Ramseys attend church
By JASON GEWIRTZ and ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writers
Monday, January 06, 1997
Seeing an entire congregation lined up to greet her family as they exited St. John's Episcopal Church, Patsy Ramsey stopped and gazed appreciatively through her dark sunglasses.
More than 100 congregants formed two rows to show support for the grieving Ramsey family and shield them from the watchful eyes of the media. The family of JonBenét Ramsey walked between the churchgoers to a reception following a Sunday service that included the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado.
It was the first public appearance of the Ramseys since their return Friday to Boulder after the burial of the 6-year-old beauty queen in Marietta, Ga., on Dec. 31.
Meanwhile, police issued a written list of questions to the parents Sunday, sources close to the investigation said.
"They're mostly housekeeping questions, like a list of handymen," a source said. "They're things like "Does someone deliver milk to your house? Have you had package deliveries in the last week?"
The couple will provide written responses to the questions before police formally interrogate the family. Officials, however, have not scheduled an interview with parents John and Patsy Ramsey or identified any suspects.
Patsy Ramsey called police about 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 26 after she discovered a 3-page ransom note demanding $118,000 on the back stairs of her home at 755 15th St.
John Ramsey and a friend later found JonBenét strangled in the basement. The killer had sexually assaulted the girl, covered her mouth with duct tape, looped a nylon cord around her neck, and fractured her skull.
John Ramsey is president of Access Graphics, a Boulder-based computer distribution subsidiary of Lockheed-Martin. Patsy Ramsey is a former Miss West Virginia and active volunteer.
On Sunday, John, Patsy and their 9-year-old son, Burke, attended the service at their Boulder church. They and others listened as Bishop Jerry Winterrowd of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado assured them their faith will carry them through the "evil time" of the ongoing investigation and speculation into the slaying of JonBenét.
"Our God, who is scandalized by this evil that has been done says do you have faith, do you have trust in me to overcome," Winterrowd said. "The cross is the only response to this blatant act of evil."
"We conclude today the celebration of Christmas and this is another reason I wanted to be here with you," he added.
The Rev. Rol Hoverstock of St. John's offered a brief but powerful statement in support of the family as police continue to investigate JonBenét's death.
"There is no way in my mind that they were ever part of this evil," Hoverstock said during the service.
As people left the church, they were greeted by a row of television cameras positioned along Pine Street. The Ramseys, offering no comments to the media, then made their trip through the two rows of people. Several churchgoers confronted videocamera operators afterward without incident.
Media representatives also gath ered outside the Ramseys' home Sunday. The police released the house Saturday night.
Several trees and shrubs sparkled with Christmas decorations and lights Sunday evening. One tree in the front lawn has become a shrine to JonBenét. Adults and children have left gifts at the crime scene for the former Little Miss Colorado, including stuffed animals, a blue balloon, guardian angel pins and letters.
"I just came because I think what happened is absolutely tragic," said Lara Weissmer of Boulder. "My 7-year-old (daughter) didn't know JonBenét, but she and I wanted to leave something for her, letting her know we'll really miss her. The world is just an emptier place with one less child in it."
Private investigators hired by the Ramseys entered the house throughout the day, as onlookers drove by and stared.
Boulder police detectives, who interviewed at least 30 friends, family and associates in Atlanta, returned to Boulder on Sunday.
Kelvin McNeill, city spokesman, said Sunday officials signed the search warrant police used to enter the Ramsey house Dec. 26. Now that police have completed their investigation of the house, they have about 10 days to file the original affidavit showing cause for the warrant with the Boulder court that issued the warrant.
But McNeill said that affidavit can be sealed if it can be shown the information in its release would jeopardize the successful completion of the case.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the tip line (441-4310). Police also have established a toll-free hot line: 1-800-444-3776.
Ramseys thank community
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer
January 24, 1997
In their first public statement to Boulder residents since the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet, John and Patsy Ramsey said the community's caring has overwhelmed the family.
"We know that this tragedy has touched all of our lives," the statement said. "While we know that you are praying for us, please know that we are praying for you. We have read each and every card that you have sent.
