All the theories about who really killed JonBenét Ramsey

AP

A popular theory is that JonBenét 's parents are responsible for her death.

Patsy Ramsey said that she first knew JonBenét was missing when she found a two-and-a-half-page, handwritten ransom note at the bottom of the staircase. The note is filled with quotes from movies including "Dirty Harry" (1971), "Ransom" (1996), and "Speed" (1994).

Analysis of the note says that it was probably written by a woman, which many believe to be Patsy. Patsy was believed to be a strict mother, and some claim she physically punished JonBenét for peeing the bed and accidentally killed her, so she staged a kidnapping in order to cover it up. 

Patsy Ramsey passed away in 2006 from ovarian cancer.

The theories that JonBenét 's parents committed the murder often stem from their strange behavior after the fact, and the lack of footsteps of any kind in the snow surrounding their home.

John Bennett Ramsey found his daughter's dead body in the basement wine cellar, and carried her upstairs. He removed the tape from her mouth, and covered her in a blanket, which could have destroyed important evidence. 

In 2008, Patsy and John Ramsey were officially cleared of any involvement in the murder due to DNA evidence.

Source: Rolling Stone

Burke Ramsey is JonBenét's older brother. He was nine years old when she was murdered in 1996. Some theorists believe that he killed JonBenét when he angrily threw a flashlight at her head. There was a blow to JonBenét's head and a flashlight in the kitchen, where the two kids had allegedly eaten pineapple before bed. It was discovered that JonBenét had eaten pineapple shortly before being killed. 

This popular theory also posits that the parents are to blame for covering it all up as a kidnapping. On the CBS special "The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey" that aired in fall of 2016, professional investigators looked into the case and interviewed friends of the Ramseys and concluded that Burke likely did it. In December 2016, Burke filed a lawsuit against CBS for a massive $750 million, alleging defamation.

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John Mark Karr, who has been arrested on multiple charges including child pornography, claimed that he was in the Ramsey house the night of the murder and saw JonBenét die, but isn't the one who murdered her.

“Nobody wanted that little girl to die that night — nobody," Karr said. "Her death was an accident. I was with her when she died. But I was not the person who caused it." 

Karr claims that he still knows the identity of the killer. He says that he staged the crime scene in order to throw the police off the track of the real killer. Karr was cleared from any charges after no tissue samples or bodily fluids matched his at the scene, contradicting his own story.

Specifically, a Santa Claus impersonator named Bill McReynolds. Two nights before JonBenét was killed, McReynolds was at the Ramsey house dressed as Santa. He reportedly gave JonBenét a card that said, "You will receive a very special gift after Christmas." The vagueness of this message in the card has led some to believe that he was behind the murder.

McReynolds claimed he was innocent and died in 2002. 

YouTube

Yes. You read that right. A 2014 YouTube video claimed that JonBenét Ramsey's parents staged the murder, and their child is alive and well living her life as pop star Katy Perry. The video cites lyrics from Perry's songs, and says that the two look alike.  

Mark A Coleman/Flickr

Or another wild animal. Animal hairs were found on JonBenét's body and on the duct tape covering her mouth, which led to some crazy theories that an animal, like an owl or a beaver, killed her. But there's no explanation for how an owl could make a homemade garrote.