Perfect Murder, Perfect Town - Lawrence Schiller [195]
The next day, even before the first ad was published, the media were criticizing the Ramseys’ effort as amateurish.
RAMSEY LASHES OUT AT POLICE
In a blistering statement Wednesday, John Ramsey denounced the Boulder Police Department’s investigation into the murder of his daughter JonBenét and announced the family’s plan to hunt down the killer.
Gregg McCrary, a former FBI criminal profiler, called the profile superficial.
“What’s missing here that’s very important is there’s no description of the characteristics and traits of the offender, crime and the crime scene analysis, an analysis of the content of the note, the medical examiner’s report and what those injuries may or may not mean,” McCrary said.
“I don’t think the offender has any remorse for this crime because of the way the crime was committed. Right in the aftermath of this murder, the killer sat down and wrote a ransom note—he’s not sorry he did it, he’s just trying not to get caught.”
—Alli Krupski
Daily Camera, July 24, 1997
Matt Lauer: Over the weekend the parents [the Ramseys] went on the offensive, placing a newspaper ad, and distributing fliers profiling the man who they believe killed their daughter. Former FBI profiler John Douglas helped write the profile, and he has been working with the Ramseys to help them find JonBenét’s killer…. Mr. Douglas, did you do it with the understanding that the Ramseys might make it public?
John Douglas: I wasn’t aware that they were going to make it public this soon. I think what’s happened now is a feeling of frustration, desperation and anger on the part of the families. That information should have been put out by the police the first week after the homicide, not really now. So it’s an act of, really, desperation and frustration on their part.
MATT LAUER: Do you think this case will be solved?
JOHN DOUGLAS: I think, unfortunately, this may end up like many homicides in this country where we only solve 65 percent of our homicides, and this may be one of that 35 that does remain unsolved.
Today, NBC, July 28, 1997
While Hunter withheld comment on the ads, he considered which of his staff members would prosecute the case. At the same time, he fretted over the police department’s lack of interest in working with criminalist Dr. Henry Lee and DNA expert Barry Scheck, whose services he’d enlisted in February. Few of the suggestions Lee had made during his March presentation to the police had been acted upon, and Eller’s attitude toward Scheck was that he got people released from jail and won acquittals for defendants like O. J. Simpson. Nor had the police followed up on suggestions made by Lou Smit and Steve Ainsworth to check out all known sex offenders, track down all the missing keys to the Ramsey house, and recanvas the neighborhood for possible overlooked leads.
Apparently, the police thought all that could wait. Instead, they decided to consult with the FBI to get an overview of the case rather than put it together piecemeal as they had been doing so far. The FBI agreed to meet with the Boulder PD and members of the DA’s office at the Bureau’s headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, the first week of September. They said they would review all the evidence and give their expert opinion. Eight hundred pieces of physical evidence—including thirty-eight fingerprint cards—would be viewed by fresh eyes. The police wanted to know the FBI’s opinion about what physical evidence pointed to the Ramseys and whether the Bureau’s experts could map out the sequence of events surrounding