He was a very inexperienced cop whose career had mainly consisted of narcotics busts which are not really much of an investigative challenge.

He apparently was being eased out of the department anyway, so he had little to lose by making use of the files to concoct a book that would sell rather than a truthful rendition.

Believe him? No. Not I.

The name of the email was "How dare you !!!" and she was very upset that I am not talking nice about Steve Thomas or opening the forum for public flaming.

This is the response she didn't get:

Steve Thomas wrote a book that stated his theory - he said he would defend it in court - he got people like you to send him money so he could tell the truth and prove his case... and he bailed before he was deposed.

The Ramseys let the case end rather than see it carried out for YEARS. Thomas and the publishers paid the Ramseys for the naughty they did and you think that makes the Ramseys look bad?

Give me a break!

Steve Thomas walked away from JonBenét on the day he resigned. I don't know of one other thing he did to honestly bring her killer to justice. You worship the ground he walks on - - that's YOUR problem, not mine.

You have other forums to post on - - I haven't seen much from you. You want to post on my forum? Join. Own your words like the rest of us.

jameson

By Christopher Anderson
Camera Staff Writer

A former Boulder police detective being sued for defamation by John and
Patsy Ramsey has retained the attorney who won a wrongful death civil
suit against O.J. Simpson.
Steve Thomas said Monday he has retained the services of Daniel
Petrocelli and said he looks forward to the opportunity to "expose in a
court of law what happened in the Ramsey home" the night the couple's
daughter, JonBenét, was killed.
Petrocelli, a trial lawyer who works for the Los Angeles law firm of
O'Melveny & Myers, represented Fred Goldman in a $33.5 million
wrongful-death judgment against Simpson, who was acquitted in criminal
court of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
On Thursday, the Ramseys filed an $80 million libel and slander lawsuit
against Thomas, a publishing company, and unidentified Boulder police
officers, among others. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
The couple's suit against Thomas alleges that his book, "JonBenét: Inside
the Ramsey Murder Investigation," and subsequent media interviews on
the case falsely accused Patsy Ramsey of killing her child and John
Ramsey of participating in the cover-up. The book was published April 10
of last year.
"I stand by my convictions," Thomas said in a statement Monday, the first
since the lawsuit was filed. "The Ramseys have no right to silence me or
anyone else who wishes to seek the truth and speak out about this
horrible tragedy of injustice."
Thomas has established a hotline for supporters to donate to his legal
defense. The fund is being run through Wise Communications, a Los
Angeles public relations firm.
Thomas was among the first detectives to formally interrogate the
Ramseys about the death of their daughter.
He resigned from the department Aug. 6, 1998, on what would have been
the little girl's 8th birthday.
In his resignation letter, Thomas expressed frustration that the Boulder
County District Attorney's Office was preventing a criminal case against
the couple from moving forward.
JonBenét, 6, was found beaten and strangled in her family's basement
home Dec. 26, 1996.
John and Patsy Ramsey have remained under police suspicion, although
the couple has repeatedly denied killing JonBenét.
In his first comments on the lawsuit, Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner
said he is not aware of anyone providing Thomas with information for the
book.
"Our position is it's not our issue," he said. "It's between Steve Thomas
and the Ramseys."
The Ramseys' attorney, Lin Wood, says the proof that officers helped with
the book lies within Thomas' own author's note, which mentions
"confidences."
The note reads: "To certain members of the Boulder Police Department,
cops who still cannot speak out publicly and who know this story too well,
I appreciate your continued support and the confidences you provided me
in the presentation of this book."
The lawsuit refers to the unnamed officers as "John Doe" 1, 2 and 3, and
"Jane Doe" 1. Wood hopes to prove who the officers are as part of
discovery in the case.
Wood said he is fully aware the lawsuit gives Thomas the opportunity to
question the Ramseys under oath and seek other information.
But he said the couple is not afraid to take the case in front of a jury,
saying they have "the courage of their innocence."
Contact Christopher Anderson at (303) 473-1355 or
andersonc@thedailycamera.com.
Camera wire services contributed to this report.
April 3, 2001

First I want to say I miss Chris Anderson a lot. We were friends. When I went to Boulder he would meet with me and we would sit and talk - he had a contageous smile, a great laugh. He was a very nice guy, he was respected in life, and missed now that he is gone.

Then I want to say that I think he would have laughed when he learned about the lawsuit being settled. The Ramseys were deposed in Wolf - - their depositions were released unredacted. When Steve Thomas was to be deposed in Wolf he fought it - - hard. He did NOT want to talk - - but he found he had to - - and now he is fighting to keep that document sealed so no one will know just how bad it was.

