Murder of JonBenét Ramsey

A Startling Revelation

JonBenet Ramsey's headstone

Another startling revelation that Thomas offered in his book was that Boulder police detectives had broken into an Atlanta cemetery and bugged JonBenet Ramsey's grave. It happened seven months into the investigation, when police became frustrated at the lack of developments in the case and recruited a patrolman from Georgia State Police to break into St. James Episcopal Cemetery. He tells how Boulder detectives planted a hidden microphone and camera a few feet from JonBenet's grave and monitored them for three days, hoping to catch a mourner's confession. He also admitted that John and Patsy Ramsey, who were the primary targets of the stakeout, did not visit the grave during that time.

Four months later, the detectives returned to the cemetery with a fake tombstone they had commissioned from a special-effects company to hide the equipment. The plan was foiled, however, when a child discovered the fake tombstone and announced loudly that it was made of wood.

The book also describes how Boulder detectives were planning to have a technical specialist break into the Ramsey's Atlanta home and install listening devices. The plan was eventually abandoned when their supervisors rejected the idea.

Throughout the book, Thomas, a narcotics detective with no experience investigating homicides, expounds his theory that Patsy Ramsey accidentally killed JonBenet in a late-night rage over a bed-wetting incident and then covered it up as a botched kidnapping.

In the wake of these and other allegations made in Thomas' book, Patsy Ramsey agreed to provide investigators with a fourth sample of her handwriting, using both hands. The Ramseys later announced through their attorney that they were considering suing Thomas for the allegations he made in his book.