CBS says the older brother, who was 9 at the time, did it and the parents covered it up. They theorize that the girl came down and grabbed some pineapple the boy was eating and he got mad and hit her with a heavy object.
I dont wish to discuss the case but I have a question - what would have the sentence been for a 9 year old boy, been for killing his sister?
Also what would have been the outcome for the parents for covering it up?
My wife and I were discussing this as well. Depending on how it happened, would he have received any major punishment? I mean, would it have been voluntary manslaughter, but very minimal sentence since he was a kid who made a mistake?
He couldn’t even have been tried in Colorado. Anyone under the age of ten is considered emotionally immature and thus is immune from prosecution. He can never be tried for the crime.
Don’t know about the parents.
No doubt he’d be tried as a juvenile. Colorado probably has similar limits to other states where he couldn’t be held passed the age of 21, but I don’t know the specifics there. There’s some chance the parents would never be prosecuted, and they could use an insanity or severe emotional distress argument if they were. And then a jury would have to decide to punish the parents who have one dead child killed by the other.
ETA: I see** Lamar Mundane**'s post, so nothing would have happened to him, but we can’t expect the parents knew that and we could believe they were trying to protect him.
ETA2: I never realized that before, but perhaps the state could have institutionalized him anyway, which would explain why the parents would maintain a charade after finding out.
I don’t think that’s what happened, because she was garrotted while still alive-- there were marks on her neck where she tried to pry the rope off with her fingers.
Besides, I doubt that the parents would find the daughter knocked over the head and not call 911. Parents call 911 for children they find cold and even stiff in their cribs in the desperate hope they can still be revived. If they found her not breathing immediately after being conked on the head, I doubt they’d go into cover-up mode right away; I think they’d call 911. They might go into cover up mode later, even if she lived, to keep the family off the radar of social services-- the son might not be subject to any punishment, but the one thing it might do is be a predicate offense on his record, so if he did something later, at an older age, he might be dealt with more severely.
Barring a deathbed confession, I doubt this will ever be solved, but I don’t think the family did it.
I do wonder if the whole pageant think made her someone’s target. I hate to sound like I’m blaming the victim, but children’s beauty pageants are creepy.
Bill James in “Popular Crime” puts forth a theory that is almost impossible to argue against; it was simply someone looking to hurt John Ramsey. His analysis of the facts of the case is, frankly, very difficult to find fault with.
There is no way to examine the facts that leads a reasonable person to believe the Ramseys killed their daughter. It just doesn’t make sense, in any way, if you examine all the facts. The theory that her brother did it is just too stupid to even entertain.
And one should note that the network that gave us that “documentary” that blames the kid also peddles shows where items like Bigfoot are taken seriously (A&E). The CBS bit just regurgitated what the same guys did and said in the A&E documentary.
Very sad from CBS considering that 48 hours from CBS too years ago reported on how the DNA (that exonerated the family) was a more valid evidence than what the yahoos of today are going for.
If he *didn’t *do it, then it is absolutely despicable for the network casually push such suggestions around like this.
Burke Ramsey is reportedly preparing to sue CBS for defamation:
Uncle Walter is spinning in his grave.
Yup. I noticed they used some really creepy photos of him as well. I have seen other pictures of him where he looks perfectly normal, but in every photo on the show, he looked like a young Ed Gein.
I think CBS thinks that the very lengthy disclaimer that “they can’t actually prove anything – so audiences should feel free to draw their own conclusions” will fly.
Perhaps, but The Star and The Globe magazines already did go there only to settle after seeing the evidence that was against them. Even Time Magazine had to settle for foolishly parroting the trash from The Star and The Globe.
well that certainly opens up some business opportunities for Colorado youngsters…
The grand jury investigating the case wanted to indict them for child abuse resulting in death - a class 2 felony with the following possible penalties (if they were found guilty) of 8-24 years in prison and a fine between $5000 - $1000000.
From what I can tell the statue of limitations in Colorado would apply and the father couldn’t be charged with that at this point in time.
I thought it was him from the beginning from the way his parents acted when the news hit!
So, the brother whacks her in the head with this flashlight, lets her suffer an hour, somewhere along the way sexually assaults her, then garots his little sister to death? How many 9 year olds would know how to do that?
Children are capable of some very heinous behavior precisely because some of them haven’t really internalized the finality of death or the consequences of their actions.
Yeah when the recent controversial interviews with Burk made me think again because I dont think I knew about the sexual part in the beginning
Hard to believe he would have done that. But kids do learn early…
But the mother? I definitely cant see that happening
I did not get to see all of the recent interviews so I dont know all the facts they presented.
I just think the parents acted in a strange way when it all happened, as if they were hiding or protecting someone
Isnt Burke a half brother?
Burke is a full brother. She had half-siblings by her father, one of whom predeceased her (car accident, IIRC).
Tonight, there is some TV special on “JOHN RAMSAY SPEAKS,” some interview the father is giving in order to defend his son, but where he talks about other things as well.
I am now wondering if the accusation against the son wasn’t meant to bait the father and the son into going back into the spotlight, and speaking out against these accusations.