s-evidence-flashlight.htm


	A Personal view of the Internet Subculture Surrounding the JonBenet Ramsey Murder case

This web page is part of a series covering found materials regarding individuals, items or events that apparently became part of what is commonly known as the vortex of the JonBenet Ramsey murder case Christmas night 1996. The webmaster of this site claims no inside official Boulder police information as to who has been interviewed, investigated, the outcome or what information is actually considered official evidence. These pages outline found material which can include but not limited to materials found in books, articles, the Internet, transcripts, depositions, legal documents, Internet discussion forums, graphics or photos, media reports, TV/Radio shows about the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. Found materials are here for historical archive purposes. (www.acandyrose.com - acandyrose@aol.com)

This webpage series is for historical archive and educational purposes on found materials


Evidence - Flashlight Found on Kitchen Counter BPD Search Warrant 12/27/1996 - Flashlight (20JRB)

CHAIN OF EVENTS 1997

1997-04-30: Patsy Ramsey Interrogation by Steve Thomas, Tom Trujillo

Patsy Ramsey Interrogation by Steve Thomas, Tom Trujillo
Also present, Pat Burke, Bryan Morgan, Pete Hoffstrom, Jon Foster
April 30, 1997 - Boulder, Colorado
http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/1997BPD-Patsy-Interview-Complete.htm

TT: Let me first describe the picture for the tape, cause the secretary’s going to kill me. That’s the back sink right there at he bottom of the circular staircase.
PR: Right.
TT: OK. OK. That photograph of that.
ST: Patsy, to the best of your memory, how many flashlights did your family own or keep in the house on the 15th Street?
PR: I don’t know.
ST: Do you…
PR: Burke had some round ones, you know.
ST: Did John, as a pilot or for the cars in the garage or the house, did he, do you recall flashlights?
PR: I think we had kind of a big one, I don’t know where it was. I think John Andrew gave it to John for, I don’t know whether he gave it to him for the plane or not. I know he keeps one in the plane, I think.
ST: Can you describe that for me, what color it was for example?
PR: The one John gave…
ST: Uh-huh.
PR: I think it was in that drawer that, that little, we usually kept it I think in that drawer. Yeah.
ST: Maybe in this room somewhere in this vicinity.
PR: Yeah, and I think it was like a big black one, you know.
ST: Well, is this picture, and that’s not a good photo. Would that be representative of the flashlight that you are describing.
PR: Yeah, probably, I’m afraid don’t know what this it is.
ST: Ad for the purpose of the tape, I’m showing Patsy a photograph depicting, is that the kitchen table?
TT: Kitchen counter.
ST: Kitchen counter, with several items, but including what appears to be a flashlight on it.
PR: Yeah, it appears to be. I remember a big, he gave him a big flashlight at one time, but I don’t remember.
TT: Is it plastic material it’s made out of?
PR: It seemed like it was heavy, I don’t know.
TT: OK.
PR: John would remember.
TT: OK, next let me do this for the secretary. When you were talking about the drawer that the flashlight was normally kept in, refer back to that other picture, the drawer by the sink.
PR: Yeah.
TT: Bottom of the staircase.
PR: Yeah.
TT: The drawer to the left of (inaudible).
PR: Kind of a catchall, sort of.
TT: Dump drawer.
PR: Dump drawer, we have lots of junk drawers.

CHAIN OF EVENTS 1998

1998-01-16: BPD Press Release - Ramsey Update #63

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 16, 1998
Contact: Leslie Aaholm, Media Relations, 441-3090

Ramsey attorneys decline request for interviews
(Ramsey Update #63)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Boulder Police Department has received written communication through John and Patsy Ramsey’s counsel that John and Patsy will not submit to a second interview with investigators under the reasonable conditions set by investigators. The Boulder Police Department’s position in requesting the second interviews has been clear and straightforward. There are questions the police have that are related to clarifications of previous statements and questions related to information that was not available during the first interviews.

According to the latest communication from the Ramseys’ counsel, if the Police Department wants further assistance in solving this crime from John and Patsy Ramsey, the police will have to show “good faith” by first allowing the Ramseys to review the evidence in this case. This is unacceptable to police investigators. To allow such disclosure could severely hamper the effectiveness of the investigation, and damage the reliability of information provided by witnesses or potential suspects. To do so would also be contrary to accepted investigative protocols and something the police have not done for any other witness or suspect in this case. The Ramseys’ counsel again offered to have John and Patsy Ramsey only answer written questions. This is also unacceptable to police investigators and well beyond reasonable investigative processes.

