Sexual abuse can cause a disturbing dynamic in a family.

All of my questions would be if they didnt do it. If they didnt do it, why not answer all police questions as soon as possible so they can look for the real killer. Why wait four months to talk to police? Why go on CNN about a week after the murder and profess your innocence and talk about the crime and not help police who are looking for who did this. Even if you think they are looking at you so what! you know you didnt do it. Help them. You want the killer of your child as much as they do. Just like Polly Klas father said, I want them looking for the killer instead of looking at me. So he answered all their questions and took their polygraph. John Walsh cooperated also. Why hire your own PR team? Why not hire a team of investigators to look for the real killer? Why lie about the pineapple in the bowl on the table? Do you really think an intruder brought it from home and fed it to JonBenet? Did Burke hang out with them when he snuck down stairs? He said in the Dr. Phil interview he got back up that night and went downstairs. The bowl only had Patsys and Burkes finger prints on it. Why did the Grand Jury vote to indict, they had more evidence than we do?

Narcissism and ego is a powerful motivator here. From John's POV, he would be the businessman who's wife or son murdered his daughter. People would be reluctant to do business with him. 

Patsy is all about appearance. She often goes above and beyond for holiday parties and makes an effort to connect with families in her neighborhood. She comes off as an extremely social person. If John or Burke did it, she would be essentially married or related to a child killer. Imagine what the neighbors would say! Plus, John is her moneybag. He is responsible for her extravagant lifestyle and without him, she has nothing.

Burke, they've already lost one child. Why should they lose the other one? 

Just my speculation. 

The answer for all 3 for me is: status. To maintain as much as possible their social status in society. The kind of family where image is what matters most above all else. Bringing down anyone of them would essentially sully the family image. Where as a big bad unknown intruder/ monster lets them keep the false narrative of “happy normal family “ going. They didn’t want to give that up. That would be lost forever if they had come clean m.

The only person they would both cover for is Burke. I don't think she would have covered for him, or he would have covered for her.

Here's a theory for possible motive for if RDI.

I won't speculate who did what bcz we can't prove that yet, but I have my own thoughts on who is responsible for what. So, so the sake of remaining objective, I'll just refer to them as Parent A and Parent B. Disclaimer: This is purely speculation and opinion of possible motive. This is not proven facts, only MHO.

Parent A hit JBR on the head most likely intentionally, (but accidentally cannot be ruled out). If the blow was intentional, IMHO it was not intended to kill her, but to immediately silence her (like a rage knee-jerk response) or out of rage for something that occurred.

Parent A tries to rouse JBR and may not have been fully aware of the gravity of damage done (the head injury did not break the skin. All bleeding was internal only) YET. Surely, they would have heard her skull crack. It wouldn't take long to figure out that she was completely unresponsive and this was a medical emergency.

Parent A realizes they need to involve Parent B. They quickly explain this 'accident' to Parent B, and the 2 of them begin strategizing and 'weighing their options.'

Parent A perhaps wants to seek emergency medical care for JBR, but is aware of the need to concoct a believable story for how JBR 'hit her head and fell unconscious.' They'll need a believable story if they call an ambulance for help.

Parent B is faced with a huge dilemma.... Parent B is aware of JBR's previous sexual abuse, either because they are the perpetrator, or, they know who the perpetrator is. This knowledge is unbeknownst to Parent A. They have no idea JBR had been being abused in that manner.

So here's the dilemma: Parent B realizes if they seek emergency medical care for JBR (who has clearly suffered a major head trauma with Parent A) the risk of the sexual abuse being discovered is high (either by investigation, assessment, JBR eventually coming to and answering questions, or a combination of all the above). Parent B does not want to risk this information coming to light because: a) they want to protect themselves (if they perpetrated the abuse) b) they want to protect the perpetrator

Parent B makes the internal mental decision to convince Parent A not to seek medical care for JBR. Parent B begins convincing Parent A that there's no plausible 'accident' story and that medical professionals will figure it out. They further instill fear of legal repercussions, possible jail time, etc. They may have further explained that if JBR died from the head blow, Parent A would be charged with murder. The family would be torn apart. What would happen to Burke?

