Perfect Murder, Perfect Town - Lawrence Schiller [161]
Finally, he was asked what he thought of polygraph tests. He said, “If they are accurate, I’m for them.”
“What if I asked you to take one?” Thomas said.
“I have never been so insulted in my life as by that question,” Ramsey said angrily.
“Will you take one?” the detective asked.
“No,” was Ramsey’s answer.
John Ramsey’s interview lasted just over two hours. The detectives felt no need to go into a second day.
After the tapes of the interviews were transcribed, the police evaluated the Ramseys’ interviews. It became clear to them that Patsy didn’t want to revisit the unpleasant events of December 25–26, 1996, and couldn’t be shaken from her picture-perfect view of her life and family. John Ramsey seemed more realistic in his attitude toward the tragedy. The detectives felt confirmed in their belief that Ramsey was probably not involved in the actual murder of his daughter. But Patsy was—the officers were sure of it.
Like all investigators, Thomas and Trujillo would like to have found a motive—or at least a reason—for JonBenét’s murder. Maybe the child’s bed-wetting had gotten to her mother. Maybe the fact that the six-year-old still demanded help in the bathroom had somehow precipitated the events of that night. Nothing was evident, however. Of course the police knew that they weren’t required to find a motive. Their job was to connect evidence to a suspect.
The following day the Boulder PD again asked Alex Hunter to file charges against Patsy Ramsey. The police said they had discovered enough inconsistencies in both John and Patsy’s stories—combined with Patsy’s handwriting analysis—that there was now probable cause to arrest Patsy. Again Hofstrom pointed to the fact that the police had no eyewitnesses, had ambiguous forensic evidence, had parents with no history of mistreating their children, and—maybe most importantly—no evidence of a motive. Hunter said he wanted to see evidence beyond reasonable doubt. A case he was sure he could win in court. The DA said their would be no arrest warrant issued at this time.
8
RAMSEYS FINALLY GIVE INTERVIEWS
“It was a full day,” Sgt. Tom Wickman said as he left the Boulder Justice Center late in the afternoon.
“It’s extremely important that you say this is an open-minded investigation,” [Alex] Hunter said. “You can’t have on blinders.”
—Marilyn Robinson and Mary George
The Denver Post, May 1, 1997
Charlie Brennan of the Rocky Mountain News was one of the reporters who had staked out the Justice Center the day of the interviews, hoping to see the Ramseys and their attorneys. All he got was a quick glimpse of John Ramsey arriving after 3:00 P.M. He didn’t see the Ramseys or their attorneys leave. When he checked his voice mail the next day, he heard, “Call me as soon as you get this. Give me a phone number where you can be paged or called Thursday morning.” The message had been left the previous evening by Rachelle Zimmer, a spokeswoman for the Ramseys.
Like a few other reporters, Brennan had been told by Charlie Russell, another Ramsey spokesperson, that he shouldn’t leave town. An hour after hearing the voice mail message, he was in Boulder with a photographer, waiting in front of Dot’s Diner, at 8th and Pearl. When his cell phone rang, Rachelle Zimmer gave him a password—“subtract”—and designated a place where they should meet.
“You’re not to ask them anything about the murder,” Zimmer told him but did not say who “they” were. “There will be lawyers present. You can’t photograph them. And you can’t ask the attorneys any questions.” The list of restrictions went on: Don’t ask about yesterday’s interview with the police. Don’t disclose today’s location, even afterward. The interview would last thirty minutes, Zimmer added before hanging up.
A private security guard met Brennan and six other reporters at the side door of the Marriott Hotel in Boulder. They had all been given the same password. They were shown to a small, tastefully appointed ground-floor lounge.