According to Commander Mark Beckner, “I am disappointed in the position they have taken. I expected the Ramseys to agree to another interview because I believed their public and private statements about their desire to do whatever was necessary to help resolve this case. While this development will certainly hinder our investigation, we continue to make progress and will not give up in our efforts to find JonBenet’s killer.” Furthermore, Beckner stated, “It is even more important now for anyone who has relevant information in this case to come forward and help us resolve this.”

The police are still waiting to receive clothing requested from the Ramseys in Nov., 1997, and for a final decision on whether they will be allowed to interview Burke Ramsey.

The investigative task list, described by Beckner at his Dec. 5 news conference, continues to be a working list that is evaluated and updated as needed. It now consists of 78 items. Of those 78 items, 38 have been completed and another 9 tasks are near completion. An additional 5 task list items will be completed once the results of analysis is received from outside agencies assisting in the investigation. Of the remaining 26 items, some are ongoing and long term tasks that the team continues to work on. These would include tasks such as reinterviewing significant witnesses and following up new information as it is developed.

Recent media reports that a flashlight had been lost and recently found are incorrect. The flashlight recovered from the Ramsey home was taken to CBI in March, 1997 for forensic analysis. After the completed analysis, it was returned to the custody of the Police Department in Oct., 1997 and has never been missing.

Year end expenditures for Ramsey Investigation

The Boulder Police Department expenditures to date for the Ramsey investigation total $219,555. In 1996 overtime, travel and investigative expenses totaled $21,377 and through the end of 1997 the overtime, travel and investigative expenses totaled $197,634. These expenditures do not include on-duty costs of investigations.

-CITY-

Boulder Police have no additional comments at this time.

1998-06-23: Patsy Ramsey Interview (Thomas Haney, Trip DeMuth)
(Screen Capture from "CBS 48 Hours - Searching for a Killer" 10/04/2002)

Patsy Ramsey Interrogation by Thomas Haney and Trip DeMuth - Present also were Patrick Burke and Ellis Armistead June 23, 24, 25, 1998 - Boulder, Colorado

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/1998BPD-Patsy-Interview-Complete.htm

June 1998 Patsy Ramsey Interrogation by Thomas Haney and Trip DeMuth (Flashlight)

0513
1 PATSY RAMSEY: Yeah.
2 TOM HANEY: Okay. The next group of photos
3 and these are not numbered --
4 PATSY RAMSEY: Uh-huh (yes).
5 TOM HANEY: -- but they show flashlight.
6 PATSY RAMSEY: Uh-huh (yes).
7 TOM HANEY: A black metal string light
8 type --
9 PATSY RAMSEY: Uh-huh (yes).
10 TOM HANEY: -- flashlight. Do you
11 recognize that?
12 PATSY RAMSEY: It looks similar to one that
13 John Andrew gave John for Christmas, birthday or
14 something.
15 TOM HANEY: Okay. Do you recall when it
16 was he gave it to him or...
17 PATSY RAMSEY: Not exactly, unh-unh (no).
18 Although it looks kind of dirty there. I mean,
19 if I remember --
20 TOM HANEY: It looks different?
21 PATSY RAMSEY: Yeah.
22 TRIP DeMUTH: Okay. Describe how it looks
23 different.
24 PATSY RAMSEY: Well, the one that I
25 remember John having was pretty slick black, you

0514
1 know, and that looks kind of smudgy or gray or
2 something.
3 TRIP DeMUTH: Okay. That's been processed,
4 so it has been changed.
5 PATSY RAMSEY: Oh, okay.
6 TRIP DeMUTH: Other than that, do you
7 notice any differences from...
8 PATSY RAMSEY: Uh-huh (yes).
9 TRIP DeMUTH: That's similar to the one
10 that John Andrew gave John?
11 PATSY RAMSEY: Yeah, uh-huh (yes).
12 TRIP DeMUTH: And I think last time when
13 you were here on last April --
14 PATSY RAMSEY: Uh-huh (yes).
15 TRIP DeMUTH: -- you said where that was
16 stored.
17 PATSY RAMSEY: Uh-huh (yes).
18 TRIP DeMUTH: And I wanted to clarify that
19 a little bit. Do you remember where it was
20 stored?
21 PATSY RAMSEY: Well, the best I recall it
22 was in like one of those junk drawers there in
23 the bar area.
24 TRIP DeMUTH: Okay. And I wanted to flip
25 back to photo 380, right there.

