OK. Any additional thoughts or insight would be appreciated. This story has been shared 137,743 times. Can I ask you Ivy, did you live through the whole JonBenet murder saga as an adult while it was unfolding? Help me, Jesus.". Some speculated that Patsy, demanding perfection from the pint-sized pageant winner, flew into a rage when JonBenet wet her bed one time too many. He died unexpectedly in 2002, after being cleared of all suspicion. Gosage took it back down the hill to the gas station and handed it to the technician from the CBI. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. And another creepy coincidence that raised investigators' suspicions was a play written by McReynolds's wife Janet about a girl who was sexually assaulted, then murdered in her basement. He enjoyed connecting with his audience, whether it was through replying to fan mail or interacting with people as an emcee, guest speaker or beauty pageant judge at county fairs and agricultural associations. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. He was totally broken-hearted. I find this hard to believe since they paid 500,000 in the 90s for the entire house. Its important for her to be able to rest in peace., Mr Clemente, a co-producer on Criminal Minds, says this was a major error. A little boy who was a special friend had been murdered several years previously (Thomas). Others, like 12-year-old Burke Ramsey and family friends Bill and Janet McReynolds, have been the targets of fevered public speculation. Why? * Bill's wife later wrote a play about a young girl who was murdered in her basement. That is when McReynolds' fascination with Santa Claus began, said his wife. It shows clips of JonBenet's father John Ramsay telling police that he suspected McReynolds might have been involved. Maybe reporters and podcasters avoid the topic because its so unlikely and it harms the memory of an innocent man and upsets his family. "In the meantime, Patsy continued packing for the Michigan trip. ), Janet McReynolds- wife, mother: Known to be a film critic and movie reviewer for many years and wrote plays as well. Thus the kidnapping charge. Lacy was very suspicious of him and as far as I know he was eliminated to her satisfaction by DNA testing. But Mr Clemente said it was irresponsible to try to do a personality assessment from a TV interview. But that wasnt what piqued police interest. The whispers about Burke erupted into screaming headlines last May when the supermarket tabloid Star reported that he was the prime suspect in the slaying. ._2cHgYGbfV9EZMSThqLt2tx{margin-bottom:16px;border-radius:4px}._3Q7WCNdCi77r0_CKPoDSFY{width:75%;height:24px}._2wgLWvNKnhoJX3DUVT_3F-,._3Q7WCNdCi77r0_CKPoDSFY{background:var(--newCommunityTheme-field);background-size:200%;margin-bottom:16px;border-radius:4px}._2wgLWvNKnhoJX3DUVT_3F-{width:100%;height:46px} ._2ik4YxCeEmPotQkDrf9tT5{width:100%}._1DR1r7cWVoK2RVj_pKKyPF,._2ik4YxCeEmPotQkDrf9tT5{display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center}._1DR1r7cWVoK2RVj_pKKyPF{-ms-flex-pack:center;justify-content:center;max-width:100%}._1CVe5UNoFFPNZQdcj1E7qb{-ms-flex-negative:0;flex-shrink:0;margin-right:4px}._2UOVKq8AASb4UjcU1wrCil{height:28px;width:28px;margin-top:6px}.FB0XngPKpgt3Ui354TbYQ{display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-ms-flex-align:start;align-items:flex-start;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;margin-left:8px;min-width:0}._3tIyrJzJQoNhuwDSYG5PGy{display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%}.TIveY2GD5UQpMI7hBO69I{font-size:12px;font-weight:500;line-height:16px;color:var(--newRedditTheme-titleText);white-space:nowrap;overflow:hidden;text-overflow:ellipsis}.e9ybGKB-qvCqbOOAHfFpF{display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;max-width:100%;margin-top:2px}.y3jF8D--GYQUXbjpSOL5.y3jF8D--GYQUXbjpSOL5{font-weight:400;box-sizing:border-box}._28u73JpPTG4y_Vu5Qute7n{margin-left:4px} As long as theres an open investigation and it will stay open these people will have this cloud hanging over their heads, notes Denver lawyer Andrew Cohen. (Carnes 2003:37). Her friend was sexually assaulted and Jill escaped unharmed. Trip DeMuth stood at the gas station with his arms crossed, watching them drive away. (Thomas). (Thomas), DeMuth was on the trail of Bill McReynolds, even using undercover cops to tail him. I dont have a vision of lots of people listening to me. But less than a month later, Star retracted its explosive report after prosecutors said Burke, who has his own lawyer, was not considered a suspect. Three people are heard to have a conversation. They parked at a gas station down the road and sent my old partner, Detective Ron Gosage, up to talk because he was the only one with whom McReynolds would speak. If the BPD had evidence that the Ramseys killed their daughter, why have they looked at other people as serious suspects?? Even if they weren't paying it full attention it was always in the background influencing what they thought. Santa as perp is a common theme in many murder mysteries. Supporters of this theory pointed out that Burke, then 9, was the only person other than his parents in the home the night his sister was killed, and his prized Swiss Army knife was found in the basement. Hired by Marilyn Haus to play Santa at the mall. (It's also speculated that Patsy lashed out after finding that JonBenet had wet the bed.) For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Documentary