Burke did NOT kill JonBenet

[Swirlz]

BDI is appealing as it does line up well with available evidence and timeline.

I disagree. Please explain further.

Although, his refusal to identify the pineapple in the photo for the psychologist is curious. No doubt, the parents and their lawyers coached him, as they did for his GJ appearance.

He said he thought it looked like fruit. He paused and leaned in to get a better look at the pic and kind of fidgeted. The footage was made available to the public by CBS and is played with creepy background noises in an attempt to make Burke's responses seem sinister. There's another portion of interview where he calmly and in a straightforward manner answers a series of detailed questions about whether or not he and JBR liked and were ever fed pineapple. He readlily responds in the affirmative.

How do you know he was coached for either the interview with Schuller or the GJ appearance? I'm not saying he definitely wasn't but what source or evidence is there for that there was "no doubt"? Is this just an assumption?

BR's interview with Dr. Bernhard was mandated by the state. He told Dr. B that he knew what happened, i.e. someone had a knife and led his sister downstairs and whacked her over the head. The Swiss Army knife was found in the basement. Kolar's speculation about the train track pokes is clever, but dubious. Would BR have known of the size 12s? He could have made the mistake of using the wrong size but the right weekday. So could John.

The Bernhard interview had been recommended by the Child Fatality Review Team. Kolar speculated the R's allowed it for fear of Burke being removed from them were they to refuse. Steve Thomas believed Patsy went along with it to allow herself and her lawyer to be alone in the waiting room with Linda Arndt, who was very sympathetic to Patsy.

According to the maid, only Patsy knew the location of the Swiss army knife. The maid had hidden it from Burke because she couldn't take him whittling in the house.

Are you suggesting it was Burke who redressed JBR and replaced her underpants? Why would Burke have done that?

Thomas's PDI concerning bed wetting also does not explain the sustained savagery, and the layers of (re)staging. Patsy's illness provided the context for the events. In a way, it was the catalyst. Christmas was the grotesque climax.

I'm not necessarily sold on Steve Thomas' theory but the idea that Patsy inflicted the head-blow in a moment of rage does fit a fair amount of the evidence. JBR had a history of toileting and in particular, specifically soiling accidents, that no family member seems to want to talk about. Her toilet contained unflushed waste, a pair of her soiled pants were found inside-out on her bathroom floor and a diaper package was pulled partway off of a shelf too high up for JBR to be able to reach. JBR's room is otherwise neat but a trophy has been knocked off of a high shelf. First responders claim her bedroom stank of urine.

So if in a moment of rage, one adult had inflicted the blow to the head, another adult, not wanting to go down for a separate and equally serious type of abuse could conceivably have had a motive for participating in a complex coverup.

Why did the parents & BR lie about his AM whereabouts? They did not ask him if he knew anything because he was sleeping?!! The Rs did not want BR in the house when the body was discovered. "What did you find?"

Why would JR/PR want to involve Burke in any way shape or form in this? Whether or not he did it (the evidence suggests he didn't), they're going to want to keep him out of it. And of course they're not going to want their surviving child to be in the house when the body is recovered. They're not going to want him to view his sister's corpse.

 

[Kakidoll]

I think i'm firmly in the 'COMBO' RDI. I think it started with B. and was covered up/finished/cleaned up by the other 2. Patsy wouldn't lose another child, no matter what B did. The Dr. Phil show firmly solidified that B knew/did more than was said. He was sent out of the house, he lied, most likely at his parents directions, and the neighbors knew there were lies going on. He was heard in the background on the 911 call. WAY too many inconsistencies from the start. Even the GJ had it part right, they just couldn't quite move forward because of age etc.

I'm not sure if there was more SA from other members (JR/ JR jr/ others) but I won't rule it out. The only thing i will rule out is that it was an UNKNOWN intruder. And i think AFTER JR is gone, more will come out. Possibly. I did think after Patsy died we'd find out more, but there is nothing to be gained at this point. Burke is out of the public eye, lives a quiet almost secluded life, and the initial police have long covered up their incompetence. Again, nothing to be gained unless SOMEONE wants to make money off of a book/movie with PROOF. JMO.

 

[Swirlz]

I think it started with B.

What do you make of JBR's toilet containing unflushed waste, her soiled pants being inside-out on her bathroom floor, the top Patsy claimed to have put her to bed in being on top of JBR's bathroom sink, the room stinking of urine and JBR's urine-stained, Beauty and the Beast sheet being in the dryer?

The Dr. Phil show firmly solidified that B knew/did more than was said.

Burke knew more than was said. He didn't DO more than was said. No one said he did anything.

