JonBenet Found| 12/26/96 - ~1:00pm | Arndt suggested to Fleet White that he and John Ramsey check the house from top to bottom. |
| 12/26/96 - ~1:00pm | John Ramsey & Fleet White Search Basement. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:04pm | JBR Body Found. John Ramsey entered the room first, turned on the light and, upon discovery of JonBenet's dead body, he exclaimed Oh my God, my baby. |
| 12/26/96 - ~1:04pm | Duct Tape Removed. JonBenet had black duct tape covering her mouth, a cord around her neck that was attached to a wooden garrote, and her hands were bound over her head in front of her; she was covered by a light-colored blanket. John Ramsey ripped the duct tape off her mouth and attempted to untie her hands. |
| 12/26/96 - ~1:05pm | Fleet White Calls for Ambulance. Within a few minutes of going into basement, Fleet White came running upstairs, grabbed the telephone in the back office located on the first floor, and yelled for someone to call an ambulance. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:05pm | Byfield Notified. BPD officer Jim Byfield is notified that JBR body had been found. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:05pm | John Ramsey carried JBR upstairs, setting her down on the floor. Though it's unclear why, Arndt then picked up the body again and moved it to the living room near the Christmas tree where Ramsey knelt beside her, repeating My little angel, over and over. Friends carried Patsy, too stunned to walk, over to the body. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:05pm | Arndt Requested Backup. Arndt quickly called for backup, declaring a Code Black --police lingo for murder--over the radio. The forensic team returned to the house. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:05pm | After the discovery of the body, Everett walked through the basement area of the house, including the wine cellar to attempt to determine if any person were present in the basement. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:05pm | Officer Barry Weiss, Sgt. Dave Kicera were dispatched back to the residence because the child's body had been located. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:05pm | Det. Arndt saw Fleet White run from the area of the basement door to the den. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:12pm | Det. Arndt grabbed a cellular phone in the kitchen and dialed 911 and reached dispatcher Santiago. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:15pm | Det. Arndt received a page from communications. |
| 12/26/96 - ~1:20pm | Officers Weiss and Everett, lead crime scene investigator, arrive between 1:05 pm and 1:30 pm |
| 12/26/96 - 1:22pm | Officer Morgan relayed Officer French from the BPD to the scene at 755 15th Street. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:29pm | Det. Arndt received a page stating her call was received by Weld County. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:30pm | John Ramsey phones Gary Merriman. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:30pm | Walker and Mason Searched Basement. Mason decides to secure the house. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:30pm | Priscilla White Calls Niece. Priscilla White calls her niece at the White home, to report the murder. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:40pm | John Calls Pilot. Det. Bill Palmer overheard John Ramsey making arrangements to fly to Atlanta over the phone at 13:40. |
| 12/26/96 - ~1:45pm | John Ramsey signed search form. |
| 12/26/96 - ~1:45pm | John Ramsey's children arrive. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:45pm | Ramseys Leave for Fernies. The Ramseys left their home to stay with the Fernies, including JR, PR, JAR, MR and her boyfriend SL. Attorney friend Mike Bynum advised them to get lawyers. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:45pm | Officer French leaves the residence for the second time and Officer Weiss and Shunk secured the front and back of the house. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:45pm | Sgt. Larry Mason arrives at Ramsey residence. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:45pm | FBI agent Ron Walker arrives at Ramsey residence. |
| 12/26/96 - 1:50pm | House Secured. |
The Investigation Begins| 12/26/96 - ~2:15pm | Burke Interviewed Det. Patterson at the White's house; Burke reportedly had slept through the events of the previous night . |
| 12/26/96 - 2:30pm | Det. Arndt visits the Ramseys at the Fernies house. |
| 12/26/96 - 2:35pm | Ramsey residence was empty by this time. |
| 12/26/96 - ~4:45pm | John Ramsey hired Attorney Mike Bynum. Michael Bynum, John Ramsey's close friend and corporate attorney, who had been away snowshoeing, now arrived at the Fernies house. As he walked in, the family was kneeling in the living room praying with Rev. Hoverstock. John went for a walk with John Fernie in the hills. After returning, Ramsey asked Bynum to represent him. |
