FORMER BOULDER POLICE CHIEF MARK BECKNER – PORTION OF REDDIT INTERVIEW AND ANALYSIS
On February 21, 2015, former Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner, the longest-serving commanding officer in the investigation, participated in an online interview on the website Reddit.com. His interview took place in an “Ask Me Almost Anything” session for a Reddit forum devoted to “Unresolved Mysteries.”

Taking part in this interview session was an unusual act for Beckner, who had avoided interviews during his tenure overseeing the Ramsey case. Afterward, he told the Daily Camera, “My impression was that this was a members-only type group ... It was a misunderstanding and naivete on my part,” that his Reddit interview would be published online and unrestricted.

The results of his Reddit interview were that he was criticized sharply for lack of knowledge on the case. He subsequently retracted DNA comments in a newspaper interview, then deleted all of his online interview. Mark Beckner was the longest-serving Boulder law enforcement command officer involved in the Ramsey murder investigation. He began working the case three weeks after the murder by interviewing his officers about reports they had filed, was commander on the case from October 1997 to June 1998, and was police chief from June 1998 to April 2014, when he retired.

Below are Beckner’s comments on Reddit related to the investigation of the murder of JonBenét Ramsey and contrasts what he said earlier in case files.
Within days of his Reddit online appearance, Beckner retracted the statements from his online interview that referred to the DNA found on JonBenét’s clothing. He did so during an interview with the Daily Camera in Boulder.

On Reddit, Beckner had answered a request for “possible explanations” related to where the DNA found on JonBenét’s clothing could have come from by listing possibilities such as “manufacturing,” “intentional placement,” and “interactions with other people” as well as “belongs to an intruder.”

Three days later, in a statement to the Daily Camera, Beckner disagreed with his own statements on Reddit and said the DNA found on JonBenét’s clothing was the “key to solving the case.”

“I tried to be honest and fair,” Beckner told the newspaper, “I think the only thing I would emphasize is that the unknown DNA (from JonBenét’s clothing) is very important. And I’m not involved anymore, but that has got to be the focus of the investigation. In my opinion, at this point, that’s your suspect... The suspect is the donator of that unknown DNA, and until you can prove otherwise, I think that’s the way you’ve got to look at it.”

By February 24, 2015, the publication date of the Daily Camera article “Mark Beckner Opens Up about JonBenét Ramsey Case, Then Regrets It”, Beckner had deleted all of his answers from the Reddit website.

Created in 2005, Reddit is a social networking and news website through which registered community members can submit content such as text posts with direct links, making it essentially an online bulletin board system. Anyone can read what is posted. Typically, Reddit has more than 200 million unique visitors per month. It was ranked 28th in a list of the world’s most-visited websites and ninth by Alexa, a web traffic analytics site as of 2016. In 2015, Reddit was featured in a Wall Street Journal article about its successes.

The only portions of the Beckner/Reddit interview used in this analysis are those that contain substantial differences between the former police chief’s stated opinions and the information about the facts of the case provided by Boulder Police Department reports and other reliable documentation such as court records. Reddit participant questions and Beckner’s answers have been shortened or paraphrased as needed for brevity and clarity. Reddit participant names are not used.

His comments illustrate the lack of knowledge and mindset of one of the key leaders and longest-serving police chiefs during the Boulder Police Department investigation into the Ramsey homicide case.

Beckner’s second statement to the Daily Camera newspaper that the DNA found on JonBenét’s clothing “has got to be the focus of the investigation” represented the first public move away from the Ramseys as suspects by anyone involved in the Boulder Police Department’s investigation of their daughter’s murder.

INTRODUCTION

This was posted by Beckner on Reddit about his background:I am former Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner. I worked in law enforcement for 36 years and headed the investigation into the JonBenét Ramsey murder. Past experience includes the following: Training Officer and Instructor, Investigator, Supervision, Liquor Code Enforcement, Hostage Negotiator, Traffic Investigation, Crime Scene Investigation, Professional Standards Investigator, Patrol Commander, SWAT Commander, Detective Commander, Personnel Management, College Instructor, Ethics Instructor, Criminal Justice Instructor.

While the former chief has lengthy experience, he did not list any homicide investigation experience in this summary of his career. Prior to being appointed head of the Boulder Police Department detective unit investigating the Ramsey murder in October 1997, Beckner had never run a homicide unit nor investigated a homicide case, which would have been critically important in understanding the Ramsey murder.

