Spade/FFJ info

Sorry to start a new thread but I can't remember where I read about Spade and asking permission to bring his posts over.

Spade has given me permission to tell you to feel free to copy his posts over to the good Websleuths!

Tricia

Tricia - awesome! Tell him thank you so much.

Here is the first part of Spade's post The Morning:

This rendition of what happened the morning of 12/26/96 is IMO opinion accurate. The source is material purchased from the nephew of the legal secretary.

For the record, I am not related to the Ramsey's or Fleet White by marriage dispite what the swamp mistress may post.

Officer Rick French was dispatched to 755 15th Street in Boulder at approximately 5:52 a.m. on the report of a possible kidnapping. He was met at the door by the distraught Patsy and by John who told him that their six-year-old daughter was missing and their nine-year-old son was asleep upstairs. Patsy, hysterical and apparently confused about the sequence of the mornings events, told officer French that she went into JonBenet’s bedroom at approximately 5:45 a.m. that morning to wake her up for the trip and saw that she was not in bed. As she was coming down the spiral staircase she found the note stating that her daughter had been kidnapped. John then lead French through the house and pointed out a three page handwritten note which still lay on the hallway floor next to the kitchen.

French noted that Patsy, dressed in a red turtle sweater and black pants, was pacing back and forth, but eventually settled in an overstuffed chair in the sitting room located at the southeast of the main floor. Patsy stared at French her eyes riveted him, but tried to conceal her actions with her fingers splayed over her eyes.

French did a quick inspection of the interior of the house and found all the doors locked, including the door leading from JonBenet’s bedroom to the second floor balcony. There were no signs of the missing child. French inspected the basement during this search, but was not able to open one room in the basement on the south end of the house because of a top latch. John told Officer French that too had personally checked for unlocked doors and windows – John said he found the house locked up as it had been left the night before.

When asked about the security alarm system, John told French that it had not been engaged for several years. While the remodeling of the residence was still in process, JonBenet, then only a toddler, had dragged a small bench over to the key pad to the system and began hitting the keys. The interior alarm was so deafening that they couldn't even hear to telephone the security company to notify them that it was a false alarm.

Almost immediately police cars and sirens were heard coming down the street. Since the Ramseys had not used the system since they had moved into the new house, they didn't know the code to shut it off. Because of this mishap and a couple of subsequent false alarms, they had decided not to activate the system.

After his cursory inspection of the house, French took a statement from John regarding the events of the prior evening. John related that the family had arrived home around 9:00 p.m., that Burke and Patsy had gone immediately to bed, and that he had read to JonBenet for a few minutes before he went to bed. Apparently the morning's stress had also confused John, as the sequence of events he related to French about the prior evening would differ at his later official statement.

Arriving almost immediately after the first officers on scene were John and Barbara Fernie, close friends of both John and Patsy. They were soon joined by Fleet and Priscilla White, with whom the Ramsey family had spent the evening of Christmas day just hours before the disappearance of their daughter. Patsy confirmed that she had called both the Whites and the Ferniest after notifying the police. Bill and Heather Cox, guests staying at the Whites’ home, also appeared. Barbara Fernie called the Ramsey’s pastor, Rev. Rol Haberstock from St. John’s Presbyterian Church, and asked him to come.

According to the family friends, the hysterical Patsy was alternating between noncoherent praying to God and Jesus and screaming, " They have my baby.” At one point Patsy screamed at John, “You have to give them the money and get out baby back.” John, attempting to comfort his wife, responded, “We’ll get her back. She'll be okay."

Within minutes of arriving at the Ramsey home, Fleet decided to look around the house. His own daughter had been missing a few months ago, and after the police were called they found her hiding under her bed. Fleet was hoping that JonBenet too was just hiding somewhere in the house. Since everyone had been told by the police officers not to go upstairs, Fleet went town to the basement. He noticed that the lights were on. He found a small piece of glass from a broken window in a room used for model trains. In checking the latch for the window he discovered that it was unlocked, but closed. Fleet also noticed a blue suitcase was sitting underneath the window. He continued with his search by opening every cupboard and door. He opened the door to the wine cellar, reached inside, but could not find the light switch and could not see inside the room. The wind cellar is completely formed by cement and has no windows. Finding no evidence of anyone entering or leaving from the basement area and no trace of JonBenet, Fleet went back upstairs.