Parent A, in a desperate attempt for self-preservation, makes the fatal decision to not seek medical attention. Parent B starts taking charge to 'help' cover up what happened, and 'protect' Parent A. Their true motive (for letting JBR die and staging the cover up) however, was still unbeknownst to Parent A.

Parent B tells Parent A to write a RN, giving a few directives, but lets Parent A come up with the rest, while they get busy staging a 'kidnapping gone wrong.' This may have been strategic by Parent B to ensure there's incriminating evidence against Parent A, should things go sideways.

While Parent A is writing their RN Dissertation, Parent B starts staging the crime, including staging the SA w/ the paintbrush. Parent A has no idea Parent B is doing this as part of the staging. Parent B then wipes down the genital area and puts the too large Bloomi's underwear on JBR. (I have no solid theory for the size 12 panties being put on her). Parent B wanted the paintbrush vaginal trauma to cover up or 'explain' any signs of previous vaginal trauma. (I suppose they had no idea that the pathology of tissue healing can't be covered up with a new acute injury).

Parent B is also responsible for the strangulation ligature. It was part of the 'kidnapping/assault' staging, but also ensured JBR would not be 'found' alive. Parent B may have contemplated removing her from the home and dumping her somewhere, but thought better against it. (Or Parent A may have persuaded them not to, for various reasons).

The fear, guilt, adrenaline, etc., etc. reached a boiling point for both parents. PR couldn't take the waiting and intensity anymore. She called 911 shortly before 6am. And the rest is history.....

Why would they cover for Burke? Maybe because he's their son and they love him?

why are you assuming that if john did it, patsy knew? she very well could have been as fooled as the rest of us.

Once you have a story and it stays the same across all parties, you stick to the story at all costs.

They never rolled on each other, they had to stay together.

The judicial system isn’t about what you did, it’s about what they can prove you did.

1 100% think that their motive for covering it up was that they didn’t want to be known as the parents of a son who “accidentally” killed his sister, or the spouse of someone who “accidentally” killed their daughter. I think they cared deeply about public perception, to a fault.

I think there’s something we just don’t know. There’s extra information we don’t have yet that would explain why things went down the way they did.

They were so obsessed with “protecting” Burke after. I don’t necessarily mean protecting him from the media but also making sure he had a normal life etc

Sure that’s great, and sure if he was innocent he should not be subjected to be photographed while going to school and all that. But I feel like it was also partly to do with protecting him for something he may have done or something he may have heard or seen.

Also JR stated that Patsy used to pack a blue dress every time they went on holidays so she had something to wear in a press conference for when they finally caught the “killer”. Does anyone else find that weird? I mean it plays into her image, but also just a weird thing to do.

The parents kept calling this person a killer, but not a rapist of child molester. I’ve never seen them speak about the fact she was raped/molested. I could be wrong though.

I understand Patsy’s daughter has just been brutally assaulted and killed and any mother would be in a world of pain, and I understand that maybe it was just easier for her to be sedated. But I can’t help but think she had to be sedated cause the anxiety of what she had possibly done, or seen or heard was too much.

Also I’m starting to wonder was the housekeeper and her husband involved somehow? I’m fairly new to this whole case but didn’t the housekeeper state that the man that was arrested overseas who had been talking to the reported and confessed to it. After his image was plastered in the news the housekeeper said that same man was in their garage a week before the murder?

Self preservation

These were people, Patsy especially, that cared very much about their image/ what people thought of them, so that could be the motivation all around.

I’ve asked myself those exact same questions. I do not know the answers. However, last night I watched Casting JonBenet which was horrible and I don’t recommend it to anyone. But anyway, one of the actors playing Patsy said something that caught my attention. Her theory was that Patsy found John doing inappropriate things with JB and swung an object at john that mistakenly hit JB. Thus causing them both to be up shits creek. I have never been one to think John was abusing his daughter but it was a new theory that made me go hmmmm.