In sworn testimony for his video-taped deposition on November 26, 2001 for the civil lawsuit Wolf v. Ramsey, Beckner confirmed his lack of homicide investigative experience:

Ramsey Lawyer: Let me go back and make sure I’ve got, I believe I have this correctly. Prior to October of 1997, when you were placed in charge of the JonBenét Ramsey investigation, your experience in homicide investigation would have consisted of assisting in a couple of homicide investigations back in 1981 to 1983 where you did some interviews, the other you’re not really familiar with in terms of recollection and then in one case sometime in the 1994 to ’97 time frame where you were the acting chief and therefore oversaw for a two-day time period the investigation into the homicide where the individual was shot in the chest when he opened the door?

Beckner: Correct.

Ramsey Lawyer: Have I now covered all of your homicide experience as a police officer prior to October of 1997?

Beckner: To the best of my recollection. (Deposition Pages 18- 19.)Ramsey

Lawyer: And I don’t mean this disrespectfully, but I guess you would agree with me that you weren’t brought in to be in charge of the Ramsey investigation in October of ’97 because of your experience in dealing with homicides?

Beckner: No.Ramsey Lawyer: You would agree with me, wouldn’t you? Beckner: I would agree with you. (Deposition Page 20.)

In November of 2011, retired New York Police Department Lieutenant-Commander and author Vernon Geberth wrote:
“The supervisor of homicide should ideally have a homicide or investigative background as experience is a prime asset to appreciate and understand the dynamics of the investigative function. This does not mean a supervisor who lacks a homicide or investigative background cannot effectively supervise investigations. However, it does suggest there is a need for learning the investigative processes involved. Even for the experienced supervisor, managing investigations is an ongoing educational process."

There was tremendous controversy in the media and among a few investigators over Beckner’s lack of homicide experience when he was appointed to head up the investigation as the commander.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
In this section of the Reddit comments, Beckner answered specific questions related to the Ramsey homicide investigation posted by Reddit participants. Following are a number of these questions followed by Beckner’s full or excerpted answers and my analysis in response to those answers.

911 CALL

This question referred to rumors that words could be heard at the end of the tape of the 911 call phoned in by Patsy Ramsey early in the morning on December 26, 1996, hours before her daughter’s body was found. According to such rumors, the voices of John and Patsy Ramsey were heard on the tape in addition to the voice of Burke.

Reddit Participant: It has been reported the dialogue at the end of the 911 tape was: Male: “We’re not speaking to you!” Female: “Help me, Jesus. Help me, Jesus.” Young Male: “Well, what did you find?” Do you believe this is valid, that those words were actually spoken?

Beckner: The words are difficult to hear and some claim they cannot hear them. After listening to the tape many times, I can tell you that I can hear what sounds like voices saying those words.

In July 2003, the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office released audio copies of Patsy Ramsey’s 911 call from December 26, 1996, and the tape aired publicly for the first time on the NBC network. NBC had experts analyze the tape to test the rumor that the Ramsey’s son, Burke, could be heard in the background after Patsy Ramsey thought she had hung up the phone. NBC experts said no other voices could be heard on an enhanced version of the tape.

The confidential, mandatory Boulder County Department of Social Services interview with Burke Ramsey conducted in early 1997 revealed no information about his being in the kitchen with his parents when the 911 call was made. The interview, conducted by a psychologist appointed by Boulder Social Services, included questions provided by Boulder Police Department officials. Burke stated during another interview that he’d stayed in bed and pretended to be asleep when his parents came to his room to check on him that morning.

In a confidential group law enforcement meeting in June 1998, Boulder Police Department investigators presented their theory related to the Ramsey homicide. The 911 tape was part of the presentation, but investigators could not get the tape to play.

RANSOM NOTE AND RANSOM AMOUNT

Reddit Participant: Do the police think the murderer sat in the house and wrote a long-winded note on the Ramsey’s notepad before attempting to kidnap [JonBenét]?

Beckner: No, we do not believe someone wrote the note prior to attempting to kidnap JonBenét. Neither the [BPD nor] the FBI believe this was ever a kidnapping. It was a murder that someone tried to stage as a kidnapping.