Patrol Sgt. Reichenbach, responding to the call to go to the 15th Street address, passed a time and temperature sign in a mall parking lot on his way to the Ramsey home. The temperature in Boulder that morning was 9 degrees. A light dusting of snow lay sprinkled on the ground, mostly visible on the neighborhood lawns. Upon his arrival at the residence Reichenbach conducted a brief inspection of the outside of the premises. In addition to the newly fallen snow, portions of the yard were covered with one or two inches of crusty snow from a prior snowfall. He noted that no footprints were visible in the new snow that adhered to the grass and pavement areas surrounding the house nor in the old snow still remaining. ...continued

Spade's post The Morning continued (part two):

Det. Michael Everett, the Lead Crime Scene investigator Boulder police department, was also told to report to the Ramsey residence to assist in the crime scene search with Det. Sgt. Tom Wickman, the supervisor in charge of the crime scene. When they arrived they too inspected the outside of the residence. They discovered a basement level window with a broken pane. As they were inspecting the window well for any evidence of entry, they noticed that the grate placed over thee window well was covered with a spider web which appeared undisturbed, making it unlikely that anyone had entered through that window.

According to John and Patsy, Burke had remained asleep during Patsy's morning screams and commotion of people coming and going from the residence. At approximately 7:0 a.m., John decided it was time to wake Burke. It had already been decided that Burke would be taken to the White's residence where relatives were still staying for the holidays. John, accompanied by Fleet, went up to Burke's room. John woke his sleeping on, “Why don't you get up, buddy. You're going over to White's house to see Fleet, Jr." Burke's only reaction to the disturbance of his sleep was, "Okay." Burke put his clothes on, grabbed his nintendo and a couple of Christmas toys to take on his visit to his friend's house, and followed his father and Fleet downstairs. Fleet
immediately took Burke outside to his vehicle and drove way. Never once did Burke ask why policemen were at his house. The only conversation that passed between the two during the ride was occasional mention of Burke’s Nintendo he got for Christmas which he had brought with him.

Det. Linda Arndt, a member of the Sexual Assault and Crimes Against Children team of the Boulder police department, was called at home, informed of the reported kidnapping and
instructed to respond to the Ramsey residence to assist the officers already on scene. She was told that the local phone company had been contacted to set up a "trap" on all incoming
phone calls. In fact, this "trap" was activated even prior to Arndt arriving at the Ramsey residence. On her way, Arndt stopped at her office to pick up a hand-held tape recorder and meet with Det. Fred Patterson who would accompany her to the scene of the crime. Arndt and Patterson stopped briefly at a local mall parking lot to meet with Reichenbach, who had just left the residence, to be briefed on the situation at the Ramsey house. Reichenbach told the two detectives that French, the first officer on scene, said that "something didn't seem right".

Arndt and Patterson arrived at approximately 8:10 a.m. and were met by French. Also already on the scene were Boulder Crime Scene investigators Barry Weiss and Sue Barcklow. Weiss was photographing the interior and exterior of the residence, and Barcklow was attempting to obtain latent finger prints. Two victim advocates, dispatched from the Boulder police department, were with the Ramseys, trying to give comfort to the victimized parents.

The original ransom note had been collected into evidence, transported to police headquarters and copies returned to the Ramsey home. Some of the detectives were working on obtaining the ransom money – Lafayette State Bank was contacted about providing the cash. Family friend, John Fernie, had also been to his bank and arranged for the $118,000 to be available within an hours notice in the denominations required by the ransom note. Fernie noted that $118,000 was a relatively insignificant amount compared to Ramsey’s wealth. According to Fernie, "They could have asked for $10,000,000 and obtained that amount.

