The BPD failed to investigate, nor did they even know about, a Ramsey family friend who belonged to a suspicious foreign-oriented organization. The friend regularly provided care for JonBenet. The killer(s) of JonBenet had left behind a 3-page ransom note in which they identified themselves as representing "a small foreign faction".Colorado University student Nathan Inouye, who was a member of what could be considered "a small foreign faction", regularly baby-sat and drove JonBenet to school in 1996. Inouye belonged to the 29-member Asian Pacific American Coalition, normally referred to as APAC, at the University.
APAC at Colorado was a politically liberal pro-active group of students who suddenly and suspiciously disbanded their organization just weeks after JonBenet was murdered. APAC's stated goals in its charter was to advance the social and political well-being of Asian Americans. However, among these goals was a perception that violence against Asian American women, including rape and murder, was going unsolved and unpunished in the U.S.
Nathan Inouye, who in 1996 lived at the home of Glen and Susan Stine, provided care for 9-year-old Doug while the parents worked at the University. Glen was vice president and Susan was a director. The Ramseys and the Stines were close friends and their sons, Burke and Doug, were best friends.
Nathan regularly helped baby-sit the Ramsey children, especially when the parents were out of town. He also regularly drove 9-year-old Doug, 9-year-old Burke, and 6-year-old JonBenet to school.
Nevertheless, and despite what it called a thorough investigation of possible suspects following the murder of JonBenet, the Boulder police, at least as of the year 2000, had apparently never heard of Nathan Inouye nor APAC. These allegations are substantiated by the questions and responses during the Atlanta interviews in 2000. The Ramseys had moved to Atlanta in 1997.
The interviews took place in the offices of Ramsey attorney Lin Wood:
DETECTIVE JANE HARMER (asking about the name "Nathan" mentioned just once in DOI): "You mention a kid by the name of Nathan that was living with the Stines. Was he living with them prior to December of '96?"
PATSY RAMSEY: "Yes, he was."
DETECTIVE HARMER: "And at any time did he look after Burke or JonBenet?"
PATSY RAMSEY: "He would, on occasion, take them to school in the morning."
DETECTIVE HARMER: "Do you know anything more about him, his last name?"
PATSY RAMSEY: "Inouye, Nathan Inouye."
DETECTIVE HARMER: "Do you know how to spell that?"
PATSY RAMSEY: "I-N-O-U -- maybe Y-E or E."
DETECTIVE HARMER: "Is he a white male?"
PATSY RAMSEY: "He is an American, but of Japanese descent, I believe."
DETECTIVE HARMER: "How old is he?"
PATSY RAMSEY: "He has graduated now and is doing missionary work, I think. Susan would know exactly where he is, but at that time he was a college junior or senior."
ATTORNEY BRUCE LEVIN: "Mr. Wood, can you facilitate getting the information to us so we can contact him?"
John Ramsey's interview immediately followed Patsy Ramsey's interview:
ATTORNEY BRUCE LEVIN: "Mr. Ramsey, your wife told us that there was a college student that was staying with the Stines, I believe named Nathan Inouye? Had you, prior to the murder of your daughter, had you any contact with him?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "Yeah. We would see him at their house. He would drive the kids to school occasionally in a carpool. Patsy would take them, sometimes Susan would, or Nathan would take them."
ATTORNEY BRUCE LEVIN: "Was there anything unusual about his conduct -- and I am asking for your contemporaneous impression, and then I'm going to ask about the post-murder impression. Your contemporaneous impression of Mr. Inouye I assume was favorable if you let him drive your kids to school?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "Yes. He was a very, very kind, nice person."
ATTORNEY BRUCE LEVIN: "Keeping in mind you told us that you are suspicious of everyone, is there anything in particular about Mr. Inouye, using the power of hindsight, that causes you to be particularly suspicious of him?"
JOHN RAMSEY: "Nothing specifically in terms of his actions or what he said. Have I eliminated him? No, I haven't. I thought about that from time to time, But I don't consider him of strong, strong interest."
When Patsy during her interview mentioned that Nathan had graduated and was doing missionary work, he was actually serving as a volunteer "environmental promoter" in Kingston, Jamaica as a member of the Peace Corps. After serving in the Peace Corps from 1999 to 2001, Nathan completed graduate work at UCLA in 2003 to get a secondary science teaching certificate and a masters in education. He is now teaching science at a high school in California, his home state.
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