Of dateline, Josh Mankiewicz uncovers what we never knew about the murder of Jonbenet Ramsey. Some of those closest to the investigation speaking out for the very first time. This detective. It took everything i had to keep that secret. And this 911 separator. Something outside me said somethings not right. Why some suspected jonbenets parents. Thats a big red flag. The behavior does not match up with the ramseys. It matches up with the psychopath. A new interview with jonbenets brother, burke. Did police come closer to making an arrest than we ever knew . I learned from one source there had actually been an indictment. Now after 20 years, what can finally be revealed. Im lester holt and this is dateline. Tonight, who killed jonbenet . How long ago was this . I dont know. I just found the note. And my daughters missing. Oh, my god. Okay. This story is about that little girl named Jonbenet Ramsey. A story illustrated with the around the world. My name is Jonbenet Ramsey. A nearly 20yearold mystery that haunted a family and a community, one that created deep divisions among friends as well as among investigators who are still searching for the truth. Tonight, new information. A family friend who was by the ramseys side throughout it all will speak out. Her first primetime interview. That. The emotions were so intense. The 911 operator who took that call will speak publicly for the first time about what she heard. It was almost a surreal moment for me, and i had this sickening feeling in my stomach. Youll see crucial case documents that have never before been made public and for the first time, youll hear two investigators talk about what happened inside the investigation. Youve never given an why now . What do you want people to know . To basically address this myth perception of my department that has been going on for 20 years. Boulder, colorado, a University Town in the foothills of the rocky mountains. Moving here was a big change for the Ramsey Family who arrived from atlanta in 1991. I told patsy to get a pair of blue jeans and some cowboy boots. Judith phillips was a friend of the ramseys. Atlanta, you didnt leave the house without makeup, even if you were going to work out. Boulder wasnt that way at all. It was just the opposite, you know, laid back, a hippie town. John ramsey became president and ceo of access graphics, a Computer Company he helped create. Their offices in boulder. And unpacked some southern charm. It was exwiz sit what patsy did with that house. And she turns, really, the city upside down with her style. Im from West Virginia. In her youth, patsy ramsey had been miss West Virginia and went on to compete in the miss she put her house up for some kind of tour for christmas. She put her pageant dress on the bed so people could see it. This was patsy announcing i have arrived. Right. Everything came to a sudden halt two years later when patsy ramsey was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She looked weak. She looked tired, but she had a smile on her face. Tough to watch your friend its really hard. But mrs. Ramsey was a fighter. She was going to beat this and she was going to beat it forever. And the cancer did go into remission. Everyone took a deep breath. Judith, who is a photographer, was asked to take photos of her friend for a magazine feature about patsys recovery. Judith camup pose, a cross between patsys lips. That cross was very significant to her because she believed that this cross healed her. Judith also shot photos of patsy ramsey with her children, burke and jonbenet who were, according to friends, the center of their moms universe and maybe why she fought so hard to survive. See both burke and jonbenet graduate from college. You have no doubt seen spoiled rich kids. I have. The ramsey children didnt quali qualify . No. No, the rich spoiled kids i have seen that are bratty, didnt want to be around them. These kids were refreshing. Normal, normal kids. And pam got to know the ramseys well, especially mrs. Ramsey. She was gregarious, bubbly. And her daughter seemed to be following in those footsteps. Jonbenet was named after her dad, john bennett ramsey, with a french twist. By time she turned 6, jonbenet won the title of little miss christmas and participated in boulders annual christmas parade. Jonbenet insisted on not wearing her coat because beauty queens dont do that. Thats what she said . Uhhuh. 1996 was ending in a high note for the ramseys. Patsy ramsey, still in remission, had just celebrated her 40th birthday. John bennetts company was a huge success. Burke and jonbenet were having yet anotma but the morning after christmas, december 26th, 1996, the rams ramseys lives changed forever. Do you know how long shes been gone . No, i dont. We just got up and shes not here. Please. Take a deep breath. Please hurry, hurry, hurry. Patsy, patsy, patsy . When we come back, the sets a mystery in motion. They said theyve caught jonbenet. Shes kidnapped. To turn knorr rice sides into something new, just saut . Some chicken. Stir in knorr rice sides with fresh tomato and basil and youve got knorr creamy bruschetta chicken. Knorr rice sides. As a main dish. Because im a woman. Do you think im gonna crack under pressure or conquer the field . Defy expectations any day with always infinity. Made with flexfoam. Absorbs 10x its weight. Nivea inshower body lotion after washing apply and rinse 24 hours of moisture with no sticky feel. Then get dressed and go. Delight your senses with inshower cocoa butter. Available in the body lotion aisle. Im anne howard and im michael howard. We left on our honeymoon in january 2012. It actually evolved into a business. From our blog to video editing. Our technology has to hang tough with us. When youre going to a place without electricity, you need a long battery life. The touch, combined with the screen resolution. A mac doesnt have that. We wanted to help more people get out there and see the world. December 26th, 1996, a cold the skies clear. A perfect day for flying. The ramseys pilot was readying take them to their Vacation Home in michigan. Pam, a pilots wife and patsys friend, was home when the phone rang. It was john ramsey. Wheres michael . I said hes out getting the plane ready. Theyve got her. Theyve got her. What do you mean theyve got her . What do you mean . He said theyve got jonbenet, shes kidnapped. Jonbenet ramsey, only 6 years old, was missing. Her mother called 911 and said home. There was a note left. That note would become perhaps the most carefully dissected ransom note in the history of crime. Mr. Ramsey, listen carefully we are a group of individuals that represent a small foreign faction. At this time, we have your daughter in our possession. The note demanded money, a very specific sum. Your account. 