Arndt met with John Ramsey, explained the procedure for the telephone "trap", and asked permission to also hook up the portable tape recorder she had retrieved from the police department. She instructed him on using the tape recorder should a call come in from the kidnappers. During this discussion with John he was able to carry on a conversation, and was focused and articulate with his words. He sometimes even smiled and joked.

Det. Robert Whitson arrived at the Ramsey residence at approximately 9:30 a.m. to inform John that the FBI had been notified and were assisting in the investigation. Whitson briefly talked to John about security for the home, and John again stated that he had personally locked up the house on the night of December 25, and that he rechecked that morning and found everything was still locked. Whitson and Patterson then asked John for samples of his handwriting. John went to a counter near the spiral staircase and picked up two letter-size pads of white lined paper. John handed both pads to Det. Patterson explaining that one pad contained prior writings of Patsy and the other his prior writings. Patterson took the pads and made a notation on the tope of each indicating which one belonged to Patsy and which one belonged to John.

Whitson later showed the notebook indicated as Patsy’s to Detective Jeff Kithcart. As Kithcart examined the notepad, he discovered among the pages a sheet of paper with the beginning of a note in a similar ink and handwriting style as the ransom note. This page, apparently a false start for the final note, only contained the words, “Mr. and Mrs. R”

Arndt then met with the distraught and visibly shaken Patsy. Looking disheveled and physically exhausted she had been peering at the detectives from her chair in the sitting room. Barbara Fernie and Priscilla were at her side, along with the Boulder police department victim advocates. Patsy, appearing dazed, spoke softly when she talked and seemed to be staring vacantly into the distance. Intermittently collapsing in tears, she told Arndt that the family had arrived home at approximately 9M P.M. the evening before, that she had put JonBenet to bed wearing a red turtle neck shirt and white long johns, and that she had gone to bed immediately after that herself. As she had also told French, Patsy said that the next morning she discovered JonBenet was not in her room and then walked down the stairs where the ransom note lay. When asked who had a key to the house Patsy stated, "The only person in Colorado with a key is my housekeeper Linda Hoffman-Pugh.” Patsy brought up the housekeeper's name again when Arndt questioned her on who might be responsible for the kidnapping. "Linda asked to borrow money from me on December 24. She needed $2,000 – for family dental work, I think. I was suppose to leave her a check on the kitchen counter before we left for Michigan." Patsy explained that Linda had family problems, not only with her husband who was a "drinker", but also with her two grown children. Patsy told Arndt that Linda's husband, Mervin Pugh, had also been hired a few months ago to do some chores around the house. Patsy had previously told one of the detectives that the handwriting in the note did somewhat resemble Linda's writing, but she admitted to Arndt that the words in the note were not words that Linda would use.

Although Patsy was able to cast suspicions on the housekeeper during this conversation, she seemed unable to focus on other questions being asked and her thoughts were scattered. She asked Arndt what the police were doing and repeated several times, “Why couldn’t I hear my baby.” After the brief interview with Patsy, Arndt returned to the den. Since the room in which Patsy sat was a distance from the kitchen and den area, Arndt had little contact with her after their initial conversation and could not monitor her actions, so she asked French to remain with Patsy.

The gingerbread houses made by JonBenet and Burke at the family party only two days before still sat on the dining room table – a melancholy reminder of the laughter and innocence of childhood that had filled the home so recently. Also visible on the dining room table was a bowl of half-eaten pineapple chunks and an empty glass – apparently a late-night snack left from someone the night before.

Arndt met again with John to go over instructions for him should the author of the ransom note call. John was to get very explicit instructions from the kidnappers, he should demand to talk to JonBenet, and he was to tell them that he would not be able to get the money until 5:00 p.m. John dutifully made notes of these things he was to say when the kidnapper called. Arndt looked down at the list being created by John and noticed that he had placed an asterisk next to the notation "talk with JB”. At the time Arndt thought it odd that John would want to somehow highlight this instruction.