I have interviewed some Boulder Police Department officers and FBI agents who believe an intruder was the killer and the ransom note was likely written before JonBenét was murdered.

Reddit Participant: Is it true that the amount of ransom wanted was the same amount of John Ramsey’s bonus check that year?

Beckner: As I recall, I believe that is correct.

The ransom note request was for $118,000.00. The amount of John Ramsey’s deferred compensation bonus was $118,117.50. Ramsey investigators told Boulder Police Department officials about this development.

CRIME SCENE

Reddit Participant: Did the original officer to respond report anything strange?

Beckner: Yes, quite a few observations seemed strange to him.

The actual Boulder Police Department report filed by the first officer on the scene, Rick French, have been printed in the "documents" section at the end of my books. It includes sections related to his arrivals and departures at the Ramsey home. The reader can judge whether French reported any “strange” observations.

Reddit Participant: Was urine found anywhere in the victims [sic] room[,] bathroom or on her clothes?

Beckner: Her clothes and bed appeared to be stained.

According to Detective Lou Smit, hired by the Boulder District Attorney’s Office to work on the Ramsey murder case with the approval of the Boulder Police Department, JonBenét’s bedsheets were not stained with urine. Only her clothing was stained. When the bedsheets were tested, they showed fibers remaining from the clothing she was wearing indicating the sheets had not been changed.

One of the early Boulder Police Department theories in the case was that JonBenét wet the bed and one of her parents became enraged and hurt her. It underlines the importance of whether the sheets had urine on them or had been changed. They didn’t have urine on them and had not been changed.

The Ramsey attorneys believed that her clothing was urine-stained because of the violence and trauma of her death.

Reddit Participant: Can you clarify the condition of the snow ground cover the morning the first officer arrived? Was it patchy or solid and were any footprints ever noted by the open window leading away?

Beckner: It was patchy from an older snowfall, but there was frost on the ground from the humidity and temperature that night. No footprints were observed near the window well or on the deck to JonBenét’s bedroom.

Police crime scene photographs from that morning show no snow on the south side of the Ramsey home, where the window well in question, the sidewalks, and JonBenét’s second-floor bedroom balcony were located. In addition, BPD reports stated that the police sergeant who reported on the outside conditions that morning did “not believe there was snow on the sidewalks or on the driveway.”

In October 1997, a BPD detective spoke with what is described as a “weather expert” who said “There was insufficient information to tell what the condition of the ground would have been around the Ramsey residence.”

Reddit Participant: Regarding the intruder theory, can you comment on the point of entry, how an intruder might have gained entry and whether it is plausible?

Beckner: Most investigators do not believe there was a legitimate point of entry. It is unknown how an intruder may have gotten in. [Detective] Lou Smit always believed it was the basement window, but we did not agree with him, as the dust and spider web were undisturbed.

According to Boulder Police Department reports, there were several other ways into the Ramsey home, including unlocked doors, open doors, and unlocked windows. A list of ways into the home quoted verbatim from the JonBenét Ramsey Murder Book Index is provided in the main part of both of my books. The information was compiled directly from BPD reports.

There are also investigators who believe an intruder could have gotten through the broken basement window because there were broken spider web strands hanging down inside the area and debris from the window well on the basement floor of the home.

JOHN RAMSEY

Reddit Participant: Is it true John Ramsey went down into the basement on his own a short time before he was asked to go down with his friend and search it by a police officer?

Beckner: That is according to what he told police.

John Ramsey told BPD investigators on the morning of December 26, 1996, that he had gone to the basement to look for his daughter because he didn’t know what else to do. He then told police that he was concerned because he had found a broken basement window with a suitcase underneath it. Ramsey stated the police did not follow up at that time. This information is reflected in Boulder Police Department reports.

Others searched the basement. Officer Rick French, the first BPD officer on the scene that morning, said he first searched the basement when he arrived sometime after 6 a.m. He did not mention the “broken window and suitcase.” He did write about the door where JonBenét’s body was found:
“In the basement, I attempted to open the door leading to the area where JonBenét was ultimately found, but it was secured by a wooden latch above the door. The door opened inward and I was looking for access out of the house. Since the door could not have been used for that purpose, and it was latched closed, I did not open it.” (Officer Rick French—Date of Report 12-26-1996 Time written: 2317— 11:17 p.m.)

