s-neighbors-patricia-limerick.htm


	A Personal view of the Internet Subculture Surrounding the JonBenet Ramsey Murder case

This web page is part of a series covering found materials regarding individuals, items or events that apparently became part of what is commonly known as the vortex of the JonBenet Ramsey murder case Christmas night 1996. The webmaster of this site claims no inside official Boulder police information as to who has been interviewed, investigated, the outcome or what information is actually considered official evidence. These pages outline found material which can include but not limited to materials found in books, articles, the Internet, transcripts, depositions, legal documents, Internet discussion forums, graphics or photos, media reports, TV/Radio shows about the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. Found materials are here for historical archive purposes. (www.acandyrose.com - acandyrose@aol.com)

This webpage series is for historical archive and educational purposes on found materials


Neighbors - Patricia and Jeffrey Limerick Ramsey Book Says Limerick's were never interviewed by police 12/29 News article says Patricia Limerick was in California

CHAIN OF EVENTS 1996

1996-12-29: Details still elusive in slaying

http://www.boulderdailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1996/12/29-1.html
Details still elusive in slaying
By ALLI KRUPSKI
Camera Staff Writer
December 29, 1996

The investigation continued Saturday into the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, as about 30 local police officers worked the case - the most assigned to a crime in the past four years.

Police released no further details on the slaying and identified no suspects, but they continued to search the family home at 755 15th St.

Meanwhile, neighbors said a close family friend and John Ramsey, the girl's father, discovered the body of the aspiring beauty queen Thursday afternoon in the home's basement.

Approximately eight hours earlier, about 6 a.m., Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet's mother, had called 911 to report that her daughter had been kidnapped and that a ransom note had been left.

"They found her in a hidden area down there, so whoever killed her had to be somebody that knew the house," said Joe Barnhill, who lives across the street from the Ramseys and cares for JonBenet's dog.

Police, however, would not comment on which family member found the body of the 1995 Little Miss Colorado and 1996 America Royale Miss. The coroner reported Friday that the girl had been strangled, but no details emerged as to the time of death or the manner in which she was strangled.

Police said they anticipate completing the preliminary processing of the 15-room house Monday morning. "We still have a number of people yet to interview," said John Eller, commander of the Boulder police detective division.

In addition to Eller, investigators with the case include Sheriff's Department officials and a Department of Social Services child-protection worker and supervisor. "If a child dies, they (the Department of Social Services authorities) are required by law to be involved," Eller said.

Officials also have not determined what role the reported kidnapping played in JonBenet's death. "Right now, we are focused on the homicide aspects of the case," Eller said.

Police remained tight-lipped about other elements of the crime. They would not comment on the clothing JonBenet was wearing when she died, the condition of her body, the instructions in the ransom note, or possible contact the kidnapper may have had with police or the family. Authorities also did not reveal information about the Ramseys'domestic staff and which members had access to the house.

As investigators search for clues, the family reamains secluded in a friend's home under police protection, family friends said. "They're cooperating with the police," said city spokeswoman Leslie Aaholm.

But family friends say discussing the death with police and loved ones has devastated the family. "She was killed after she went to bed, so they never got a chance to say goodbye, and it's terribly difficult for them," said a close family friend. "They're all together now just trying to get through this. It's just seared their hearts."

JonBenet's father, John, is president of Access Graphics, a Boulder computer distributor. Her mother, Patsy, a former Miss West Virginia, traveled with her daughter to beauty contests around the nation.

The murder has stunned neighbors.

"I'm sure people are more frightened now, and I feel more vulnerable," Barnhill said. "We feel that this has been a very secure and quiet neighborhood, and that's why it's such a shock."

Patty Limerick, who lives across the street from the Ramseys, said the murder concerns her as well. She learned of the crime when she returned home Thursday night from her parents' 60th wedding anniversary party in California.

"It's very disturbing because something terrible happened to an innocent human being," she said. "The neighborhood has always been very pleasant, safe and convivial."

Other residents said they have had difficulty sleeping and have placed chairs in front of their doors to prevent intruders from entering their homes at night.

"I just don't know what happened, and that's what's so scary," said one neighbor who declined to give her name. "There just isn't much crime here, which is why it's so terrifying to think that somebody really entered that house and killed her. And until they figure out what happened, I don't think I'll ever feel safe here again."