The Ramseys were ready to be deposed again - this time by Thomas' attorneys. And Thomas was going to have to face Lin Wolf again.

AND HE BLOCKED IT - He and his publishers offered the Ramseys a settlement they couldn't refuse.

They could have held out for more - - dragged it out for years - - but this is fine. We all know that Steve Thomas was a liar - - not willing to go to court to prove his theory. He just wanted to have his theory out there. And we all know that the evidence does not prove his theory - - just the opposite, it discredits Steve Thomas totally.

Jameson,

I see in your above post that you misspelled the word "sucker" as in ST's Sucker -- why did you spell it A-N-G-E-L?

(wink)

He and his girlfriend were struck by lightening on a vacation to Florida. He died and his girlfriend survived.

An example of nonsense repeated throughout his book
is the statement that John and Fleet searched the
home starting in the basement. Linda Arndt had
used the common phrase "from top to bottom".
Thomas took the statement literally.

Thomas totally ignored experts that disagreed with
his scenario. At his presentation of the evidence
he thought pointed to Patsy, he only quoted the
opinion of Don Foster as to whom authored the
ransom note. He had contrary expert analysis
from nothing less than the Secret Service, but
never mentioned it.

He never understood that an
intruder could use the tools of the crime
(Paper, pen, garrote handle) as well as a
family member. It's no wonder Alex Hunter
never gave his opinions any credence.

Thomas was a detective with no experience
investigating a homicide. Reading his book
was worth the effort. You learn just how
mediocre he was as an investigator.

I think he would have been forced to admit that in his deposition or on the stand in the Wolf trial - - or his own.

He settled his own suit - - won't have to testify there - - and I feel sure he will simply be in Germany and unavailable to testify inthe Wolf suit. But his deposition will be available in that case - - so unless Darnay Hoffman drops that suit, I think some more of the truth will come out.

Can Lin Wood make release of ST's Chris Wolf suit depo part of the settlement in the Thomas suit?

I know the two cases are separate and one (the Wolf suit) hasn't been tried, but theoretically speaking, Steve Thomas could have allowed his deposition to be released. We *heard* he lied his b*tt off and that's why he fought to keep it sealed.

IMO his credibility is shot, which makes this depo worth something to me. Since he doesn't have sufficient money to pay the piper, isn't it fair of Wood to ask him to pay in the only currency Thomas has left - his lies under oath in the Wolf suit?

The online sleuths have lots of theories. Lauren Stewart of Michigan (code
name: shorty), who plans to make it to Boulder, says there's a feeling of mental
superiority among the electronic detectives. According to Stewart, who has two
grown children and three adopted school-age kids at home, "Everyone's trying
to be the one guy who spots the one thing that everyone's missed." Stewart, for
example, noticed that Patsy had said that JonBenet's bedroom door was
closed--but how could the murderer have closed the bedroom door behind him,
since he would have had to carry an armload of other materials along with the
child to the basement? Stewart wasn't sure if this seeming inconsistency meant
anything, but just in case, she e-mailed the tip to new Boulder police chief Mark
Beckner, who was put in charge of the investigation last fall.

The Anti-Rams and Fence Sitters revel in these little details and complain that
the Pro-Rams won't even consider them. Too often, Wheeler says, it seems
that the Pro-Rams just try to start conflict without making a well-reasoned point
about the case itself.

Although the Pro-Rams won't be attending Boulder's wingding, several key
media figures have been invited to a dinner. One prominent figure, former chief
deputy Denver district attorney and current Channel 7 legal-expert-for-hire
Craig Silverman, decided to invite himself, Knapp says. She's happy to have
him. "It was like, 'Wow! He's already on my list.'"

Who's not on her list? University of Colorado professor Michael Tracy, who
made a documentary on the Ramseys that Channel 9 aired earlier this summer
and that is slated to run on A&E sometime this fall. Originally, Knapp thought it
would be a good idea to ask him, just to stir things up a bit. But the idea was
roundly rejected by the online pals she surveyed. "Some felt that he would be a
spy for the Ramseys," she says, then adds, "Others think he's not very
intelligent. He seems to be very ignorant of a lot of things. I don't know if that's
by choice."

