Police Say Ramsey Talks Didn't Go Well
John Ramsey Says They Have Some 'Good Leads'
John and Patsy Ramsey are questioned by police for several hours.And now, their lawyer Lin Wood says, it's time for police to publicly clear them of suspicion in the 1996 death of their daughter -- and to give them "peace of mind."
The Boulder police chief says the talks in Atlanta didn't go as well as he hoped. He says that limitations set by the Ramseys' attorney kept police from getting as much information as they would have liked.
Wood said that the Ramseys refused to answer questions from the Boulder investigators about forensic evidence because they did not have the results of forensic tests performed by police.
After Tuesday's questioning, Patsy Ramsey (pictured), told reporters that she hopes that Boulder's police chief Mark Beckner will be able to get beyond whatever "obstacles" make him believe that she killed her child.
The two sides had squabbled Monday over special prosecutor Michael Kane's questions about forensic evidence, with Wood saying that Kane was refusing to consider any suspects other than the 6-year-old's parents.
In response, Kane said earlier Tuesday that Wood "doesn't want his client to answer some tough questions" about JonBenet's death in the family's home in Boulder.
"This case is ... almost four years old. Whether it's an intruder or somebody in the house who committed this homicide, there are some difficult, tough questions that have to be answered," Kane said.
The investigators spent seven hours Monday questioning Mrs. Ramsey at Wood's office. They met with her again Tuesday morning and then met with her husband, wrapping up the sessions before noon.
After the Monday session, Wood said that Kane had reduced the questioning of Mrs. Ramsey to a "fishing expedition" to pin the child beauty queen's killing on her parents.
He said that Kane threatened to walk out of the interview with Mrs. Ramsey when the two sides argued over questioning about fiber evidence and security precautions for JonBenet's older brother, Burke.
The latter was "a series of questions that I don't think serve any useful purpose'" in finding the killer, Wood said.
"They may never clear our names till they find the killer," John Ramsey said Monday. "We're not here to prove our innocence or clear our name. We're here to find the killer of our daughter."
Wood said Monday that the investigators' questions, excluding those from Kane, were mostly fair. At a break in the talks Monday, Mrs. Ramsey had said she that was "very comfortable" with questions that investigators asked her in the morning session.
"I believe they're asking pertinent questions, so I'm happy to be there," she said.
The two sides disagreed in the afternoon session over questions about fiber evidence from the investigators who Wood said didn't disclose all that they knew about the evidence.
The attorney said that he also objected to questioning about Mrs. Ramsey's concern for 13-year-old Burke's security at school. Wood said that questioning did nothing to help prosecutors find JonBenet's killer.
The Boulder investigators entered the interviews intending to question the Ramseys about forensic evidence and statements they made in their book, "The Death of Innocence," in which the Ramseys defend themselves and write about people they consider suspects.
JonBenet (pictured), was found beaten and strangled on Dec. 26, 1996, in the basement of her family's Boulder home. No suspect has ever been named, though Beckner said that her parents remain under suspicion. The Ramseys have denied any involvement.
Police first interviewed the Ramseys separately in April 1997 after months of negotiations. They were questioned separately again in June 1998.
A grand jury was convened in 1998 to investigate the slaying but disbanded without an indictment. Critics claim that police botched the case early in the investigation and were overly deferential to the Ramseys, who now live in Atlanta.
John Ramsey said that they have some "good leads" as to who the killer was. And their attorney says that they gave those leads to police. He says that if the couple can get police to look at suspects other than the parents, they will have accomplished something.