0515
1 PATSY RAMSEY: Right, yeah, one of those
2 drawers.
3 TRIP DeMUTH: One of the drawers that's
4 depicted in 380?
5 PATSY RAMSEY: Yeah.
6 TRIP DeMUTH: Do you remember which drawer?
7 PATSY RAMSEY: Well, I, I most recently
8 remember it being, you know, right in this
9 drawer.
10 TRIP DeMUTH: The drawer that is open?
11 PATSY RAMSEY: That's open there, yeah.
12 TRIP DeMUTH: And that's the wet bar that's
13 by the spiral staircase, right?
14 PATSY RAMSEY: Right.
15 TRIP DeMUTH: Okay. Okay. And now looking
16 at photo 380, you don't see a flashlight in
17 there, right?
18 PATSY RAMSEY: Correct.
19 TRIP DeMUTH: Okay.
20 PATSY RAMSEY: Where was this flashlight
21 found?
22 TRIP DeMUTH: Well, do you remember when
23 you came in on, in April, they showed you a
24 picture of the flashlight? Do you recall that?
25 You may not.

0516
1 PATSY RAMSEY: No, not exactly.
2 TRIP DeMUTH: Okay. This was on the
3 kitchen counter?
4 PATSY RAMSEY: Oh.

June 1998 Patsy Ramsey Interrogation by Thomas Haney and Trip DeMuth (Flashlight)

0516
5 TRIP DeMUTH: We don't have a picture of
6 that, do we.
7 TOM HANEY: No. It's in the video, I
8 believe, but I don't...
9 PATSY RAMSEY: Uh-huh (yes).
10 TOM HANEY: I don't remember one.
11 TRIP DeMUTH: You know, it's, if I can try
12 to describe it, you know, if you're coming from
13 the front door and you're going through your
14 kitchen --
15 PATSY RAMSEY: Uh-huh (yes).
16 TRIP DeMUTH: -- and you've kind of got
17 that first nook or whatever you call it?
18 PATSY RAMSEY: Yeah, right.
19 TRIP DeMUTH: And if you're looking towards
20 that nook area, it would be sort of on the left
21 island area, kind of in that area.
22 PATSY RAMSEY: Okay.
23 TRIP DeMUTH: Does that make sense to you?
24 PATSY RAMSEY: It doesn't make sense to me.
25 I mean, like I said, usually it was kept in that

0517
1 drawer in there.
2 TRIP DeMUTH: Uh-huh (yes).
3 PATSY RAMSEY: No, I don't know.
4 TRIP DeMUTH: Why would that be out?
5 PATSY RAMSEY: I don't know.
6 TRIP DeMUTH: Okay. I notice you have
7 cameras out and other things.
8 PATSY RAMSEY: I'm not a very good
9 housekeeper.
10 TRIP DeMUTH: There was a video camera, I
11 think, on that kitchen island there or something
12 like that. I may not have that exactly.
13 PATSY RAMSEY: I vaguely remember a video
14 camera being out because I was probably turning
15 it up to take pictures Christmas morning but
16 then we never ended up taking any.
17 TRIP DeMUTH: Uh-huh (yes). Did you guys
18 use this flashlight much?
19 PATSY RAMSEY: I didn't, no.
20 TRIP DeMUTH: Who did?
21 PATSY RAMSEY: John used it.
22 TRIP DeMUTH: What did he use it for?
23 PATSY RAMSEY: I don't know, looking in the
24 garage and the car or something like that.
25 TRIP DeMUTH: Okay. Had you ever seen it

