# Does anyone here actually care about the Jon-Benet Ramsey case? If so, why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539 "2006-09-05T18:28:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![motomoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@motomoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motomoon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/21 "2006-09-06T10:44:13Z")
[QUOTE=DeadlyAccurate] I’ve been meaning to ask, but how do you pronounce Jon Benet? [/QUOTE] I was living in Colorado at the time and the media there would always pronounce it “John Benay” ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/22 "2006-09-06T12:07:22Z")
I’m curious to know why they only seem to have photos of the poor child all “done up” for a pagent, don’t they have any ‘normal’ photos of her?! ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/23 "2006-09-06T13:22:36Z")
It holds my interest in the same way any mildly intriguing crime story would-- like an episode of _Law & Order_. (I don’t mean to be callous, but the fact is, the case is so far removed from any real effect on my life that it may as well be fictional.) Why strangers are still eager to watch hours of news coverage ten years later, I can’t understand. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/24 "2006-09-06T13:53:12Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] I follow it because I have an interest in both true and fictional crime, it’s local, and it’s an almost perfect locked room mystery. [/QUOTE] Ditto, except for the local part. How freakin’ fascinating is it? How did it happen? Why did the ransom note match the bonus so exactly? Why are so many questions unanswered? What is with the police down there? How did it all happen so fast? Etc. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/25 "2006-09-06T14:00:09Z")
There is also a (not very well known) silent war between law enforcement, who believe the family is responsible or at least knowledgeable, and the DA’s office, who generally subscribe to the intruder theory. The DA’s office actually took the case away from the police (virtually unprecedented in criminal cases in Colorado) a few years ago. This latest fiasco was entirely the doing of the District Attorney’s office. I know a few people on each side of the dispute, and the anger and resentment is barely concealed, ten years later. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/26 "2006-09-06T14:03:25Z")
I’d never heard of it/her till a week or two ago when someone mentioned it on the board. Personally I’m fine with the amount of coverage here, as I can pretty much ignore it if I’ve no interest. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/27 "2006-09-06T23:19:25Z")
[QUOTE=Accro5incit] The media (and, by logical extension, at least a portion of the public) has a certain fixation whenever a young, attractive, often blond female is killed or otherwise harmed. Look at Nicole Brown Simpson, Natalie Holloway, Amber Hagerman, JonBenet. [/QUOTE] It’s an effortless way to fill a news hour. “PrettyYoungGirl is still missing, one year later! Tonight, we launch our seventeen-part investigative report into why this tragedy has not been solved yet, and regurgitate all the tripe we’ve fed you from the last twelve months! Stay tuned after these commercial messages…” (And remember, the more time yapping about missing young blonde girls means there’s less time that needs to be spent on depressing stuff like pre-emptive wars for nonexistent WMDs, illegal wiretaps on citizens, or corrupt no-bid contracts to croneys. Pay no attention, there’s nothing to see here…) ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/28 "2006-09-06T23:50:21Z")
[QUOTE=Lobelia Overhill] I’m curious to know why they only seem to have photos of the poor child all “done up” for a pagent, don’t they have any ‘normal’ photos of her?! [/QUOTE] That is odd, now that you mention it. Back when the murder happened, various TV shows did specials about the lives of little girls in pageants – in short, they don’t seem to have much of a life outside of school and pageants. From that aspect, there probably wouldn’t be many everyday pictures. What’s also odd is the number of pageant videos. Every time this case comes back up in the news, the networks always roll out this one video of Jon Benet belting out something about cowboys. Occasionally there’s one of her twirling an umbrella. I thought she was involved with more pageants than that. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/29 "2006-09-06T23:55:48Z")
Please consider this as a form of answer to your OP question, and not intended as any form of affront when I say I have unsubscibed from this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539/30 "2006-09-07T01:03:17Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Please consider this as a form of answer to your OP question, and not intended as any form of affront when I say I have unsubscibed from this thread. [/QUOTE] That’s the second-most recursive post I’ve read today. This, of course, is the first-most. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-actually-care-about-the-jon-benet-ramsey-case-if-so-why/371539.md?page=1)