ARREST IN JONBENET RAMSEY CASE!

BizzyBee

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060816/ap_on_re_us/jonbenet_ramsey

BOULDER, Colo. - A man suspected in the slaying of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey nearly a decade ago was arrested Wednesday in Thailand, the district attorney said in the long-awaited breakthrough in one of the nation's most lurid unsolved murder cases. District Attorney Mary Lacey said the arrest followed several months of work. She disclosed no details about the suspect before a news conference scheduled for Thursday.

CBS reported that he is a 41-year-old second-grade teacher and will be brought back to the United States this weekend. Federal officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was already being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges.

Ramsey family attorney Lin Wood said in Atlanta that the arrest was vindication for JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, who came under suspicion in the slaying.

Wood said the Ramseys learned about the suspect a least a month before Patsy Ramsey's death June 24 after a long battle with ovarian cancer.

"It's been a very long 10 years, and I'm just sorry Patsy isn't here for me to hug her neck," the attorney said.

Wood said that he had been told that the suspect once lived in Conyers, Ga., outside of Atlanta. He would not comment on whether the Ramseys knew him, and he said he knew nothing else about the man. The Ramseys lived in Georgia up until 1991; they moved back to Atlanta after their daughter's death.

JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's home in Boulder on Dec. 26, 1996. Patsy Ramsey reported finding a ransom note demanding $118,000 for her daughter.

The image of blonde-haired little JonBenet in child beauty contests has haunted TV talk shows for years afterward, helping feed myriad theories about her killer.

Investigators said at one point that JonBenet's parents were under an "umbrella of suspicion" in the slaying. But the Ramseys insisted an intruder killed their daughter, and no one was ever charged.

In the months after the slaying, Patsy Ramsey went before the cameras, vigorously defending herself and her husband, chastising the media and blasting local law enforcement as incompetent.

In a statement Wednesday, John Ramsey said: "Patsy was aware that authorities were close to making an arrest in the case and had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder."

In 2003, a federal judge in Atlanta concluded that the evidence she reviewed suggested an intruder killed JonBenet. That opinion came with the judge's decision to dismiss a libel and slander lawsuit against the Ramseys by a freelance journalist, whom the Ramseys had named as a suspect in their daughter's murder. The Boulder district attorney at the time said she agreed with the judge's declaration.

Wood said Wednesday's arrest further vindicated his clients.

"I am sure there were still doubts in the minds of individuals whose thinking had been poisoned against this family because of the years of false accusations," Wood said.

"Today is additional vindication of the family, but I think that knowledgeable individuals familiar with the evidence in the case have known for many years that this family was falsely accused, that they were innocent and that what they lived through in the last 10 years was an American tragedy."

Wood said he and the Ramseys "have been totally amazed and impressed with the professionalism of law enforcement" under Lacey's direction. Lacey became district attorney in 2001.

Law enforcement officials from Boulder were flying to Bangkok to present Thai authorities with documents in the slaying, officials in Washington said. They asked to remain anonymous pending an announcement in Colorado.

KUSA-TV of Denver, citing no sources, reported that the suspect has confessed to certain elements of the crime.

___

Rabbit

Hmmm...Ok, I'm listening. If the parents didn't have anything to do with it I'll be surprised. They sure acted guilty...or maybe they are just odd. Either way, I hope there is resolution to this horrible crime.

Rabbit

glitter

I'll bet he taught at her school.

At least her poor mum knew of the development in the case before she died.

Frannie Banannie

If the parents didn't have anything to do with it I'll be surprised. They sure acted guilty...or maybe they are just odd.

Rabbit, it's not odd for family members to look or act guilty in any sort of death. Guilt is a constant companion for grieving family members during the grieving process.

I'm really glad that this case has been resolved and exonerated the Ramseys. Nothing worse than losing a loved one and then being accused of causing their death because you're an easy target. The grief over the loss of a child is almost unbearable by itself. I'm also very happy that at least Patsy Ramsey was told about the valid suspect before she died.

Frannie

Nathan Natas

This is stunning!

Jon Benet would have been in High School now if she had lived.

JeffT

I'm really glad that this case has been resolved and exonerated the Ramseys

I hate to say this, but nothing of the sort has happened. Whoever they arrested has to be proven guilty first, until then he is still innocent. I would love to see this one resolved, but I'm not holding my breath. The police f****d up the initial investigation so badly that any half decent lawyer is going to have reasonable doubt handed to him on a platter.

looking_glass

I saw that too. I was amazed. I saw all kinds of specials and read the various books about this case and I never felt that there was clear cut evidence against the family members. In particular the ex-cop that came in to investigate the crime scene for the police. He quite under a lot of heat and felt that the police were trying to railroad the family. To me it reminded me of the Elizabeth Smart case, where they spent several days on the father. During that period of time they were not following other leads, which puts the case behind when it comes to pursuing other leads. As the saying goes the first 48 hours are the most crucial.

I am happy they are actively pursuing a real lead. Whether they can get enough evidence and bring him to trial, who knows. But that case really bothered a lot of people and still haunts many of us.

glitter

The Ramsey family were already exonerated when the DNA found didn't match any of them.

Frannie Banannie

I'm really glad that this case has been resolved and exonerated the Ramseys
I hate to say this, but nothing of the sort has happened. ; Whoever they arrested has to be proven guilty first, until then he is still innocent. ; I would love to see this one resolved, but I'm not holding my breath. ; The police ;f****d up the initial investigation so badly that any half decent lawyer is going to have reasonable doubt handed to him on a platter. ;

JeffT, regarding all of the below referenced statements, including the suspect's admission to "certain elements of the crime," I have to say that my opinion still stands where the Ramsey's exoneration is concerned, IMHO. The opinion you express seems to represent a glass half empty and this appears to cause you to fall into the category of those whose opinions were manipulated by the media, which opinions were manipulated by a law enforcement agency highly motivated to ambitiously pursue a fast and easy closure on this case. This may all be moot, considering whether Thailand will clear the suspect from charges already being brought against him in their own country for same/similar crime(s).

In a statement Wednesday, John Ramsey said: "Patsy was aware that authorities were close to making an arrest in the case and had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder."
In 2003, a federal judge in Atlanta concluded that the evidence she reviewed suggested an intruder killed JonBenet. That opinion came with the judge's decision to dismiss a libel and slander lawsuit against the Ramseys by a freelance journalist, whom the Ramseys had named as a suspect in their daughter's murder. The Boulder district attorney at the time said she agreed with the judge's declaration.
Wood said Wednesday's arrest further vindicated his clients.
"I am sure there were still doubts in the minds of individuals whose thinking had been poisoned against this family because of the years of false accusations," Wood said.
"Today is additional vindication of the family, but I think that knowledgeable individuals familiar with the evidence in the case have known for many years that this family was falsely accused, that they were innocent and that what they lived through in the last 10 years was an American tragedy."
Wood said he and the Ramseys "have been totally amazed and impressed with the professionalism of law enforcement" under Lacey's direction. Lacey became district attorney in 2001.
Law enforcement officials from Boulder were flying to Bangkok to present Thai authorities with documents in the slaying, officials in Washington said. They asked to remain anonymous pending an announcement in Colorado.
KUSA-TV of Denver, citing no sources, reported that the suspect has confessed to certain elements of the crime.

ARREST IN JONBENET RAMSEY CASE!

Share this