Detective Steven Thomas has openly accused JonBenet's mother, Patsy Ramsey, of murdering her six-year-old daughter the day after Christmas in 1996. After comparing Steve Thomas' evidence with Lou Smit's evidence (the detective who believes an intruder killed JonBenet) it is obvious that Thomas is completely wrong.
Before you read about the evidence, here is a description of the detective backgrounds of both Thomas and Smit.
Thomas: He never was involved with a murder case until JonBenet Ramsey. Prior to JonBenet, he solved cases that involved narcotics. Thomas came into the Ramsey case with no homicide experience.
Smit: He has spent 30 years solving homicides. Among the many notorious cases Smit has solved is the murder of young Heather Church.
Thomas: He believes that Patsy Ramseys, angry that JonBenet had wet her bed, hit her daughter's head against the bathtub, strangled her and then wrote the ransom note to throw police off track. The evidence supporting his belief is the ransom note because the paper it was written on came from the Ramsey's home. Also, out of about 75 people, Patsy Ramsey was the only one who could not be totally eliminated from being the author of the note.
Smit: He believes that an intruder killed JonBenet. The evidence supporting Smit's theory includes unknown DNA found under JonBenet's fingernails and an unknown pubic hair found on her body. The DNA and the pubic hair does not match anyone in her family, including her parents. Also, an unidentified rope found overlooking the Ramseys driveway does not match any rope found in their home.
Now both of these detectives have developed two very different, but possible, theories. However, after researching both of their theories and the evidence that supports them, it became clear that Thomas' case was not as strong as it appeared.
Number 1: It is true that Patsy Ramsey could not be totally ruled out as a possible author of the ransom note, however, her handwriting and the handwriting of the ranson note are not complete matches. Handwriting experts have said that on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being a perfect match, Patsy's writing scored only a 4. Her score is not even close enough to use as evidence in court.
Number 2: The ransom note was indeed written on paper found in the Ramsey's home, however that is not enough proof to suggest the Ramseys wrote the note. It is possible that an intruder knew the less he brought into the home, the less likely the ransom note could be traced to him. If he wrote the note on his own paper and brought it into the Ramsey home, it could be more easy to trace the note to him. Besides that, experts have already eliminated John Ramsey from being the author, and Patsy Ramsey's writing is not a close enough match to state that she definitely wrote the note. So it is much more likely someone outside of the Ramseys wrote the note.
Smit is not the only experienced detective who believes an intruder killed JonBenet. John Douglas, the famous and extremely successful crime solver, also believes that an intruder is responsible for JonBenet's death. Douglas, who profiles killers, has stated that John and Patsy Ramsey do not match the profile of parents who kill their children. First of all, parents who kill their own kids always have a motive for doing it, whether it is stress at work or money problems. The Ramseys had no motive for killing their daughter. Second, a child who is murdered by his or her own parents usually showed signs of abuse prior to their murder. JonBenet's doctor has stated that she never showed signs of physical abuse. Also, JonBenet's teachers and others who had close contact with her never once believed that she was being abused at home. There was no proof of abuse in the Ramsey home.
Steve Thomas has been caught in a lie concerning Detective John Douglas and the Ramseys. Thomas stated that in his book "Mind Hunter," Douglas wrote how a criminal can commit a murder and not get caught. After hearing Thomas' statement, Douglas said that never once in his book did he write a "how to commit a murder and get away with it." After reading the book, one knows that Douglas is right and Steve Thomas' claim is completely false.
After researching the evidence in this case, listening to Smit and Thomas' theories, and hearing what other experienced homicide investigators have said, it is obvious that Steve Thomas' theory is not nearly as strong as Smit's intruder theory. Also, the fact that other crime solvers such as John Douglas have studied this case and agree with the intruder theory is more reason to believe Smit over Thomas.
God Bless JonBenet and the Ramsey family and friends.
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