He was sent out of the house, he lied, most likely at his parents directions, and the neighbors knew there were lies going on. He was heard in the background on the 911 call. WAY too many inconsistencies from the start. Even the GJ had it part right, they just couldn't quite move forward because of age etc.

He WAS sent out of the house. How do we know he lied? What did he lie about? How do we know the neighbors knew there were lies going on? People who say they can hear Burke in the background on the 911 call also claim to be able to hear John. Why does this particular detail cause Burke to seem more suspicious than John? John said he, himself, wasn't present during the 911 call. What evidence is there to suggest the grand jury couldn't quite move forward because of Burke's age? One of the grand jurors who was interviewed said they didn't know who did it.

 

[Kakidoll]

What do you make of JBR's toilet containing unflushed waste, her soiled pants being inside-out on her bathroom floor, the top Patsy claimed to have put her to bed in being on top of JBR's bathroom sink, the room stinking of urine and JBR's urine-stained, Beauty and the Beast sheet being in the dryer?

I think there was 'cleanup' going on. I believe that JBR was awake when she got home, not carried up to bed as was stated at one point, OR she got up after and went back downstairs. Maybe she took the underwear off.... nothing really seems to add up to me. I think her room probably always smelled of urine etc. It was an ongoing issue.

Burke knew more than was said. He didn't DO more than was said. No one said he did anything.

No one would say he did anything, IMO. I believe they would protect him either way.

He WAS sent out of the house. How do we know he lied? What did he lie about? How do we know the neighbors knew there were lies going on? People who say they can hear Burke in the background on the 911 call also claim to be able to hear John. Why does this particular detail cause Burke to seem more suspicious than John? John said he, himself, wasn't present during the 911 call. What evidence is there to suggest the grand jury couldn't quite move forward because of Burke's age? One of the grand jurors who was interviewed said they didn't know who did it.

The multiple statements from neighbors, the bike issue, how he ended up there. Oh, i don't think it makes Burke more suspicious than John, i think all 3 know parts of what happened. Who actually killed her, i'm not sure. I think SOMETHING happened and he hurt her, possibly badly. Do i think it was 'intentional', No. But i think Burke had anger issues. It wouldn't have been the first time he hit her. I'd have to go back thru everything about the GJ but i thought he was below the age that they could bring certain charges. I think the family was in total protection mode by then. And I agree, i don't think they KNEW who actually killed her. I do believe she was moved, i believe it was staged, and i think Patsy and John know who did that. I do NOT necessarily believe Burke murdered her. I think something got out of hand, she possibly fell, hit her head, or one of them took something too far and covered for others. I have no solid 100% theory on HOW it went down. But i don't believe Burke was asleep upstairs, didn't know how the Pineapple was out, or wasn't downstairs playing with presents etc. I do think for years AFTER he was probably told/convinced or whatever to believe something of his parents choosing. I'm open to other theories though, but NOT an unknown intruder. That would be my hard line in the sand.

 

[CloudedTruth]

BR's interview with Dr. Bernhard was mandated by the state. He told Dr. B that he knew what happened, i.e. someone had a knife and led his sister downstairs and whacked her over the head. The Swiss Army knife was found in the basement. Kolar's speculation about the train track pokes is clever, but dubious. Would BR have known of the size 12s? He could have made the mistake of using the wrong size but the right weekday. So could John.

A correction on the Swiss Army knife.......the story that it was found in the basement is actually not true. Police were the ones who started that story, allowed it to be spread without correcting it and even mislead LHP to believe that it was Burke's SA knife by showing her a generic picture of a SA knife. The knife that was actually found by an officer was found on a counter in the basement near a sink. It was a small knife with a red handle that had a little purple ornament that had broken off. It was described as a pocket knife because of its small size, however it did not fold up like a SA knife. This is the knife that appears in the evidence inventory log, there is no mention of a Swiss Army knife.

LHP had told police that she had hidden one of Burke's SA knives because of his whittling and leaving shards all over the house. Only she and PR knew where that knife was hidden. His other SA knife was somewhere in his bedroom. The little knife with the red handle that was found was never sourced to Burke. When the house was packed up for the move to Atlanta, both of Burke's Swiss Army knives were found....one where LHP had hidden it and the other in Burke's bedroom where he said it was. They were packed up and both arrived in Atlanta.

Why did the parents & BR lie about his AM whereabouts? They did not ask him if he knew anything because he was sleeping?!! The Rs did not want BR in the house when the body was discovered. "What did you find?"

Good question. I think Burke must've heard or seen something......he has admitted he was downstairs after he thought everyone else was in bed. Det. Patterson who interviewed him that day at the White's house said he did not think that Burke knew anything about what had happened. Burke's demeanor though is unusual. He was more concerned with eating his sandwich and talking about Charlevoix. I'm sure that he was told not to say anything.....perhaps JR and PR didn't really want to know what he may have heard or seen.....denial?

