Has Her Killer Been Found?
When authorities arrested John Mark Karr in connection to the JonBenet Ramsey murder, people around the world had a variety of reactions. There was general relief that perhaps the book could finally be closed on this case. There was guilt for having suspected the parents, specifically Patsy who since died of ovarian cancer. The brutal murder of the young beauty queen 10 years ago, the day after Christmas, was on the front page of the Enquirer and other such magazines for well more than a year while speculation led to dead end after dead end and the public stayed glued for the next nugget of news. It was such a weird case, where the parents did odd things, where the Boulder Police Department seemed totally inept at times. But no killer was ever found.
For many of us it was our first look at the sicko life of children like JonBenet who are made to act as adult women in 6-year-old bodies. We learned all about the child beauty pageants. We learned how these children were robbed of their childhood. It was no small wonder that JonBenet was still wetting the bed at night. But we never learned who killed her with a severe blow to the head.
Then out of nowhere comes John Mark Karr, apprehended in Bangkok with a history of child pornographic tastes and a confession that he killed JonBenet on that fateful morning in December 10 years ago. He claimed to have loved JonBenet and said her death was accidental, meaning that it was second degree murder.
As much as we would like to believe this guy is the killer, there are still so many things unanswered about this case. Like the whole business of the ransom note which was possibly written in Patsy's handwriting? Like how this creepy guy could have gained entrance to the Ramsey home? Like why the child would have gone to the basement with him without making a sound?
I hope we finally get answers. I hope society will look at the case of JonBenet and at the young Swan who is still alive and competing and will say "This is simply wrong." But meanwhile, is John Mark Karr the one who did it?
posted by Barbara at 1:05 PM
7 Comments:
The whole thing is just so odd. They can't even seem to determine if he was in Boulder at that point and my mind keeps stumbling over what she'd be like now, as a 16-year-old beauty pageant contestant. Would she have oily skin? Would she still be competing? Would her mother's death have turned her goth? She could have been so many things if not for the gruesome murder.
This entire situation is so bizarre. I wonder about the same things Kristin does, but also think about how odd it is that her story has been able to create media storm after media storm for over 10 years. She probably wouldn't have been so famous had she not died.
As for Karr, I find the yearbook and teddy bear clues a little too "Law & Order perfect" and kind of suspicious. I wonder if we'll ever really know what happened to the little one.
The Ramseys used to come into the restaurant I worked at in Atlanta. Incredibly nice people. They've had a rough time. I just don't get how they could kill a child, but I'm biased because I've met them on a few occasions.
What gets me, is when they show a picture of the alleged killer and say, "This man was into child porn..." No, really? I couldn't tell by the psychotic look in his face, his shirt being oddly and uncomfortably buttoned so high and his pants around his nipples.
This is somewhat odd. The entire thing. I agree with you about the child pagents. They should have never allowed make-up, hair coloring or adult clothing. Some even wear movie star teeth! Little girl pagents should have contestants that look like little girls not top fashion models.
Barbara, I agree with many of your observations, and those of other commenters, but what I really wonder is, "So what?" In comparison with all the real problems in the world (the Middle East, Darfur, hunger and abject poverty in much of Africa and Asia, North Korea, you get my drift), why do Americans care so much about JonBenet Ramsay and whoever killed her ten years ago? What's so gripping, so compelling about this story that it warrants "24 x 7" news coverage?
This is one of those issues about which "I get it that I just don't get it;" there might be a lot going on here that I don't understand. Or, then again, there might not be ... .
I have to agree with Bengal on this one. I guess tv network execs think it's "good tv" because it's an emotional story about a pretty little girl who was tragically killed. But the amount of coverage the cable "news" networks are giving this does not seem to bear any relation to everything else going on in the real world, and raises the question of what pathology they think America is suffering, and are they right?
I am usually not one to be attracted to "sensational" news, but I am somewhat embarrassed to confess that for some reason this murder has kept my attention for lo these 10 years. I never spent a dime on the Enquirer, but did I pick up the issues and read while I waited in line at the grocery store when this story was on the front page? Yes, I did. Every time. The thought even went through my head that Patsy Ramsey might have been sick enough to murder her child in order to see her picture week after week in the Enquirer, attracting more attention than she ever would have had she been living. I don't know if this is a male-female thing or not. All the female comments pretty much were in line with mine -- maybe a maternal thing? Then Bengal and Matt countered with "Why are you playing into the hands of the media? Why is this murder any different from any other?" I'm sorry that I don't have an answer to those questions. But it will only go away when this case is finally resolved to everyone's satisfaction, and I don't know when and if that will happen.
Post a Comment
<< Home