100,000 will be in 100 dollar bills and the remaining 18,000 in 20 dollar bills. Make sure you bring an adequate size attache to the bank. I will call you between 8 00 and 10 00 a. M. Tomorrow to instruct you on delivery. The note went on for two and a half pages. Within minutes, a Boulder Police officer arrived at the ramsey house. Accord had dinner at a friends house the night before and then returned home at 10 00 p. M. And both kids went to bed shortly after. Mrs. Ramsey said she woke up early next morning to get ready, went to jonbenets room and found it empty, then she found the note. The ramseys said their 9yearold son burke was still asleep in his room. The officer did a quick inspection of the house and wrote that he found no signs of noted a door with a wooden latch, but did not open it. Soon detectives arrived. Fred patterson was among the first. Were trying to stay very low key because the note itself said they were watching the house. Patterson met with the ramseys. Theyre very distraught. They want to get their daughter back. John ramsey was busy getting together 118,000 in ransom money. In control. The house was crowded. Two victims advocates had arrived. In addition, mrs. Ramsey had called some Close Friends and her pastor. Burke ramsey was by now awake and had been taken to a Family Friends home away from the scene. Police were working without a playbook. That kind of kidnapping exists in the movies, but in real life its pretty rare. Bob whitt son was a detective sergeant at boulder pd. I knew that we didnt have the personnel to handle that. So he called the fbi. Ron walker, an agent in the fbi, drove to the Boulder Police department. And there was a photograph of the kidnapped victim, Jonbenet Ramsey. He looked at the picture and was puzzled. I had been told that this little girl ab i thought to myself that cant be. The girl thats depicted in this particular photograph looks like shes 13, 14 years old. Someone told me thats one of her beauty pageantry publicity shots. Walker thought that was a possible lead. Well, gosh, who had access to her potentially at one of these pageants . Maybe had become fixated on her, stalked her. If the kidnapping of jonbenet is motivated by her exposure in beauty pageants, theres like nothing in there to suggest that. Exactly. Theres no reference to how beautiful she is or ive been watching her or i cant take my eyes off of her. Ive seen her performing. Right. All of which made this fbi agent very suspicious. So the first thought is its not a kidnapping. This is not the real thing. This is not the rth i remember turning to the Boulder Police chief at the time and i said, this is a murder. Youre going to find a body. Never theless, boulder pd prepped john ramsey for the kidnappers promised phone call, but 10 00 a. M. Came and went with no call from the kidnappers. According to police reports, no one in the house made any obvious comment that the deadline had been missed. Naturally, police had to look at john and patsy ramsey. So detective patterson asked for unrehearsed handwriting samples to compare john and patsys writing to the ransom note. All we were trying to do was obtain handwriting from them so we could basically eliminate them and go on with the investigation. John ramsey quickly responded. They had two standard sized pads of paper. He said this one is patsys. This one is mine. We use it to keep notes by the telephone. Patterson and whittson took the note pads back to the station for the notes to be analyzed leaving one detective in charge. She needed help keeping john ramseys mind occupied. She suggested to a family friend that he and mr. Ramsey search the house from top to bottom. John ramsey immediately went to to me, thats a red flag. Big red flag. Almost as if he knew exactly where to go. Almost as if he knew exactly where to go. Mr. Ramsey said he noticed an open window in the basement. He then walked toward a small room the family called the wine cellar. He opened the door and thats when he said he saw something. Coming up, finding jonbenet. She was wrapped in a blanket. Ther a crime scene about to spin out of control. It was absolute chaos. When dateline continues. With intuitive allwheel drive. Plus 500 bonus cash. Man, my feet same time tomorrow, fellas . Dr. Scholls massaging gel work insoles absorb a hard day on your feet for comfort that keeps you feeling more energized. Dudes got skills. Dr. Scholls work insoles. Its game time and you know what that means. Its time to grab a kfc twenty dollar fillup. Yeah now available with extra crispy tenders. R lickin good if my clothes i would imagine that i wowas a dinosaur spy. Flying. I wanna show you my fierce moves now. . . Uh, robot space look. Cool. They have hearts on the knees i love being me, and everyone should love being theirselves. Say hello to cat jack so good only at target. Narrator New Hampshire, think a minute about kelly ayotte the politician. Ayotte claims shes independent, then goes to washington and votes with the Koch Brothers 90 of the time. She takes millions from wall street and big drug companies, and then votes to put their agenda before everyday families. Higher drug prices and cutbacks to our medicare. So, think about it New Hampshire can choose the special interests senator with kelly ayotte. Or a peoples senator, for a change. Im Maggie Hassan about seven hours after patsy ramsey