 

[Swirlz]

Burke's demeanor though is unusual. He was more concerned with eating his sandwich and talking about Charlevoix. I'm sure that he was told not to say anything.....perhaps JR and PR didn't really want to know what he may have heard or seen.....denial?

Presumably an adult brought Burke a sandwich. Only one page of his interview with Patterson has been made public but he isn't talking about Charlevoix -- he's answering a series of fairly detailed questions about what he and JBR did that night.

 

[Swirlz]

But i think Burke had anger issues. It wouldn't have been the first time he hit her.

Just wanted to address this -- Burke did strike JBR with a golf club. He was 7 at the time and she sustained a slight facial injury. This was two years prior to the homicide. A former friend of the family who wasn't present claimed in a television interview (2016) that according to what Patsy told her, Burke did this on purpose. If she told that story to the police, they didn't believe her because the lead investigator presented the incident as an accident in his 2000 account of the case. The clip was to her cheek which would fit with the story told about her having walked into Burke's backswing.

 

[proust20]

If the parents wanted not to involve Burke, & just keep him out of it, the implication is that they knew that the corpse was in the house. If the Rs truly thought that the FF had already kidnapped one child from them, it'd seem reasonable to keep the other one close. They were being 'monitored'.

IMO it is not out of the question that BR redressed JonBenet in the size 12s. The too clever by half error of choosing the correct weekday but wrong size is something which a boy (or adult male) would do. After all, someone did. Patsy seems unlikely. She objected to the wrong size spoon! Intruder(s) eliminated. So, that leaves BR & Dad. Take your pick. (Dad?) The reason for this redressing is linked to the disappearance of the size 6 Wednesday Bloomis.

John lawyered up the family at once. Big bucks for lotsa advice. Burke had a GJ appearance in his future. It is logical that he received counsel. John expected his money's worth. As the GJ did return indictments against PR & JR, something(s) had to have been disclosed.

A parent struck JB out of rage? - the bedwetting trigger a la Thomas? The ligature fashioned with Mom's brush was applied 40 minutes or so later. This manner of asphyxiation is an exceedingly bizarre choice after having had time to consider the next step. Since JB had the pineapple around midnight, then at least one parent was not in bed as they avowed. A constant question is where in the house JB was struck. The pineapple locates both kids in the kitchen. Eventually, Burke said that he did go downstairs. OK. When? His activities seem needlessly muddled. BR vaguely identified the bowl's contents. Umm.. It was his bowl. Apparently, the events leading up to his sister's murder did not leave a clear impression upon him. When he drew a picture of his family, Burke omitted JB. Out of sight, out of mind.

Anyway, I am not BDI. A weak motive for such sustained brutality. I do not view him as the chronic abuser, who had the best motive and was practiced in cruelty. With the JB murder, there are so many threads that the few suspects inevitably become entangled, including Burke. There is no need for me make a case in which I do not actually believe.

 

[CloudedTruth]

Presumably an adult brought Burke a sandwich. Only one page of his interview with Patterson has been made public but he isn't talking about Charlevoix -- he's answering a series of fairly detailed questions about what he and JBR did that night.

From Foreign Faction regarding the interview with Det. Patterson, conducted on the afternoon of 12/26 at the White's house:

"A red flag fluttered when I noted that Burke concluded the interview, not with a question about the welfare of his missing sister, but with a comment about his excitement about going to Charlevoix. The anticipation of being able to build a fire at the family's second home apparently held some appeal to him".

 

[Swirlz]

"He appeared to be very forward and he appeared to be completely honest. I got no indication he was holding back anything. He didn’t witness anything. I found nothing that would indicate he even knew that she was dead." - Det. Patterson

 

[CloudedTruth]

"He appeared to be very forward and he appeared to be completely honest. I got no indication he was holding back anything. He didn’t witness anything. I found nothing that would indicate he even knew that she was dead." - Det. Patterson

Yes, I recall this assessment.....

I do think it's worth mentioning that during this interview, BR displayed a lot of confusion of days and dates and what they did and when. And we're not talking weeks later, he was being asked about the previous day and night. His mind was seemingly not well focused on details he was being asked about.

To be clear, I do not believe that BR was involved in what happened. That said, I do think it's possible that he knows more than he has said. My comments about BR's demeanor are not to imply guilt on his part, just that one would not be incorrect in describing it as somewhat odd. What that actually means IMO reflects more on how his parents were raising both he and JB.....in a dysfunctional home that was chaotic and that created the atmosphere that allowed for a horrific crime to take place.