Convict Confesses Killing Danielle van Dam and JonBenet Ramsey

[why_nutt]

QUOTE>>I remember noticing that JonBenet and Danielle had some similarities. Both were taking piano lessons, and maybe some languages<<

That was just another one of Patsy's lies. JonBenet could not speak another french or any other language.

Being able to sing "Frere Jacques" is not the same thing as taking French lessons. And people wonder why Patsy cannot be taken at her word? She can barely say honest things about the small stuff her daughter was involved in; she certainly cannot be relied on to be honest about whether she killed JonBenet.

 

[narlacat]

That's exactly right Why Nutt, Patsy is definetly not to be relied on for telling the truth.
Poor JonBenet.
She would never have been able to live up to Patsy's expectations of her.
I liked what ST said at the end of his book about how he thought she would eventually have rejected the plastic Barbie doll beauty contestant lifestyle and how her strong willed spirit would have chosen her own course in life.

 

[Sabrina]

If anyone else can find an official source that states he had ALREADY disclosed her body's whereabouts, I'd like to see it. I think this is one of those misunderstandings about the case that is fostered by the media.

He had not disclosed it. Feldman was seen in the D.A.'s office with a Thomas Brothers Map book so perhaps he knew, but they had not told the D.A. yet. Coincidentally there were searches in the area that day and her body was found at the very same time the lawyers were negotiating the plea deal. It literally was minutes away when they got a phone call that remains were found.

The entomologist who testified for the prosecution gave a presentation which I attended after the conviction. He believes that Danielle's body was wiped down with bleach. No foreign DNA was ever found and bleach would have caused the delayed reaction of the flies. He was prohibited from testifying about this in court as it was speculation. In addition, Westerfield made some remarks to the cops about DNA,bleach and CSI and several empty bleach containers were found in his trash.

For every prosecution witness there are $$$ defense experts ready to offer their testimony to contradict and try to create reasonable doubt. It's just part of the game.

 

[Sabrina]

Lacy, Dr. Faulkner, the prosecution's witness also said that if the body was wrapped in a tarp, it would have caused the delayed reaction of the flies. No trap was ever found, there was alot of animal activity and it could have been dragged away and erroneously disposed of by someone.

The defense witness you are referring to, Neil Haskell was neutralized by additional prosecution witnesses. The jury, and rightly so, totally discarded his testimony. He also had a personality of a total jerk.

 

[tipper]

QUOTE>>I remember noticing that JonBenet and Danielle had some similarities. Both were taking piano lessons, and maybe some languages<<

That was just another one of Patsy's lies. JonBenet could not speak another french or any other language.

I don't recall Patsy saying JonBenet "spoke" French. I think she said on a pageant form that she was taking French lessons. My son took German "lessons" in kindergarten. One of the kid's grandmothers was from Germany. She came in a couple times a week and taught the class to count, say the days of the week, etc. If I had been filling in a form about his activities I could have included that and it wouldn't have been a "lie."

John mentions the violin lessons. My bet is she was enrolled in a Suzuki group. Remember when that was sweeping the nation? My recollection is he says something along the lines of introducing the kids to a variety of things.

 

[tipper]

Can anyone discuss this a bit more? I wouldn't want to be in a group claiming to know whether DW was guilty or not either, but at times lawyers have blown their case on purpose, as in the conviction of James Earl Ray for shooting Dr. King. I forget what error the lawyer made, sorry, don't ask. Does it really sound like a good move by Westerfield's lawyer to have him claim to know where Danielle's body was, when maybe he did not? Did you have a feeling, as I sometimes did, that others may have planted the evidence and DW wasn't good at defending himself?

There must have been some other point they would have gained by claiming he knew where the body was in order to get the plea bargain?

IOW, can a plea bargain have several terms, not just one? I do remember that people here didn't like the insect specialist. Wasn't he supposed to be a PhD, and does anyone remember why we all said he wasn't very smart? LacyWood, do you know/ remember any more about it? I didn't remember that much. What exactly was the insect error?

Good post, imo, and is Camper right that this confessor's DNA would be on file somewhere? Did they even check it, in connection with either of these little girl murders. I remember noticing that JonBenet and Danielle had some similarities. Both were taking piano lessons, and maybe some languages, and possibly Danielle would have been entering pageants before too long. Her mother took a lot of pride in her as Patsy did in JonBenet, but how would this suicide have known? Unless he was working for some mastermind that hates any kind of pride in women or little girls?

James Selby is who you are talking about, There should be links further up this thread. As a serial rapist his DNA was checked 6 ways from Sunday. His claims re JonBenet and Danielle were an attention ploy as was his suicide. His trial was in my city and I remember when they did breaking news to announce his suicide. Good riddance was my feeling.

 

[christine2448]

Where does it say this man confessed to the murder of JonBenet, I missed it?