CHAIN OF EVENTS 2000

2000-03-18: “Death of Innocence”
Written by John and Patsy Ramsey, March 18, 2000

DOI Page 232

"On December 6, 1997, an article in the New York Times brought an issue to light on the national scene that should have started to unravel the police mask of competence. A University of Colorado history professor, Patricia Limerick, who lived directly across the street from our house at 755 Fifteenth Street, was interviewed. In this particular story Patricia said, "My husband and I have never interviewed by the police. For weeks I assumed it was a measure of how well the police doing. Now, I am not so sure. " Eleven months have passed since the murder, and the neighborhood around our former house had never been completely canvassed. Where were the police? Patricia Limerick was asking the right questions."

CHAIN OF EVENTS 2002

2002-00-00: Between Town and Gown
The Rise and Fall of Restorative Justice on Boulder’s University Hill

www.law.du.edu/russell/RJ/townandgown.pdf
2002 - Between Town and Gown:
The Rise and Fall of Restorative Justice
on Boulder’s University Hill
by Thomas D. Russell

Page 92

"Our bungalow was in the southeastern part of a Boulder neighborhood called University Hill (the Hill), which lies immediately west of the University of Colorado’s campus. The campus of the Universityof Colorado (CU) was one and one-half blocks up the street from of us; one and one-half blocks down the street was the large, then-unoccupied, million-dollar plus house in which JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in December 1996. Across the street from the Ramsey house lives Patricia Nelson Limerick, the famous western historian, with her architect husband. Our house, midway between the Ramsey house and CU, was roughly at the dividing point between rental houses occupied by students and owner-occupied, single family homes. To the north of us, most but not all of the buildings were filled with student renters. To the south of us, owners occupied most but not all of the houses, which, like ours, were built in the early partof the twentieth century. The block behind us was nearly completely dominated by student rental housing. We were just at the southeastern fringe of the student- dominated part of the Hill. We lived on the margin between town and gown."

CHAIN OF EVENTS 2003

2003-05-24: Former Ramsey home for sale

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1986090,00.html

Former Ramsey home for sale
$1.6 million sought for Boulder abode with tragic history
By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
May 24, 2003

BOULDER - A house with four stories and a tale to tell is on the market again.

It used to be 755 15th St. Now it's 749 15th St., its address legally changed two years ago to lessen its notoriety.

Once, it was the home of JonBenet Ramsey - until she was killed there, found beaten and strangled in the basement on the afternoon of Dec. 26, 1996.

Now, the five-bedroom, seven-bath showplace with a Tudor facade can be had for $1.6 million.

Joel Ripmaster, the Coldwell Banker/Colorado Landmark Realtor who is marketing the residence, could not be reached for comment.

But the agent's Web site advertises the 7,718-square-foot home for sale at $1,599,950.

Features include a formal dining room, a chef's kitchen with butler's pantry, a library-study, hardwood floors, bay windows and a finished basement.

Other attractions include a master suite that occupies the entire fourth story, his and hers dressing areas, and bathrooms highlighted by hot-water towel racks, plus marble and granite detailing.

The site makes no mention of the home's sad past.

Patricia Limerick, a noted University of Colorado history professor who lives across the street, confirmed that a "For Sale" sign has been up for days.

Limerick said the traffic of the curious, cruising past to look at Boulder's most notorious home, has dwindled in recent years.

But it hasn't stopped completely.

"People visiting me will say, 'My goodness, people sure do slow down there,' " Limerick said.

"I think it's creepy. I understand that it happens all over. I know that it happens at the (O.J.) Simpson site" in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood. "But what is it that they're hoping to get? I don't know the answer to that."

The Ramseys bought the home, situated on a half-acre plot near the University of Colorado campus, for $500,000 in 1991.

The front half of the house was built in 1927, and a substantial addition was later built onto the back. The Ramseys spent $700,000 on renovations that included the rear spiral staircase on which Patsy Ramsey said she found the 2 ½-page ransom note demanding $118,000 for her youngest child's safe return.

The child beauty queen was found in a little-used basement room about seven hours after her mother called police to report that JonBenet, 6, had been kidnapped.

The crime has never been solved. In the summer of 1997, JonBenet's parents and older brother moved back to Atlanta, where they had previously resided.

The Ramseys didn't spend another night in the 15th Street home after their daughter's death.

A private corporation made up of the Ramseys' friends purchased the home from them in February 1998 for $650,000 and held it as a rental property.

Tenants planted several large trees in the front yard and erected a fence to discourage those wanting a glimpse of the landmark with a macabre history.

Its most recent resident was E.J. "Doc" Kreis, who was fired as the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Colorado football team.

CLICK HERE: Flight 755 15th Street Main Directory

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