McStay family murders - Wikipedia Reich later came out as transgender and changed her legal name from 'John Mark Karr' to Alexis Valoran Reich (or Delia Alexis Reich, according to a Washington State drivers' license). The ransom note was unusually long. [11] These eyewitnesses stated that they saw Bennett playing pool with two unidentified men, neither of whom was Sosnovske. He also said that Lacy strongly supported the intruder theory and talked about it with the staff. After moving to Selah, Washington, United States, he had trouble fitting in and making friends because of his large size. Ewing would not stop hitting her the entire time and eventually the woman realized that she would have to play dead in order to get him to stop. Authorities were stumped for decades by the horrific killings, but DNA evidence in 2018 blew the case open. [17] He was convicted of another murder and received a fourth life sentence in January 2010. The hammer stuck her in the jaw, shattering the bone which splintered in an explosion of small fragments that punctured her windpipe. [18] JonBent's active role in child beauty pageants and Patsy's reported "pageant mother" behavior were reported by the media after the murder. Media reports questioned how the police handled the investigation. They sued Star magazine and its parent company, American Media, Inc. on their son's behalf in 1999. Paris Bennett, 13, Raped And Murdered His 4-Year-Old Sister The boy committed this heinous crime because he wanted to punish his mother. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills. Bennett family murders: Verdict reached in hammer murder trial | 9news.com Blame 'It's been a long time waiting': Connie Bennett sees justice 37 years after murder of 3 family. [77] There were also cobwebs in the tracks of various windows, and dust and debris were on some sills. One day, she watched, horrified, as he hung stray kittens from the family's clothesline. In May 1998, he presented his findings to the Boulder police with other staff members of the DA's Office, concluding that the evidence pointed away from the Ramseys. A few days before his arrest, he wrote a letter to his brother in which he confessed to having killed eight people over the course of five years. You will be scanned for electronic devices and if any are found, she dies. These suits were brought by two persons named in the book who were said to have been investigated by Boulder police as suspects in the case. This led police agencies in several states to reopen old cases, many of which were found to be possible victims of Jesperson. In fact, there was a string of unsolved crimes in the area that took place just days apart from each other. The Boulder police initially suspected that the ransom note had been written by Patsy, and that the note and appearance of JonBent's body had been staged by her parents in order to cover up the murder. [82] Reich, a 41-year old school teacher, claimed to have drugged, sexually assaulted, and accidentally killed JonBent. Follow our instructions and you stand a 100% chance of getting her back.You and your family are under constant scrutiny as well as the authorities. [19][57] In 1999, the grand jury returned a true bill to charge the Ramseys with placing the child at risk in a way that led to her death and with obstructing an investigation of murder[why? In September 2009, Jesperson was indicted in Riverside County, California, on murder charges; he was extradited in December 2009. [57], In October 2010, the Boulder police reopened the cold case. They were unable to successfully challenge the police department's belief that the Ramseys were guilty. [51] Boulder police initially focused almost exclusively upon John and Patsy,[51] but by October 1997 had over 1,600 people in their index of persons of interest for the case. The hit came after Nevada prison officials started obtaining DNA from inmates and adding it to the FBIs national database, known as CODIS. You will also be denied her remains for proper burial. Jesperson's father denied being an abusive parent; however, while investigating for his book on the killer, author Jack Olsen was able to confirm much of the claimed abuse with other family members. [25] Lipscomb said: "There's no longer any doubt that these two individuals are innocent. "Hammer Killer" suspect stands trial 37 years after slaying of Colorado The Bennett Family Murders ~ Aurora, Colorado ~ January 16, 1984 The Bennett family was your average middle class family living the American dream. [37], The Killing of JonBent: The Truth Uncovered, broadcast by A&E on September 5, 2016, concluded that an unidentified male was responsible for JonBent's death, based on forensic DNA analysis of evidence. MST. Our family fled Salem in 1692 and relocated here. Alex Christopher Ewing, 61, received life sentences for killing Colorado couple Bruce Bennett, 27, and Debra Bennett, 26, and raping and killing their 7-year-old daughter Melissa, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office. She ran to get her mother, and when they returned, the kittens lay on the ground dead. They served almost 6 years before both were exonerated after serial killer Keith Jesperson confessed to Bennett's murder. His fourth victim was another sex worker, Laurie Ann Pentland of Salem, Oregon, whose body was found in November 1992. You stand a 99% chance of killing your daughter if you try to out smart [sic] us. [19] Patsy died of ovarian cancer at age 49 in 2006; she was interred next to her daughter. [11], In the summer of 1997approximately six months after JonBent's deaththe Ramseys moved to a new home in Atlanta after a summer at their vacation retreat in Charlevoix, Michigan. U.S. District Court Judge Julie Carnes later concluded that "abundant evidence" in the murder case pointed to an intruder having committed the crime. They conducted a cursory search of the house but did not find any sign of forced entry. Some time later, at a public pool, Jesperson attempted to drown the boy by holding his head under the water until a lifeguard pulled him away.