When not talking to an officer, John stayed by himself, and strangely, there was no interaction with Patsy. The victim advocates who had remained at Patsy's side assumed that John and Patsy were either divorced or estranged, because of the lack of communication between the two of them that morning. John seemed to pace the floor nervously in the area between the dining room and den, but ran to answer the phone every time it rang. Arndt observed that when John did sit down, one of his legs bounced up and down in nervous spasms.

In order not to tie the up any lines, all outgoing calls made from the Ramsey home were done on cell phones, belonging to John Ramsey and John Fernie, located inside the residence. John did answer two phone calls which caused him to react by sobbing and having difficulty talking. One call was from his son, John Andrew, and the second from his daughter, Melissa.

No one seemed to notice at first that the suspected kidnappers had not called by 10:00 a.m. the appointed time according to the ransom note. ...continued

Spade's post The Morning continued (part three/final):

Arndt again went over the prior day’s activities with John, who repeated the sequence of events as he had to Officer French: After the family had arrived home from the dinner party at the Whites residence, Patsy and Burke went immediately to bed. He read a book JonBenet and tucked her in bed before he himself went to bed. When Arndt asked about the locking of doors, John replied, “I personally checked all of the doors and all of the windows in the house this morning, and all the doors and windows were locked.” John also told Arndt that there were no interior lights on in the residence when he went to bed that night.

Noted by several investigators during the search of the house was a paper bag containing children's clothing sitting in the doorway to the den. Priscilla White, trying to busy herself during the tense waiting hours, inspected the bag and, finding that it contained winter ski pants, jackets and boots for JonBenet and Burke, moved it to a cloak room.

As 10:30 a.m. approached, some of the detectives and the victim advocates starting leaving the Ramsey residence. Photographs of JonBenet and a physical description were obtained in order to provide information to local police departments about the missing child. Before leaving, Weiss showed Arndt the areas of the residence that had been processed for evidence. Weiss had processed the first floor glass door on the north side of the house, as John told him that was the only residence door which did not have a securing deadbolt. Also, the spiral staircase leading from the main floor to the second floor bedrooms was processed for fingerprints. The handrail of this staircase was decorated with a green Christmas garland, as were other areas of the Ramsey home. Arndt and Weiss then made a brief inspection of JonBenet's bedroom. Weiss had noted when the officers arrived that there was frost on the patio outside her bedroom and there was no sign of footprints or other evidence of disturbance of the frost. The officers continued on the second floor inspection to the laundry area adjacent to the children’s bedrooms. The detectives noticed a red garment soaking in the laundry sink. They entered the third bedroom which had been John Andrew's bedroom but was now unoccupied, and then into Burke's room.

Outside of Burke's bedroom was the spiral staircase that lead up to the third floor where the master bedroom and home office are located, and down to the main floor front entry area. Weiss and Arndt did a visual inspection of them master bedroom and adjoining office. Arndt noticed that John had hastily dropped his navy blue bathrobe on the floor next to his desk. She also noticed on John's nightstand next to his bed was the book Mindhunter by John Douglas, a former FBI agent. Douglas' book depicts his background and work in the field of murders, murderers and criminal research. Arndt thought this book was rather gruesome late night reading material.

The detectives returned to the second floor and sealed JonBenet's bedroom with crime scene tape to prevent anyone from entering that room.

Soon the only police official remaining was Detective Arndt, along with John and Patsy and the family friends. Then even John left to pick up the family's mail, and was gone approximately an hour and 20 minutes. When John returned Detective Arndt noted that he sat in the kitchen and opened the mail. John still remained in a room by himself not making contact with Patsy or any of the friends who stayed to console the family.

Arndt again talked with Patsy who had now relocated to the den area and laid down on the couch. Barbara and Priscilla were still by Patsy's side. Patsy again asked what the police were doing. Arndt told her that she was attempting to locate the housekeeper and that the FBI was now involved in the investigation. Patsy and Arndt started discussing the ransom note. Patsy told her that she could not think of any significance to the $118.000 figure requested by the kidnappers. She also observed that at whoever wrote the note must not know John since the referred to him as a Southern and he was from Michigan. During this conversation Patsy, looking physically exhausted, started crying many times and was often unable to speak. Again, she repeatedly said, “Why didn’t I hear my baby?"

