JonBenet's father talks about seeking slaying suspects, estrangement from his former friends
By Jeff KassDenver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
The inner workings of the Ramsey family after the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey have been revealed in a legal document recently made public. John Ramsey's deposition is the only time the father of the slain girl has answered questions related to the murder under oath, according to people familiar with the case. The murder remains unsolved, and John and his wife, Patsy Ramsey, have been under a cloud of suspicion from the beginning. Ramsey's deposition may shed little, if any light on who killed the tiny beauty queen, whose body was found the day after Christmas 1996. "There's nothing remarkable in there," said Boulder District Attorney spokesman Bill Wise. But the lengthy deposition does reveal how the family has dealt with the murder on a personal, legal and media level. At the time of the October 1998 deposition, John Ramsey reveals that he had been under a doctor's care for almost two years, and on the anti-depressant Prozac. Ramsey is asked if he suspects anyone of murdering his daughter. "Let me say two things. One, when you have something like this happen in your life, you lose trust. Virtually anyone. So do you suspect everyone? Yes," he says. "Secondly, I try to remind myself not to rush to judgment, as obviously happened in this case, and I don't want to be guilty of that myself." Ramsey also reveals that a New Year's Day interview on CNN just after the murder was done at the suggestion of family friend Fleet White. White was with Ramsey when he discovered his daughter's body in the basement of the Ramseys' Boulder home. "Well, the stated reason was that we were getting crucified in the press," Ramsey says. "We ought to let people see who we were." The deposition was part of a libel lawsuit filed by photographer Stephen Miles against the National Enquirer and Ramsey. The lawsuit accused Ramsey of leaking information to the tabloid as to who committed the murder. The lawsuit was eventually thrown out of federal court. But Ramsey's Oct. 20 deposition, consisting of about four hours of questioning, was unsealed in November. It was made public by a story in Boulder's Daily Camera Sunday. Despite the CNN appearance, Ramsey says in the deposition that he wanted to keep the case out of the "media limelight" because he believed that made it more difficult for the police to do their work. He also reveals that he has not talked with the Whites for approximately 11/2 years. The Whites have been critical of the police and district attorney. But Ramsey says he does not know the reason for the alienation. "You'd have to ask them," he says, and recounts that he called them at one point, and they did not return his call. The Whites could not be reached for comment Sunday night. The deposition also reveals that the Ramseys, working with their attorneys and possibly others, have tried to crack the case. "We have spent a lot of time and effort and energy trying to develop leads that we thought were useful," Ramsey attorney Bryan Morgan says at one point. "A lot of junk comes in over the transom, and it's junk. There is stuff that, in our view, was not junk." Morgan adds that the Ramsey team has tried "to develop some useful lead for the police." Morgan, at the same time, expresses reservations about how such information is handled. "But our experience has been that anytime anything like that is said, then it is immediately leaked and it appears in the tabloids with the worst possible spin on it. And we are extremely leery of that," he says. "And I will say on the record that that has been our experience with the Boulder Police Department as well." The police department and the district attorney's office also came under fire Sunday by Miles' attorney Lee Hill, who took the deposition. "These were sworn statements under oath by an important figure in the investigation," Hill said. "Boulder's spent over $2 million on this investigation and all they had to do for this information was pick up a transcript, and they didn't until now. It's very troubling to me." Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner and Wise, with the district attorney's office, acknowledged that they were not informed of the deposition until the Camera began asking questions. Wise and Beckner noted that there was nothing significant in the deposition as regards the criminal investigation. Wise added that John and Patsy Ramsey had undergone 40 hours of thorough interrogations by police investigators. The Ramseys have been accused of hiding behind their attorneys. But one to two days after JonBenet's death, Ramsey says that it was an attorney who approached him offering help. "Well, my friend, Mike Bynum, basically asked me: Would you trust me to do some things that I feel need to be done for your family?" Ramsey says in the deposition."And I said yes." There are also moments of humor in the 110-page document. Ramsey recounts a conversation he had with Globe tabloid reporter Jeff Shapiro. Ramsey walked away believing Shapiro acknowledged that the Ramseys "were being attacked for profit." "Too bad we can't leak this to the tabloid press," Hill said. Staff writer Kevin McCullen and the Daily Camera contributed to this report. For the full text of John Ramsey's deposition, see RockyMountainNew.com. Contact Jeff Kass at (303) 892-5212 or kassj@RockyMountainNews.com. February 7, 2000
The inner workings of the Ramsey family after the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey have been revealed in a legal document recently made public.