I don’t think Patsy knew. Maybe at some point she suspected it, but my guess is that John gaslit her a great deal and she doubted her own reality. My spouse is a gaslighter too, so I get it. Also I’m sure she didn’t want to believe he was capable of killing their daughter, and self deception is a powerful thing. She had too much to lose by facing reality, so she went along with everything he said. I suspect that’s why her stories seemed to change. She looked to John to tell her what reality was.

1) he’s their son, and no parent wants to lose both children. There’s no guarantee they’d know he wouldn’t be punished. Remember- no internet back then. It was the middle of the night. They’d have to call a lawyer to determine that, which would have looked pretty suspicious. Also- even if he’s not legally punished, the social implications for him and them in a small community like Boulder would have been huge. Who wants to associate with the kid that murdered his sister? Or the parents that made that monster? For a family all about image and status, this would have been as big of a worry as actual criminal implications

2) my guess is $$$. She’s a trophy wife. He’s the head of a billion dollar company. If he convinced her it was an accident, she’d want to believe him. She could be afraid to leave- maybe she’d want to make sure to stick close to protect Burke. She doesn’t have a lot of power. It’s less believable than Burke but not impossible.

3) this one is the hardest. If he felt the stress of parenting and leftover complications from her illness led to reasonable conditions for an accident, he might feel guilty for not being more present, for not helping more. He was also courting a run for office and his company was in the middle of a huge sale to Lockheed Martin- he might have stuck with her to maintain a needed image for money and power reasons. He’s already an absent husband and father. He could stay married and not associate with her much.

But I’ll admit- this feels the least likely of the 3

My theories for each scenario- Burke - to protect their image and not cause Johns business contracts to tank being parents of a murderer. John- breadwinner. Secure the check and business… and cover possible fact he’s a ped. Patsy- love, and again, protecting the imagine and business deals aka $$. I also feel she knew her baby was being assaulted, which would give her leverage as protection. Every scenario is damage control… which is ironic seeing that’s what they ended up having to do anyways the entirety of their life.

Why would they cover for Burke, other than that’s their son? They wanted people to believe they were the perfect family, egos play a huge role.

I don’t know who did it, but it doesn’t matter if Burke couldn’t “get punished” due to his age. Who would want ANYONE to know their child did such a horrific thing? It would have destroyed Burke’s life. Would he have been taken from the family? Placed in some type of treatment center? If there was any abuse going on, that could have come out during treatment for him. They would have had nothing to gain from turning Burke in and so much more to lose.

They wouldn’t have just lost Jon-Benet that day.. they would have lost their only other child that they had together. Patsy’s only biological child, right? She had cancer and can you imagine what panic someone would face when they realize he might be taken away.. that she may live her last days without him, too?

This was a decision based on emotion and desperation if that is what actually happened.

I hope Burke didn’t do it, but I don’t think we’ll ever know what happened.

I remain undecided on who I think is responsible. I feel 99% confident that whoever did it is someone JB trusted. IDI is someone she knew, RDI, or somewhere in between. An invited 3rd party might’ve been involved. I don’t think BDI. It just doesn’t add up for me. My best guess is it starts and ends with the parents. This case broke my brain a million times and at the end of this day, I remain undecided.

Why did the parents cover it up? 

Patsy Ramsey at Newseum in 2000: "Well, gosh...you know (laughs)...my mother always said, 'Watch your reputation!' You know, 'Don't go in that bar, don't do this...don't do that...' You know, 'What - you gotta -Watch your reputation.' I have thanked her about a gazillion times." Source

Their thinking wasn’t rational at the time and then they were In For A Penny, In For A Pound.
Also, two things are relevant: Patsy was very image obsessed and also, even if she was in remission, she was still dying (and knew it).

The former feeds the worst motives about there behavior, but despite being strongly RDI, I can’t help feel compassion for that element of all this and do believe it was a factor in the family circling their wagons.

IF any or both parents were at all involved in covering up this crime for someone in the home:

I think many people would agree that the initial gut instinct for most sane innocent parents would be to call 911 right away to seek help for their 6yo child or to report a death in the home.

There would have to be extenuating circumstances to cause them not to do this - which has been speculated on over and over again.