Spade's post Sexual Abuse:

The source is the "legal secretary's notes".

In August, the Boulder police department contacted Dr. John McCann, one of the nation’s leading experts on child sexual abuse. McCann had agreed to assist the police department in determining if JonBenet had been a victim of sexual abuse during or before her murder. McCann was sent the autopsy report and photos. According to McCann, examination findings that indicate chronic sexual abuse include the thickness of the rim of the hymen, irregularity of the edge of the hymen, the width or narrowness of the wall of the hymen, and exposure of structures of the vagina normally covered by the hymen. His report stated that there was evidence of prior hymeneal trauma as all of these criteria were seen in the post mortem examination of JonBenet.

There was a three dimensional thickening from inside to outside on the inferior hymeneal rim with a bruise apparent on the external surface of the hymen and a narrowing of the hymeneal rim from the edge of the hymen to where it attaches to the muscular portion of the vaginal openings. At the narrowing area, there appeared to be very little if any hymen present. There was also exposure of the vaginal rugae, a structure of the vagina which is normally covered by an intact hymen. The hymeneal orifice measured one centimeter which is abnormal or unusual for this particular age group and is further evidence of prior sexual abuse with a more recent injury as shown by the bruised area on the inferior hymeneal rim. A generalized increase in redness of the tissues of the vestibule was apparent, and small red flecks of blood were visible around the perineum and the external surface of the genitalia. It was his opinion that the injury appeared to have been caused by a relatively small, very firm object which, due to the area of bruising, had made very forceful contact not only with the hymen, but also with the tissues surrounding the hymen. McCann believed that the object was forcefully jabbed in – not just shoved in. Although the bruised area would indicate something about the size of a finger nail, he did not believe it was a finger, because of the well demarcated edges of the bruise indicating an object much firmer than a finger. McCann was not able to see any fresh tears of the hymen which he thought might be due to the lack of detail in the photographs. It was unclear where the blood on the perineum originated, since there were no lacerations visible in these photos. McCann also noted that in children of this age group the labia, or vaginal lips, remain closed until literally manually separated. In order for there to be an injury to the hymen without injuring the labia, the labia would have to be manually separated before the object was inserted. The examination also indicated that the assault was done while the child was still alive because of the redness in the surrounding tissue and blood in the area.

McCann stated that this injury would have been very painful because the area of the injury as indicated by the bruise was at the base of the hymen were most of the nerve endings are located. Such an injury would have caused a six year old child to scream or yell. The doctor also stated that he assumed the object did not have jagged edges because there were no evidence of tears in the bruised area.

McCann also noted that there appeared to be a bruise on the inner right thigh which he though might represent a thumb imprint from forcing the legs apart.

Dr. McCann explained the term "chronic abuse" meant only that it was "repeated", but that the number of incidents could not be determined. In the case of JonBenet, the doctor could only say that there was evidence of “prior abuse". The examination results were evidence that there was at least one prior penetration of the vagina through the hymeneal membrane. The change in the hymeneal structure is due to healing from a prior penetration. However, it was not possible to determine the number of incidents nor over what period of time. Because the prior injury had healed, any other incidents of abuse probably were more than 10 days prior.

In discussing perpetrators of sexual abuse on children, McCann stated that the majority of children this age are molested by someone with whom they have close contact most commonly family members. He explained that if the molester is a stranger or someone else with whom the child is not close, the child will usually tell someone or psychological problems appear which create behavior changes observed by their parents. Common symptoms would be eating disorders, nightmares or a variety of behaviors indicating that something is bothering them. Commencement or increased bedwetting is also commonly seen in sexually abused children. When asked about JonBenet's sexualized behavior during her pageant performances, McCann said that this was not necessarily a sign of abuse, since this was taught behavior for the pageants. Also, with children's exposure to sexually explicit television programs, sexualized behavior is no longer considered to be an indication of possible sexual abuse.