John Ramsey's deposition is the only time the father of the slain girl has answered questions related to the murder under oath, according to people familiar with the case.
The murder remains unsolved, and John and his wife, Patsy Ramsey, have been under a cloud of suspicion from the beginning. Ramsey's deposition may shed little, if any light on who killed the tiny beauty queen, whose body was found the day after Christmas 1996.
"There's nothing remarkable in there," said Boulder District Attorney spokesman Bill Wise.
But the lengthy deposition does reveal how the family has dealt with the murder on a personal, legal and media level.
At the time of the October 1998 deposition, John Ramsey reveals that he had been under a doctor's care for almost two years, and on the anti-depressant Prozac.
Ramsey is asked if he suspects anyone of murdering his daughter.
"Let me say two things. One, when you have something like this happen in your life, you lose trust. Virtually anyone. So do you suspect everyone? Yes," he says. "Secondly, I try to remind myself not to rush to judgment, as obviously happened in this case, and I don't want to be guilty of that myself."
Ramsey also reveals that a New Year's Day interview on CNN just after the murder was done at the suggestion of family friend Fleet White. White was with Ramsey when he discovered his daughter's body in the basement of the Ramseys' Boulder home.
"Well, the stated reason was that we were getting crucified in the press," Ramsey says. "We ought to let people see who we were."
The deposition was part of a libel lawsuit filed by photographer Stephen Miles against the National Enquirer and Ramsey. The lawsuit accused Ramsey of leaking information to the tabloid as to who committed the murder.
The lawsuit was eventually thrown out of federal court. But Ramsey's Oct. 20 deposition, consisting of about four hours of questioning, was unsealed in November. It was made public by a story in Boulder's Daily Camera Sunday.
Despite the CNN appearance, Ramsey says in the deposition that he wanted to keep the case out of the "media limelight" because he believed that made it more difficult for the police to do their work.
He also reveals that he has not talked with the Whites for approximately 11/2 years.
The Whites have been critical of the police and district attorney. But Ramsey says he does not know the reason for the alienation.
"You'd have to ask them," he says, and recounts that he called them at one point, and they did not return his call.
The Whites could not be reached for comment Sunday night.
The deposition also reveals that the Ramseys, working with their attorneys and possibly others, have tried to crack the case.
"We have spent a lot of time and effort and energy trying to develop leads that we thought were useful," Ramsey attorney Bryan Morgan says at one point. "A lot of junk comes in over the transom, and it's junk. There is stuff that, in our view, was not junk."
Morgan adds that the Ramsey team has tried "to develop some useful lead for the police."
Morgan, at the same time, expresses reservations about how such information is handled.
"But our experience has been that anytime anything like that is said, then it is immediately leaked and it appears in the tabloids with the worst possible spin on it. And we are extremely leery of that," he says. "And I will say on the record that that has been our experience with the Boulder Police Department as well."
The police department and the district attorney's office also came under fire Sunday by Miles' attorney Lee Hill, who took the deposition.
"These were sworn statements under oath by an important figure in the investigation," Hill said. "Boulder's spent over $2 million on this investigation and all they had to do for this information was pick up a transcript, and they didn't until now. It's very troubling to me."
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner and Wise, with the district attorney's office, acknowledged that they were not informed of the deposition until the Camera began asking questions.
Wise and Beckner noted that there was nothing significant in the deposition as regards the criminal investigation. Wise added that John and Patsy Ramsey had undergone 40 hours of thorough interrogations by police investigators.
The Ramseys have been accused of hiding behind their attorneys. But one to two days after JonBenet's death, Ramsey says that it was an attorney who approached him offering help.
"Well, my friend, Mike Bynum, basically asked me: Would you trust me to do some things that I feel need to be done for your family?" Ramsey says in the deposition."And I said yes."
There are also moments of humor in the 110-page document. Ramsey recounts a conversation he had with Globe tabloid reporter Jeff Shapiro. Ramsey walked away believing Shapiro acknowledged that the Ramseys "were being attacked for profit."
"Too bad we can't leak this to the tabloid press," Hill said.
Staff writer Kevin McCullen and the Daily Camera contributed to this report. For the full text of John Ramsey's deposition, see RockyMountainNew.com.
Contact Jeff Kass at (303) 892-5212 or kassj@RockyMountainNews.com.
February 7, 2000