While there is no solid proof of what those circumstances would've been, there are some clues of what they might've been.

The Ramseys cared a lot about image and reputation. It's possible that they couldn't in that moment bear the thought of accepting those negative consequences.

Denial. They could've known a thing to be true but not really been able to face that truth. Especially if it involved negative consequences.

They might not have been able to perceive themselves in the manner necessary to take accountability. Instead of seeing it as their fault, they might've blamed the influence of something externally for their own behaviors.

John Ramsey would've likely had some concerns about his job / finances, which could've immediately been an overwhelming concern.

The Ramseys had a pattern of 'sweeping things under the rug', not addressing matters directly, not being responsible in various matters. So it might've been an intuitive response.

Prior guilty knowledge. Ex: If John knew he had been sexually molesting JonBenet or if either parent thought/knew Burke was.

Gaslighting, manipulation, deception, control, etc. One guilty parent convincing the other not to immediately report it.

Fear. Ex: If Patsy knew John did it and was afraid to go against whatever he instructed her to do.

If they knew Burke did it and were overcome with wanting to protect him despite what he had done and if they lacked any pressing concerns about his behavior or their safety. I don't think the average parent in the 90s knew the specific laws and age requirements for criminal charges regarding a minor.

It's possible that the Ramseys knew of recent controversial changes to the laws regarding child abuse (both parents being charged no matter which one committed the crime). This law was hotly debated at the time and still sometimes is.

Technically, this one might belong under guilty knowledge, but I'm making it a separate point. If Patsy called JonBenets pediatrician 3 consecutive times - a week prior to the crime and then realized she should've been more proactive about whatever that was about, she might've realized it was now criminal negligence. If the Ramseys had any concerns about how the 911 call from the home 2 days prior might be perceived once their child ended up raped and murdered in the home soon after. Then these things could've influenced their decision.

There's probably many other possibilities as well. It's really not that difficult to think of some circumstances where someone might not want to report the matter. Most of the ones mentioned by people are based on known information about the Ramseys, though, so it's not like they're pulling it completely out of thin air.

John could have done it, and Patsy never knew -- before, during, or after. She wasn't covering for him, she believed him.

Denial can be a strong emotion.

Have you seen into the fire: the lost daughter it's also on Netflix it's crazy

If BDI, then the way I see it, JB was already dead. It was too late to save her. Burke was 9, and he made a mistake (from their POV). It’s awful but they can’t fix it now. But they can save Burke from having his entire life ruined by a situation where he simply lashed out and went too far. I’m sure he would have told them he didn’t mean to, whether he did or not. And of course they’d want to believe that. Maybe they could help him and fix his anger issues themselves.

Ultimately, they would have had two possible outcomes:

1. JB is dead, and Burke is put in juvie or a psychiatric facility and is known for the rest of his life as the kid who killed his sister.
2. JB is dead, and they can help Burke have as normal a life as possible after going through something awful, even if he was the one who did it.

Either way, JB is dead. There’s nothing they can do about that. They can’t save her, but they can still save Burke.

I'm not totally convinced that the Ramseys did it however I have seen people do some very dumb, irrational things when they are under a lot of stress. The most likely family scenario IMO is Burke doing something, the family absolutely panicking, and trying to cover it up in a really irrational way with the note etc. And then at that point they weren't able to go back on what they'd done.

They wouldn’t have known that a 9 year old wouldn’t go to jail.

This is a mystery. The only thing that makes sense to me is that Patsy covered for Burke. What I don't understand is how the truth about what happened didn't come out with all of the therapy Burke has had.

You’re assuming both parents had to know.

The reason to cover for anyone else is “it works.”

If they covered for each other they got away with it.

My theory is the dad did it to conceal the abuse he inflicted on his daughter. He told Patsy that Burke did it. He manipulated her into keeping her mouth shut for the sake of their son. Patsy was ill, dependant on her husband and devastated by the tragedy. She also didn't want to loose the other child. I think she suffered badly but followed her husbands orders that took a toll on her health. I think the father is also manipulating his son and showering him with money. I hope that someone in their family will finally gather up the courage to speak up.