[6]. The attacker was savage beating all four with a hammer, slashing Bruce Bennetts throat with a butcher knife as he fought to save his family. The judge set Ewing's arraignment for Aug. 27. The McStay family murders occurred on or near February 4, 2010, after the family disappeared from their home in Fallbrook, California, United States; their bodies were found in the desert near Victorville, California, on November 13, 2013. He later claimed his intention was to kill the boy. [10] Pavlinac claimed she began to drive toward northeast Portland, where Bennett said she lived with her mother, but Sosnovske forced her to drive east on Interstate 84 instead, before punching Bennett in the face and rendering her unconscious. [13] Police originally considered her death a drug overdose. His wife, Debra, was sexually assaulted and bludgeoned. Vanessa Bennett was shocked to receive the phone call identifying the man who murdered her entire family and attempted to murder her in 1984and admits it hasnt quite sunk in. [15] Pavlinac was ultimately convicted of Bennett's murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment[16] on January 31, 1991. Visitors picked up and cleaned surfaces in the kitchen, possibly destroying evidence. [13][14], John Ramsey was a businessman who was the president of Access Graphics, a computer software company that later became a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. He introduced himself to Bennett at a bar and invited her to a house he was renting. "[68], Among the experts who testified in the case were DNA specialist Barry Scheck and forensic expert Henry Lee. Because there were no signs of forced entry, how did the intruder get into the Bennett home? Jesperson signed each letter with a smiley face. However, after the witch trials began, the family relocated in Mystic Falls, Virginia in 1692. Hundreds of DNA tests were performed to find a match to the DNA recovered during her autopsy. Honestly people ask me that all the time if I remember things but I dont. The oldest child, Melissa, was ten years old. That same day, a man used a hammer to attackflight attendant Donna Dixon in the garage of her Aurora home, leaving her in a coma. Presumed Guilty: An Investigation into the JonBent Ramsey Case, the Media and the Culture of Pornography. Pavlinac soon admitted to making up her entire story, but her claims were ignored. He was found guilty on all counts, and in August, was handed down three consecutive life sentences. Melissa Bennett, left, and her parents, Bruce and Debra Bennett, were murdered the night of Jan. 15, 1984. The DA's office sought to take control of the investigation. Peter Manfredonia sentenced for 2020 crime spree, Missing Medford men found decapitated in Boston storage unit, Orange County dermatologist charged on multiple accounts of attempting to poison her husbands drinks indicted. Part of the bristle end of the paintbrush was found in a tub containing Patsy's art supplies, but the bottom third of it was never found despite extensive searching of the house by the police in subsequent days. [8] Pavlinac claimed the two rolled Bennett's body into a shower curtain that she had brought, and disposed of her body along the Old Columbia River Highway, around 20 miles (32km) east in the Columbia River Gorge. Thank you listeners! Bennett family murders: Trial begins for suspect after decades | 9news.com Her parents and her sister were killed, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Six days before Patrica Smiths murder, on January 4,a man nearly beat to death James and Kimberly Haubenschild, in their Aurora home. Ann Louise Bardach, Authorities had tracked Karr down by using the. [102], In November 2006, Rod Westmoreland, a friend of John Ramsey, filed a defamation suit against an anonymous web surfer who had posted two messages on Internet forums using the pseudonym "undertheradar" implicating Westmoreland in the murder. [18], Early in the investigation of Bennett's murder, Laverne Pavlinac read the news reports surrounding Bennett's death and saw it as an opportunity to force an end to the long-term abusive relationship she had been in with her live-in boyfriend, John Sosnovske. Alex Christopher Ewing Sentenced for Murdering Bennett Family The suit against Don Davis, Steven Thomas, and St. Martin's Press was settled out of court the following year. Alex Ewing found guilty in 1984 hammer attack murders JonBent Patricia Ramsey (August 6, 1990 December 25 or 26, 1996)[1] was an American child beauty queen who was killed at the age of six in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. All Rights Reserved. @9WantsToKnow #9NEWS pic.twitter.com/sy989l4z06. "[16] Despite this, Lipscomb chastised Pavlinac during the exoneration hearing for her abuse of the judicial system. Another resident, Donna Dixon, was also struck with a hammer. [63] Boulder police initially concentrated almost exclusively upon the parents, John and Patsy Ramsey. 