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@Aunt Bea I too always considered her brother Burke, may have done it, perhaps accidentally and then there was a cover-up. But courts have never found evidence sufficient to accuse him, and he later won a defamation settlement related to media claims about him.
But there is circumstantial evidence. Prior head injury history. JonBenet had previously been struck accidentally by Burke with a golf club. Autopsy showed undigested pineapple. A bowl of pineapple with Burke’s fingerprints was found in the kitchen. The fatal head trauma was severe but initially showed little external bleeding. Some speculate it could have been caused by an impulsive blow from a child (for example, with a heavy object). Burke’s behavior in interviews, flat, distant, perhaps guarded. The parents actions afterward. The ransom note, scene contamination, and delays in calling police raise suspicion.
All that circumstantial evidence is easily written off or explained. Golf club injury ... The incident was acknowledged as accidental, years earlier, and sibling accidents are common. It does not establish intent or escalation. Fingerprints on dish of pinapple ... It does not show violence, only proximity. Fingerprints on a household dish are normal. JonBenet's head injury in death ... Forensic opinions vary widely. Many experts believe the force required was extreme and more consistent with an adult. Burke's behavior ... Behavioral interpretation is subjective, especially in children under trauma. Psychologists caution strongly against using demeanor as evidence. The parents actions ... These actions could also indicate panic, poor judgment, or involvement by an adult. No staging theory has been proven.
The case remains unsolved because every theory has significant holes.
And I also agree with
@dobielvr in that someone in the house had something to do with it. Before, during, after or entirely.
The ransom note in the JonBenet Ramsey case is considered unusual because it breaks almost every pattern seen in real kidnapping for ransom cases, and it does so in ways that raise questions about authorship, intent, and staging. Investigators across multiple agencies have pointed to it as one of the strangest aspects of the case.
The length of the ransom "note" is extraordinary. Most ransom notes are brief and utilitarian. They aim to convey instructions quickly and minimize risk. The Ramsey note is nearly three handwritten pages. It is the longest ransom note known in a U.S. criminal case. This length increases exposure time, risk of interruption, and handwriting comparison opportunities. It reads less like a demand and more like a narrative.
And it was written inside the house. The note was written on paper from Patsy Ramsey’s notepad and using a pen from the house, with practice drafts started and discarded. This implies the writer was inside the home for an extended period, calm enough to write multiple pages. That is highly inconsistent with intruder behavior, especially given the risk of discovery.
The tone of the note is theatrical and inconsistent. The note shifts tone repeatedly from formal threats to casual language to movie style villain dialogue with odd politeness in places. It references phrases resembling lines from action films and crime fiction. Real ransom notes typically avoid flair. The tone here feels performative, as though the writer is playing a role rather than executing a crime.
The ransom amount is oddly specific. The demand was $118,000, closely matching John Ramsey’s recent bonus. This is unusual because it suggests inside knowledge of family finances, is low for a wealthy family and not a round or typical ransom figure. Kidnappers usually demand more and choose round numbers to simplify negotiation.
The note instructions don’t align with the crime scene. The note says, JonBenet was kidnapped, she would be killed if police were contacted and a phone call would come the next day. Yet JonBenet's body was still hidden in the house, no attempt was made to remove her and no call ever came. This disconnect suggests the note may not have been written to facilitate a kidnapping at all.
Multiple experts could not eliminate Patsy Ramsey as the author of the note. Others disagreed. No definitive match was ever made. The lack of consensus itself is notable. In many cases, handwriting analysis can exclude suspects. Here, exclusion proved difficult.
Ultimately, the note did not enable a ransom exchange, protect the victim or advance the crime. Instead it redirected attention toward a kidnapping narrative, delayed discovery of the body and complicated the investigation. That makes it look less like a tool and more like a piece of staging.
Taken as a whole, the ransom note doesn’t solve the case, but it powerfully reinforces why so many investigators believe this was not a random intruder crime but something that went wrong inside the house and was then desperately reshaped to look like something else.