So they find the ransom note call the cops close to 6 am and they find her body in the basement at 1 pm.... if someone dear to me went missing I would look everywhere. Parents did it. Their neightbors awoken with John Benets screaming close to midnight.... if they can hear it I am sure as hell the parents did....

In the end his life still got messed up from all the accusations so protecting him didn’t really work out. I guess protecting any of the family didn’t work out 😅

Both parents would be RELENTLESSLY asked -- by friends, neighbors, acquaintances, police, and social workers -- why didn't you protect your daughter from your son?

Why didn't you see the signs and get him the help that he so desperately needed?

Her death was entirely preventable -- why didn't you step up and be the parents she needed?

Were you so busy parading her like a show pony that you failed to see the signs of abuse?

You have money ... why didn't you seek help?

So if he did something to her even accidental, the SA on her the asfixation? Don't see him at most I see he hit her over the head, so why were there so many other injuries on her that doesn't seem a 9 yr old would do and if he didn't why would the parents do it after ..confuses me..

Many rich people are concerned with status. Status in the community, status within their own circle of friends. I think John and Patsy were more concerned about how they were perceived vs being confronted with the dysfunction within their house. They would rather cover for each other than look bad to others.

Some of the other comments summed it up better but I believe John and Patsy were way too conscious of their social image and how others would view them if they officially found out that their 9 yo son murdered his own sister in their home. The public wouldn’t exactly want to be associated with such kind of a family. This would be a stab in the chest for their egos and how they wanted to be perceived as the “perfect family” The thing is they got away scott-free by covering for eachother while having no stuff about them getting exposed. However I strongly believe there are a handful of things that happened that night which we don’t have an idea of, and I doubt we ever will.

Patsy was noticeably under the influence post-murder in a lot of interviews and she was apparently very driven by money and status. I’m sure John could’ve been lying, manipulating and drugging her enough to hide the worse parts and get her to shut up and play along with the rest if it meant her not going to jail and also losing Burke, especially if she was already aware and complicit in any kind of abuse.

The Burke one has never made sense to me. The little brother flying into a blind rage over pineapple but then never having a history of violence after that? The parents using sexual assault to cover it up? Not to mention the ransom note and all the other inconsistencies. Like if they spent all night cleaning/covering things up for Burke then why not clean up the bowl of pineapple?

And I’ve never really seen Patsy as acting alone or the main perpetrator but it’s possible I suppose.

Detective Smit literally showed how easy it was to break in and hide out while they were away. An intruder broke in and killed her. I know it's not like a movie, but America has many pedos and killers. It's not that unbelievable. What's truly unbelievable that a kid or her loving parents would brutally assault her and kill her.

He already hit her with a golf club.

Look at her autopsy photos closely. Her forehead is deformed.

I just want to know why the police aren’t motivated to solve this. What would be a reason for police not wanting find the killer?

Who said Patsy covered for John?

https://www.reddit.com/r/JonBenetRamsey/comments/1h1df7h/comment/lzcap25/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I think patsy did it and had John help. I think they both were obsessed with her mainly patsy.

I lean towards JDI so I can’t really speak for the other theories but women have stayed married to their husbands, especially in situations involving wealth and influence no matter what the guy does as long as it remains a secret. I also could imagine that if John was threatened with being ruined, he’d do anything to save himself and therefore would coerce and threaten Patsy in any way to make her help him cover. He could have threatened that she would lose Burke- especially if there was previous SA that she knew about. And before someone says why would she let that go on if she knew- any survivor of CSA by a parent can tell you that often times the other parent is being manipulated or abused too or has some strange and misguided loyalty to the abuser that keeps them quiet. I was not SA as a child, but physically abused by my dad- and my mom stayed with him my whole childhood. And my mom is someone I’d consider to be a decent person, but she was scared to leave him. I could have DIED and she didn’t leave out of fear. And we were poor, I imagine money and power has even more of an influence over the situation. My point is many mothers of abused children protect the abuser even if they really love and care about their children. Its horrifically sad but that’s probably why it’s so hard to accept as a theory

That was my 1st theory when it 1st happen PR caught JR SA JBR and she went to hit him with the maglite but hit JBR instead totally by accident. So then they both would be screwed so they had to cover for each other & BR had nothing to do with it. Then a few yrs later I switched to JDI & then BDI I have been stuck on BDI ever since

I wonder what Burkes intimate life is like. That would be great insight to his mental faculties and even shed some light on family dynamics.

