The earlier 911 call

[jameson245]

During the Christmas party on the night of December 23rd, 1996, someone from the Ramsey house dialed 911 and then hung up.

No one publicly claimed responsibility for that call, but it has generally been accepted that the call was made by Fleet White - a mistake, not a call for help.

The police responded to the call. They rang the doorbell which was actually linked to the landline phone.  The phone was answered by a child who then gave the phone to Susan Stine.  She assured the police that everything was fine, there was no trouble there, and that ended the conversation. At that time Susan asked the other guests if they had called 911 and no one took credit for the call, but later Fleet said it may have been he misdialed.  

Some have speculated that the call was made by the killer who wanted to see how quickly police would respond to a 911 call.  

Personally, I really don't see that happening.  The killer, if he intended to leave that ransom note and actually take JonBenet from her house, would have already been far from the house when the note was found - - so what difference would it make if the police responded in 2 minutes, 10 or 20?  

Fleet White's mother was ill in another state and he was on the phone discussing and arranging necessary treatment options.  The phone had several lines out and it may be that he instinctively pressed 9 for an outside line (I really don't know) but accidental 911 calls are not at all rare or evidence of guilt.

I was asked about this call so decided to include the information here.  If anyone has something to add, post it or let me know via email.  jameson245@aol.com

[Dave]

(07-16-2017, 12:06 AM)jameson245 Wrote: so what difference would it make if the police responded in 2 minutes, 10 or 20? 

I am one of those who speculated, but reached no definite conclusion, that the perpetrator did indeed check the response time.

The reason for checking is not that they would have felt some need to know how long it would take to respond to a later call to 911 regarding the ransom note, but instead to know how much time they had to get out if the Ramseys awoke during the crime and called 911.  It would not have been difficult to monitor the line for activity, and it would not have been much more difficult to eavesdrop.  The advantage of eavesdropping compared to merely monitoring line activity (yes/no) is that sometimes the 911 dispatcher will say where the responders are and/or how much longer it may take for them to arrive.  Sometimes dispatchers will even say something like, "OK, they're out in front of your house now; can you see them?"  These little tidbits can be the difference between getting caught and going free.  Operating totally blind is far more likely to get one caught.

But admittedly, a portable scanner would probably be a lot better if it could be kept relatively quiet.

[jameson245]

I had not thought of the possibility that the killer would even consider what would happen if the Ramseys woke while he was in the house - - I always believed he was a burglar type who expected to be long gone before they woke. But I guess that would make the experiment reasonable.

Still don't believe that was the case, though. Especially not when we know Fleet had placed a similar call before when HIS daughter was missing. He knew the response time in Boulder was reasonable because Boulder really isn't very big - - and in the dead of the night with little traffic....

[Dave]

Has anyone ever checked out the police logs for the night of the 25th to see if there were (say) a couple of 911 calls to things that turned out to be nothing at about the same time at any time that night?  In other words, has anyone checked to see if there were a couple of suspicious reports that may have been distractions that night?  That's probably what I would have done if I were the perpetrator --- just have the cops run off to some area remote from the Ramsey home at about the same time as I was entering and/or leaving.   It's important not to be observed by cops who might make a note of car type and model or even tag number, and especially important not to have any record of being stopped for some reason.

[jameson245]

Nevr heard anything about the police logs for that night. Interesting question.

[jameson245]

OK, so there are several stories out here on the 911 call made during the party on the 23rd.

I am coming across a few interesting interviews and quotes and will share some here.

I heard Fleet was trying to get some records from a Denver hospital moved to the Aspen hospital where his mother was a patient. I have heard it was equipment he needed moved. I wasn't there and don't know but have to tell you there are conflicting stories everywhere on this one.

So I was very interested when I found an interview with Fleet that took place on December 27th of 1996, just a few days after the party. The 911 call was covered - - - and I will share here now what was said then.

[jameson245]

You have to remember that back in 1996, many of us did not have cell phones and land lines were the usual way to make contact. And there was no unlimited long distance calling. Long distance calls were paid for extra, by the minute.

So in this interview, Fleet said he was trying to reach his mother who was a PATIENT at the Aspen hospital. He didn't know the number for the hospital so was trying to dial information. At the time, 411 was the number to get a local number and the way to get a long distance number was 1-411.

So Fleet dialed 1411 and the first time he made no connection. He tried again and that worked. After that, he said he would have put the long distance call on his own charge card so it would not be billed to the Ramseys.

The thing is, Fleet doesn't know if he dialed 911 or not? Did the mistake happen the first time he went to dial 1411? He says maybe - - but in truth, on December 27th, he just did not know.

He was asked if he knew about a 911 call that was made during the party, that police went to the house. At first he denied to police any knowledge but later remembered someone at the party spoke of the police coming to the door that night so he did, in fact, know there was a 911 hang-up call. But he didn't feel it was important and at the time didn't think it had been HIS mistake. Still, later, when asked about it, he agreed it might have been his mistake as he had sent time on the phone that night.

[jameson245]

editing first post due to new information I have received (documents)

[Summer Dawn]

(09-22-2017, 05:47 PM)jameson245 Wrote: You have to remember that back in 1996, many of us did not have cell phones and land lines were the usual way to make contact.  And there was no unlimited long distance calling.  Long distance calls were paid for extra, by the minute.

So in this interview, Fleet said he was trying to reach his mother who was a PATIENT at the Aspen hospital.  He didn't know the number for the hospital so was trying to dial information.  At the time, 411 was the number to get a local number and the way to get a long distance number was 1-411.

So Fleet dialed 1411 and the first time he made no connection.  He tried again and that worked.  After that, he said he would have put the long distance call on his own charge card so it would not be billed to the Ramseys.

The thing is, Fleet doesn't know if he dialed 911 or not?  Did the mistake happen the first time he went to dial 1411?  He says maybe - - but in truth, on December 27th, he just did not know.

He was asked if he knew about a 911 call that was made during the party, that police went to the house.  At first he denied to police any knowledge but later remembered someone at the party spoke of the police coming to the door that night so he did, in fact, know there was a 911 hang-up call.  But he didn't feel it was important and at the time didn't think it had been HIS mistake.  Still, later, when asked about it, he agreed it might have been his mistake as he had sent time on the phone that night.

Wow, very interesting. I wouldnt doubt if he accidentally pushed 4 instead of 9. He could have realized that he called 911 and instantly hung up. He was probably embarrassed if anything.