"Those of you who are parents can truly understand the devastation that we are feeling from the loss of our precious JonBenet. We take comfort in believing and knowing that she is in a better place and hope that you will, too."
John Ramsey and a friend discovered the former Little Miss Colorado strangled in the basement of the Ramseys' home at 755 15th St. on Dec. 26. About eight hours earlier, Patsy had found a ransom note demanding $118,000 and called police.
Police have not scheduled an interview with the Ramseys, identified any suspects or placed any travel restrictions on the family.
"The investigation is moving forward," said city spokeswoman Leslie Aaholm. "Some tests are back from CBI (Colorado Bureau of Investigation), and we're awaiting others."
Aaholm would not comment on which results the Boulder Police Department has received.
Meanwhile, weekly tabloids allege investigators have evidence that someone abused the child before her death. But the Ramseys' family attorney, William R. Gray, wrote the Globe, saying the Boulder district attorney's office had publicly stated they had no knowledge of a history of child abuse.
On Tuesday, the Boulder dis trict attorney's office disputed Gray's report.
"We've never issued a written statement or made an oral statement concerning the subject of prior history of abuse at all," said First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wise.
Pat Korten, the Ramsey's media consultant, called the Globe's assertions "false and wholly unsubstantiated."
"At the time that Mr. Gray wrote the letter to the Globe, he believed that his statement regarding the DA's office was true," Korten said. "In fact, Boulder law enforcement officials do have in their possession medical records which show conclusively that there is no evidence whatsoever of abuse of any kind."
Meanwhile, John Ramsey, the president of Access Graphics, a Boulder-based computer distribution company, may return to his job soon, company spokeswoman Laurie Wagner said.
Ramseys' talk with police still uncertain
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer
February 12, 1997
Contrary to recent media reports, investigators might consider interviewing JonBenet Ramsey's parents at locations other than the Boulder Police Department, sources said Tuesday.
"We'd like to talk to them here (at the police station) because that's a pretty standard procedure," a source said. "But we are trying to be flexible. It certainly is a possibility that if we can find another place to talk that both sides agree to, we'll do it."
Authorities have not scheduled an interview with the couple.
John Ramsey, JonBenet's father and president of Access Graphics, found the 6-year-old strangled Dec. 26 in the basement of the family's Chautauqua home.
Since her death, the Ramseys have communicated with investigators through the family's lawyers, said Pat Korten, the Ramseys' media consultant.
"The attorneys delivered a letter about three weeks ago to the police saying, "We will make the Ramseys available to you for the interview you're looking for,'" Korten said. "We gave a day and a location that was not the police station. Other than that, we did not propose any restrictions on questions or anything like that."
Korten wouldn't discuss other possible interview locations.
"It seems like it's a pretty big deal to (the Ramseys) to talk to us somewhere else because they say they want to avoid the media," a source said. "We could make accommodations, like bringing them inside (the Police Department) through another door, that would let them avoid reporters. And if they're so concerned with the media, then why did they make their letter public?" Korten revealed the interview offer after Laurie Wagner, spokeswoman for Access Graphics, shared the information with a reporter. He said Wagner's decision stemmed from discontent with negative public reaction to the Ramseys' behavior.
Meanwhile, police continue to attempt to schedule an interview with the family.
"The location is one of a number of parameters that are part of how police do a formal interview," said city spokeswoman Leslie Aaholm. "Among those parameters is that the interview be held at a time and location conducive to a productive interview."
Other standards involve investigators questioning the parents separately and allowing police to tape the interview.
"Other components are that the person may be represented by (legal) counsel and that the interview be held only with the person being interviewed, his or her attorney and ... police officers (in the room)," she said.
Today, the Boulder County coroner's office will ask a judge to seal JonBenet's autopsy report. Releasing the document's contents would compromise the murder investigation, according to the Boulder County attorney's office. The Daily Camera's attorney will argue against the motion.
CU prof reportedly hired to represent Patsy Ramsey
Associated Press
Sunday, March 2, 1997
A criminal law professor at the University of Colorado has been hired to help represent Patsy Ramsey, the mother of slain 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.
The Rocky Mountain News quoted sources close to the investigation as saying Patrick Furman has joined attorney Patrick Burke to represent Patsy Ramsey.