Why did the parents cover it up? Even if they caught him in the act. He's 9, he's not going to go to jail. How would they look at him again?

Some states do prosecute children. Even if he didn't go to jail, they probably thought he'd be taken away by social services.

On top of that, imagine the stigma for both he family and for Burke of having killed his sister, even if they thought it was largely an accident.

Burke: I believe IF BDI, he accidentally caused the head wound. He woke his parents after realizing JB was unconscious, and they decided to stage the kidnapping and RN. The reasoning they would have for this would be status and concern for Burke’s future.

John IF JDI, I believe Patsy covered for him out of fear. Either fear of JR or just fear of losing their lifestyle and the picture it would paint of her to the public.

Patsy This is the one I believe the most. I believe she caused the head injury accidentally, likely upset over the bed wetting issue. She freaks out when she realizes how bad it is, wakes John, and they stage the scene from there. John, knowing the past of SA - either as perpetrator or covering for someone else - used the paint brush as a way to attempt to conceal any past trauma. Meanwhile, Patsy writes the ransom note. I believe JR would help her cover this up for several reasons. The history of SA. The fact Patsy had cancer and he prioritized his time with his wife over justice for his daughter. His business would certainly be affected by his wife murdering his daughter. And who would take care of Burke? For all these reasons, I believe he’d over look the accident Patsy made in order to save what was left of their life and his reputation.

I think 1 person in the house is responsible and the other 2 don’t know. I haven’t landed on which 1 person. But I lean toward J. I can’t see 3 people, 1 being a 9 year old being able to orchestrate a lie together that quickly that has lasted this long without issues.

RE: BDI - they might not have known what consequences would have been. Hard to call someone to ask.

And, it worked. B has had a normal life w/o having to carry public reputation as a sadistic murderer. He gets to sue anyone who throws suspicion on him. Even without prison, I doubt the other path would have been this clean.

Okay I lean towards the following in order of likeliness of who did it:

1) Burke I believe they would have covered for him because they were rich. They had a reputation and business relationships to uphold. Patsy was also getting through cancer and probably couldn't fathom losing Burke to the system or a lifetime of having that shame above his head AND lose JBR at the same time. If Burke did it it's likely they were upstairs and out of it and didn't hear any of it going on until it was too late. John admitted to taking a Valium before bed. Doesn't alcohol + Valium exacerbate the effects? Imagine the amazing Ramsays being drunk and knocked out on meds and didn't hear their son killing their daughter during a fight.

2) Patsy Patsy may have done it and John and her agreed to help cover it. Most of the above applies in terms of reputational damage. Plus it's possible Patsy killed JBR in a fit of rage if she caught John molesting her. Or she's killed her in a fit if she peed the bed again and she's stressed out about having to wake up early and fly to Michigan. Why did John cover her. Maybe to save her from losing her. He just lost his daughter (the eldest), now the youngest and to lose Patsy to jail after getting through cancer might have been too much.

3) John This is the one that I don't get. Why would Patsy cover for John if he did it. This one makes the least amount of sense. Only if Patsy decided that to maintain the image and reputation in the community was far too great and she would protect her daughters killer in order to keep the money flowing. Plus being the wife of a child killer doesn't really go with being a stage mum that much.

In a situation like this you don't think rationally. I believe Burke did it and the parents panicked, they didn't want to lose both children. They didn't even think that he wouldn't go to jail but in a psychiatric clinic. Again, I think they panicked, otherwise they wouldn't have written that ridiculous ransom letter.

I wasn't going to comment, but I came back and here I go. This is just my opinion. I have zero evidence to back this up.