0518
1 on the kitchen counter before?
2 PATSY RAMSEY: Not that I recall.
3 TRIP DeMUTH: Would it have struck you as
4 unusual, or would that not be outside the realm
5 of possibilities, given the habits of the
6 family?
7 PATSY RAMSEY: It seems like it would have
8 been unusual to have made it all the way into
9 the kitchen, because usually if somebody was
10 using the flashlight, they were -- John was
11 looking at something in the garage or under the
12 car or something like that.
13 TRIP DeMUTH: Okay.
14 PATSY RAMSEY: But he might, you know, I'm
15 sure you must have asked him if he...
16 TOM HANEY: And maybe I missed it, do you
17 know when you last saw it in the drawer?
18 PATSY RAMSEY: No, I'm not for sure.
19 TOM HANEY: Do you remember ever putting
20 batteries in it or buying batteries for it,
21 somebody says woop, the flashlight is low, get
22 us some --
23 PATSY RAMSEY: No.
24 TOM HANEY: -- C, D cells?
25 PATSY RAMSEY: No, it just kind of wasn't

0519
1 my, my thing, you know.
2 TOM HANEY: Okay. How about, do you recall
3 of using that during say a power outage or to
4 check on the kids at night, anything along those
5 lines?
6 PATSY RAMSEY: No, I don't remember that.
7 TOM HANEY: There are two more photos on
8 the back sides of the same flashlight.

1998-06-23: John Ramsey Interrogation by Lou Smit and Mike Kane
(Screen Capture from "CBS 48 Hours Investigates - Searching for a Killer" 10/04/2002)

John Ramsey Interrogation by Lou Smit and Mike Kane
Present also were Bryan Morgan, PI David Williams
June 23, 24, 25, 1998 - Boulder, Colorado

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/1998BPD-John-Interview-Complete.htm

June 1998 John Ramsey Interrogation by Lou Smit and Mike Kane (Flashlight)

0144
19 LOU SMIT: Okay. Did you use a flashlight
20 at that point?
21 JOHN RAMSEY: No.
22 LOU SMIT: What kind of flashlight do you
23 have?
24 JOHN RAMSEY: Well we've got several, I guess.
25 One that, I believe, came up as an item was this

0145
1 MAG light flashlight. If it's the one I think it
2 is, my son gave me that for a Christmas present a
3 year or two ago. And that was probably in the bar.
4 The bar drawer was typically where it was kept.
5 LOU SMIT: You don't remember getting that?
6 JOHN RAMSEY: No. I know I did not get it.
7 LOU SMIT: Anyone else get it?
8 JOHN RAMSEY: Not that I recall. I don't even
9 know it worked. Typically our flashlights didn't
10 work because we needed new batteries (INAUDIBLE).
11 We might have a few blown flashlights around.

(SNIP)

0241
2 LOU SMIT: And I'm just going to show you
3 another photograph here. I want to talk to you
4 again a little bit, if I can, about the
5 flashlight. Okay?
6 JOHN RAMSEY: Um hmm.
7 LOU SMIT: You said you kept in a drawer
8 where? Can you point out to that?
9 JOHN RAMSEY: Well, normally it was just
10 in a drawer in this little bar area in the
11 hallway.
12 LOU SMIT: On another interview, were you
13 shown a picture of a flashlight?
14 JOHN RAMSEY: I was shown a picture of a
15 scarf and a picture in which there was a
16 flashlight in the background, and not just of a
17 flashlight.
18 LOU SMIT: Okay. I'm going to show you a
19 photograph that I've got out of labeled Book Four.
20 And I'll show it to the camera. And I'd like it,
21 if you can, to tell me what you see there?
22 JOHN RAMSEY: Well it looks like a MAG
23 like kind of flashlight there. But that looks like
24 maybe a plane or (INAUDIBLE) or something.
25 LOU SMIT: Does that look like flashlight

0242
1 that you have or does --
2 JOHN RAMSEY: I mean, it could be. It
3 looks a little bigger than the one I had. But it
4 could have been the same one.
5 LOU SMIT: Were you ever shown the
6 flashlight?
7 JOHN RAMSEY: No.
8 LOU SMIT: Where does that flashlight
9 appear to be here?
10 JOHN RAMSEY: Well, it's on the kitchen
11 counter.
12 LOU SMIT: Can you point on the diagram
13 where that is?
14 JOHN RAMSEY: It's right here. (INAUDIBLE)
15 is right there.
16 LOU SMIT: Do you have any idea how it got
17 there?
18 JOHN RAMSEY: No.
19 LOU SMIT: Did you put it there?
20 JOHN RAMSEY: No. Not that I recall.
21 LOU SMIT: Did you use a flashlight at all
22 that morning to look for JonBenet?
23 JOHN RAMSEY: I don't think so. There was
24 no reason to turn the lights on. I wouldn't even
25 bet that our flashlight worked. If I were to bet,

