Skip Casting JonBeńet on Netflix

Greetings Internet, It's Candice.

I’m fascinated by true crime stories, so when Netflix announced Casting JonBenét in January, I was interested to see how they would perceive one of the most infamous crimes in American history.

True crime is incredibly interesting. They’re some of the most fascinating books you’ll ever read and the most intriguing documentaries you’ll ever watch.

Cases like Jacob Wetterling’s in 1989, JonBenét Ramsey in 1996, and Elizabeth Smart in 2002 not only impacted the surrounding communities but it changed the American psyche.

Cases like these changed how we perceived our personal safety, how we perceived others and they influenced how a whole generation was raised.

We often think “yes, bad things happen all over the world, everyday… but nothing bad will ever happen here.”

We used to leave our doors unlocked and the lights on… until cases like this became national news.

The cases listed above changed the American psyche because they targeted innocent kids in a place where people deemed most safe… our own homes.

It’s where we relax and let our guard down… where we can be ourselves.

Cases like this made people buy security systems and force their kids to come home when the lampposts turned on at night.

Sayings like “Yes, bad things happen all over the world, everyday… but nothing bad will ever happen here”, slowly changed to… “yes, bad things happen all over the world, everyday and yes sometimes they happen here.”

THE CASE: 1996

If your not familiar with the story of JonBenét Ramsey… there’s some information you might need to know before continuing this post.

One of the most intriguing parts of this case is that it’s never been solved. Thousands of theories and different stories circulate the news and communities, but the real facts have never come out.

JonBenét Ramsey was six years old on December 26, 1996 when she was found murdered in her family home in Boulder, Colorado.

WE HAVE YOUR DAUGHTER

On the morning of December 26th, 1996, Patsy Ramsey called 911 to report that her daughter had been kidnaped. “There’s a note left and our daughter is gone”.

All that was left behind was a ransom note addressed to Patsy and John Ramsey. The following is an excerpt from the ransom note…

“MR. RAMSEY,

LISTEN CAREFULLY! WE ARE A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS THAT REPRESENT A SMALL FOREIGN FACTION. WE RESPECT YOUR BUSSINESS BUT NOT THE COUNTRY THAT IT SERVES…. DON’T TRY TO GROW A BRAIN JOHN. YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY FAT CAT AROUND SO DON’T THINK THAT KILLING WILL BE DIFFICULT. DON’T UNDERESTIMATE US JOHN. USE THAT GOOD SOUTHERN COMMON SENSE OF YOURS.

IT IS UP TO YOU NOW JOHN!

VICTORY!

S.B.T.C”

What followed was one of the most complicated, unprofessional and exhaustive investigations in American History.

The police and investigators neglected the crime scene because the ransom note led them to believe that it was in fact a kidnapping. The family, friends of the Ramsey’s, neighbors, police and investigators used the house and it’s various rooms to set up equipment and prepare for negotiations for JonBenét’s return. Vital evidence was lost, contaminated, smudged or cleaned.

THERE’S SOMEONE OUT THERE

It wasn’t until hours after the 911 call, that the investigators remembered that they still needed to search the Ramsey’s house. They sent John Ramsey to search the basement while someone else searched the rooms upstairs. Minutes later, John Ramsey found his daughter in the basement wine cellar, dead.

In the weeks after JonBenét’s death, both John and Patsy refused to speak with investigators or police about the death of their daughter, except on their own terms. They chose instead to appear on CNN to plead with the public for information and send a warning to the people of Boulder, Colorado, “I would tell my friends to keep — keep your babies close to you, there’s someone out there.”

Over the following months and years, wide varieties of suspects where questioned about the case. The Ramsey’s longtime family friends, neighbors, their cleaning lady and even the Ramsey’s themselves. Many suspected Patsy Ramsey… the tabloids and investigators alluded to her being the author of the ransom note. No solid leads arose from these allegations and the case remained unsolved.

WHO DID IT?