I only see the name of Danielle on the posted article in this forum, nothing about JBR. Does anyone have anything that shows this man allegedly confessed to murdering little JonBenet?

Forgive me please if I missed it.

 

[tipper]

Where does it say this man confessed to the murder of JonBenet, I missed it?


I only see the name of Danielle on the posted article in this forum, nothing about JBR. Does anyone have anything that shows this man allegedly confessed to murdering little JonBenet?

Forgive me please if I missed it.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=local&story_id=041905a5_selby

[…]

The letter was sent in August 2003 from the El Paso County jail in Colorado Springs, Colo., where Selby was held after being convicted.

It reads: "David Westerfield was not responsible for Danelle Van Dam's murder. I was... (James Selby) You have other cases against me and are waiting for me to be sent to you."

The writing matches letters Selby sent to the Tucson Citizen.

Selby wrote what he called a "hollow confession" to the Tucson cases, and said he admitted to many crimes while in Colorado, including the unsolved JonBenet Ramsey slaying.

"You want me to clean up some cases? We'll clean 'em up," Selby told the Tucson Citizen. "Danielle Van Dam, yep, that's me, too... . I was being facetious."

 

[christine2448]

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=local&story_id=041905a5_selby

[…]

The letter was sent in August 2003 from the El Paso County jail in Colorado Springs, Colo., where Selby was held after being convicted.

It reads: "David Westerfield was not responsible for Danelle Van Dam's murder. I was... (James Selby) You have other cases against me and are waiting for me to be sent to you."

The writing matches letters Selby sent to the Tucson Citizen.

Selby wrote what he called a "hollow confession" to the Tucson cases, and said he admitted to many crimes while in Colorado, including the unsolved JonBenet Ramsey slaying.

"You want me to clean up some cases? We'll clean 'em up," Selby told the Tucson Citizen. "Danielle Van Dam, yep, that's me, too... . I was being facetious."

Thanks Tipper, I totally missed that! :doh: :doh: :doh:

 

[Camper]

You all have pretty well covered the topic.

Selby sure did not leave a pre written 3 page, kidnap ransom note when he 'took ???" Danielle.

Another question is WHY would he have written a letter like that IF he knew he was going to commit suicide? Why bother?

The world of murderers does not seem to give us enough sense to work with.



.

 

[Eagle1]

James Selby is who you are talking about, There should be links further up this thread. As a serial rapist his DNA was checked 6 ways from Sunday. His claims re JonBenet and Danielle were an attention ploy as was his suicide. His trial was in my city and I remember when they did breaking news to announce his suicide. Good riddance was my feeling.

Thanks, Camper. I'd better rephrase the question to, Was his DNA checked against the DNA sample in the JonBenet case? Probably not, right?

I just saw a TV program about a serial killer feeling "left out" when two other people were jailed for his first murder, of eight. He ended up confessing to get his "rightful" attention, giving extra info that only the killer would know, and was imprisoned for the rest of his life. His father couldn't figure him out, said he seemed to want a podium. He'd written a confession on a restroom wall in Nebraska, and wrote letters to newspapers that matched the handwriting there. I think it was supposed to be a true story.

You're saying Selby didn't give any proofs to support his confession, didn't keep insisting they pay attention.

Could it be that Selby only said he was guilty to relieve his conscience, knowing he was going to kill himself, like ancient JUDAS saying aloud that he'd done an awful thing, didn't seem to care whether or not anyone heard him, but was someone there, reason we have that documented in scriptures? And then he killed himself. That's another type than the attention-seeker, right? We'll probably never know unless something else happens.

I'm just always trying to look at both sides. Very interesting story.

 

[tipper]

Thanks, Camper. I'd better rephrase the question to, Was his DNA checked against the DNA sample in the JonBenet case? Probably not, right?

I just saw a TV program about a serial killer feeling "left out" when two other people were jailed for his first murder, of eight. He ended up confessing to get his "rightful" attention, giving extra info that only the killer would know, and was imprisoned for the rest of his life. His father couldn't figure him out, said he seemed to want a podium. He'd written a confession on a restroom wall in Nebraska, and wrote letters to newspapers that matched the handwriting there. I think it was supposed to be a true story.

You're saying Selby didn't give any proofs to support his confession, didn't keep insisting they pay attention.

Could it be that Selby only said he was guilty to relieve his conscience, knowing he was going to kill himself, like ancient JUDAS saying aloud that he'd done an awful thing, didn't seem to care whether or not anyone heard him, but was someone there, reason we have that documented in scriptures? And then he killed himself. That's another type than the attention-seeker, right? We'll probably never know unless something else happens.

I'm just always trying to look at both sides. Very interesting story.

Selby's DNA was in CODIS. That's how he was linked to so many crimes across so many states.

 

[Eagle1]

Oops, I meant thanks, TIPPER! Sorry about that!

CODIS, okay. Since the Ramsey case was so bungled, did they even check the DNA found on her against CODIS ones?

I don't think we've ever mentioned CODIS before, or that any of the books mentioned it. I never could find The Police Files. In fact, the nearest Borders or the library doesn't seem to still have any of the JonBenet books. Does that seem a bit strange, to anyone but me? I have about three books, possibly four, of the first ones.

 

[tipper]

Oops, I meant thanks, TIPPER! Sorry about that!

CODIS, okay. Since the Ramsey case was so bungled, did they even check the DNA found on her against CODIS ones?

I don't think we've ever mentioned CODIS before, or that any of the books mentioned it. I never could find The Police Files. In fact, the nearest Borders or the library doesn't seem to still have any of the JonBenet books. Does that seem a bit strange, to anyone but me? I have about three books, possibly four, of the first ones.

This is the sample they mean when you see posters mention the number of markers needed etc. It was submitted. Unfortunately CODIS isn’t complete. But there has been quite a lot of discussion about it. Check the archives.

http://www.lewistownsentinel.com/articles.asp?articleID=2238

Oct 2004

[…]

Patsy said the biggest forward step in the case has been the recent submitting of the "foreign male DNA, that was taken from JonBenet’s body, into the national CIA’s DNA codis." The DNA codis is a huge bank in which the DNA of convicted sex offenders is stored, according to Patsy.
However, there is a large backlog of DNA samples to be entered. In Colorado alone, there are 10 years’ worth of criminal DNA samples that can’t be entered into the system because the federal government doesn’t have the time or the money to fund such a huge undertaking, according to the Ramseys. John Ramsey said that some states don’t even participate in the program.
In addition to the shortage of funding and manpower for the codis program, there is also the fact that some sex offenders may not even be arrested for such an offense. Instead, they may have plea bargained for a lesser crime, so their DNA is not taken, according to John Ramsey.
This is the cause the Ramseys champion at every opportunity.


[…]

 

[Eagle1]

Since the CIA is in so much hot water about their terrorism errors, I for one would feel better if that database were handled by the FBI, or anything but CIA! They used to be limited to foreign intel operations, not domestic, I believe.

Why would they have been switched to ordinary law enforcement, sex offenders? Anyone know when this began and why? Wouldn't you think this would be the domain of ordinary LE? It's nice to know the DNA from JBR's body has been submitted, but it's not yet been compared to Selby's, and probably never will be. Westerfield should also be interested in that.

Thanks for the link and the quote from it.

 

[tipper]

Patsy got it wrong. The FBI does run CODIS. ANyway, you can rest easy, the CIA isn't involved.

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/codis/program.htm

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The FBI Laboratory's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) blends forensic science and computer technology into an effective tool for solving violent crimes. CODIS enables federal, state, and local crime labs to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically, thereby linking crimes to each other and to convicted offenders.

CODIS began as a pilot project in 1990 serving 14 state and local laboratories. The DNA Identification Act of 1994 (Public Law 103 322) formalized the FBI's authority to establish a national DNA index for law enforcement purposes. In October 1998, the FBI's National DNA Index System (NDIS) became operational. CODIS is implemented as a distributed database with three hierarchical levels (or tiers) - local, state, and national. NDIS is the highest level in the CODIS hierarchy, and enables the laboratories participating in the CODIS Program to exchange and compare DNA profiles on a national level. All DNA profiles originate at the local level (LDIS), then flow to the state (SDIS) and national levels. SDIS allows laboratories within states to exchange DNA profiles. The tiered approach allows state and local agencies to operate their databases according to their specific legislative or legal requirements.

[/font]

 

[Sabrina]

The DNA sample found on JonBenet was compared to Selby's since both are in CODIS.

There was NO DNA in the VanDam case except Danielle's which was found in Westerfield's RV.

One would think that Patsy would know the difference between the CIA and FBI, and which agency handles CODIS, especially with something that they have preached over and over that is what is going to solve this case.

The Ramseys have also grossly distorted the truth concerning the CODIS program.

 

[tipper]

I'm not at all surprised Patsy is vague about the difference between the CIA and FBI. She isn't interested in the world beyond her own circle

 

[Sabrina]

BUT one would think IF she really was concerned (such as Beth Twitty) she would have the facts straight as in WHOSE hands the "solving" of the case is in!!

AND since they have professed over and over the DNA will solve the case, one would assume this would be of prime importance.

 

[tipper]

BUT one would think IF she really was concerned (such as Beth Twitty) she would have the facts straight as in WHOSE hands the "solving" of the case is in!!

AND since they have professed over and over the DNA will solve the case, one would assume this would be of prime importance.

CIA - FBI I think to Patsy it's all the same and she has no idea what the differences are. That's why I disagreed with the idea that she was highly educated and well-read. Someone who was would be aware of the difference.