June 1998 John Ramsey Interrogation by Lou Smit and Mike Kane (Flashlight)

0243
1 I'll bet it wouldn't work. We just didn't keep up
2 with that.
3 LOU SMIT: When you had that flashlight,
4 did you ever put batteries in it? Do you remember?
5 JOHN RAMSEY: I might have once. Certainly
6 probably initially. We have a flashlight in the
7 car also, but it's a smaller thing.
8 LOU SMIT: Was that a MAG light?
9 JOHN RAMSEY: Yeah. It was a smaller one.
10 You've got to show this to John Andrew. He might
11 remember because he bought it for me.
12 LOU SMIT: Do you know when he got it for
13 you?
14 JOHN RAMSEY: No. It was like a father's
15 day or birthday or Christmas present. It may have
16 been a year or two before. And it looks kind of
17 big. But it could have been the same one.

(SNIP)

0536
11 LOU SMIT: Okay. We will just go
12 on to the next photograph. I am going to show
13 you a photograph, this will -- you had
14 described your flashlight before. The one that
15 you had. And we had a photograph on the counter
16 of a flashlight and we discussed that before. I
17 am going to show you another photograph and have
18 you take a look at that, see if that looks
19 familiar to you, that's a photograph of a
20 flashlight, and I don't have a number associated
21 with that.
22 JOHN RAMSEY: Well, it's dirty.
23 Mine was hardly used. You know, it was
24 completely black. I don't know what the scale
25 is here. Is that 3 feet do you suppose or maybe

0537
1 that's -- (handing a magnifying glass).
2 (MULTIPLE SPEAKERS.)
3 JOHN RAMSEY: It's dirty. Mine
4 was not dirty.
5 LOU SMIT: Is that a similar type
6 flashlight as to what you --
7 JOHN RAMSEY: It is similar if
8 that's a metal case, and it looks similar. The
9 end looks a lot different, the end where the
10 battery is in. It looks -- looks similar, but
11 it's very dirty. Mine was, I don't think mine
12 ever got used; it was just in the drawer.
13 LOU SMIT: Just another question to
14 touch on the flashlight. You have seen the
15 photograph before of the flashlight on the
16 kitchen counter. Do you have any idea how that
17 got there, have you thought about that?
18 JOHN RAMSEY: A little bit, but I
19 didn't have a flashlight that morning, no, I
20 don't. I mean there was a lot of chaos going on
21 and the kitchen was kind of ground zero, so the
22 police could have left one there or whatever,
23 but no, I don't. I don't remember ever leaving
24 a flashlight there.

(SNIP)

CHAIN OF EVENTS 1999

1999-02-18: "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, JonBenet and the City of Boulder"
Written by Lawrence Schiller, February 18, 1999

PMPT Page 433-435

"Next, the investigators reviewed JonBenet's various injuries. A blow to the head can result in bleeding inside the skull, which can cause death immediately or sometime later. Microscopic examiniation of the area near the brain where the bleeding occurred can help determine how long before death the injury took place. But was it the garroting or the head injury that had caused JonBenet's death? The experts agreed that either would have been fatal.

According to the specialists, her head injury had likely come first. Since a six-year old's skull is more resilient than an adult's, the blow must have been of tremendous force. The injury on her head was fully developed, which meant that her heart had beaten for some time after the blow. Also, the bruise to her brain did not immediately shut down all activity in JonBenet's body. However, the strangulation by the noose had created a deep furrow in her neck, which acted like a tourniquet and caused complete interruption of the blood flow to and from her brain. The specialists estimated that ten to forty-five minutes might have elapsed between the blow to her head nad the cessation of JonBent's vital functions, which was probably caused by the noose being pulled tight with the help of the stick attached to the cord.

The conjecture that the blow to the head took place first fit the scenario tha tthe police considered most likely; that JonBenet had been struck on the head with the heavy flashlight in or near the kitchen. The police had found it on the kitchen counter."

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