The dinner, initially planned for Pasta Jay's, was moved to an undisclosed
location for two reasons: First, the number of attendees quickly grew larger
than expected. And then some cyber-sleuths had second thoughts about holding
their gathering at a restaurant owned by rabid Ramsey supporter Jay Elowsky,
who once went after two people he thought were members of the media.
"Some people are frightened to be too visual," says Stewart. "I mean, that Pasta
Jay guy took after somebody with a baseball bat." Now attendees will be issued
passwords to gain access to the dinner.

In addition to meeting over dinner, the armchair detectives can take a
sight-seeing tour of Boulder, working off a list of suggested sights compiled by
Knapp (see page 20). Of course, there's the former Ramsey home, where
JonBenet's body was found. (Knapp is quick to point out that this will not be an
organized bus tour and says her group will be respectful of neighbors.) They
also plan to visit the Boulder County Jail (current home of minor player J.T.
Colfax, arrested last year after he stuffed a burning envelope through the mail
slot of the Ramsey home; he also lifted the morgue log sheet listing JonBenet's
body), McGuckin Hardware (possible source of the rope used in the garrotte),
Boulder County Courthouse, the Boulder Police Department, High Plains
Elementary and Access Graphics. A trip to Rollinsville, the hometown of Bill
"Santa" McReynolds, is also on the itinerary for those interested in attending.

Perhaps the oddest stop on the tour is the Columbia Cemetery gravesite of Tom
Horn, executed in Cheyenne in 1903 for murdering a fourteen-year-old boy.
This past July, authorities found a note attached to Horn's grave addressed to
Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter, threatening to damage the grave if the
Ramseys were not arrested. The group also wants to pose at the Web cam in
front of University Bikes and wave a hello to all the other online buddies who
couldn't make the trip.

The cyber-sleuths are also planning their very own whodunit murder mystery
game--but one that doesn't involve the facts of the Ramsey case. That would
be too tacky. And as a surprise, Knapp plans to have goodie bags waiting for all
the attendees. She doesn't want to reveal too much about their contents, but
they are certain to contain FBI pens, funny disguises and other stuff any good
detective needs.

Each bag will also hold a T-shirt with a message for JonBenet Ramsey's killer,
printed in lettering that mimics the ransom note: "Listen Carefully! The Internet
Is Watching!

westword.com &pip; originally published: September 10, 1998

I remember being slightly upset at the story - the writer didn't portray me correctly, I thought - but all in all - - it's an interesting blast from the past.

Why that cord as opposed to twine? If the person was using a slip knot, it would be more effective.

This person knew exactly what he was doing - he chose his tools carefully.

This guy really knew what he was doing.

Unfortunately, its a bit like the Prosecutor's Nightmare when it comes to hate crimes: If a white man attacks a minority taken from a large crowd, the prosecutor can allege that it was a hate crime of some sort; whereas if a minority attacks one white person from a large crowd,,the allegation of 'hate crime' can be countered with 'selected a victim randomly' and chances favored the white person due to there having been fewer minorities.

So in cord selection, we are left with several alternatives:

Was it merely something lying around which turned out to be the best thing to use? Or was it simply picked by chance from among a wide variety of cords being sold? Or was it knowingly and carefully selected for its purpose?

The cord is sold at various Army/Navy Surplus stores and outdoor outfitter type stores. It is not some very rare item at all.

Rock climbing? Camping? Sailing? Equipment Stowage, such as in a Marina? Skydiving? Rescue work? Movie set construction? Displays and Exhibitions?(such as would also use duct tape).

The examples I've used before: a sniper shooting an abortionist and a total nutcase who is enraged by JonBenet having been permitted to step on a sidewalk crack, do not in any way require some sort of "personal" grudge. The anger arises more from political issues than personal interaction.

what I thought it was. Someone I used to know told me something once (when I didn't even ask - as I said before, I've been told things by others when I was just sitting and listening that perhaps they didn't even remember telling me later). Anyway, this guy told me he used to be a 'massagenest' (sp) (woman hater) but that he tried to get out of that by looking at little girls because "they were so pure" and all of that, and it occured to me that if this was him, that he could've seen JBR's image in the pagents as 'soiling' that 'pure' image of little girls.

I wrote to someone about my all of that long ago so this is just bringing some of it out into the open here.

IMO I can't see anyone as 'pure as the driven snow' but then I've lived longer than twenty years so that is why. Wont say how much longer, but longer.

It would appear the tape and cord and other things (rope, stun gun, Hi-Tec Boots)were carried into the house by the killer. That tells a lot about him - - and someone out in Boulder must have had some idea that this guy was involved - - his personality and things he owned... maybe things that went missing after the murder.