claims experts have identified the person they believe is most likely to have killed the young pageant queen, Bearded Bill McReynolds has been linked to the murder of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsay, JonBenets parents Patsy and John pointed fingers at potential suspects, but have also been the cause of suspicion, The documentary sheds light on McReynolds and the the six-year-old's close friendship, JonBenet was found dead in her home on Boxing Day 1996, days after McReynolds visited, One sleuth claims the JonBenet's brother Burke killed her in a row over some pineapple, A torch is seen on the side of the family home. In 1977, Janet gave a local paper an interview and said "I've always been interested in the way victims frequentlyseem to seek their own death, or to deliberately choose their own murderer. Both were released within hours. "He was scarred. The killer resembled JonBenet's brother John Andrew. Can I ask you Ivy, did you live through the whole JonBenet murder saga as an adult while it was unfolding? I dont know what youre watching/reading/listening to, but Ive heard him mentioned all over the place. BILL & JANET McREYNOLDSTHREE months after JonBenet was killed, detectives took a hard second look at the Boulder couple. She looked at it for about three seconds and agreed that it was not the same cord. The same former coworker also claimed that someone close to Helgoth had a tape recording of him confessing to the murder, but policenever investigated it. The case is officially unsolved, and has become one of the most mysterious and controversial in America's history. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. To me it feels as though there's at least a lot of information about his relationship with Jonbenet that would be worthwhile including in documentaries etc. His final stint there came Dec. 23, 1996, two nights before JonBenet was murdered in her home. Janet McReynolds, wife of "Santa" Bill, had a daughter who "had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted twenty-two years to the day before JonBenet's death". Was Jesse ever looked at as a serious suspect? Gosage was met by an irate Jesse McReynolds, who said he was sick of you guys trying to frame my dad. Bill McReynolds, distraught, weeping, and saying, I didnt do anything, refused to come to the door. "I will never forget we were walking toward his house and he said, 'I wonder what it would be like to crack a human skull.' When did that happen? on the Internet. You feel like its just you and me talking. I lived through the he saga as an adult and I know several people that believe the Intruder theory. He also said the family conspired to cover it up by fabricating a ransom letter and a kidnap story. This one is definitely one of the more outlandish theories of the bunch, so you should take it with a grain of salt: At least one source reports that it's possible JonBent was attacked by some sort of wild animal, like an owl or a bear. She made a profound change in me. No suspects were. He wrote me a letter saying that he carved JonBenet's name in a harp, it had the name of three other little girls that died early. It's not easy to unpack all of that garbage and approach the case with fresh eyes. He was 72. There are an unusual amount of coincidences surrounding the McReynolds family that I find difficult to turn a blind eye to. Joe Barnhill claimed he saw John Andrew Ramsey outside the home. -Why, when the money was just sitting in the bank anyway?? They have also lived in La Crescenta, CA and Grants Pass, OR. One of the suspects investigated and cleared early on by authorities in JonBenet's death was family friend and neighbor Bill McReynolds, a man who had evidently been hired by Patsy to play Santa . I feel very close to my listeners this will be what I miss, McReynolds said in a 1997 article in Southern Livestock, written on his impending retirement. When the couple moved to the small town on Cape Cod in 1998, McReynolds left his role of Santa Claus, his wife said. In a chilling twist, they also discovered that the couple's daughter had been abducted on Dec. 26, 1974 along with a young friend . Former CU professor Bill McReynolds died of a heart attack. But another documentary, HLN network's'Who Killed JonBenet Ramsay?' The experts also examine the character of her brother Burke, who was nine at the time of her death, and gave an awkward interview with Dr Phil last week. Following his 1992 retirement from full-time faculty status at CU, McReynolds was hired by a downtown Boulder business association to play the part of a strolling Santa Claus on the Pearl Street Mall. By Christine Reid, Camera Staff Writer. Helgoth was found dead shortly after JonBent's murder, and his death was ruled a suicide. "He has not been on our radar screen for a while," Beckner said. It was 1993 when, during a stop at the New York Deli, McReynolds met Patsy Ramsey, and her two young children, Burke and JonBenet, who was then just 3 years old. JonBenet's brother then says: "What did you find?" I actually tend to believe its the other way around. Nonetheless, BillMcReynolds was still one of the favored suspects for the Ramsey family, and they even specifically called him out in their book, Death of Innocence: The Untold Story of JonBent's Murder and How its Exploitation Compromised the Pursuit of Truth. 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