Furman, reached at his home in Boulder on Saturday, declined to confirm the report.
However, he said he planned to meet with the family and "probably would have some comment on Monday."
JonBenet's father, John Ramsey, is represented by criminal attorney Bryan Morgan. Also on the Ramsey team is Lee Foreman, another lawyer in the firm of Haddon, Morgan and Foreman.
In addition, the Ramseys have hired a publicist, a former FBI criminal profiler, two Denver private investigators and two handwriting analysts.
A special prosecution task force investigating the murder of the former Little Miss Colorado met for two hours Friday at the office of Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter.
It was the third time the five district attorneys working on the case have met in person. They reportedly have consulted frequently by telephone.
"Obviously, our discussions are confidential," said Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter, who added that the session was "productive and constructive."
Also on the task force are Dr. Henry Lee, a prominent forensics expert in charge of the Connecticut State Police crime lab, and Barry Scheck, a New York lawyer who specializes in the use of DNA in legal proceedings. Neither was in attendance at the meeting Friday.
The little girl's body was found in the family home Dec. 26.
Attorneys: Ramseys don't have to talk with police
Associated Press
March 10, 1997
Although the situation has raised questions among the media, an attorney said John and Patricia Ramsey are simply exercising their constitutional rights.
"A citizen of this country is not required to talk any time a police officer or prosecutor wants to ask them a question," said David Kaplan, former president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar. "It is kind of a fundamental precept."
Ramsey family spokesman Patrick Korten has said his clients are following their lawyers' advice. The Ramseys have said they will give formal interviews only on certain conditions, such as being interviewed together.
Police haven't agreed to that.
The issue of whether police plan to interview the Ramseys keeps coming up, including during the city's weekly briefing on the murder case last Thursday.
"You can't be dragged down and forced to participate in an interview," police spokesman Kelvin McNeill said.
Forcing the Ramseys to go to the police station won't work, either, experts said.
"You can drag them in, but not without probable cause," said Dan Recht, current president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association. "And then, you're arresting them."
Forcing someone to go to the police station without probable cause is a violation of a citizen's Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful search and seizure, Recht said.
Police haven't named any suspects in the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet, who was found strangled to death Dec. 26 in the basement of her family's home.
But Boulder officials announced last week that the two of the older siblings of the murdered girl have been cleared from suspicion. Police said John Andrew and Elizabeth, the older children of John Ramsey from a previous marriage, have alibis that have been confirmed.
John Ramsey found his daughter's body about eight hours after Patricia Ramsey called police and said she had received a handwritten note demanding a ransom for the girl's return.
The former Little Miss Colorado was strangled and may have been sexually assaulted.
Police have taken handwriting samples from family members and others. The Ramseys have assembled a team of attorneys, investigators and experts to help them.
John Ramsey is president of Access Graphics, a Boulder-based computer parts distributor that grossed more than $1 billion in 1996 sales.
Patricia Ramsey is a former Miss West Virginia.
The Denver Post reported Saturday that the investigation has led Boulder police back to the family's summer home in Michigan, where they looked for more handwriting samples.
Investigators also have interviewed friends and relatives of the Ramseys in the Atlanta area, where the family lived before moving to Boulder five years ago.
Ramseys mum on monitoring DNA tests
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer
March 26, 1997
John and Patsy Ramsey will decide in the next several days on an offer to allow family representatives to monitor DNA testing connected with their daughter's murder, officials said Tuesday.
The couple plan to respond to Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter's proposal "probably within the next week or so," said Pat Korten, the Ramseys' media consultant. Dr. Moses Schanfield, director of the Analytical Genetic Testing Center Inc. of Denver, most likely would be the Ramseys' representative.
"It really is something where our experts need to talk with their experts in order to get a fuller understanding of what they plan to do, and what we'll be allowed to do," Korten said. "It's clear that it would primarily be an observation role."
Authorities began gathering evidence in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey after her father, John Ramsey, and a friend found the 6-year-old strangled, sexually assaulted and gagged with duct tape in the basement of the Ramseys' Boulder home on Dec. 26. About eight hours earlier, Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet's mother, discovered a ransom note and called police.
