it's a double standard don't
00:35:02
you is it fair to say then that the state of the evidence right now there just isn't enough to convict the Ramsey
00:35:08
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt there isn't enough to convict anybody Beyond A Reasonable Doubt but Alex Hunter
00:35:14
believes this case someday can be solved although he doesn't think L Smith is the
00:35:20
man to do it do you feel that L Smith's feelings for the ramies clouded his judgment I think a little bit
00:35:29
Hunter believes SMI a devout Christian crossed a line when working as a DA investigator he prayed with the ramies
00:35:36
do you think maybe you've gotten too close to Rams well let's put it this way I don't think I did if the ramsy did
00:35:43
this and I found out I'd be first one standing in line at the Boulder Police Department John Benet Ramsey would have
00:35:51
been 12 years old this year and in sixth grade instead she's buried in a Georgia
00:35:59
Cemetery while her brutal killer or Killers Go free next a new interview with John
00:36:08
[Music] ramsy remarkably not much has changed since that 2002 program the case is at a
00:36:23
standstill but with a passage of so much time comes a l of some key figures most
00:36:29
notably paty Ramsey who died of cancer in 2006 she was 49 John Ramsey remarried 5 years later I
00:36:44
think back about paty and I remember py saying that your lives could not go on until the killer was found well how much
00:36:53
weight was that on paty before she died paty was very strong woman she really was and a very kind person a wonderful
00:37:02
mother she got pretty vilified in the media which was horribly unfair I think hurt deeper than it
00:37:11
showed investigator L Smith worked on the case almost until the day he died in August
00:37:21
2010 his family continues to pursue leads John do you believe this case could be solved yes I do if the police
00:37:30
will take advantage of all the technology that's available to them and that's going to one or two of the
00:37:37
world's Cutting Edge labs for DNA testing and I think if they do that and if we're successful
00:37:44
getting a sample in the right format and then do the genealogy research I'm 80% confident it could be solved but you got
00:37:52
to do it in November 2024 the Boulder Police Department reled released a statement which said the
00:38:00
assertion that there is viable evidence in leads we are not pursuing to include DNA testing is completely false the
00:38:09
department said there is an ongoing investigation and they're looking into the recommendations made by a recent
00:38:17
cold case review team police chief Steven Redfern we have thoroughly investigated multiple people identified
00:38:25
as suspects throughout the years and we continue to be open-minded about what occurred as we investigate the tips that
00:38:31
come in to detectives John Ramy remains hopeful that these new efforts May finally
00:38:39
reveal the killer a killer he believes was already waiting in their house when the family came home from dinner that
00:38:48
Christmas night we were casual with our security in our home in bowler we thought it was a safe place and we got
00:38:56
casual and and complacent when you look back are there anything you wish you had
00:39:00
done differently the little beauty pageants they participated in and I wouldn't have done
00:39:09
that you need to keep your children private it was Conflict for me because py had just recovered from stage four
00:39:16
ovarian cancer was grateful to have some life ahead of her in remission she didn't know how
00:39:23
long to spend with her children and to raise her children I think she tried to pack a lot of mother daughter time in
00:39:30
that period of time that she knew she had ahead of her do you ever dream about John B Benet or wonder what she would
00:39:37
have been like now well I dream I occasionally have dreams and they're really wonderful dreams but I don't try
00:39:43
to imagine what she would have been she's she was in my life for six years and was
00:39:49
my little girl and that's how her remember [Music] [Music] as a kid growing up in Chicago there was
00:40:11
one horror movie I was too scared to watch it was called Candyman but did you know that the movie Candyman was partly
00:40:18
inspired by an actual murder listen to Candyman the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder wherever you get
00:40:23
your podcasts I'm Erin morard of 48 hours and of all the cases I've covered this is the one that troubles me most
00:40:33
listen to murder in the Orange Grove the trouble case against Crosley green wherever you get your podcast
00:40:40
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 85
    Most heartbreaking
  • 85
    Biggest cultural impact
  • 80
    Most emotional
  • 80
    Most controversial

Episode Highlights

  • The Tragic Case of JonBenét Ramsey
    JonBenét Ramsey was reported missing in 1996, leading to a media frenzy and ongoing investigations.
    “She is Forever Frozen in Time John Benet Ramsey 6 years old dressed for a beauty pageant.”
    @ 00m 34s
    December 26, 2024
  • John Ramsey's Fight for Justice
    In his 80s, John Ramsey continues to seek justice for his daughter, hoping to clear his family's name.
    “This Cloud needs to be removed from our family's head.”
    @ 01m 36s
    December 26, 2024
  • The Interrogation Tapes
    48 Hours investigates exclusive police interrogation tapes of John and Patsy Ramsey, revealing their emotional turmoil.
    “I didn't do it. John Ramsey didn't do it.”
    @ 11m 59s
    December 26, 2024
  • The Stun Gun Theory
    Lou Smith believes a stun gun was used in John Benet's murder, suggesting an intruder's involvement.
    “The killer had a stun gun, I'm sure of it.”
    @ 28m 01s
    December 26, 2024
  • Anniversary Vigil
    On the one-year anniversary of John Benet's murder, mourners gathered for a candlelight vigil.
    “Dozens of mourners showed up for a candlelight vigil outside the Ramsay home.”
    @ 31m 13s
    December 26, 2024
  • Investigating Gary Oliva
    Gary Oliva, a convicted sex offender, caught the attention of investigators due to his proximity to the crime.
    “Many times criminals do return to the scene.”
    @ 31m 25s
    December 26, 2024

Episode Quotes

  • This Cloud needs to be removed from our family's head.
    The Search for JonBenét's Killer | Full Episode
  • I mean it just is inconceivable to me.
    The Search for JonBenét's Killer | Full Episode
  • My life has been hell from that day forward.
    The Search for JonBenét's Killer | Full Episode
  • If our DNA matched anything significant, they would have arrested us.
    The Search for JonBenét's Killer | Full Episode
  • The killer had a stun gun, I'm sure of it.
    The Search for JonBenét's Killer | Full Episode
  • John Benet Ramsey would have been 12 years old this year.
    The Search for JonBenét's Killer | Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Ongoing Investigation00:11
  • Media Sensation01:00
  • Family Burden03:41
  • Unseen Evidence12:15
  • DNA Evidence24:56
  • Stun Gun Discussion28:01
  • Gary Oliva Investigation31:25
  • Reflection on Time35:51

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown