What were you doing...

Maikai

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and where were you when you first heard about the murder of JBR and what were your initial thoughts?

It's been almost l5 years, and I was interested from the beginning. I was in Denver visiting relatives, and we had been close to Boulder earlier in the day. I remember seeing the newscast that night, which showed the front of the house and the stretcher with JBR on it. I noticed the big Christmas wreath, and the newscaster saying she was a Little Miss Colorado. My first impressions haven't changed--I knew enough about Boulder to know there were a lot of transcients--a healty drug culture--and there had been an influx of wealthy people. From the beginning I thought it was more than one, and it could have been a thrill crime or crime of opportunity due to the magazine article.
 
I sometimes wish WS had been around on December 26, 1996 just to see what people's initial reactions to this case would be. It's weird to think about there being a MSM thread to talk about John and Patsy's interview with CNN, or to think about the complete "bombshell" the pageant videos would be.
 
I was preparing for my son's funeral. The late news came on TV, and they mentioned JonBenet's murder and showed very disturbing pictures of that tiny girl wearing too much make-up (wearing make-up at all!), bleached hair, and a totally inappropriate outfit for a little 6-year-old. They also showed her prancing around on a stage during a beauty contest. I was totally disgusted with parents who would do that to their baby, putting her on display so people could gawk at her and judge her! I also thought the poor child had been abused in horrible ways.

I didn't pay that much attention to the case after that because my family had our own loved one to grieve. Yes, my boy has been gone 15 years, too.

Later, when hearing more details of the case, I thought is was obvious one of the parents killed the child, and I still do.

Needless to say, memories of JB's case remind me of a sad time, so I can only bear to come to this section of the board when I'm feeling strong and unaffected.
 
were all pretty wrapped up in that. The first thing that attracted my attention to this case was hearing the first CNN interview. PR just sounded so off. Some of it may have been the drugs but the words she used and tone of voice just sent my hinky meter into the red zone.

My father died on January 16, 1997. Dealing with that made me ignore almost everything else going on in the world at that time.

It didn't take me long to think that RDI. I couldn't see any other explanation for what happened in that house. 15 years later, I still don't. We'll never know what happened in that house that night, but JR does.
 
I sometimes wish WS had been around on December 26, 1996 just to see what people's initial reactions to this case would be. It's weird to think about there being a MSM thread to talk about John and Patsy's interview with CNN, or to think about the complete "bombshell" the pageant videos would be.

In the beginning there was quite a bit of comments on the Boulder Camera site...I think that's where they were at. I believe Candy Rose saved a lot of it on her website. I didn't post then.
 
SO SORRY for your losses--especially at this time of the year.

Actually, I do remember in the beginning, my first instinct was the beauty pageant business along with rich father was the motive....especially in Boulder which is not exactly a city that is into that kind of stuff.
 
I was out shopping at the time, and my husband told me about it when I got home- he had heard it on the radio. I don't specifically recall seeing pics of her on the news, but I probably did. A few days later- on the cover of the GLobe in the A & P- I saw her picture. I remember it was the one where she had been on the float in the Christmas parade just before she died. This was the photo where she was looking so sad and wistful. I think she was wearing a red cape or coat and a tiara. This was the "Little Miss Christmas" pageant crown, and this was the pageant Patsy missed. She was out of town, and Nedra and Grandpa P were babysitting and they took her to that pageant and parade. Pageant was the source of the mysterious "Santa Bear" which Patsy denied knowing about. This bear, seen in crime photos on the spare twin bed in JB's room, was given out to the pageant contestants. There is STILL some mystery to the bear. In the photos, a small, gold clip-style earring can be seen on the bear's belt. The matching earring of the pair was found in the street outside the R home. Not much has been made public about the investigation into this matter, though pageant officials did positively identify the bear.
I thought as soon as I heard about this crime that the family (not necessarily the parents) were involved somehow. As the days went by, I was sure of it. And the cover-up as well.
 
I was at work, it was reported on the local news which was on the TV set located in the ER waiting room. Initially I don't remember thinking much about it, but after my shift I saw the report on TV at home complete with JB dressed up and performing and thought..."some pervert probably got her..."

As time passed and the Ramsey's made their statements/tv appearances, and as more information relative to the case became public, etc., I came to the conclusion that Patsy wrote the ransom note as part of the cover-up and that they (Patsy and John) are directly responsible for the death of JB...and Burke knows WAY more than he'll ever admit.
 
In the beginning there was quite a bit of comments on the Boulder Camera site...I think that's where they were at. I believe Candy Rose saved a lot of it on her website. I didn't post then.

Yep, one of the first forums on this case was the BoulderNews forum.

The comments on here really show how much the world has changed in 15 years. The first time I heard about Caylee, Haleigh, Kyron, Baby Lisa, and many other recent cases was right here on WS. But the first time most posters heard about JBR, in December 1996 or January 1997, was on TV. It's interesting that so many here have pretty vivid memories of this and what they were thinking, because I honestly don't remember my first thoughts when I first heard about cases like Kyron or Baby Lisa, right here on WS. I wonder if that has to do with reading about them first on a forum, instead of turning on the TV and seeing it with your own eyes?
 
I wonder how many that think the Ramseys did it are familiar with Boulder? Even Darnay Hoffman (may he RIP) never once went to Boulder. I knew Boulder was a town of those that have, and those that don't...and it was home to a variety of people. I was still in Denver when the articles appeared in the paper about the Boulder police screwing up the crime scene, and the "no footprints in the snow" comment....and after that it was all about ego on the part of Ellers and saving face. At the time the first newscast was shown, there were 3 different opinions with the people I was with. I said it was an intruder on drugs.....a relative that got his PHD at the university there, who was uninterested said the Boulder Police will screw it up---their specialty is giving out tickets for carrying alcohol...and a retired cop said, the parents did it. I wanted to go to Boulder in the morning, and see what was going on, but the retired cop would have no part of it...he said they'll be watching who's hanging around the house. I never thought the murder would reach the proportions it did. I figured there'd be some news for a few days, and that would be it....and they'd find the murderer quickly.
 
I heard about her death on a radio news report. The details were sketchy but one bit of information, that she was a kidnapped victim but her father discovered her in the basement, immediately made me think "The Dad did it."
Don't know why really. It just seemed to fit.

Later, through an aquaintence whose realitive was internning for CNN, I heard the production staff was surprised the Ramseys were contacting the network to appear on air to discuss the death of their daughter. From what I heard the network wasn't even planning to ask they appear, Patsy and John just came forth and volunteered.

Since then, I have hung on to anything I could find out about the case through Websleuths, books, articles and word of mouth. It is an has been a very long and very frustrating case.

just my O
 
A friend mentioned it to me, and later that night, I saw a news story. The main thing I remember, is how much her pageant title was stressed...'little Miss Colorado', or something like that. She was so identified with the title, that #1, I thought it was a huge deal, and #2, I thought it played a part in her death...maybe a stalker or a jealous parent situation. Looking back, I see things differently. First of all, the pagents weren't a big deal, by any standards, and the titles didn't mean much... and then all of the pictures came out...and I was thoroughly creeped out. I couldn't understand why the parents wanted to present her image in such a way. It was like she was larger than life, and not real at all. One of the things that stood out to me, was a clip I saw of the funeral. PR was surrounded by her friends and loved ones, JR was being supported by his people, and BR, was walking alone, with his hands in his pockets. I was confused and didn't know what to make of it. I realized that the clip was just a few seconds long, and didn't show the whole story, but what I saw disturbed me. I saw a fractured family, where a child was being ignored. My 1st thought, was that BR looked like he had been kicked in the stomach. I didn't know if his parents were angry with him or what. Anyway, this is an interesting thread, and it really brings up our 1st impressions.
 
I saw beautiful little JonBenet on TV .My daughter was still a baby and back then it was really,really hard to hear about murdered children (it is still hard but back then it was unbearable) My initial thoughts were a pedophile did it but after I learned more about the case I thought Patsy did it and I still do.
 
I had just moved (very briefly, it would turn out) from Boulder to Grand Haven, MI. It was on the news there, while I was cleaning the living room. At first, I figured it HAD to be in any town other than Boulder when they said it was a Colorado Beauty Queen. First, because things like that just don't happen in Boulder, and secondly, because people like that don't live in Boulder, or so I thought. Boulder was a Birkenstock wearing mecca for the outdoorsy, tofu fueled ultra liberals, and Trustafarians. Your next door neighbor was more likely to be a woman who hadn't shaved her legs or worn make-up for the past 20 years, rather than a fur wearing, heavily made up Southern Belle. For about a minute, I too entertained the thought that it was some pervert stalking her from the pageants, but the Ramsey's behavior quickly dispelled that train of thought. My only wavering comes from wondering just which parent dealt the fatal blow and staging. Either way, IMO one is guilty of murder, and the other is guilty of complacency and conspiracy after the fact. The family is all about image, and will never have a "Come to Jesus" moment and confess. But I'm still hopeful that the new DA, who is NOT cut from the same cloth his two intellectually challenged predecessors, may indeed file charges if it's at all possible. He has been cleaning up some of Boulder's cold cases.
 
I was studying for an advanced degree in California and rolled my eyes when I first heard of this, thinking here we go again, another scandal to distract from serious issues. My mother followed it obsessively but I paid this case little attention. Over the years, though, the mystery of it has nagged me. I find it interesting in the same year Osama bin Laden became a household name, suddenly a young girl is 'kidnapped' by a 'foreign faction'. Makes me wonder if the real perps hadn't read one too many newspapers about bin Laden and decided to pin the crime on a foreign terrorist group. Sort of the way the Anthrax Killer tried to pretend he was a Muslim.
 
I didn't hear about the murder right away. It was about 3-4 years after it happened and I was in mississippi around '99. Probably because I was also 6 when she died. Kept seeing it on tv. My family and i were in denver about a year before it happened though. I still find this case very confusing, but am convinced patsy is responsible.
 
I had just given birth to my second daughter days earlier. My older daughter was 5. I remember looking at my 5yo and crying .. Imagining what a child so innocent would be thinking as this is happening to her:

"What are you doing?"
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Please stop!"
"Nooooo"

It affects me still......
 
I lived in Iowa that year, but was actually on a skiing vacation in CO when it happened. It wasn't until we were on our way back to Iowa I'm january I saw it on the news at the airport.

After that I followed it quite close, especially since winter was real cold in iowa that year and we schools were closed regularly. I watched morning news every day and was very interested in the case.

Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk
 
I had just moved (very briefly, it would turn out) from Boulder to Grand Haven, MI. It was on the news there, while I was cleaning the living room. At first, I figured it HAD to be in any town other than Boulder when they said it was a Colorado Beauty Queen. First, because things like that just don't happen in Boulder, and secondly, because people like that don't live in Boulder, or so I thought. Boulder was a Birkenstock wearing mecca for the outdoorsy, tofu fueled ultra liberals, and Trustafarians. Your next door neighbor was more likely to be a woman who hadn't shaved her legs or worn make-up for the past 20 years, rather than a fur wearing, heavily made up Southern Belle. For about a minute, I too entertained the thought that it was some pervert stalking her from the pageants, but the Ramsey's behavior quickly dispelled that train of thought. My only wavering comes from wondering just which parent dealt the fatal blow and staging. Either way, IMO one is guilty of murder, and the other is guilty of complacency and conspiracy after the fact. The family is all about image, and will never have a "Come to Jesus" moment and confess. But I'm still hopeful that the new DA, who is NOT cut from the same cloth his two intellectually challenged predecessors, may indeed file charges if it's at all possible. He has been cleaning up some of Boulder's cold cases.

You have described Boulder so accurately. I watched it change since the early 70's. At that time the Pearl Street Mall had a lot of hippies that just hung out, playing music...sketching....smoking pot....just a mellow place. Then the nuevo rich started moving in...many from the technology companies that cropped up...and there seemed to be no middle class. Either poor or rich (not counting the college students). The hippies that remained seemed to have burnt out their brains on drugs, and were more like street people. I too thought the pageants had something to do with it, because that was so anti Boulder.....but then I wasn't sure since JonBenet's name or beauty pageant business was not mentioned in the ransom note. I don't know if it was someone they had come in contact with before or someone that had seen the newspaper article. JBR was a trophy child....I can't see a parent such as the Ramseys killing her in the method she was murdered...I can still see an intruder whose motive was kidnapping a trophy child....who got a kick out of write a movie line note.
 
I was studying for an advanced degree in California and rolled my eyes when I first heard of this, thinking here we go again, another scandal to distract from serious issues. My mother followed it obsessively but I paid this case little attention. Over the years, though, the mystery of it has nagged me. I find it interesting in the same year Osama bin Laden became a household name, suddenly a young girl is 'kidnapped' by a 'foreign faction'. Makes me wonder if the real perps hadn't read one too many newspapers about bin Laden and decided to pin the crime on a foreign terrorist group. Sort of the way the Anthrax Killer tried to pretend he was a Muslim.

The OJ simpson trial had just ended I believe (the l00% reference) which I think was the first televised trial that had some mesmerized. The Timothy McVeigh trial was about to start or had started in Denver. There was a lessor known conviction of a serial killer in Golden, CO that fall, where "proper burial" was the reason a witness turned in the serial killer who had evaded law enforcement for years. The perp had murdered a girl on the way to Blackhawk, where the casinos are, and buried her under rocks in the hills. The witness felt the family was entitled to a "proper burial" of their daughter. 'Course then again "Ransom" playing in the movie theatres. I don't recall when the Columbine shootings occurred---I think afterwards, but the two perps, one from a wealthy family fit my perception of what I thought the perp was like.
 

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