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 Burkes 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 Ramseys 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 Patsys 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 couldnt 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