JonBenet

I was living in Denver, Colorado when JonBenet Ramsey was murdered on Christmas Eve, 1996. The media attention there was unlike anything I'd ever witnessed; the details of her horrible death laid out in grisly detail in the papers and on TV day after day, blame thrown around in an ugly hysteria. In the end, more was lost than a pretty little girl.

The Boulder police and D.A.'s office may never repair the credibility lost in the frenzy for justice and the family's grief, pain, and loss cannot be imagined. Patsy, JonBenet's mother, may have been a pushy stage mom, may have--knowingly or unknowningly--sexualized her toddler daughter through all the beauty pageantry, but did that make her culpable in her daughter's death? No parents are perfect, no marriage is perfect, yet the Ramsey family stayed together through society's devastasting scrutiny and judgement.

I believed all along that an intruder--probably a family friend--committed the crime, and it looks like this ex-schoolteacher/pedophile sick fuck Karr is the guy. Authorities apparently knew about him for some time (it's rumored he sent disgusting emails to Patsy Ramsey about JonBenet's murder before Patsy died) but waited until they had sufficient evidence to collect the bastard from Bangkok. Even if he didn't kill JonBenet, that's one less pedophile hurting Thai children. Difficult to imagine him getting a fair trial in Boulder, but here's hoping he's tried and convicted there. Boulder committed untold funds and manpower to solving this murder and deserve some vindication, I think.

At some point, I think the media outlets that made the Ramsey family's life a living, breathing Hell should issue a sincere and public apology. There are so many people desperate for closure on this senseless tragedy, a need for an end to mystery and finger-pointing. Putting JonBenet's killer to death seems the only solution.

Rest in Peace, JonBenet and Patsy Ramsey.