French wrote this part of his report slightly more than ten hours after JonBenét’s body was discovered. Here’s why these statements he wrote about the door are incorrect and misleading:

• The door opened outward only, not inward.

• French could not have known if there was an exit out of the room unless he opened the door and looked into the room to find out where it led. “I did not open it,” he wrote.

Officer French gave even more contradictory and incorrect information about that critically important basement door in a formal debriefing two weeks later on January 10, 1997.

According to the JonBenét Ramsey Murder Book Index, two senior officers reported: “Officer French finds the wine cellar locked.” (BPD Report #5-3853.) (Date of Formal Interview: 1- 10-97.)

“Officer French thinks the wine cellar door is nailed shut.” (BPD Report #5-3854.) (Date of Formal Interview: 1-10-97.)

John’s friend who arrived early that morning also searched the basement. He noticed the broken window and suitcase, says he moved the suitcase and glanced into the storage room where JonBenét’s body was lying. He didn’t see her body, possibly because he was unable to find the light switch and possibly because of the left-hand wall in the storage room that blocked a full view of the room.

Later in the day, the only BPD detective left in the home, Linda Arndt, asked that same friend to take John and search the basement. It was at this time that John Ramsey found his daughter’s body in a basement storage room.

JOHN AND PATSY RAMSEY

Reddit Participant: The Ramseys being so distant towards each other just after their daughter has been kidnapped is very strange. Did you ask the FBI or any other law department is this normal?

Beckner: They rarely interacted and this did not seem normal given the circumstances. Lots of speculation as to why.

Reddit Participant: Can you comment on the emotional state of the parents when they were interviewed? ... Was there anything unusual?

Beckner: There were many things that investigators thought were unusual, including Patsy being upset at the first officer being in uniform and wearing a gun. Officers found that very strange given that her daughter was missing and allegedly kidnapped. The officers also noticed how distant John and Patsy seemed to be toward each other.

Several BPD reports contradict Beckner’s statements that Patsy and John “rarely interacted” and seemed to be “distant” toward each other on the morning of their daughter’s disappearance. Police officers on the scene stated in BPD reports that the Ramseys acted “normally for the circumstances.”

There is much more information in both books about the Ramseys’ emotions and interactions. The concerns raised by the first responding BPD officer showing up at the Ramseys’ front door in uniform after parking a police car in front of their house when the ransom note had instructed that no police should be called, are also addressed.

BURKE RAMSEY

Reddit Participant: What are your thoughts on whether Burke may know more than he has told?

Beckner: I’m not going to speculate on what Burke may or may not know. He was only 9-years-old at the time. However, after a short initial interview that day (before we had many facts), Burke was only interviewed one more time and that was by a social services worker. We of course had many other questions we wanted to ask him as the investigation wore on but were never given an opportunity to interview him again.

Beckner was wrong about the number of times Burke was interviewed related to his sister’s murder and who interviewed him. The importance and relevance of the correct information reflects on the cooperation of the Ramsey family about interviews with their son.

Burke was interviewed four times during four years, and the circumstances of these interviews were different from what Beckner described. Those who interviewed Burke provide insight into the depth and credibility of those interviews by experienced experts:

1. Burke was interviewed the first time by a BPD detective in a tape-recorded session the day his sister’s body was found, on December 26, 1996. Burke was questioned at his friend’s home, where he was taken that morning so he could be away from the confusion at his own home. Neither of his parents was present during that interview nor were they asked permission for Boulder Police to interview their son.

2. Burke’s second interview on January 8, 1997 was scheduled by the Boulder County Department of Social Services. A child psychologist, Dr. Suzanne Bernhard—not a “social services worker” as Beckner stated—was selected by Boulder County Social Services to conduct this interview. The interview was videotaped. Boulder Police Department officials had been allowed to prepare questions and submit them for Dr. Bernhard to ask Burke during the interview. BPD officers were also among those who were allowed to watch the interview through a one- way mirror. The Evaluation of the Child Report prepared by Boulder Social Services following this interview stated: “From the interview, it is clear that Burke was not a witness to JonBenét’s death.”

