911 call and initial search for the child The only people known to be in the house on the night of JonBenét's death were her immediate family: Patsy and John Ramsey and their son Burke. The ransom note contained specific instructions against contacting police and friends, but Patsy telephoned the police at 5:52 a.m.
MST. She also called family and friends. Two police officers responded to the
9-1-1 call and arrived at the Ramsey home within three minutes. They conducted a cursory search of the house but did not find any sign of forced entry. With JonBenét still missing, John made arrangements to pay the ransom. A
forensics team was dispatched to the house. The team initially believed that the child had been kidnapped, and JonBenét's bedroom was the only room in the house that was cordoned off to prevent
contamination of evidence. No precautions were taken to prevent contamination of evidence in the rest of the house.
Ransom note Patsy Ramsey reported that she found a two-and-a-half-page handwritten
ransom note on their kitchen staircase. The note demanded for JonBenét's return. John pointed out to the first police on the scene that the amount was nearly identical to his Christmas bonus of the prior year, which suggested that someone who would have access to that information would be involved in the crime. Investigators looked at several theories behind the dollar amount demanded, considering employees at Access Graphics who might have known the amount of John's prior bonus. They also considered the possibility that the ransom demand was a reference to
Psalm 118 and spoke to religious sources to determine possible relevance. The ransom note appears to echo film dialogue. The films
Ruthless People,
Ransom,
Escape from New York,
Speed and
Dirty Harry are considered to be potential sources. The ransom note was unusually long. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told the police that it was very unusual for such a note to be written at the crime scene. The police believed that the note was staged, because it did not have any fingerprints except for Patsy's and authorities who had handled it, and because it included an unusual use of exclamation marks and initialisms. The note and a practice draft were written with a pen and notepad from the Ramsey home. According to a
Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report, there were "indications that the author of the ransom note is Patricia Ramsey." However, the evidence fell short of a definitive conclusion.
Michael Baden, a board-certified
forensic pathologist, who had consulted with both sides of the case, said he had never seen a note like it in his 60-year experience and that he did not think it was written by an outside stranger.
Autopsy The
autopsy revealed that JonBenét was killed by
strangulation and a
skull fracture. The official cause of death was "
asphyxia by strangulation associated with
craniocerebral trauma." There was no evidence of conventional
rape, although
sexual assault could not be ruled out. Although no
semen was found, there was evidence that there had been a vaginal injury. Evidence also suggested that the paintbrush used in the garrote was also used for sexual assault. At the time of the autopsy, the pathologist recorded that it appeared her vaginal area had been wiped with a cloth. Her death was ruled a
homicide. A
garrote that was made from a length of nylon cord and the broken handle of a paintbrush was tied around JonBenét's neck and had apparently been used to strangle her. Part of the bristle end of the paintbrush was found in a tub containing Patsy's art supplies, but the bottom third of it was never found despite extensive searching of the house by the police in subsequent days. The autopsy revealed a "vegetable or fruit material which may represent
pineapple," which JonBenét had eaten a few hours before her death. Photographs of the home taken on the day when JonBenét's body was found show a bowl of pineapple on the kitchen table with a spoon in it.
Blood samples In December 2003, forensic investigators extracted enough material from a mixed blood sample found on JonBenét's underwear to establish a
DNA profile. That DNA belonged to an unknown male person, and excluded the DNA of each of the Ramseys. The DNA was submitted to the FBI's
Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database containing more than 1.6 million DNA profiles, but the sample did not match any profile in the database. A. James Kolar, who was a lead investigator for the DA's office, said that there were additional traces of male DNA found on the cord and paintbrush that Boulder district attorney Mary Lacy did not mention, and that there were six separate DNA samples belonging to unknown individuals that were found by the test. Former
Adams County, Colorado, District Attorney Bob Grant, who has assisted the Boulder DA's office on the case for many years, also believes that the DNA evidence is significant, saying that any resolution of the case would have to explain how the DNA showed up on several pieces of JonBenét's clothing. Forensic pathologist
Michael Baden said, "Trace amounts of DNA can get on places and clothing from all different, nonsuspicious means. There is no forensic evidence to show that this is a stranger murder." ==Investigation==