Dr. Andrew Sirotnack from Children’s Hospital in Denver was also asked to review the medical findings and autopsy photographs. He confirmed McCann's determination of acute vaginal trauma during the assault on JonBenet, but He had not yet concluded that there was chronic abuse. Sirotnack had examined over 2,500 abused children during his career at Children's Hospital and had testified in approximately 50 - 100 criminal trials regarding sexual abuse on children.

In September 1997, the police department held a meeting with McCann and three other child sexual abuse experts to go over their opinions based on their review of the autopsy results. Dr. Virginia Rau of Dade County, Florida stated that she observed fresh hymeneal trauma on JonBenet and chronic inflammation that was not related to any urination issues. Dr. Rau said, “In my heart, this is chronic abuse,” but feared that a defense argument would be made that this was only evidence of masturbation.

Also agreeing with the findings of both McCann and Rau was Dr. Jim Monteleone of St. Louis. Dr. Richard Krugman, Dean of the University of Colorado Medical School, an expert first contacted for assistance in the Ramsey case by the D.A.’s office, was the most adamant supporter of the finding of chronic sexual abuse. He felt that in considering the past and present injuries to the hymen that the bedwetting/soiling took on enormous significance. He believed that this homicide was an indecent of “toilet rage” and subsequent cover up. He told the group of experts and detectives about another Colorado case where both parents had been at home and both were charged. “The JonBenet case is a text book example of toileting abuse rage," Krugman stated.

All of the experts agreed that there was no way any of the recent or chronic abuse damage to the genitalia of the child was the result of masturbation.

Spade's post Burke's 1997 Interview:

This synopsis of the January 1997 interview with Burke Ramsey comes from the material written by the legal secretary for the BPD dream team and sold by her nephew to two different newspapers. Over the years I have gained respect for the BPD's handling of this tragedy. IMO the relationship between the Ramsey defense lawyers and individuals in the DA's office is the real reason this case is so bizarre on the surface.

BURKE'S INTERVIEW

On January 8, John and Patsy took Burke to the Child Advocacy Center in Niwot, Colorado, through arrangements made by the Boulder Police department, to be interviewed by Dr. Suzanne Bernard, a specialist in child psychology. As is customary in interrogations of children, Dr. Bernhard played a game with Burke throughout the interview and the entire interview was videotaped.

When left alone with the psychologist, Burke appeared to be at ease and even told the doctor that be felt safe, even though he did say that he had not wanted to come that day! Dr. Bernhard thought it was unusual for this child to feel safe. "People in this entire town didn't feel safe with the concept that there was someone running around that could be snatching children, and this was his own sister and happened in his own home. Generally speaking, a child who goes through this kind of trauma, where a sibling or a family member has been killed, they don’t feel safe.

Burke described his father as quiet and that he was "always at work", and that his mother "worked as a mom'. The thing he liked most about his mom was that she gave him lots of hugs and kisses, and the thing he liked most about his dad were "planes". Throughout the interview he showed little warmth towards his family, but at the same time was very protective of them. According to Burke, the worst thing they did was not buy him, expensive toys. Dr. Bernhard explained that most children in interviews will discuss things about the family that angers them even if they love them, but Burke appeared to have difficulty in opening up about his family, similar to children who can't say things, because they feel that there are some things they shouldn't say.

Social Services had previously provided Dr. Bernhard with some history on Burke which indicated an ongoing bedwetting problem, but Burke denied this saying that it happened a long time ago. Children are usually honest about this in interviews, and Dr. Bernhard wondered why Burke was not.

