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(Daily Camera News Archive)
Whites call book pack of lies
Former Ramsey "suspect" says factual corrections never made
By Matt Sebastian
Camera Staff Writer
A pair of key witnesses and a onetime suspect in the JonBen�t Ramsey murder investigation are openly criticizing a new book on the 2-year-old slaying, saying the work is peppered with inaccuracies.
Fleet and Priscilla White, in a rare public statement, delivered a letter to the Daily Camera on Thursday, calling author Lawrence Schiller's book "a disorderly amalgam of police evidence, facts, lies and gossip."
"Not surprisingly, very little in the book regarding our family and our role in the investigation is true," wrote the Whites, who say they repeatedly refused interview requests from Schiller.
The Boulder oilman and his wife, who were in the Ramseys' Boulder home the day JonBen�t's body was found, also declined to be interviewed for this story. Their letter appears in today's Open Forum.
Jeff Merrick, reportedly labeled a possible suspect by his former employer John Ramsey, also refused to be interviewed for "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBen�t and the City of Boulder," which hit bookstores last week.
"Unfortunately it wasn't accurate at all," Merrick said of Schiller's account of his role in the Ramsey case.
Although he didn't consent to an interview with the author, Merrick said he was asked to verify passages about himself.
"I corrected it � all of it � and they didn't use any of my corrections," Merrick said, pointing out one 12-sentence section he says contains 17 factual errors.
Schiller's book, Merrick said Thursday, "makes me sound like I was more of a suspect than I ever was."
"I think Larry Schiller had a little story he wanted to tell, and he juiced it up a bit," Merrick said.
Boulder County Commissioner Paul Danish and Pam Griffin, JonBen�t's dressmaker, also have claimed Schiller inaccurately used a small portion of the information they provided the author.
Schiller couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, although he did discuss inaccuracies during a brief interview with the Camera on Tuesday.
"There's been kind of a positive response from both sides of the fence," Schiller said.
The "biggest error," according to Schiller, came in a passage about a check Patsy Ramsey supposedly wrote to housekeeper Linda Hoffmann-Pugh before the killing. JonBen�t's mother didn't write the check, Schiller now says, but intended to.
"The book represents the spirit of what went on," Schiller said.
Six-year-old JonBen�t Ramsey's beaten and strangled body was found in the basement of the family's Boulder home Dec. 26, 1996, about eight hours after the discovery of the ransom note.
Although they maintain their innocence, John and Patsy Ramsey remain under suspicion in their daughter's death. Boulder County's grand jury is currently hearing evidence in the unsolved slaying.
Schiller will host a public forum to discuss his book at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Boulder Public Library. The author will be joined by his researcher/interviewer, Denver Rocky Mountain News reporter Charlie Brennan, and two television commentators.
February 26, 1999
Whites call book pack of lies
Former Ramsey "suspect" says factual corrections never made
By Matt Sebastian
Camera Staff Writer
A pair of key witnesses and a onetime suspect in the JonBen�t Ramsey murder investigation are openly criticizing a new book on the 2-year-old slaying, saying the work is peppered with inaccuracies.
Fleet and Priscilla White, in a rare public statement, delivered a letter to the Daily Camera on Thursday, calling author Lawrence Schiller's book "a disorderly amalgam of police evidence, facts, lies and gossip."
"Not surprisingly, very little in the book regarding our family and our role in the investigation is true," wrote the Whites, who say they repeatedly refused interview requests from Schiller.
The Boulder oilman and his wife, who were in the Ramseys' Boulder home the day JonBen�t's body was found, also declined to be interviewed for this story. Their letter appears in today's Open Forum.
Jeff Merrick, reportedly labeled a possible suspect by his former employer John Ramsey, also refused to be interviewed for "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBen�t and the City of Boulder," which hit bookstores last week.
"Unfortunately it wasn't accurate at all," Merrick said of Schiller's account of his role in the Ramsey case.
Although he didn't consent to an interview with the author, Merrick said he was asked to verify passages about himself.
"I corrected it � all of it � and they didn't use any of my corrections," Merrick said, pointing out one 12-sentence section he says contains 17 factual errors.
Schiller's book, Merrick said Thursday, "makes me sound like I was more of a suspect than I ever was."
"I think Larry Schiller had a little story he wanted to tell, and he juiced it up a bit," Merrick said.
Boulder County Commissioner Paul Danish and Pam Griffin, JonBen�t's dressmaker, also have claimed Schiller inaccurately used a small portion of the information they provided the author.
Schiller couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, although he did discuss inaccuracies during a brief interview with the Camera on Tuesday.
"There's been kind of a positive response from both sides of the fence," Schiller said.
The "biggest error," according to Schiller, came in a passage about a check Patsy Ramsey supposedly wrote to housekeeper Linda Hoffmann-Pugh before the killing. JonBen�t's mother didn't write the check, Schiller now says, but intended to.
"The book represents the spirit of what went on," Schiller said.
Six-year-old JonBen�t Ramsey's beaten and strangled body was found in the basement of the family's Boulder home Dec. 26, 1996, about eight hours after the discovery of the ransom note.
Although they maintain their innocence, John and Patsy Ramsey remain under suspicion in their daughter's death. Boulder County's grand jury is currently hearing evidence in the unsolved slaying.
Schiller will host a public forum to discuss his book at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Boulder Public Library. The author will be joined by his researcher/interviewer, Denver Rocky Mountain News reporter Charlie Brennan, and two television commentators.
February 26, 1999