'I've Been Waiting For This': Grandmother Recalls Bennett Family Murder Was he stalking Patricia prior to her murder? And we didnt have much hope then. A Boulder defense attorney, Lee Hill, commented that: "The public feels that the police have coddled the Ramseys because they are rich and influential in Boulder. Investigators believe the killer knew Patricias daughter and grandchildren livedwith her. [19][67] The public thought that the grand jury investigation had been inconclusive. [38][39] John picked up the child's body and took it upstairs. "I'm very happy that it's all over. Hecontinued to attack the child causing severe injuries, but the 3 year old held on to life and was alive the next morning when she was discovered by her grandmother. Debra and Melissa were both raped, bludgeoned, and stabbed to death. You are not the only fat cat around so don't think that killing will be difficult. [20] Jesperson took her back to his residence, where he beat and strangled her to death. [19] On October 13, 1999, Alex Hunter, who was the district attorney at the time, refused to sign the indictment, saying that the evidence was insufficient for prosecution. At the time of the autopsy, the pathologist recorded that it appeared her vaginal area had been wiped with a cloth. Bruce and Debra Bennetts younger daughter, Vanessa, was just three the day of the attacks. Ewing, 60, faces life in prison but, under 1984 sentencing laws, will be eligible for parole after 20 years. [33] She also called family and friends. The crime is still considered a cold case and remains an open investigation with the Boulder Police Department. At the time Ewing was identified as a suspect in the Bennett and Smith cases, he was still serving a 110-year sentence for a late-night ax handle attack on a couple in Henderson that occurred about seven months after the Bennett murders. [28][29] According to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report, "There are indications that the author of the ransom note is Patricia Ramsey." The delivery will be exhausting so I advise you to be rested. Ewing didn't speak during his sentencing hearing. [58][59], On February 2, 2009, Boulder police chief Mark Beckner announced that Stan Garnett, the new Boulder County District Attorney, was turning the case over to his agency, and that his team would resume investigating it. She walked into a scene of absolute horror: Bruce Bennett crumpled near the bottom of the stairs, Debra Bennett and Melissa dead in their bedrooms, Vanessa barely breathing. [47][48], A. James Kolar, who was a lead investigator for the DA's office, said that there were additional traces of male DNA found on the cord and paintbrush that Boulder district attorney Mary Lacy did not mention, and that there were six separate DNA samples belonging to unknown individuals that were found by the test. RELATED: She was the sole survivor of one of Colorado's most brutal crimes. Strangulation was Jesperson's preferred method of murdering, the same method he often used to kill animals as a child. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'truecrimediva_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_1',129,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-truecrimediva_com-medrectangle-4-0');In 2002, based on DNA, investigators charged John Doe with 18 counts,including three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of sexual assault, first-degree assault, and two counts of sexual assault on a child and burglary. Early persons of interest included neighbor Bill McReynolds, who played Santa Claus; Chris Wolf, a local reporter whose then-girlfriend reported him as a suspect; family housekeeper Linda Hoffmann-Pugh; and a man named Michael Helgoth, who died in an apparent suicide shortly after JonBent's death. John and Patsy were also accused of hindering the prosecution of an unidentified person who had "committed the crime of murder in the first degree and child abuse resulting in death". [49] Former Adams County, Colorado, District Attorney Bob Grant, who has assisted the Boulder DA's office on the case for many years, also believes that the DNA evidence is significant, saying that any resolution of the case would have to explain how the DNA showed up on several pieces of JonBent's clothing. Jesperson was born on 6 April 1955, to Leslie (Les) and Gladys Jesperson in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada,[1] the middle child with two brothers and two sisters. In a 1994 interview, Constance said that the young girl did not remember the attacks, but she did remember bits and pieces of her family. But I was just OK.. Alexander Christopher Ewing is already behind bars, serving 40 years for two counts of attempted murder in the state of Nevada. [68], The grand jury's vote to indict was not revealed publicly until October 25, 2013, when previously sealed court documents were released. ", This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 18:04. In addition, a basement window was previously broken by John Ramsey when he was locked out of the house. The official cause of death was "asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma. The Bennett Family (Latin: Benedictus; English: Benedict; translates as "blessed" or "one who is blessed") is one of the main families in The Vampire Diaries and a matriarchal bloodline of powerful witches. Several years later, Hucke began to suspect Jesperson was having affairs when strange women would call. The note demanded US$118,000 (equivalent to $203,877 in 2021). [45] That DNA belonged to an unknown male person, and excluded the DNA of each of the Ramseys. JonBent Patricia Ramsey (August 6, 1990 - December 25 or 26, 1996) [1] was an American child beauty queen who was killed at the age of six in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. In May 1999, the Boulder County District Attorney's office reiterated that Burke Ramsey was not a suspect. The bludgeoned bodies of husband and wife, Bruce and Debra Bennett, were discovered and it soon became evident that they had both attacked with a knife and beaten to death. With time, multiple surgeries and the support her extended family, Vanessa began to recover from her physical injuries, but living a normal life after losing both her parents to a murderer who had yet to be captured and convicted made childhood difficult.