Murder Files: JonBenet Ramsey Part 3 - The Suspects and Theories

Part three of the JonBenet Ramsey Murder File covers the suspects of the investigation and the multiple theories that have erupted from the long-time unsolved case.

There are four types of theories/suspects to cover in this post ranging from the family itself to her not being dead at all.

The Family

Patsy and John Ramsey have been the main suspects in their child's murder since the case was first ruled a homicide. Although they were officially absolved in 2008.

The Boulder police department initially concentrated almost exclusively on the Ramsey family with a retired profiler being quoted as saying:

Statistically, it is a 12-to-1 probability that it's a family member or a care giver who is involved in the death of a child.

As far as the evidence of this goes what led police to initially suspect the Ramsey's was the fact there were few signs of forced entry, the ransom note and a few other things led to the suspicion of this being staged. That all coupled with the family being reluctant to help police led immediate suspicion onto them.

Patsy Ramsey

As far as suspicions around Patsy go they usually all stem from the same thing. The theory that has been posed for many years is that Patsy woke to find her daughter had wet the bed and went into a fit of rage.

Smashing her on the head Patsy then would have used the cord to strangle her daughter and finish her off. This would then lead into the idea that she wrote the ransom note herself leaving it on the bottom step for her to call the police about later.

Reasons that this theory has been so strongly put forward is the lack of evidence that someone broke in to kill JonBenét. Also, as far as motives go many have theorised that the reason patsy was so quick to anger was jealousy of her daughter. Patsy being only a few days from turning 40 and her daughter already having accomplished much more than she ever did in the pageant circle.

Patsy died of ovarian cancer on the 24th June 2006.

Burke Ramsey

The theory as far as Burke goes is fairly simple. There are records that he had hurt JonBenét on multiple occasions already. One time of which he left her with a scar on her cheek.

Theorists state that Burke was eating pineapple in the kitchen when JonBenét joined him and ate some of his pineapple. Burke then went into a fit of rage and smashed her head with a flashlight.

After this John and Patsy helped cover it up as they had lost one child already and were not willing to lose another.

Was it Santa Clause?

The first suspect in this theory is Bill McReynolds, a local Santa Clause impersonator. Patsy had hired him two years in a row, 1995 and 1996. However other than the fact he had access to the house and the comments he made afterwards, there is not too much to throw suspicion on him.

The thing that really threw suspicion his way were his comments after in interviews with police and newspapers. He told the Denver Post that when he first met JonBenét in 1995 he was struck by her smile, her "pensive, almost retiring" demeanour, and her angelic glow. McReynolds also stated that JonBenét had given him a vial of gold glitter at both the 1995 and 1996 Christmas parties. This then led to the following statement:

The star dust was all I took with me for good luck when I had heart surgery, her murder was harder on me than my operation. She made a profound change in me. I felt very close to that little girl. I don't really have other children that I have this special relationship with, not even my own children or my own grandchildren. When I die, I'm going to be cremated. I've asked my wife to mix the star dust JonBenét gave me with my ashes.

Linda Hoffman-Pugh

Working as the families housekeeper for many years before the incident, you would not think that Linda be an obvious suspect. She was known to carry a key to the home, which is unsurprising.

Patsy, in an interview, claimed that Linda had asked her for a substantial loan of several thousand dollars, which the Ramsey's had declined to provide. With this information the police went to interview Linda asking her to write certain phrases on a piece of paper and also take DNA samples. Nothing came of any of these tests.

Linda stood up in front of a grand jury and testified for approximately eight hours. During this time she included a statement against Patsy, voicing her suspicions that "Pats" killed JonBenét.

I think she had multiple personalities. She'd be in a good mood and then she'd be cranky. She got into arguments with JonBenét about wearing a dress or about a friend coming over. I had never seen Patsy so upset.

Other than the fact that it would be very easy for Linda to commit this crime there is very little to no hard evidence against her.

Michael Helgoth

Helgoth is the main suspect brought forward by the families personal PI, who continued to work the case for years after the family stopped working with him. Helgoth was found dead in his home two days after the death of JonBenét. The death was ruled a suicide however the bullet impacted from the left side and the gun was found on his right. This would be a pretty odd way to kill yourself leaving many to believe that he was murdered by one of his supposed accomplices to the murder, to keep him quiet.

Kenady, a man who used to work for Helgoth, claimed that he was very certain that Helgoth was involved in the murder. He is quoted as saying this about what Helgoth had said to him in a casual conversation.

In late November, Helgoth had told me that he and a partner were going to make a great deal and they each will bring in around $50,000 or $60,000, I will never forget we were walking toward his house and he said, "I wonder what it would be like to crack a human skull."

He also claims that there is a tape recording belonging to somebody close to Helgoth where he takes full responsibility of the murder.

The PI stated that he brought all this evidence to Boulder Police but was met with complete disinterest.

No DNA evidence could be connected to Helgoth.

False Confession

John Mark Karr, 41, an elementary school teacher was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand when he falsely confessed to local authorities that he had killed JonBenét.

He said that he had drugged, sexually assaulted and then killed her.

The issue with this confession is there is absolutely no evidence that connects Karr to the crime. DNA samples were taken and tested but came back negative.

Is JonBenét really dead?

One of the most popular theories that come to mind when thinking of the JonBenet case is the Katy Perry conspiracy.

Starting this theory in 2014 and continuing to this day, the roots of this theory are founded in a YouTube video by user Dave Johnson. In this video the faceless man is hear voicing over multiple overlapping imaged of JonBenét and her parents in comparison to Katy Perry and family. Claiming that the entire case was all a hoax that Perry, 31, is using to rise to fame to this day.

One of the most interesting things that Johnson comments on is the similarity in eyebrow shape.

You know eyebrows don't change on a person. You're born with your eyebrows. They're very close, very close indeed, aren't they?

Other than this there is no evidence that this is true. Perry is a full decade older than Ramsey meaning it is more than likely impossible. Katy Perry has so far made no statement to dispute or agree with the theory.

Unfortunately, and for the Foreseeable Future, This Case Remains...