3. A June 26, 1998 Daily Camera article entitled “Police Question JonBenét’s Brother” stated that Burke was interviewed two weeks earlier in Atlanta by a detective from Broomfield, Colorado, a town 13 miles southeast of Boulder. The detective conducted the interview as a representative of the Boulder District Attorney’s Office. Burke’s Atlanta-based lawyer, who had negotiated the terms of the interview, was present. The interview took a total of six hours and was conducted in multiple parts from June 10 to June 12, 1998.

4. Burke testified before the grand jury that was convened in May 1999 to investigate his sister’s murder. At the time, he answered questions from a number of sources. A Boulder Police Department liaison, Sergeant Tom Wickman, was present during the grand jury proceedings. He worked with the grand jury attorneys and, as a representative of the Boulder Police Department, would have submitted to those attorneys questions for witnesses, including Burke Ramsey. No cross-examination by Burke’s attorney was allowed due to the rules of these grand jury proceedings.

Reddit Participant: Now that Burke is an adult, has anyone asked him to submit to an interview?

Beckner: Yes, we had two detectives fly out to meet with him at his residence to see if he would sit down and talk to us. He refused and later his lawyer told us not to contact him again.

The residence was Burke’s apartment at Purdue University, where he was attending school. According to BPD records, two detectives and a sergeant flew to Burke’s university to try to interview him without calling to ask first. The trip cost $5,000, according to a Colorado Open Records request.

Reddit Participant: Were you surprised at Burke’s unwillingness to submit to an interview a few years ago?

Beckner: No, it was a typical Ramsey response.

This question referred to the arrival of three BPD officers, two detectives, and a sergeant at Burke Ramsey’s Purdue University apartment during finals week in his senior year of college. The police officers arrived unannounced, knocked on his apartment door, and requested an interview.

In a later interview with me, Burke said, “It was finals week. I didn’t have time to do anything but study and take tests. They were very polite and nice, but I don’t see why they flew all the way out there. Why were there three of them? It was a bit of overkill. Why didn’t they call first or just call as opposed to traveling all that way? It wasn’t that professional. If you want to do an interview, contact me. Don’t just show up at my door.” His answer to their request: “No, thanks.”

Reddit Participant: Has BPD ever successfully obtained the medical records for Burke?

Beckner: No.

According to official documentation, the Ramseys signed more than 100 releases for records, including Burke’s medical records. The Ramseys also supplied their son’s medical records to Boulder Social Services, and the Boulder Police Department had access to them. The Boulder County grand jury, and thus the Boulder Police Department, also had Burke’s medical records. BPD was also able to gain access to the Ramsey’s pediatrician’s safe deposit box where he stored both sets of records from each child. So, BPD did have Burke’s medical records.

THE CRIME

Reddit Participant: What do you believe actually happened to JonBenét?Who do you think [was] responsible?

Beckner: We know from the evidence she was hit in the head very hard with an unknown object... The blow knocked her into deep unconsciousness... The strangulation came 45 minutes to two hours after the head strike, based on the swelling on the brain... While the head wound would have eventually killed her, the strangulation actually did kill her. The rest of the scene we believe was staged.

The former chief’s statement that “The strangulation came 45 minutes to two hours after the head strike, based on the swelling on the brain” is false. It’s not what the official autopsy report states.According to the Boulder County Coroner’s report of the autopsy for JonBenét Ramsey, “Cause of death of the six-year-old female is asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma.” Both injuries were the cause of death. The coroner stated in an interview with me that he did not know which happened first, strangulation or the blow to the head, and that is what is reflected in his formal autopsy. There is no mention of swelling in the brain in the autopsy.

There was a hemorrhage inside her head which was an indication to the coroner that she was still alive at the time of the massive blow because there was bleeding in her brain. The Boulder County Coroner’s references to the head wounds sustained by JonBenét Ramsey included “area of hemorrhage” and “a contusion [that] measures 8 inches in length.”Beckner’s statement that “The strangulation actually did kill her,” is only half true. The Boulder County Coroner listed two causes of death in the autopsy: strangulation and head trauma.

Reddit Participant: Did you find any sign of a struggle at all?

Beckner: Other than her injuries, no.

According to the autopsy report, DNA was found underneath JonBenét’s fingernails. This finding could have indicated that she had been involved in a struggle. There were also scratch marks on her neck that could have indicated that she struggled to loosen the garrote that was being used to strangle her.