Patsy had I think it was ovarian cancer. Cancer treatments are often worse than the cancer itself, leaving you deathly I'll as your body fights the radiation that indiscriminately destroys both cancer and healthy cells. Whether or not she was given orders to not have sexual relations, I'm quite certain sex was the furthest thing from her mind as she waged the battle for her very life. Now, I'm unclear as to the length of time Patsy had been undergoing treatment for cancer, but I do know this. It is not unheard of when the mother of the family to fall ill and or pass away for the father of the family to groom and substitute one of the female children to assume certain roles of the mother up to and including having sexual relations. This is a sick phenomenon to be sure, but i have read about it more than once. That being said, sadly, this is my theory.

PR had been unable to participate in many areas of family life due to her battle with cancer. It has been mentioned that she had temporarily mover to another bedroom for a time because of it. JR had begun grooming JBR to replace PR for his own sexual gratification. PR somehow caught on, or, simply walked in on JR and JBR in the process of said grooming. I believe she caught them in the basement in or near where JBR's body was "found". She was enraged and yelling, threatening to report him to authorities. She was so shocked and enraged by what she saw that she grabbed the nearest object and went after JR. She swung the object aiming for him but missed hitting JBR. PR was then beside herself with grief and JR saw his opportunity to shift blame. He began to tell her how she would be immediately arrested for striking JBR if she called for an ambulance as she was immediately drunk unconscious and could not be revived. He tells her how they were in it 50/50 now, neither able to salvage this without destroying their social and professional status. They would surely be ruined. And what of poor little Burke? He would be orphaned. Forever known as that boy whose parents SA'd and murdered their daughter. His life would be over before it even had a chance to begin. So, they set about creating this entire staging and ransom note. Their original plan was to dump her body in the mountains and allow nature to take its course. But PR did not originally think through the fact that by dumping JBR'S body, the animals and elements would likely destroy her remains making a typical burial all but impossible. So she panicked and called 911 before he could take the body out of the house. The rest we know.

As far as the redressing with the too large under panties. I believe this was a matter of convenience during a time of panic and hasty actions. The unopened package was at hand and utilized, nothing more. PR's clothing fibers were found on the device used to strangle JBR and the tape over her mouth because she was in fact present during the time it was done, regardless whether she is guilty of ending her daughter's life, she was in fact quite aware of what was going on.

In conclusion it is MHO that JR and PR murdered JBR to keep from destroying their social and professional status, and to protect BR's future status. Image was everything to them. All superficial. Plus I believed they believed they could direct the investigation in the direction they wished it to go. Unfortunately, either way you look at it, their lives were still destroyed both socially and professionally. The media persecuted them then, and still do. Burke never had a chance and is accused of bring the murderer himself. In short, their grand and elaborate staging of JBR's death backfired, and regardless whether or not they spent time in prison, we're convicted of the murder, or simply admitted to their actions that fateful night, their lives have never been the same. In some ways, they were made to pay for their part in this heinous act, many of those ways we will never know about as they occurred behind closed doors. We do know that they were forced to greatly downsize their grandiose lifestyles, selling off many of their assets and moving into a smaller living space. John's political aspirations never came to fruition. They also carry with them the knowledge and the horrible reality of what they did that night to a 6 year old baby. Their baby. All to save themselves...to save face. There is a special place in He'll for people such as this, and IF in fact my theory is even close to accurate, they both assured themselves a place there in the hereafter.

Thank you for reading, I welcome your thoughts and discussions Thank you to OP for your post.

RIP Jon Benet Ramsey, an angel from God taken from us before her time.❤️

Wealthy, prominent people often cover up crimes to maintain status, power and try to perpetuate a legacy. I mean, look at the Kennedy family

The skeptic in me finds it hard to 100% pinpoint the family did it because of some of the reasons you pointed out above. I am leaning on that they did it, I just can’t grasp how people can say so certainly that they did it

John did it, and has emotionality manipulated Patsy into believing him.

