Chemistry of crime Essay Example For Students

Chemistry of crime Essay pic The case of jonbenet ramseyPresented to: Rehka IyerpicThe RamseysHomeSubmitted by:Sarah Pinsonneault9845735The first images of JonBenet Ramsey that were broadcast to the world showeda pretty little girl in heavy make-up and flamboyant costumes paradingacross a stage. At the time, the media described her as being a paintedbaby, a sexualized toddler beauty queen. From the day in 1996, whenJonBenet was found dead in the basement of her home in Boulder Colorado,the Boulder police and a large proportion of the worlds media believedthat her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, were responsible for her death. Prior to the murder of their daughter, John and Patsy Ramseys life seemedalmost ideal. Patsy, a former beauty queen, was married to a successfulbusinessman. They had moved to Boulder in 1991 where John ran a computercompany that had started in his garage. The Ramseys readily adapted totheir new life in Colorado and made several new friends. They built a largehouse in an elite suburb, and entertained often. Their last party inBoulder, just three days before the murder, was particularly happy. Over ahundred guests were present at a Christmas function with a difference asthe Ramseys had good reason to celebrate. Patsy had warded off cancer andJohn had been voted Boulders businessman of the year.According to the Ramseys testimony, they drove home the few blocks from aparty at a friends house on Christmas night. JonBenet had fallen asleep inthe car so they carried her up the stairs to her room and put her to bed at9:30 pm. Shortly after, Patsy and John went to bed as they planned to getup early to prepare for a trip to their holiday home on Lake Michigan. The next day, Patsy woke just after 5:00 am and walked down the stairs tothe kitchen. At the foot of the staircase, she found a two-and-a-half pageransom note that said that JonBenet had been kidnapped by a small localfaction and was being held for a ransom of $118,000. She was to beexchanged for the money later the same day. The letter warned that if themoney were not delivered, the child would be beheaded. Patsy yelled to Johnas she ran back up the stairs and opened the door to JonBenets room. Finding she wasnt there they made the decision to phone the police. The911 dispatcher recorded Patsys call at 5:25 am. The police arrived at thehouse seven minutes later. The uniformed police officers that attended were openly suspicious from thestart. The Ramseys, treating the demand seriously, were already takingsteps to raise the ransom. The note said that the kidnappers would callJohn Ramsey between 8-10 am but no call came. It was while the police werewaiting for the call that they made several critical mistakes. They did notconduct a proper search of the house, the area was not sealed off andfriends were allowed to walk in and out at their leisure. No moves weremade to protect any forensic evidence. The scale of their mistakes becameapparent later. On December 27, the Rocky Mountain News quoted anAssistant District Attorney as saying, It was very unusual for a kidnapvictims body to be found at home its not adding up. According toCharlie Brennan, the journalist who wrote the story, the police had alsoindicated to him that they held a strong belief that the parents wereresponsible. Julie Hayden, a television reporter for Denvers Channel 7,also co vered the story on the same day and drew the same conclusion. Shelater explained that from her first exposure to the case, the police hadmade it very clear that they were not scouring the area looking for somemad kidnapper but instead, concentrating their efforts on John and PatsyRamsey. While spokespersons for the Ramseys have contended that the Boulder policefailed to investigate anyone but the Ramseys, this is untrue. There was awide-ranging investigation. Other suspects:1.All present and former employees of Access Graphics (and their spouses) which had 360 employees in July 1997 were asked to give handwritingsamples. Women's Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean EssayThe police quickly eliminated John Ramsey as author of the ransom note, butafter a series of handwriting samples from Patsy Ramsey (five altogether),the police refused to eliminate her as the possible author of the note. Det. Thomas a handwriting specialist said that after studying all thewriting samples I believe I am going to conclude the ransom note was thework of a single individual: Patsy Ramsey. Thomas explains that histextual analysis work is based on much more than one letter looking likeanother. Even the slightest things, such as the use of periods or the spacebefore the start of a paragraph, could create a distinctive linguisticfingerprint We cant falsify who we are, Sentence structure, word usage,and identifying features can be a signature, says Det. Thomas. Thomas hadstudied Patsy Ramseys writing samples from both before and after themurder of her daughter. According to Thomas he noted to the investigatorsNot only did certain letters change, but her entire writing style seemedto have been transformed after the homicide. There were new ways ofindenting, spelling, and writing out long numbers that contrasted with herearlier examples, and she was the only suspect who altered her usualprefere nces when supplying writing samples to the police.These findings alone, considering they were coming from the top-mostauthority in the nation in textual analysis the same expert who hadunmasked the anonymous author of the sensational best-seller Primary Colorsand that the FBI had used to identify Theodore Kacznski as the Unabomber would have been more than enough evidence for the Boulder Grand Jury toreturn an indictment against Patsy Ramsey, but the Boulder DistrictAttorneys office chose not to permit Foster to testify before the grandjury. A year after JonBenets murder, police basically have two theories aboutthe case:That someone entered the Ramseys house through unknown means, possiblysexually abused then brutally, yet silently, killed JonBenet, hid her body,took the time to write a long ransom note, then left unheard and unseen;Or that someone who was in the house that night committed the horriblecrime. However the investigation is concluded, police will have three options:make an arrest, ask for a grand jury investigation, or deactivate the caseuntil new information is obtained. As things stand, it is highly unlikely that anyone will ever be charged orprosecuted for the murder of JonBent Ramsey unless someone were to comeforward and confess. Time is on the Ramseys side. When the grand jury failed to indict them,they passed their gravest test. In the Ramseys book, The Death ofInnocence, they describe in great detail the fear they had of the grandjury and how they expected an indictment against both of them. They were sosure they would be indicted that they returned to Boulder in the daysbefore the grand jury was mandated to finish its deliberations. They wanteddesperately to avoid the ignominy of being arrested in Atlanta and forcedto spend several days in the Fulton County Jail before being extradited toColorado. Both had a deep revulsion to the image of their being arrestedand handcuffed. Above all, they did not want to be handcuffed. They wantedto be able to just turn themselves in to the District Attorneys office andhave bond posted immediately for their release. Chances that the new district attorney, Mary Keenan, will convene anothergrand jury are not strong, but not so fast, there is another shoe thatcould drop. The Ramsey case is spawning a number of lawsuits, both criminaland civil, and, no doubt, more will be filed down the road. Two civil suitsthat are perking their way through the legal system could be of particularvalue in breaking the case open if they make it into a courtroom. picThe Ramseys talk with CNN on New Years DayBottom of Form