Reddit Participant: Is there an earliest and latest time you can confirm as the time of death?

Beckner: We believe it was around 1:00 a.m.

The Boulder County Coroner did not list a time of death for JonBenét Ramsey in his autopsy. The coroner is the person responsible for all aspects of analyzing her death including the time she died. Beckner does not state any source for that time.

The following question referred to the fact that JonBenét was dressed when her body was found by her father.

Reddit Participant: Does this mean the killer sexually molested her... and then dressed her back in her underwear and leggings?

Beckner: Yes.

It is not possible for Beckner to know or conclude that the killer removed JonBenét’s clothing to assault her and then put her clothes back on her. Whoever pulled her leggings and panties down could have simply pulled them down, but not off, and then pulled them up when he was finished.

This statement followed the above question about the killer possibly replacing JonBenét’s clothing after sexually assaulting her.

Reddit Participant: I guess there wasn’t a time problem for the killer.

Beckner: The killer also took the time to find a pad and sharpie [sic] pen, write a 2 1/2 page ransom note, fashion a garrote and choke her with it, then wrap her in a blanket with one of her favorite nightgowns and place her in a storage room.

Here are alternate theories:

1. The killer was in the Ramsey home some time or perhaps several times prior to Christmas Day, took the pad and a Sharpie with him, and composed the ransom note before he went back to the Ramsey home on Christmas with the other articles used in the murder, such as the rope and the duct tape. The Ramseys had several notepads and pens, so they may not have missed either. They were also careless about security.

2. The killer went into the home when the Ramseys were at Christmas dinner at their friends’ home and rewrote the note from his own copy, using paper and a pen from the Ramsey home in the hours he spent waiting for the family to return.

HISTORY OF SEXUAL ABUSE

Reddit Participant: Do you believe there was evidence of chronic sexual abuse with regard to JonBenét?

Beckner: Based on evidence of prior damage to her vagina and hymen, experts told us there was evidence of prior abuse. No way to really know if it was chronic.

Reddit Participant: [I have heard] the autopsy report... found evidence of sexual abuse prior to the night JonBenét was murdered... [that] there were injuries which had actually healed previously, indicating there was sexual abuse... prior to the crime. Is there any truth to this?

Beckner: Yes, there was evidence that would indicate prior sexual abuse.

Both of these answers from Beckner are untrue. No physician who examined JonBenét’s body or consulted with the Boulder County Coroner said she had been sexually violated other than during the period of time when she was killed.The coroner who conducted the autopsy wrote about her genitalia;

“The upper portions of the vaginal vault contain no abnormalities. The prepubescent uterus measures 3 x 1 x 0.8 cm and is unremarkable. The cervical os contains no abnormalities. Both fallopian tubes and ovaries are prepubescent and unremarkable by gross examination.”

The coroner, a forensic pathologist, was specifically trained in examining bodies in suspicious circumstances. The day of the autopsy, he called a medical specialist from Children’s Hospital in Denver to help examine JonBenét’s body. Both agreed that there had been penetration but no rape, and there was no evidence of prior violation. The Director of the Kempe Child Abuse Center in Denver, who was also consulted by the Boulder County Coroner, also stated publicly there was no evidence of prior sexual abuse of JonBenét Ramsey. By Colorado law, JonBenét’s primary pediatrician would have been prosecuted and lost his medical license if he had suspected any kind of sexual abuse during his time as her doctor and not reported it. According to him, no evidence of prior sexual assault had ever existed. He had examined JonBenét during Child Wellness examinations that included inspections of the genitalia. Four medical experts, including the Boulder County Coroner who performed the autopsy, all agreed there was no prior sexual assault.

In February of 1997 during two consecutive weeks, there were two damaging leaks to the press indicating “incest” was what was being investigated. “Prior sexual abuse” would have to be accurate for these rumors to be true: First, there was a story about the Boulder Police Department checking into the death of John’s oldest daughter in a car accident in 1992. The police were focused on whether friends of daughter, Beth, had ever talked of any sexual problems with her father. They found nothing.

The second story, one week after the first, is when Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter confirmed he was interviewing a former Miss America from Colorado, Marilyn VanDerbur Atler. She had gone public years before that she was a victim of incest allegedly by her father. The message for all who read it was that John Ramsey was being investigated for incest—sexually abusing his daughter JonBenét. There was “no prior sexual abuse” according to the three experts who consulted with the Boulder County Coroner, so there was no incest. It was an incredibly irresponsible and inaccurate rumor about John Ramsey.