Many of Burke's other responses also created areas of concern for the doctor. Burke displayed an enormous amount of lack of emotion, almost to the point of indifference, which Dr. Bernard explained may be attributed to shock, but could also have been a lack of attachment to his family. Since his mother had appeared very emotional when she brought Burke for the interview, Dr. Bernard thought that perhaps Burke could not deal with the family’s emotions and had therefore just withdrawn. Even in response to questions which should have elicited strong emotions, he remained non-expressive. When asked “How have things been since your only sister died?”, Burke responded, “It’s been okay.” And when asked if he missed her, he said, “Yep.” Burke continuously told Dr. Bernhard that he tried to forget about things and just play his Nintendo.

'When asked to draw a picture of his family, he drew a father figure who was distanced from Burke, a mother figure which was the smallest figure in the picture, and JonBenet was not in the picture at all. Dr. Bernhard interpreted the drawing to suggest that Burke felt his father was not emotionally available to him and that his mother was insignificant and did not have a great deal of power. Dr. Bernhard thought it extremely abnormal that JonBenet was not in the family picture at all, since her heath had occurred only 13 days prior. Most children continue to include deceased siblings in family drawings years after the death because it is too devastating for them to think about the loss. Burke also told Dr. Bernhard that he was “getting on with his life.”, another very abnormal reaction for a child who had so recently lost his sibling.

When specifically discussing the crime, he related that he did not hear any noises that night and that he was asleep, but he admitted that he usually hears when someone opens the refrigerator door downstairs. Dr. Bernhard asked what he thought happened to his sister. Burke, showing the first signs of irritation during the interview, responded, "I know what happened, she was killed.” Burke's explanation to the doctor was “someone took her quietly and took her down in the basement took a knife out or hit her on the head." He said that the only thing he asked his dad was "where did you find her body", a highly unusual query from a child considering the possible questions a child might ask about the death of a sibling.

Dr. Bernhard felt there needed to be more follow-up with Burke in the discussion of sexual contact. The only show of emotion by Burke, other than the irritation with the questions about the actual crime, was when Dr. Bernhard began to ask about uncomfortable touching. Burke picked up a board game and put it on his head an action indicating anxiety or discomfort with these types of questions and that there was more that he was not telling her. Dr. Bernhard asked Burke if he had any secrets, and he said, “probably, if I did, I wouldn't tell you, because then it wouldn’t be a secret."

Britt, thanks for bringing Spade's posts over here.

Along with the strange reactions Burke showed in his interview, I find Patsy's "very emotional" response to him being interviewed extremely strange as well. One report I remember from years ago described Patsy as weeping uncontrollably while Burke's interview was going on. Because this was 13 days after JonBenet's death, I think that rather than still openly grieving, she was desperately afraid Burke might slip up and let the cat out of the bag.

What were Burke's strange reactions?

ajt, you can read about Burke's interview in Britt's latest post on this thread. It's right above my last post.

Originally posted by Ivy
Because this was 13 days after JonBenet's death, I think that rather than still openly grieving, she was desperately afraid Burke might slip up and let the cat out of the bag.

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I absolutely agree, Ivy, but IMO she was terrified that he would implicate her and John. The fear that her own child might end up being the number one prosecution witness against them was probably overwhelming for her.

Yes, I agree that's possible, Britt, but at the time of the interview, no one, not even the Ramseys, had been told that Burke's red Swiss Army knife had been found near JonBenet's body. In his interview, Burke said the killer "took a knife out." Where did he get that idea?

Originally posted by Tricia
Sorry to start a new thread but I can't remember where I read about Spade and asking permission to bring his posts over.

Spade has given me permission to tell you to feel free to copy his posts over to the good Websleuths!

Tricia

Click to expand...

It was me, Tricia, who asked (on the Once Again thread) if we could bring Spade's post over here. Thanks so much for communicating Spade's permission, and also for all your work at FFJ in trying to find the truth about what happened to JonBenet.

Thanks also to Britt for copying Spade's posts from FFJ to here.



Burke's interview is especially chilling. As one who has worked extensively with children his age, I find his answers and reactions (or lack thereof) to be very disturbing, as did the psychologist who interviewed him.

The following paragraph taken from the interview is very telling to someone trained in the use of how body language communicates psychological thought.

