Friends Who Were Once Considered Suspects

Bill McReynolds (Santa Bill)

The "Santa Bill" McReynolds Theory

Who is Santa Bill McReynolds? Bill McReynolds played Santa at several Ramsey holiday parties and knew the family well. McReynolds was named by the Ramseys as one of five people worthy of further investigation (Ramsey and Ramsey 2000). After leaving Boulder with his wife, Bill McReynolds subsequently died. Posters speculate Santa Bill may have been a pedophile, which motivated both his interest in playing Santa Claus and his particular notice of JBR. No one has linked a stun gun to McReynolds; whether he had the physical strength in light of his age and health to deliver the head blow is disputed. Because of his prior visit to the Ramsey house for the party on December 23, McReynolds had the opportunity to borrow the pad used to write the RN and later return it; he also had been given a tour of the house, including basement, by JBR and hence would have been familiar about how to get around. His role as Santa gave him a special relationship with JBR that would have permitted him to arrange a secret visit from Santa after Xmas, facilitating his getting her out of bed without arousing any suspicion on her part. At the time JBR was killed, The McReynolds lived in Nederland, which was just outside of Boulder.

A private investigator further elaborated on suspicions about McReynolds in a 1999 press conference. Internet poster developed a list of 24 reasons the McReynolds should be suspects. Bill McReynolds called JonBenet his special friend and seemed obsessed with her, according to Internet poster. According to Rolling Stone, McReynolds had chosen JonBenét to be his "special friend," going so far as to bring a vial of glitter gifted to him by the six-year-old with him into heart surgery. Even stranger, he asked his wife to mix the gold glitter in with his ashes were he to die. This particular story generated buzz in the Denver Post. McReynolds "had written a card to JonBenet that was found in her trash can after the murder. (SMF P 283; PSMF P 283.)" (Carnes 2003:37). Another little boy who was a special friend of Bill McRenolds was murdered 7 years before JonBenet, according to internet poster. No Known Hair Evidence From Beard Found. McReynolds had a full beard and it is difficult to believe he could have taken JBR from her bed, assaulted her and killed her without leaving hair evidence that to date has never been reported.

McReynolds had well-known heart problems, so it is difficult to imagine him having the strength for the head-blow to JBR which reportedly could have felled a 250-lb. man. Even apart from the strength required, the emotional stress of sneaking into the house of a family and killing a child would have been enormous. The McReynolds' story was reported in great detail by Denver Post in March 1997. BPD Investigation. Bill McReynolds provided hair and handwriting samples to police, but was never formally linked to the murder.

Janet McReynolds

Janet McReynolds, wife of "Santa" Bill, had a daughter who "had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted twenty-two years to the day before JonBenet's death" (SMF P 283; PSMF P 283.)" (Carnes 2003:36). Hey Rube Parallels. Suspicious Similarities. Janet had written a play ("Hey Rube") 20 years before JBR's death in which a child is abused and tortured in a basement (although the child subsequently died in a hospital, not the basement). The play was based on the real-life murder of an Indianapolis 16-year-old, who was molested and tortured before her body was left in a basement. Play Taken as Evidence. There were enough parallels to the facts of the JBR case that BPD took the play as evidence. Janet Was Film Buff. The ransom note is made up primarily of movie quotes. Janet is a movie critic, according to Internet poster Bob. Weak Alibi? Bill and Janet were alibis for each other. Janet's own statements to police put her near the spiral staircase two days before JonBenet died, this location was also where Patsy's notebook was last seen by Patsy. Janet could have taken the notebook or paper from it to write the note.

Explanation for SBTC? It could stand for Santa Bill & The Critic.

Hey Rube Inspired by Actual 1965 Murder. The play "Hey Rube" was inspired by the actual torture and murder of 16-year old Sylvia Likens in 1965 full story; thus any similarities to the JBR killing are purely coincidental. BPD Investigation. Janet McReynolds provided hair and handwriting samples to police, but was never formally linked to the murder.

Susan Stine

Suspicion focused on Stine based principally on her behavior following the death of JBR. Motive: Resentment at not being part of the Ramsey "inner circle". Means: May have had a key. Lived within six blocks of Ramseys. Knew the house. Opportunity: Was the last person to see the Ramseys as a complete family unit before the murder. Knew they were going home. Turned Police Away After Mysterious 911 Call. At the Ramsey's party on 23rd December, there was a hangup 911 call. When police investigated, it was Susan Stine who answered the door telling them through the speaker that everything was fine. They went away (Thomas & Davis,2000, p93).

Patsy's "Pit Bull." After the murder, Susan Stine became known as "Patsy's pit bull". The Ramseys stayed with the Stines for many months and when the Ramseys moved to Atlanta, the Stines followed them. Internet Tracking. Susan Stine was known to have followed the case closely on the Internet (Death of Innocence). Impersonated BPD Chief Beckner. In 2003, Stine was discovered to have been e-mailing numerous people, including Ramsey case journalist Charlie Brennan pretending to be Chief Beckner. There is no known forensic evidence which links Susan Stine to the murder.

The Fleet White, Jr.

Fleet White, Jr. and Priscilla White were very close family friends of the Ramseys in part because they had 2 children similar in age to Burke and JBR. Some Suspect FW due to Motive; the predominant theory is that FW may have been motivated by jealousy towards John Ramsey, but others think FW may have been a pedophile. He had the means; because FW was a close family friend who knew JonBenet well, most theories believe he was able to rely on this to get JonBenet out of bed and into the basement without her being alarmed. He had the opportunity. The Whites lived only 1.2 miles (4 minutes) from the Ramseys at 4th and Cascade; and had both a key as well as invited access to the house both on the night of the December 23 party and on the morning of December 26, many FW theories make use of these in explaining how FW was able to plan the crime, and possibly covered up evidence or deliberately contamined the crime scene. No other close friend of the Ramseys had quite the same degree of opportunity.

A woman named Nancy Krebs reported that as a child, she had been the victim of sexual abuse by distant relatives of Fleet White, Jr. and his father but also by John Ramsey. She further reported being prostituted for pornography. Did Krebs Implicate John Ramsey? Although Krebs named John Ramsey as one of those who sexually assaulted her, this does not square with what is known about John Ramsey's place of residence during the period these alleged assaults took place. Police took this story seriously enough to interview Nancy, but her story now generally has been widely discredited at least as it relates to John Ramsey's involvement. However, people disagree about whether she has provided credible evidence against Fleet White.

Potentially Incriminating Evidence against FW was that he was familiar with Ramsey Wine Cellar Room. John and Patsy Ramsey have said that FW had gone to get wine in the wine cellar room during the party on December 23, so he was familiar with that room. This is also implied in Patsy Ramsey's 1998 interview with law enforcement. FW had the opportunity to move the body. FW was in the house in the early morning of December 26 and was with John Ramsey when he found JBR's body, giving him the opportunity to possibly have moved or framed the body. He became estranged from the Ramseys shortly after JBR's funeral. In the opinion of some, his behavior following JBR's death was "strange."

Fleet White, Jr. was cleared by BPD Police Chief. On April 16, 1997, City of Boulder issued a press release stating: "In response to media inquiries and to clarify inaccurate statements, Boulder Police Chief Tom Koby has the following statement: “Mr. and Mrs. Fleet White, Jr. are not suspects in the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation. They are considered key witnesses. The Boulder Police Department appreciates the full cooperation they have received from the Whites since the beginning of their investigation. I feel this response is necessary due to the inaccurate portrayal of Mr. and Mrs. White in certain media publications.”