Shortly after the murder, investigators collected hair, handwriting and blood samples from the Ramseys, friends and others. Authorities recently sent some forensic material - which could include saliva, fingernail scrapings, blood and hair - to Cellmark Diagnostics, a private Maryland lab. Tests typically take four to six weeks.
"DNA testing hasn't started because they're waiting to hear back from the Ramseys, and Cellmark is handling a lot of cases, so they might not start them for another few weeks," a source said. "There's a lot of evidence to look at, like the blood on (JonBenet's lower) body. And some of the test results might take awhile because it seems there's DNA from two people in some of the evidence. That's one reason why it might be helpful to have someone watch the tests to make sure everything is done properly."
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation denied access to DNA testing there because Colorado law allows supervised testing only by named suspects.
Legal experts offered similar views.
"It's possible - it is certainly favorable - to have someone there during tests that consume the sample," said Christopher Mueller, a law professor at the University of Colorado. "The reason is, if you consume the sample, nobody else can do independent tests.
"If tests are performed when the other side can't observe, the lawyers could certainly make arguments that (the suspects) were deprived of a reasonable opportunity to appraise the tests and ensure that they were done correctly."
DNA testing, however, might not point to a suspect in a crime, said John Bergren, director of sales and marketing at Analytical Genetic Testing Center Inc.
"DNA evidence can help put someone at the scene of a crime, but it is usually one small piece of a large puzzle, a puzzle of evidence," Bergren said. "It's possible to get absolutely no results whatsoever."
Ramseys deny delaying tests
Spokesman disputes inference
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer
March 28, 1997
Representatives of John and Patsy Ramsey on Thursday disputed a city spokesman's implication that the family is impeding DNA testing related to the December murder of their 6-year-old daughter, JonBenet.
"Cellmark is poised to begin the tests," city spokesman Kelvin McNeill said Thursday at a weekly news briefing. "I don't believe there are any delays on their part."
McNeill said the Ramseys are delaying the tests because they haven't decided whether to monitor them.
The couple most likely will decide today on Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter's offer to allow family representatives to monitor DNA examinations at Cellmark Diagnostics, said Pat Korten, the Ramseys' spokesman.
Some experts say it's rare to offer people who haven't been charged or named as suspects in connection with a crime the opportunity to view forensic testing.
Korten disagreed with McNeill's remarks, noting authorities advised the Ramseys' attorneys that DNA testing wouldn't begin at the private lab until April.
"It was understood that any decision on our part to accept the invitation to observe those tests could be made at any time prior to the scheduled commencement of tests," Korten said in a statement.
John Ramsey and a friend found JonBenet strangled in the basement of the Ramseys' Boulder home on Dec. 26.
Shortly after the homicide, authorities collected hair, handwriting and blood samples from the Ramseys, friends and others, providing the material to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. CBI, however, only permits representatives of defendants in a criminal case to witness analysis of evidence.
On March 4, after CBI completed some examinations, police sent some forensic evidence to Cellmark. Tests of material - which could include fingernail scrapings, blood, saliva and hair - typically take four to six weeks.
David Kaplan, a criminal defense attorney at Holland, Kaplan & Pagliuca in Denver and a former president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, said: "I don't think there is any question it is not commonplace that anybody other than law enforcement agencies and their representatives are involved in observing this kind of testing prior to (a suspect) being charged," he said. "It's unusual because very often this kind of testing occurs after somebody has been charged.
"The other thing that may happen is that there is an investigation that is going on and you legitimately don't have any suspects, or the suspects don't have any idea that law enforcement is looking at them, so already you have narrowed the situation where something like this would ever occur."
In other developments Thursday:
McNeill confirmed authorities have subpoenaed videotapes from CNN of a Jan. 1 interview with John and Patsy Ramsey. CNN will provide police with the tapes today, officials said. "We just want it - even the unaired parts - as evidence with the case," a source said.
Prosecutors disputed a media report their office plans to treat Jay Elowsky favorably by dropping a concealed-weapon charge as well as reducing a felony menacing charge to misdemeanor status. Police arrested Elowsky, owner of Pasta Jay's restaurant, on Feb. 10 after three men said he threatened them with an aluminum baseball bat and drew a 9mm handgun. Elowsky said the men tried to view members of the Ramsey family staying at his home.
