The Morning of the Murder| 12/26/96 - 5:30am | John Ramsey Awoke. Patsy Ramsey awoke a few minutes later. While Mr. Ramsey took a shower, Mrs. Ramsey put back on the same outfit she had on the night before and reapplied her makeup. John Ramsey reportedly awoke before Patsy, at about 5:30, and dressed after showering. |
| 12/26/96 - ~5:45am | Ransom Note Discovered. Mrs. Ramsey went down the backstairs towards the second floor, then the spiral stairs towards the ground floor, where, on a step near the bottom of the stairs, she discovered a handwritten note on three sheets of paper that indicated JonBenet had been kidnapped. Mrs. Ramsey immediately screamed and proceeded to check JonBenet's room, which was empty. |
| 12/26/96 - ~5:52am | Mr. Ramsey went downstairs to read the Ransom Note, while Mrs. Ramsey called the police, informing them that her child had been kidnapped. |
| 12/26/96 - ~5:52am | Parents Checked on Burke. After hearing Mrs. Ramsey's scream, Mr. Ramsey ran downstairs and met Mrs. Ramsey in the stairwell. Together, they checked on their son who appeared to be asleep in his room. |
| 12/26/96 - 5:52am | Patsy made 911 call. |
| 12/26/96 - ~5:53am | Ramseys phone family friends Fleet and Priscilla White, John and Barbara Fernie immediately after the note was found. |
| 12/26/96 - 5:55am | Officer French Dispatched and proceeded to 755 15th Street regarding a ransom demand and kidnapping. |
| 12/26/96 - 5:59am | Officer French arrives at Ramsey house; reads Ransom Note. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:00am | Sgt. Paul Reichenbach hears Officer French dispatched. |
| 12/26/96 - ~6:00am | Officer French Searched Basement but fails to Search Wine Cellar Room. |
| 12/26/96 - ~6:03am | Fleet & Priscilla White arrived at Ramsey house. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:05am | Sgt. Robert Whitson received a page to call watch supervisor Paul Reichenbach. |
| 12/26/96 - ~6:06am | Within 15 minutes of arriving Fleet White went downstairs to basement to look for JBR. He looked in the Train Room where he said a window was broken, with no notation of whether it was open or closed. Under the broken window there was a suitcase along with a broken shard of glass. Mr. White also opened the door to the wine cellar room, but he could not see anything inside because it was dark and he could not find the light switch. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:10am | BPD officer Karl Veitch responds to the scene. The police did not seal off the defendants' home, exception the interior of JonBenet's bedroom. Any person in the Ramsey house could, and often did, move freely throughout the home. |
| 12/26/96 - ~6:20am | Fleet White, Priscilla White, John Fernie, Barbara Fernie at the Ramsey house. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:30am | Det. Fred Patterson was contacted by Sgt. Whitson to respond to Boulder. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:35am | Linda Arndt receives a call from Sgt. Whitson of a reported kidnapping. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:35am | Sgt. David Kicera told officer Barry Weiss to respond to the scene. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:40am | Officer Barry Weiss arrived at the scene. |
| 12/26/96 - ~6:45am | John Ramsey leaves message for his pilot Michael Archuleta who returns the call a few minutes later; Patsy answers the phone. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:45am | BPD officers Barry Weiss, Sue Barcklow, and Sgt. Paul Reichenbach arrive at Ramsey house. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:45am | BPD Victim Advocates, arrive at Ramsey house. Early that morning, police had called in a team of victims' advocates, trained in helping families through traumatic situations, who arrived with bagels and coffee. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:45am | Priscilla White called niece at White house. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:50am | Officer Weiss and Officer Barklow photographed and fingerprinted areas of the house. Officer Veitch collected the ransom note. |
| 12/26/96 - 7:00am | Det. Patterson began gathering items he would need at the scene. |
| 12/26/96 - 7:00am | Burke Ramsey is awakened and dressed. |
| 12/26/96 - 7:13am | Rev. Hoverstock from St. John's Episcopalian Church arrives at Ramsey house just before Burke left for Whites. |
| 12/26/96 - ~7:30am | John Ramsey searched the basement area alone. He found the broken window partially open. Under the broken window, he also saw the same suitcase seen earlier by Mr. White. |
| 12/26/96 - 7:30am | John Ramsey collected $118,000 demanded in the ransom note. |
| 12/26/96 - 7:33am | BPD Canine Unit on Standby. |
| 12/26/96 - 7:55am | Reichenbach meets with BPD Detectives Linda Arndt and Fred Patterson at the Basemar Shopping Center to brief them on the case. |
| 12/26/96 - 8:00am | Neighbor Scott Gibbons got up and observed a basement door leading into a kitchen area was standing wide open. |
| 12/26/96 - 8:00am | Fleet White returned to the White residence with the Fernie children and Burke Ramsey. |
| 12/26/96 - 8:10am | Linda Arndt and Fred Patterson arrive at Ramsey house. |
| 12/26/96 - 8:21am | The three-page ransom note was received into Boulder Police Department property. |
| 12/26/96 - ~8:30am | BPD followed standard procedure by putting taps inside the house and at John Ramsey's office. |
| 12/26/96 - ~8:30am | Arndt Instructed John Ramsey. Linda Arndt told John Ramsey what to say if the ransom call came: demand to talk to JonBenet. John Ramsey took notes. Must talk to JB, he scribbled. |
| 12/26/96 - ~8:30am | Advocates Cleaned Kitchen. After using the kitchen, the advocates began tidying it up, one friend helped clean the kitchen, wiping down the counters with a spray cleaner--and possibly wiping away important evidence. . |
| 12/26/96 - 9:21am | Det. Byfield contacted Det. Patterson to tell him that Laurie Vencel, Lafayette State Bank was collecting the money for the ransom. |
| 12/26/96 - 9:22am | Det Byfield contacted Det. Kithcart to respond to the BPD to assist in the investigation. |
| 12/26/96 - 9:27am | Det Byfield contacted Gary Merriman a list of the employees at Access graphics. |
| 12/26/96 - 9:30am | Ransom Amount Arranged. John Fernie returned to the Ramsey residence after meeting with his banker and arranging to have $118,000 in cash available. |
| 12/26/96 - ~9:30am | Sergeant Whitson arrived. BPD Sergeant Bob Whitson arrived at house, entering through rear exterior kitchen. |
| 12/26/96 - 9:45am | Det. Jeff Kithcart arrived at the Boulder Police Department. |
| 12/26/96 - 9:50am | Det. Everett and Det. Byfield met with Gary Merriman at Access Graphics. |
| 12/26/96 - 10:00am | No one mentioned to Det. Arndt that the suspected kidnappers had not called within the designated time period. |
| 12/26/96 - 10:07am | Det. Everett and Det. Byfield respond to the Ramsey residence. |
| 12/26/96 - ~10:30am | JBR Bedroom Sealed. JonBenet's bedroom had been sealed off by Detectives Arndt and Fred Patterson. |
| 12/26/96 - 10:30am | All additional police officers and victim advocates other than Linda Arndt and family members and friends leave the Ramsey residence. |
| 12/26/96 - 10:45am | Representatives from the FBI arrive at the BPD. |
| 12/26/96 - 12:30pm | Det. Arndt notices John Ramsey to be by himself. |
| 12/26/96 - 12:30pm | Det. Arndt phoned Larry Mason at BPD. |
| 12/26/96 - ~1:00pm | Arndt Tells John Ramsey to Search House. The mood in the house was quiet and tense. John Ramsey milled anxiously around the living room; Patsy sat virtually motionless in a chair. |
