Sunday, January 20, 2013

Review: JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation



This book was penned by one of the lead detectives on this infamous murder case, Stephen Thomas. Like many people, I figured that I knew a lot about this case. I was wrong. I only knew the snippets that the media presented over the years. I personally always suspected the Ramsey's as the culprits. The fact that they shielded themselves from prosecutors and police with a wall of lawyers seemed suspicious to say the least. But in fairness, I didn't really know the inside story until I read this book.

First off, the officer who penned this book tells a story of prosecutorial misconduct in the handling of the case that is appalling. Yes, the police made mistakes - those are detailed too. But in the end this is the real story of a six year old girl killed on Christmas Eve whose killers were never brought to trial because of the egregious failings of the DA's office. The police, in this telling, were hindered at every turn by the DA's which should have been working with them towards a common goal.

The Ramsey's most assuredly were responsible for the death of their daughter. They lied, misled, and misdirected the media and the public with false cries of being cooperative. The case has been so badly handled it is doubtful that a conviction will ever occur.

My only critique of the book at all was that by the end, I almost felt that the author was beating a dead horse. Then again, from his perspective, I'm sure it felt that way. Yes, we got it, the prosecutors were morons.  It's a minor nit on an otherwise outstanding book.  

The book contains new information we didn't know about the crime, the circumstantial evidence that points to the Ramsey's, and a real insider's perspective of the crime. It is well worth picking up and reading.   I give it four out of five starts - a worthwhile read.  

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