Day 4/ Hitech Boot Print/Palm Print/ 12 days of JonBenet

Tricia

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Thanks for coming and joining in our discussion leading up to the 6 part docu-series on CBS about the JonBenet Ramsey case. The show starts on Sept 18th.

Let's put these two pieces of evidence to bed quickly, shall we? It's the weekend, nobody wants to work very hard, so let's dispel two pieces of evidence in the case.

The Ramsey felt the Hi-Tech boot print and the palm print in the basement pointed to an intruder.

Below is an article from the Rocky Mountain News from 2002. We can't link to it so I have to put the whole article in the post. I've highlighted in blue what you need to know about the boot print and the palm print in the basement.

Steve Thomas said the following in a chat on ABC's Good Morning America in 2000: "Let me address the Hi-Tec first. What people had not known previously is that I don't believe that everyone who was in the house on the 26th of December was properly identified. There were firemen, paramedics, rescue personnel, uniformed police officers, detectives, undercover narcs, sergeants, FBI and others that the year after the fact, we were still unsure as to who all was in the house that day. There is a strong argument to suggest that the Hi-Tec boot print may have been left by a sightseeing police officer who later did not come forward. Additionally, Hi-Tec is one of the most popular brands of footwear worn by cops." http://www.acandyrose.com/s-evidence-prints-hand-foot.htm


My fingers feel like the dentist missed my mouth with the lidocaine and shoved it in my fingers. Interestingly, my fingers are starting to drool like my mouth does when it's full of lidocaine. This is a sign I need to stop typing.

Feel free to add to this post. We have some great days coming up on the 12 Days of JonBenet including the day we discuss the Ransom Note. We have something very special planned for you.


Rocky Mountain News (CO)
August 23,
2002 Section: City Desk/Local Edition: Final Page Number: 4A
RAMSEY EVIDENCE IS EXPLAINED

Charlie Brennan
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
Copyright 2002 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
Investigators have answered two vexing questions in the JonBenet Ramsey case that have long helped support the theory that an intruder killed her, according to sources close to the case.

The answers, which have been known to investigators for some time but never publicly revealed, could be seen to weaken the intruder theory.

The two clues are:

* A mysterious Hi-Tec boot print in the mold on the floor of the Ramseys' wine cellar near JonBenet's body has been linked by investigators to Burke, her brother, who was 9 at the time.

It is believed to have been left there under circumstances unrelated to JonBenet's murder.


Burke, now 15, has repeatedly been cleared by authorities of any suspicion in the 1996 Christmas night slaying, and that has not changed.


* A palm print on the door leading to that same wine cellar, long unidentified, is that of Melinda Ramsey, JonBenet's adult half-sister. She was in Georgia at the time of the murder.

``They were certainly some things that had to be answered, one way or the other, and we feel satisfied that they are both answered,'' said a source close to the case, who spoke on the

condition of anonymity.


L. Lin Wood, the attorney representing the Ramseys, who now live in Atlanta, doesn't debate the palm print findings. But he contends the police have not answered the Hi-Tec print mystery.


``Burke Ramsey does not and has never owned a pair of
quote, unquote, trademarked Hi-Tec sneakers that the Ramseys are aware of,'' Wood said.

``I would think they know what shoes he has
owned.
''

Wood said the two most important pieces of forensic evidence in the case are unidentified male DNA found
in the girl's underwear and the bizarre 2 1/2-page ransom note, whose

author has never been determined.


``I represent innocent clients,'' Wood said. ``There has been a history since December of 1996 of anonymous law enforcement officials in Boulder, Colorado, leaking information to the

media, which, in most cases, turns out to be either false or grossly distorted.


``So I would put no weight, whatsoever, on anonymous information coming out of the Boulder Police Department. Zero.''


But the source said that connecting the palm print to Melinda Ramsey was something that occurred belatedly, only because the first time her print sample was compared with the

questioned print, the person making the comparison didn't properly see the match.


As for the footprint in the wine cellar, the source said, ``We know Burke had a pair of Hi-Tec shoes.''


JonBenet, a 6-year-old star of child beauty pageants and the youngest of John and Patsy Ramsey's two children, was found murdered in the basement of her family's Boulder home Dec.

26, 1996, about seven hours after her mother reported finding a ransom note demanding $118,000 for her safe return.


Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner refused Thursday to discuss any single piece of evidence in the beating and strangling death of JonBenet.


But he said in the 5 1/2 years since the murder, police have continued to seek solutions to ``a number of evidentiary items'' that represented questions in need of answers.


``We have been able to answer questions about many of the pieces of evidence, and we hope that, over time, as we continue to go over them piece by piece, that we will be able to

solve the puzzle,'' Beckner said.


In their book about their daughter's murder, The Death of Innocence, the Ramseys list seven pieces of evidence they consider significant to the case - the palm print and the Hi-Tec print

are numbers six and seven. In that book, John Ramsey wrote, ``Next to JonBenet's body, the killer, I believe, left a clear footprint made by the sole of a Hi-Tec hiking shoe, from the

area at the heel where the brand name was stamped.''


Writing about the palm print, John Ramsey concedes it might prove to belong to someone with a benign reason for being in the basement. ``At the same time,'' he adds, ``it could be

an important clue.''