Boulder County Judge Thomas Reed recently continued Jay Elowsky's hearing to June 24. "The district attorney's office is treating Mr. Elowsky no differently than other individuals arrested under similar circumstances with similar backgrounds," said First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wise.
Ramseys fire media consultant
Boulder resident hired
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer
March 29, 1997
To simplify and reduce the cost of handling press requests, the Ramsey family dismissed spokesman Pat Korten and hired a new, local media consultant Friday.
Rachelle Zimmer, a 30-year-old Boulder resident with a journalism background, will replace Korten on Monday and work for Haddon, Morgan & Foreman, the Denver-based law firm representing John Ramsey.
"It's relatively simple - when we started out in January, we thought this was going to be a one- or two-month thing, and it's clear that isn't the case," Korten said. "This is one of the adjustments they decided to make, and that's fine with me. And there is also considerable value to being able to be physically there (in Boulder)."
The couple hired Korten, of Rowan & Blewitt Inc. in Washington, D.C., in early January after John Ramsey and a friend found 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey strangled in the basement of the Ramseys' home on Dec. 26. Korten, a former spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, created a World Wide Web page and answered thousands of media phone calls.
"From what I've heard, (Zimmer) will be using a lot from the system of dealing with reporters that Korten set up and doing more of a written response thing to reporters," a source said. "They let Korten go for a lot of reasons, like money. Some reporters were frustrated because he wasn't in Colorado, but he did a good job."
A statement released Friday from Haddon, Morgan & Fore man also supported Korten's work.
"He was able to keep them (the Ramseys) from being overwhelmed by the crush of intense national media attention, and he has done an expert job of working with the hundreds of reporters who have been assigned to cover the story," the statement said. "His efforts are warmly appreciated, and this change is no reflection on him or on the job he's done."
In other developments Friday:
Korten said lawyers for the Ramsey family will not send a representative to a private Maryland laboratory to monitor DNA testing related to their daughter's slaying. "The attorneys have determined that the presence of an observer was unnecessary," Korten said. City spokesman Kelvin McNeill declined to comment on the decision, but said testing at Cellmark Diagnostics may begin as soon as next week.
CNN provided videotapes of a Jan. 1 interview with John and Patsy Ramsey to Boulder police, officials said. Authorities will use the tapes as possible evidence.
Ramseys glad friends no longer suspects
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer
Friday, April 18, 1997
The decision to eliminate a local oil executive and his wife as suspects in the JonBenet Ramsey homicide pleases the slain beauty queen's parents, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
"Fleet and Priscilla White have been good friends to us," said family spokeswoman Rachelle Zimmer, reading a statement from the Ramsey family attorneys. "We are gratified to know that the Boulder Police Department has officially cleared them as suspects in the murder of our daughter. We hope that this announcement will give them some relief from the terrible stress of this situation.
"It is also our hope that the Boulder Police Department will continue to clear the names of all those who have been unfairly tainted by suspicion."
The Whites arrived at the Ramseys' home on Dec. 26 shortly after Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet's mother, found a ransom note demanding $118,000 and called police, family friends said. About eight hours later, John Ramsey, JonBenet's father, and Fleet White discovered the 6-year-old strangled in the basement of the Ramseys' house, family friends said.
Police have not made any arrests or named any suspects in the case.
Also Thursday, the Boulder County District Attorney's office requested an additional $19,000 from the Boulder County commissioners Thursday to cover costs associated with the murder case, officials said.
Ramseys send DA scathing letter
Family says police canceled parents' interviews this week
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer
Thursday, April 24, 1997
In a scathing 2-page letter Wednesday to Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter, attorneys for John and Patsy Ramsey said the Boulder Police Department on Tuesday suddenly canceled two separate interviews scheduled with the parents of the slain beauty queen.
Lawyers Hal Haddon and Pat Burke expressed "profound dismay" with the investigators' abrupt decision.
"It is apparent that the leadership of the Boulder Police Department lacks the objectivity and judgment necessary to find the killer of JonBenet Ramsey," the attorneys said.