called 911 to code black, meaning dead body found. He said im going to the house. Lets go. By now, john ramsey had picked up jonbenets body and carried it upstairs. Detective sergeant bob whitson. I walked in. Mrs. Ramsey was rocking back and the floor holding her daughter. I asked the minister to ask her to put the body down, which she did. What had looked like a kidnapping for ransom had turned into a murder. It was now a case for the local police, not the fbi. And i told them its no longer our jurisdiction. Youve got a contaminated crime scene. Youve got to get these people out of the house. It was absolute chaos. A detective with the boulder pd back then was on a holiday vacation that first day, but soon became one of the main investigators of jonbenets murder. This is her First Ever Television interview. You had the crime scene techs, you know, dusting for fingerprints and these Family Friends following behind the techs with spray cleaner like cleaning up after them. I mean, it was an impossible situation. It sounds like you needed we were waiting for jonbenets body to be brought out. Charlie brennan, a local newspaper reporter from boulder, was one of the first on scene. It was a really i would say macabre scene with the large candy canes that flanked the front walk. He soon learned the details on how john ramsey said he found his daughters body on the cellar floor. Jonbenet was lying on her back. She was wrapped in a blanket. Her favorite barbie nightgown was just nearby. Her hands were up over her head and there was a ligature secured to both wrists loosely. And there was the garrote around her neck and there was black duct tape covering her mouth. And on the palm of her left tape off and threw it aside and then he picked up her body and he carried her body upstairs. Thats pretty much everything that police dont want to happen in that situation. The girls father picking up the body and moving it to another room, another floor, of the house is you could not have worse contamination of a crime scene right there. News of jonbenets death was spreading fast. Murder in boulder. The body of 6yearold Jonbenet Ramsey was found in the basement of the family home. The boulder pd held a press conference. There is no information that lead us toward any suspect or identifiable suspect at this time. But behind the scenes, detectives were already comp complying a list of possible suspects, and on it was the Ramsey Family housekeeper. Patsy ramsey said she had access detective patterson interviewed the housekeeper and her husband. Their alibis checked out. They appeared to be very open with us, supplying us with anything that we asked for. Including handwriting samples to compare with the ransom note. That was the biggest clue the killer left behind. The ransom note really suggests strongly somebody who had familiarity with the ramseys. Itak ransom that was sought 118,000, which we learned was very close, down to a few bucks, to the amount that john ramsey had received as his bonus that year at access graphics. Anybody any that was a coincidence . Because thats a hell of a coincidence. Most investigators believe it was somebody who knew about the bonus. Then police found out about another possible lead. It came to light that jonbenet had mentioned to the mother of a friend right around this time that santa is going to pay me a special visit. A special visit after christmas. The family friend thought for sure jonbenet must have been confused, but it turned out joen real person. Coming up, that real person was about to show up at jonbenets memorial and Say Something strange. It left people feeling very uncomfortable about this guy. Do investigators have a [ male announcer ] cats will do anything for the irresistible taste of temptations treats. What are you doing . Oh, here, check this out. . . [ meows ] temptations. Cats cant resist. [ meows ] i have no idea whats in this seaweed wrap. But with this usp seal i know exactly whats in my nature made gummies. Nature made has the first gummy certified by usp. A Non Profit Organization that sets purity and potency standards. Buy one take one is back at olive garden choose one delicious entr . E at our place and another for yours starting at 12. 99 may all your tomorrows be as delicious as today Jonbenet Ramsey had been murdered in her own home. Family friend pam bardet. That is a time that i will never forget in my life. Its seared into my being and it is something i wish it would go away. Detectives were still looking at the ramseys too. Shortly after john ramsey found his daughterli overheard a conversation. Another detective saw him on the phone apparently talking to his pilot, telling the pilot to get the plane ready. Were getting out of here. Fbi agent ron walker. He was told at that point by a detective, well, youre not going anywhere. The ramseys stayed and later moved in with friends while police took over the house. They tried to make up for the mistakes they made the first day. We processed that scene until we could not do anything more on it. Reporter the following day, detectives wanted to question the ramseys more thoroughly. According to police documents, Patsy Ramseys doctor said she was too distraught and too medicated to talk to anyone. John ramsey did talk accompanied by a friend who was also an attorney. Detectives asked mr. Ramsey about a broken window theyd found in the basement. John ramsey said hed broken it himself months earlier when he was locked out of the house. Detectives left without getting a commitment to speak with the ramseys again. That same day the coroner performed the autopsy. Among all the intrigue and the tabloid details and the worldwide publicity, at bottom this was a young child who died a really horrible death. The death was horrible. Jonbenet suffered a severe blow to the head that fractured her skull and caused bleeding on her brain. Weapon unknown. Shed also been strangled with a loop of cord dtied to a broken paint brush handle, a homemade weapon known as a garrote. There was also evidence of possible sexual abuse and there were two s