DNA TESTING

These questions referred to new DNA testing that led then Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy to exonerate the Ramseys in 2008. It also referred to a book by Jim Kolar, who worked on the Ramsey murder investigation for one year in the Boulder District Attorney’s Office.

Reddit Participant: Can you comment on the usefulness of the new DNA testing that apparently exonerated the parents? I read Foreign Faction by James Kolar, and he asserts that the DNA in no way exonerates them... I’d be very interested to see a rebuttal, if there is one.”

Beckner: Sorry, I can’t provide the rebuttal, as I agree with Jim Kolar. Exonerating anyone based on a small piece of evidence that has not yet been proven to even be connected to the crime is absurd in my opinion.

Reddit participant: What would be some examples of reasonable explanations for where the DNA could come from?

Beckner: Manufacturing process is one. Interactions with other people is another. Intentional placement is another. Belongs to an intruder is another. Yes, you can often tell where DNA comes from. In this case, it is small enough that it is difficult to tell. CBI thought it was either sweat or saliva.

These answers about DNA are what Beckner retracted in the Daily Camera three days after his online interview session. Referring to the DNA findings, he told the Daily Camera about new DNA information, “In my opinion, at this point, that’s your suspect.” Then, Beckner deleted his entire online interview including questions and answers.

The “small piece of evidence” that Beckner referred to in his Reddit answer was actually five different DNA samples taken from JonBenét’s clothing and body, and three were substantial enough to be included in the FBI CODIS DNA databank. Those samples were also substantial enough to determine that they were all from the same unknown male, and not from any member of the Ramsey family.

In 1997, two different organizations (the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Cellmark Diagnostics in Maryland) tested DNA that was found in three places on JonBenét: mixed with blood in her panties, under fingernails on her left hand, and under fingernails on her right hand. The three samples tested had indicators that they matched one another, and all the samples were from the same unknown male.

In 2008, a new and advanced DNA test (touch DNA) was used on JonBenét’s clothing and two new areas of DNA were found, one on each side of the waistband of her long johns. The waistband was a previously untested area. Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy hired the Bode Technology Group in Virginia, which used the new, advanced DNA technique.Bode concluded that the newly discovered 2008 DNA matched the 1997 DNA profile from JonBenét’s panties and fingernails. This DNA matched no one in the Ramsey family; not John, not Patsy, not their children, nor immediate relatives.

In June 2008, Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy wrote a public letter of apology to John Ramsey and his family, clearing them of any involvement in JonBenét’s murder because of the newly uncovered DNA evidence. Although she had already died of brain cancer in 2006, Patsy was included in the exoneration.

WHO DID IT

Reddit Participant: If this case could be solved with your gut instinct as evidence, how would it be solved?

Beckner: Through a confession.

Beckner told the Daily Camera three days after his original Reddit interview, as part of his retraction of the DNA portion of that interview, the suspect would be found through a DNA match, not a confession.

NEW INFORMATION

Reddit Participant: Is there any information not publicly available that, in your estimation, would be considered “huge” to followers of the case?

Beckner: There is some information that is not yet public, but nothing that would be considered huge or definitive.

For the first time, the reports of the Boulder Police Department officers and detectives who arrived on the scene first that day are published in my book, We Have Your Daughter. They are also republished in my second book, Unsolved. Whether there is any information in these reports that is “huge” is up to the reader.

Information is also provided in my first book related to the personal perspectives of the Ramsey attorneys, and the fact that those attorneys did not charge John Ramsey any fees after the autumn of 1997 because they felt the Ramseys were innocent and being railroaded.

My first book also contains excerpts from John Ramsey’s journal that were written over eleven months beginning in January 1997, as well as excerpts from personal and sometimes emotional interviews conducted through the years with John and Patsy Ramsey.

Unsolved contains interviews from John Ramsey, his wife, Jan, and his son, John Andrew. There is a small portion that contains comments from Patsy before her death.

While I consider all of the information in my book to be critical to a complete understanding of the very complex and often misguided investigation of the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, it is up to the reader to determine what, and whom, to believe.