Perfect Murder, Perfect Town - Lawrence Schiller [282]
His physical condition, Alex Hunter, Lou Smit’s view that the Ramseys were innocent—it all infuriated him. He was sure that JonBenét’s parents were involved. Nobody, he told himself, would fight for that little girl the way he was prepared to do.
That same night, June 22, Carol McKinley, on behalf of Fox News, asked Hunter’s office if interviews with the Ramseys were in the works. Suzanne Laurion replied that they would eventually speak to that issue. To McKinley, the answer suggested that the interviews had already begun. She was right.
The interviews began, without restrictions. Everyone understood that the process would be open-ended. Patsy and John each had an attorney and an investigator present.
As Haney began, he knew that Patsy would be vague—it was her style, as he had discovered by watching the videotapes. In her earlier interviews she had been medicated, and it had affected her responses. Now, when she was asked if she was still taking medication, she said yes. But she said she hadn’t taken anything to calm her for these interviews. Haney had been warned by Steve Thomas that Patsy would crank up the charm and could become religiously charismatic at times. Haney knew he’d have to ignore it. He wanted to look into her eyes and get direct answers. That was what he would try for.
In the first two days, Haney went through Patsy’s story of what had happened on December 25 and 26. As these interviews were open-ended, Haney had the luxury of time. Photographs taken by the police at the Ramseys’ house after the murder had been assembled into several thick books. Haney took Patsy through nearly all of them. She said she saw nothing really out of place except for a few things in JonBenét’s room. Again Patsy noticed the small white toy bear dressed in a Santa suit in one photograph. It was still missing.
For the first time, she was asked about the conversation with Burke that the police had discovered on the 911 enhanced tape. She knew nothing about it, she said. Her story remained the same: Burke was asleep. When did JonBenét eat the pineapple? Again her story was the same: Her daughter had been taken directly to bed. She knew nothing about JonBenét eating any pineapple. For two days, Pasty was polite and charming. She would do anything to help find the killer of JonBenét. She repeatedly denied any involvement in her daughter’s murder. “I just did my best,” she kept saying. “I took her to bed, I just did my best.”
At first Haney had the impression that Patsy might be acting, but she was hard to assess. She seemed to have moments of real emotion. Still, he doubted her sincerity.
The videotapes of the ongoing interviews were sent to the Boulder police headquarters twice daily, where the case detectives screened them. They thought Haney was doing a good job, considering what little he knew. Patsy often seemed to retreat into herself. She’d close her eyes as she talked, not wanting to look directly at Haney or DeMuth. Steve Thomas noted many inconsistencies in what he called “Patsy’s southern belle routine.” One minute Haney would be talking to a sophisticated, articulate Miss America contestant, Thomas observed, the next, she’d be trying to charm him. One moment she’d be earnest and naïve; the next, she’d be chattering away as if holding court with her friends over lunch.
On the second day, Haney asked Patsy if she had talked to her husband about the previous day’s interviews. “No,” she said. “We didn’t talk about what went on.”
“You didn’t talk about anything I asked you or about anything John was asked, what kind of questions he got?” Haney inquired. “You didn’t say, ‘How did it go, John?’”
“Yes, we did. But we never discussed what was asked,” she replied.
Patsy’s performance was not making a good impression on Tom Haney. On the third day, he went all-out.
What would you do if I told you we had evidence that shows you’re not