Many suspected John and Patsy Ramsey in the death of their daughter. Their lifelong friends Fleet and Priscilla White went as far as publishing a letter in The Denver Post to the people of Boulder. The following is an excerpt from the White letter…

“THE PEOPLE OF COLORADO ARE ENTITLED TO BE FRUSTRATED AND ANGRY WITH THOSE PUBLIC OFFLCIALS AND OTHER PERSONS WHO HAVE BROUGHT THIS CASE TO ITS CURRENT STATUS. WE MUST BE MINDFUL, HOWEVER, OF THE FIRST CAUSE OF THE INVESTIGATION’S FAILURE – THE REFUSAL OF JOHN AND PATSY RAMSEY TO COOPERATE FULLY AND GENUINELY WITH THOSE OFFICIALLY CHARGED WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF INVESTIGATING THE DEATH OF THEIR DAUGHTER, JONBENET.”

Ten years after JonBenét’s death, Patsy Ramsey passed away from ovarian cancer, never knowing who killed her daughter. Her family continued to search for answers.

Although the case has never been solved, it hasn’t stopped the media and other outlets from exploiting and sensationalising the case. Last year, in a interview with Dr. Phil, JonBenét’s older brother Burke Ramsey sat down for the first time to talk about his sisters murder. What followed was a barrage of accusations from CBS that Burke, age 9 on December 26, 1996, killed his sister with a flashlight. Burke Ramsey is currently suing CBS in a $750 million defamation lawsuit.

CASTING JONBENÉT

The new Netflix show, Casting JonBenét, was released on April 28th, 2017. The documentary itself doesn’t focus on solving the crime. It interviews different actors and actresses, from Boulder, as they audition for roles in the documentary. What follows is a confusing and weird retelling of a story many of us have heard before. Many of the actors and actresses recall how they have been personally affected by this infamous case.

The documentary is very, very weird. I completely understand that many people around the world are intrigued by this story and all the factors involved but I am unsure how the case could actually affect other people, twenty years later. Specifically, how it would affect their personal lives.

Twenty years have passed and no other incidents, murders or kidnappings have connected to JonBenét’s case. I understand that for the people of Boulder in 1996, the story might have been frightening for those with children. However, for people to say that in 2017 they are still affected… well it’s a little far fetched.

In an interview with Teen Vogue, Director Kitty Green said, “We tried to explain to them that what we’re making is a portrait of a community that has lived throughout this crime”. In some way, part of that seems to alienate the family and the people that were truly affected by the death of JonBenét. Neither Green nor anyone on her team reached out to the Ramsey family to contribute to the film.

Personally, I see this documentary as an exploitation of the Ramsey case. Interviewing the residents of Boulder… sharing their theories and myths about what might have happened… contributes nothing to the case or to the overall unsolved crime.

The documentary reviews some of the outrageous and disturbing theories within the case. Including the recent accusations covered in CBS’s, The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey where they accuse Burke of murdering his sister with a flashlight.

The young boys auditioning to play Burke Ramsey are interviewed and questioned about their own relationships with their siblings, particularly their sisters. The documentary then shows several of the boys, ages 8-11, attempting to bust a watermelon with a flashlight. All but one is successful.

Within Lifetime’s Who Killed JonBenét? the same exploitation can clearly be seen. A young actress narrated parts of the film from the perspective of six year old JonBenét, which included reading the ransom note that was left behind.

If anything, documentaries like Casting JonBenét, CBS’s The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey and Lifetime’s Who Killed JonBenét?, only push us farther away from the truth and damage the people closest to the case.

At the end of the day, as fascinated as we are with these true crime stories. We must remember that behind ever true crime story… there are real people. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and family members. Those left behind to mourn the loss of a loved one.

And the victim, the victim was a real person. Not a media illusion or fabrication. The victims are people too.

When we sensationalize crime or exploit victims… we lose our humanity.

Skip Casting JonBenét

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Donate to The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children