True Crime Tuesday
Kohberger trial on-schedule; the Menendez boys on ice; JonBenet, Pt. 2
Happy Tuesday, all! Some big cases the True Crime Girl is following:
Kohberger
The accused in the Moscow, Idaho quadruple murder, Bryan Kohberger, lost a major hearing this past week when the judge found that the DNA evidence in his case (a) can be used for evidence, and (b) was not used to obtain the search warrants the police got to track his phone.
What this means: Pretty much all the evidence in the case as-reported will be in-evidence come August, when the case goes to trial.
There is no indication that a plea deal is possible, or even on the table. And Kohberger’s attitude all along has seemed arrogant, almost defiant. So look for a trial.
Some questions:
Will Kohberger take the stand in his own defense?
Will the trial be televised? (It’s legal in Idaho, but at the judge’s discretion)
Will the defense be a claim that someone actually planted Kohberger’s DNA at the scene? Presumably, the someone whose trace amount of blood was found on a handrail in the victims’ house?
If convicted, will Kohberger face the death penalty? By firing squad?
Right now, the evidence looks very strong. But juries are unpredictable. And it only takes one….
The Menendez Brothers
Imprisoned for the murder of their parents for 35 years, Lyle and Erik just got some more bad news.
Unlike the previous Los Angeles D.A, Georges Gascon (who favored a new trial for the boys in a last-ditch effort at re-election), new D.A. Nathan Hochman is nowhere near as convinced. He has gone public saying that his office does not favor a new trial — which almost certainly means that, when it comes time for the judge to decide (in the coming weeks), there won’t be one.
However:
The brothers have another route — and that is to ask for resentencing. In light of the supposed “new evidence” of letters purporting to show that the brothers were molested by their father, the brothers have requested a review of their sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole (even that was a break for them — at the time, they potentially faced the death penalty).
District Attorney Hochman has stated that he will consider the new evidence at the hearing for resentencing. This could be enough cover for the judge to rule that the boys should be resentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Which would then mean that their case goes to the (notoriously lenient) California parole board. And if they favor release, the final step is for the paperwork to go to Governor Gavin Newsom. Who will do whatever he thinks works for him politically.
It’s a longshot — but it’s the best shot the Menendez brothers have had in a long time.
And all thanks to a documentary and a TikTok campaign that overlooks the fact that they killed their mother as well. In fact, Lyle shot her in the face after first wounding her and running outside for more ammunition.
The boys then went on a major spending spree after blaming the mafia for the killing.
Karen Read
Accused of killing her husband, and “winning” a mistrial the first time, Read’s retrial is on-pace to start April 1. Despite reports that this time around the charges would be downgraded to Manslaughter, the new (and more experienced) prosecutor is staying with the original Murder charge.
This one will be televised. I’ll be watching.
Can The Murder of JonBenet Be Solved? (Part II)
So picking up on our examination of the infamous JonBenet Ramsey murder – do I think new progress on the case is actually possible?
First, let me say that while I personally don’t believe either parent was involved, I feel the Netflix documentary that has rekindled interest in the case placed too much emphasis on how they were portrayed in the media rather than focusing on finding their daughter’s killer. That said, I do think the media and the BPD’s excessive focus on the family ultimately hindered progress in the case.
One investigator on the case, Steve Thomas, went so far as to write a book arguing that Patsy Ramsey was responsible for JonBenet’s death. His primary evidence was the claim that Patsy’s handwriting most closely matched the ransom letter, and therefore, she must have been the killer—a conclusion that feels rather far-fetched, based on such slim evidence.
Despite a few confessions and several questionable individuals, none of them panned out, as their DNA did not match what was found at the scene. These suspects included Randy Simmons, a pageant photographer for JonBenet; John Brewer Eustace, who was charged in Charlotte, NC, for kidnapping and raping a child and was discovered to have a shrine to JonBenet in his home; and John Mark Karr, who claimed he had ‘accidentally’ killed JonBenet. Karr led the FBI on a wild goose chase with emails and phone calls before they found him teaching at a school in Bangkok, where he was ultimately arrested.
During this time of increased confessions, Patsy also lost her battle to cancer.
Although these leads were deemed ‘inconclusive,’ many, including John Ramsey, suspect issues with the DNA evidence. They believe it may have been contaminated, either when the Ramsey house was not properly secured as a crime scene or when John picked up JonBenet’s body. If this is true, it raises the possibility that some suspects previously ruled out could, in fact, be guilty.
As we enter 2025, the Ramsey name has resurfaced in the public eye, with John Ramsey leading the charge for answers. Since 2022, he has been petitioning Colorado Governor Jared Polis to take renewed action on the case. According to the documentary, there are five to six pieces of evidence that remain untested for DNA, which Ramsey is urging to be analyzed. He is also advocating for retesting other items and comparing the results to public genealogy databases in hopes of identifying the killer or a close relative.
Public genealogy databases are held by commercial firms (like 23 And Me) who advertise the ability to locate long-lost relatives and ethnic origins through the use of DNA samples. These databases store enormous amounts of data and have increasingly become a tool in modern investigations. Indeed, this technique was used in the investigation of four college students at the University of Idaho (for which Bryan Kohberger has been arrested) and in the case of Rachel Morrin, allegedly murdered in Maryland by an illegal migrant.
Public genealogy searches rarely lead to the actual suspect, but rather to a group of suspects who may be only distantly related to the real perpetrator. The police must then use traditional detective work to find who in the group can point them to the actual murderer.
While public genealogy appears to hold out the most hope for a resolution, more recently, after the release of the Netflix documentary, John received an anonymous note from a woman claiming that her ex-husband was the killer and that she had known for some time. The note included a phone number, but when John called, she did not answer. To date, no new information has been released regarding this lead, but one hopes that it is being investigated thoroughly.
At present, after nearly three decades of rumors, leads, and countless dead ends, this case remains a mystery. However, if the Governor of Colorado agrees to collaborate with John Ramsey to test the additional items for DNA, retest the old evidence, and compare the results with the public genealogy database, there may finally be hope on the horizon for the Ramsey family.
And finally so closure for the Ramsey family.
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