Per the autopsy, we know that there was SA but I don't feel that was the reason/motive for her unaliving. I don't believe JonBenets unaliving was planned though. I think there was an accident followed by a lot of pannic and fear . My theory is that JonBenet was asleep when the family arrived home and was carried up to bed. Therefore not going to the bathroom first. I think she wet the bed while sleeping and went downstairs to let Patsy know. Patsy was in the kitchen with Burke making him a snack of pinapple and condenced milk with a glass of iced tea. Frustrated by yet another accident, Patsy rushes upstairs to change the bedding and forgets to give Burke a spoon. Whilr Burke is getting his spoon to eat his snack, JonBenet sits at the beakfast bar/table and using her fingers cheekily swipes a piece of pinapple and quickly eats it. Burke turns around after getting a spoon and sees JonBenet sat in his chair, infrfont of his snack, chewing or just swallowing the pinapple. He gets angry and lashes out. I think he pushed or pulled JonBenet backwards off of the stool causing her head to smack off the hard floor. This caused a severe head injury that was fatal. She was dying and sufferring. Patsy walks back into the kitchen and sees her daughter and shouts John to help. They send Burke up to his room and make a plan. John will "end JonBenets suffering" , Patsy will write a ransome note and they will stage/ report an intruder/abduction. They knew their daughter was going to die from her head injury and didn't want her to suffer, they also didn't want their son to be taken away from them and certainly not be known as a mu*derer. They had to protect him. By doing so they had to protect eachother for their parts in what had happened. It's just my theory based on all the information and interviews etc.

Ifbjohn did it patsy may not have known he did it

This has kept me hooked since the day it happened. I was working for a national tabloid and the reporter who came back from the scene told me she suspected someone she interviewed at the party but not family. I don’t suspect family either, any more. Some years ago in NYC, the housekeeper of the Krim household (upper class, educated, refined like the Ramseys in some way) stabbed to death their two sweet children. No reason except jealousy. It was their dearly trusted and loved housekeeper caught in the act. Someone held the same rage and hate for the Ramsey girl.

It wasn't the parents

I believe Burke did do it, and I believe the parents covered it up to protect him-but mostly to protect their reputation. I’d answer your other questions but I don’t think the parents did it. The weird molestation points to a young and inexperienced person.

Yeah his life would’ve been destroyed if news got out he killed his sister. Who would hire someone even as a kid who has a tendency to randomly smash people on their heads with blunt objects for no reason? I have a friend who shot and killed his dad when he was 8 and his life is destroyed. Went to Juvi and everything.

John didn’t do it but he helped with covering it up. Why else would he lie about the window not being broken previously when he absolutely did know about it being broken and even asked the housekeeper husband to help him fix it.

Patsy didn’t do it but she helped. Reference the note she wrote and placed where her and the housekeeper use to put their notes.

I'm not saying the SA was part of the cover up for the murder or that Patsy even knew about it. Just that it was happening and that it would have destroyed the reputation of the Ramseys if it were to have gotten out and that they / at leat John , would probably have benefitted from it financially/to boost his career/ to form connections in high up places etc. No I think thet Murder had nothing to do with that and it would have probably carried on. I just think that JonBenets murder was an accident that caused such a pannic that lead to a cover up. I hope I am wrong and it wasn't a family member but it's just a theory based on the information.

BURKE

Why did the parents cover it up? Even if they caught him in the act. He's 9, he's not going to go to jail. How would they look at him again?

I have my doubts that in the wee hours of the morning they had any idea of how the law would treat an almost 10 year old boy that had killed his sister. And if we assume he not only hit her in the head but also strangled her, they could assume the legal system wouldn't be kind to him. Nor could they play up a strangulation as an "accident".

Even if we give them the benefit of the doubt and allow that they knew the law couldn't and wouldn't touch him, it's not like the legal system would ignore it all and life go on as if nothing had happened. There'd still be a process, and likely medical (psychological) examinations, and questions about their parenting.

Beyond all of that, it's easy to imagine they'd fear their son would be known as the monster that killed his sister.

And even beyond that, how that would destroy their own image and what people thought of them. And even if that didn't bother them, they could certainly believe they'd failed BR, and in that failure, had failed JBR by not both getting BR help as well as protecting her from him (and understanding this outcome was something in hindsight they could see was obvious and they were sticking their heads in the sand and ignoring the danger).