05-10-2017, 10:26 PM
New twist in Ramsey case
Investigators ask public to help identify stuffed toy in photo
By Matt Sebastian
Camera Staff Writer
Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter, in a highly unusual move, appealed to the public Thursday to help identify a stuffed bear somehow connected to the JonBenét Ramsey murder investigation.
With no explanation of the toy's role in the 2-year-old investigation, the district attorney's office posted a photograph on the Internet of the furry white bear, dressed in a Santa Claus suit.
Investigators are trying to determine the bear's manufacturer and where such a stuffed animal could have been purchased in 1996 or earlier.
Such queries seem to imply detectives don't believe the bear belonged to JonBenét and now must find out who bought it and how it came to be in a crime-scene photo, presumably taken in the 6-year-old's bedroom.
"I make this public request for assistance knowing that it will give rise to considerable speculation about the status of the Ramsey case," Hunter said in a prepared statement released Thursday. "I intend to let this speculation take whatever course it will since to confirm or deny theories about what all this means would most certainly damage the ongoing investigation."
Suzanne Laurion, the district attorney's spokeswoman, would not elaborate on where the bear was photographed, whether police seized it as evidence or if the Ramseys have denied owning such a toy.
"We have nothing more to say," Laurion said Thursday.
Six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her parents' Boulder home Dec. 26, 1996.
Police have named no suspects, although JonBenét's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, remain under suspicion. They repeatedly have denied any involvement in their daughter's death.
Hunter convened the county's grand jury in September to investigate the case. The 12 jurors and five alternates met again Thursday.
A Ramsey attorney also declined Thursday to discuss the mysterious stuffed bear.
Despite having observed police present their entire case last June, at least one member of Hunter's prosecution team was completely unaware of the bear.
"I don't know anything about it," Adams County District Attorney Bob Grant said. "This is the first I've heard of it."
Judging from the grainy photograph, the bear appears to be lying next to a Barbie doll on a bed spread or comforter.
The search warrant affidavit filed in Boulder District Court for the Ramseys' 15th Street home lists no stuffed animals in the inventory of items seized by detectives. A comforter from JonBenét's bed, as well as sheets and a pillowcase, are listed, though.
Denver legal analyst Andrew Cohen believes the district attorney's handling of this situation insinuates the bear is missing.
"If they had the bear, they'd say, 'We have this bear and we want to know where it comes from,' " Cohen said Thursday. "The ambiguity of it all probably suggests that they don't."
But the air of mystery surrounding the toy may not necessarily mean it's connected to the killer.
"You can't leap to the conclusion that the bear was used to lure the little girl out of her bedroom to the basement where she met her death," Cohen said.
Joseph Matthews, a retired Miami Beach homicide investigator, believes detectives are just wrapping up all the loose ends of their case.
"There's a game plan by the defense attorneys to come up with enough reasonable doubt that they could present to the jury if this could ever go to trial," Matthews said.
A stuffed animal that no one can explain could easily be used to raise such doubt and, therefore, must be checked out, the former detective said.
Investigators also could be doing the same thing in their quest to match unidentified DNA found on JonBenét's body and clothing. As recently as this month, detectives continued to take samples in hopes of identifying the unknown genetic material.
"I think they're just covering all the bases now," Matthews said.
According to the DA's office, the bear is about a foot long, with its torso and face covered in white, furry fabric. It's wearing a red Santa jacket, pants and a hat.
The clothing is trimmed along the edges with material that looks like curly lamb's wool. A half-inch-wide black belt is strapped around the bear's stomach. Attached to the belt with a shiny gold loop is brown pouch, about three inches long.
Any information on this specific bear, including photographs of possible matches, should be sent to Hunter, in care of the Boulder County District Attorney's Office, 1777 Sixth St., Boulder 80302
January 29, 1999 |
Investigators ask public to help identify stuffed toy in photo
By Matt Sebastian
Camera Staff Writer
Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter, in a highly unusual move, appealed to the public Thursday to help identify a stuffed bear somehow connected to the JonBenét Ramsey murder investigation.
With no explanation of the toy's role in the 2-year-old investigation, the district attorney's office posted a photograph on the Internet of the furry white bear, dressed in a Santa Claus suit.
Investigators are trying to determine the bear's manufacturer and where such a stuffed animal could have been purchased in 1996 or earlier.
Such queries seem to imply detectives don't believe the bear belonged to JonBenét and now must find out who bought it and how it came to be in a crime-scene photo, presumably taken in the 6-year-old's bedroom.
"I make this public request for assistance knowing that it will give rise to considerable speculation about the status of the Ramsey case," Hunter said in a prepared statement released Thursday. "I intend to let this speculation take whatever course it will since to confirm or deny theories about what all this means would most certainly damage the ongoing investigation."
Suzanne Laurion, the district attorney's spokeswoman, would not elaborate on where the bear was photographed, whether police seized it as evidence or if the Ramseys have denied owning such a toy.
"We have nothing more to say," Laurion said Thursday.
Six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her parents' Boulder home Dec. 26, 1996.
Police have named no suspects, although JonBenét's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, remain under suspicion. They repeatedly have denied any involvement in their daughter's death.
Hunter convened the county's grand jury in September to investigate the case. The 12 jurors and five alternates met again Thursday.
A Ramsey attorney also declined Thursday to discuss the mysterious stuffed bear.
Despite having observed police present their entire case last June, at least one member of Hunter's prosecution team was completely unaware of the bear.
"I don't know anything about it," Adams County District Attorney Bob Grant said. "This is the first I've heard of it."
Judging from the grainy photograph, the bear appears to be lying next to a Barbie doll on a bed spread or comforter.
The search warrant affidavit filed in Boulder District Court for the Ramseys' 15th Street home lists no stuffed animals in the inventory of items seized by detectives. A comforter from JonBenét's bed, as well as sheets and a pillowcase, are listed, though.
Denver legal analyst Andrew Cohen believes the district attorney's handling of this situation insinuates the bear is missing.
"If they had the bear, they'd say, 'We have this bear and we want to know where it comes from,' " Cohen said Thursday. "The ambiguity of it all probably suggests that they don't."
But the air of mystery surrounding the toy may not necessarily mean it's connected to the killer.
"You can't leap to the conclusion that the bear was used to lure the little girl out of her bedroom to the basement where she met her death," Cohen said.
Joseph Matthews, a retired Miami Beach homicide investigator, believes detectives are just wrapping up all the loose ends of their case.
"There's a game plan by the defense attorneys to come up with enough reasonable doubt that they could present to the jury if this could ever go to trial," Matthews said.
A stuffed animal that no one can explain could easily be used to raise such doubt and, therefore, must be checked out, the former detective said.
Investigators also could be doing the same thing in their quest to match unidentified DNA found on JonBenét's body and clothing. As recently as this month, detectives continued to take samples in hopes of identifying the unknown genetic material.
"I think they're just covering all the bases now," Matthews said.
According to the DA's office, the bear is about a foot long, with its torso and face covered in white, furry fabric. It's wearing a red Santa jacket, pants and a hat.
The clothing is trimmed along the edges with material that looks like curly lamb's wool. A half-inch-wide black belt is strapped around the bear's stomach. Attached to the belt with a shiny gold loop is brown pouch, about three inches long.
Any information on this specific bear, including photographs of possible matches, should be sent to Hunter, in care of the Boulder County District Attorney's Office, 1777 Sixth St., Boulder 80302
January 29, 1999 |