Dr. Bernhard felt there needed to be more follow-up with Burke in the discussion of sexual contact. The only show of emotion by Burke, other than the irritation with the questions about the actual crime, was when Dr. Bernhard began to ask about uncomfortable touching. Burke picked up a board game and put it on his head an action indicating anxiety or discomfort with these types of questions and that there was more that he was not telling her. Dr. Bernhard asked Burke if he had any secrets, and he said, “probably, if I did, I wouldn't tell you, because then it wouldn’t be a secret."

Dr. Bernhard is right. By Burke picking up the board game and putting it on his head, he was indicating the need to form a psychological "covering" over himself and what he was thinking. When Dr. Bernhard began to ask Burke about uncomfortable touching, his anxiety or discomfort manifested itself through his use of the board game as a pyschological "shelter" from her questions. In addition, it also symbolized a psychological covering of himself, just as someone might hide under a bush or a blanket if they didn't want to be seen.

Burke did not want to talk with Dr. Bernhard about "uncomfortable touching," and subconsciously used an inanimate object to signal his fear or discomfort of the subject.

Another very telling part of the interview is family drawing made by Burke. Placement of family members in a drawing by a child is widely used in counseling to determine family relationships. Dr. Bernhard is correct that Burke placing John away from the other family members indicates emotional distance and detachment. The fact that JonBenet was not placed in Burke's drawing only TWO WEEKS after her death is very suspect and unusual. As Dr. Bernhard says, most children include deceased family members and pets in their drawings for months, even years after their deaths because of emotional attachment.




My opinion.

Originally posted by candy
who Mike Kane said wasn't even a suspect in this case

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I think Mike Kane got all his case information from the BPD who weren't smart enough, and didn't have enough insight to figure out that Burke is probably the most valid suspect of the 3 family members.

Kane is a victim of "garbage in - garbage out".

Mike Kane personally reviewed the entire case file. He knows it backwards and forwards. He knows exactly what he is talking about.

Steve Thomas has also said Burke was not a suspect. Darnay was given interviews with Burke by the police and other material on Burke by the Ramseys (not cut up like Spade has) and has said the same thing.

Yes Burke has been cleared. He was cleared by an affidavit by the DA's office in 2000. That affidavit was entered into evidence in every Burke case and they all settled with the Ramseys.

What the other forum head put out of the Atlanta 2000 interviews is the official transcript, much better than Spade's thing, which he has given several accounts for, which has numerous errors, calling the person who ran the Ramseys web site "Holly" not "Ollie", as anyone who made a transcript who knew the case would know.

Notice how quickly The Globe settled after the Ramseys put in the affidavit by Alex Hunter clearing Burke. It was the last thing that happened before the settlement:

10/19/00 11 Notice of filing the Affidavit of Alexander M. Hunter by
plaintiffs. (kt) [Entry date 10/20/00]

1/31/01 12 Consent MOTION for protective order with brief in support,
request for approval of confidential settlement ***FILED
UNDER SEAL*** and proposed order approving confidential
settlement ***FILED UNDER SEAL*** and final order approving
settlement ***FILED UNDER SEAL***. (to WBH) (kt)
[Entry date 02/01/01] [Edit date 02/01/01]

1/31/01 13 CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER ENTERED. ***FILED UNDER SEAL*** (kt)
[Entry date 02/01/01] [Edit date 02/01/01]

1/31/01 14 Stipulation DISMISSING [1-1] complaint with prejudice, by
plaintiffs, with each party to bear its own costs approved
by Judge Willis B. Hunt Jr. (kt) [Entry date 02/01/01]

1/31/01 -- Case terminated. (kt) [Entry date 02/01/01]

If anyone is wondering about missing posts, they were deleted because they contained language that appeared to be an implicit threat designed to discourage the posting of certain material on this forum. Don't do that!

It's fine to say you don't think certain things should be posted or discussed. It is not okay to threaten, even if indirectly.

Hi Toth,

You asked a good question "Why are so many of the facts wrong? "

They do not care about the facts at all.