The letter marks the most aggressive declaration to date from the Ramsey family in the four-month investigation. Except for a New Year's Day interview on CNN, John and Patsy Ramsey have not talked with the police or the media about their daughter's murder.
In a statement, police officials said they continue to re-
quest interviews with the parents, and "their reluctance to provide witness information continues to hinder the police investigation into the murder of their daughter." The Ramseys have no legal obligation to submit to questioning unless police formally name them as suspects.
Authorities also declined a proposal from the Ramsey lawyers to permit retired detective Lou Smit and any member of the district attorney's office to interview the couple.
Hunter, who recently identified the parents as the focus of the investigation, declined to comment.
Haddon and Burke described Tuesday's cancellation as the "latest in an inexplicable series of events which appear to be senseless efforts to intimidate and smear the Ramseys without any valid investigative purpose."
In the most "insensitive and outrageous action in this case," for instance, authorities refused to release JonBenet's body for burial unless the parents agreed to "a hostile interrogation" with investigators at the Boulder police station, the lawyers wrote.
Law enforcement officials have launched a "cowardly smear campaign" against the Ramseys, the lawyers added. "We will no longer endure these tactics in silence," the letter said. "It is beyond comprehension that ... authorities prefer to leak information rather than interrogate the persons who they characterize as "suspects"in this investigation."
Detectives began requesting interviews from the couple shortly after John Ramsey and a friend found the 6-year-old strangled in the basement of the Ramseys' Boulder home on Dec. 26. About eight hours earlier, Patsy Ramsey discovered a ransom note demanding $118,000 and called police.
After the homicide, investigators extensively interviewed the parents on Dec. 26 and John Ramsey on Dec. 27, Wednesday's letter said. The Ramseys also offered to submit to another interrogation with detectives on Jan. 18.
At that time, the Ramseys insisted investigators interview the couple together for one hour in a doctor's presence at the family attorney's office, according to city spokeswoman Leslie Aaholm. In addition, the parents hoped to select the detectives conducting the session, Aaholm said. For those reasons, police declined the proposal.
Haddon and Burke said in their letter that police rejected the January interview because "the time for interviewing John and Patsy as witnesses who could provide critical information that would be helpful in the initial stages of our investigation has passed."
On April 11, authorities agreed to hold audio taped interrogations at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday with John Ramsey and at 1:30 p.m. with Patsy Ramsey at a Boulder office building. Police, however, canceled the two-hour interviews at 4 p.m. Tuesday, after the FBI's Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit concluded the Ramseys' conditions would not facilitate a productive interrogation, city officials said.
"It was a no-holds-barred question-and-answer session," said Pat Burke, Patsy Ramsey's attorney. "No questions were off limits. It was at a neutral site."
But police disliked the location and the specified length of the interviews, sources said.
"The building might have favored them, and we might not have had enough time to ask them everything we wanted to," a source close to the investigation said. "(The Ramseys) have tried to help in some other ways, though."
The couple, for example, agreed to allow authorities to search their Boulder home again without a warrant, test material at the house and identify Patsy Ramsey's prior writings, the letter said.
"The DA asked for that last week, and we haven't gone back through the house yet, but we need to go into the basement for evidence and destroy some walls," a source said. "We may have to do it before we get an answer back about Patsy's fifth handwriting sample (that) we asked for a couple weeks ago."
Patsy Ramsey may supply investigators with that sample, family attorneys noted.
"The only reason that that hasn't been concluded is that we were focusing on the interview," Burke said. "If it hadn't been for the interview, my guess is we would have provided the fifth sample by now."
Nevertheless, the Ramseys may submit to a police interview, Burke added.
"We are convinced that despite the cancellation that there are qualified people of good faith working on the investigation whose viewpoints will prevail," Burke said.
David Kaplan, a criminal defense attorney and former president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, said law enforcement officials have an obligation to provide the Ramseys with an opportunity to submit to a police interrogation.
"The police department has been ranting and raving about wanting the interview for months," Kaplan said. "It couldn't be they are not prepared for it, and if it's anything to do with who would do the interview, that just shows the investigation is a mess because they don't even know who's leading it.