Meanwhile, Wood said that Patsy Ramsey is making progress in her treatment for a recurrence of cancer, diagnosed Feb. 12.


``She completed her six-month course of chemotherapy in June, and

obviously
is still recovering from the side effects of that treatment,'' Wood said.

``But all in all, she's doing well. I just saw her today. She looks good. She looks very strong and optimistic, and so far, everything looks good on the follow-up exams.''

INFOBOX

###
Basically the boot print cannot be sized nor can it be dated. It is a common boot for law enforcement. Maybe Burke did own a pair. What matters is the fact that the boot print has nothing to do with the case but you will still hear Ramsey spin team members bring it up like it is a legit piece of evidence. It is not.

The palm print belonged to John Ramsey's older daughter. End of story.
 
The boot print wasn't the only print found on the floor. Even though the Ramseys claimed there was little traffic in the room, they still stored the Christmas presents in it so it wasn't like it was completely ignored and had received no traffic at all. There were other prints--one that Smit believed matched a print of a small child. He also claimed that the white mold on the floor grew rapidly so he believed any of the existing prints were relatively fresh.

I wonder if this boot print was actually fresh or if there was something of the bottom of it that inhibits the growth of white mold.

Since the print can actually belong to an investigator or someone who may have been in the room before the crime, I'm really not concerned about this as a clue.
 
I do not lend any credibility to unnamed sources either.
There is still a lot of evidence we have not seen.
AlI the evidence should be released, it has been a long time and investigators are getting nowhere. JR is old, he will be dead soon.
Justice will never occur if they don't release all of the evidence.
 
I do not lend any credibility to unnamed sources either.
There is still a lot of evidence we have not seen.
AlI the evidence should be released, it has been a long time and investigators are getting nowhere. JR is old, he will be dead soon.
Justice will never occur if they don't release all of the evidence.

justice will probably never occur because they didnt even GATHER all the evidence.they dont even have an idea in what room it happened so how can they claim the basement is the one and only crime scene?there was blood on her shirt, pants and blanket.did they ever tested the rooms with luminol?
 
(bbm)
The boot print wasn't the only print found on the floor. Even though the Ramseys claimed there was little traffic in the room, they still stored the Christmas presents in it so it wasn't like it was completely ignored and had received no traffic at all. There were other prints--one that Smit believed matched a print of a small child. He also claimed that the white mold on the floor grew rapidly so he believed any of the existing prints were relatively fresh.

I wonder if this boot print was actually fresh or if there was something of the bottom of it that inhibits the growth of white mold.

Since the print can actually belong to an investigator or someone who may have been in the room before the crime, I'm really not concerned about this as a clue.
Here's some info on Smit's (the world's greatest detective :rolleyes:) "bare foot" print:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?225803-BDI-premeditated-or-not&p=9960787#post9960787
 
``Burke Ramsey does not and has never owned a pair of quote, unquote, trademarked Hi-Tec sneakers that the Ramseys are aware of,'' Wood said.

I like how this attorney turns this shoe print into a sneaker so he can claim BR never owned such boots. VEry devious!
 
she was found barefoot no?no socks, no shoes right?can someone pls refresh my memory
 
According to Dr. Phil on TODAY this morning, Burke will reveal new information on the boot print as well as the bowl of pineapple.

I've read along about this case but nothing near the number of hours many of you have devoted. But I've always felt that JonBenet was killed by a family member, most likely PDI or BDI and PR covered it up but I am open minded to other theories. Can someone recommend a book about this case that is most thourough and better than all the rest? Thanks.
 
According to Dr. Phil on TODAY this morning, Burke will reveal new information on the boot print as well as the bowl of pineapple.

I've read along about this case but nothing near the number of hours many of you have devoted. But I've always felt that JonBenet was killed by a family member, most likely PDI or BDI and PR covered it up but I am open minded to other theories. Can someone recommend a book about this case that is most thourough and better than all the rest? Thanks.

I would recommend Chief Kolar's book Foreign Faction - it's the only book I read on the case that didn't set off my BS detector.

Tricia did several interviews with Kolar on True Crime Radio which you can listen to online - they are very good.
 
I would recommend Chief Kolar's book Foreign Faction - it's the only book I read on the case that didn't set off my BS detector.

Tricia did several interviews with Kolar on True Crime Radio which you can listen to online - they are very good.

Thank you johnjay! I looked on Amazon and there were so many choices. I trust the opinions of fellow sleuths more so than the Amazon reviews. :D
 
That's right. And as far as I know, her soles were clean.

That's interesting. I'd like to see source information on this.
I'm reading FF at the moment but it is slow going as I am making so many notes.
I also need to do some actual uni study but I am devoting so much time to the case.
 
You guys will have to tell me about it. I won't be able to watch.

I was able to d/l copies if you're keen to watch it.

The "interview" is full of closed ended questions and lots of filler. Very tabloid.
 
Thank you johnjay! I looked on Amazon and there were so many choices. I trust the opinions of fellow sleuths more so than the Amazon reviews. :D

I felt overwhelmed by the number of books too. You could spend hundreds of dollars on books without knowing if you are getting factual quality. Laura Richards and Jim Clemente recommend reading FF before watching their upcoming CBS special. They say it is a great book though they don't agree with all of his conclusions and they will be testing a lot of the things presented as fact in his book.
 

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