| 12/26/96 - 6:50pm | Officer Adams relieved Officer Morgan who was staying with the Ramseys. |
| 12/26/96 - 7:11pm | Officer Morgan leaves the Ramseys. |
| 12/26/96 - 7:11pm | Officer Scott Adams arrives and stays with the Ramseys. |
| 12/26/96 - ~7:40pm | John Ramsey takes a walk with John Fernie and Dr. Beuf. |
| 12/26/96 - 7:50pm | John Ramsey says I am sorry, I am so sorry while sobbing. |
| 12/26/96 - 8:20pm | Dr. Meyer entered the Ramsey residence at approximately 8:20pm according to his autopsy report. |
| 12/26/96 - 8:20pm | Police obtain search warrant for Ramsey premises and vehicles in Boulder. |
| 12/26/96 - ~8:20pm | Dr. Meyer viewed the body in the living room of the house. The decedent was laying on her back on the floor, covered by a blanket and a Colorado Avalanche sweatshirt. On removing these two items from the top of the body the decedent was found to be lying on her back with her arms extended up over her head. The head was turned to the right. A brief examination of the body disclosed a ligature around the neck and a ligature around the right wrist. Also noted was a small area of abrasion or contusion below the right ear on the lateral aspect of the right cheek. A prominent dried abrasion was present on the lower left neck. |
| 12/26/96 - ~8:30pm | After examining the body, Dr. Meyer left the residence at approximately 8:30 p.m. |
| 12/26/96 - 9:00pm | John Ramsey laid down with Patsy. |
| 12/26/96 - 9:15pm | John Ramsey left to go to DIA to pick up his brother Jeff from Atlanta. |
| 12/26/96 - 9:20pm | Officer Scott Adams briefed Commander Eller. |
| 12/26/96 - 10:25pm | Patsy got up and asked where her husband was and where her son was. She then sobbed. Why did they do this? Why did they do this? She asked for valium. |
| 12/26/96 - 10:28pm | Patsy's sisters and brother-in-law arrive at the house. |
| 12/26/96 - ~10:30pm | Patsy Ramsey emerged from the east bedroom at 1950 Teacup. |
| 12/26/96 - 10:45pm | JBR body removed from house. |
| 12/26/96 - 11:44pm | Detective Arndt Left. Detective Linda Arndt was last to leave the house. |
| 12/27/96 - 00:01am | John Ramsey returned from the airport. |
| 12/27/96 - 00:05am | Both Patsy and John get valium. |
| 12/27/96 - 00:20am | John and Patsy Ramsey fall asleep on the living room floor. |
| 12/27/96 - 1:50am | Patsy gets up and asks if someone is with her son, Burke. She also asked for more pills and says I just want to stay asleep. She also asks if all the doors and windows are locked. She is drowsy and drugged. |
| 12/27/96 - 2:00am | Patsy gets up to go to the bathroom. She is drowsy and dazed. Sobs every once in a while. At times needs to be supported. |
| 12/27/96 - 2:35am | Patsy Ramsey goes back to bed. |
| 12/27/96 - 2:40am | John Ramsey gets up and asks for two pills and walks around crying. |
| 12/27/96 - 2:45am | John Ramsey goes back to bed. |
| 12/27/96 - 2:50am | John Ramsey is back up, crying and sobbing at times. |
| 12/27/96 - 3:50am | Officer Barklow relieved Officer Scott Adams. |
| 12/27/96 - 3:50am | Officer Barklow arrives and is briefed. |
| 12/27/96 - 4:05am | Officer Adams clears scene. |
| 12/27/96 - 4:15am | Officer Adams briefed Reichenbach. |
The Autopsy & Funeral| 12/27/96 - 8:15am | Autopsy. Autopsy conducted at 8:15 AM by Dr. John Meyer, Boulder County Coroner with Det. Linda Arndt and Det. Tom Trujillo in attendance. |
| 12/27/96 - 15:00pm | Second Boulder Search Warrant. Police obtained search warrant for Ramsey house in Boulder. An inventory of property taken is included on pp. 5-7 of that warrant, but a transcribed version including links to photos of selected objects is at acandyrose.com. |
| 12/27/96 - ~7:00pm | JR Visits Crist Mortuary. JR goes to Crist Mortuary to make funeral and transportation arrangements. |
| 12/27/96 - ~21:30pm | Arndt/Mason Interview John Ramsey. Det. Linda Arndt and Sgt Larry Mason go to the Fernie residence and talk to JR. Also in the room are Jeff R, R Westmoreland, M Bynum and Dr Beuff. JR tells them there will be a private memorial service in Boulder on Sunday at 2pm after which they will be flying to Atlanta and JBR's funeral will be held on Tuesday. LA says she will telephone Sat am to arrange interviews for JR & PR. |
| 12/27/96 - ~8:00p | Ramseys at Fernies. Ramseys stayed at John and Barbara Fernie house. |
| 12/27/96 - ~8:00pm | BPD Press Release: Update on Homicide Investigation. |
| 12/28/96 - ~12:00pm | Ramsey family goes to Boulder police station to answer questions and give samples of hair, blood and handwriting. These include John Ramsey, John Andrew Ramsey and Burke Ramsey. They were accompanied by an attorney from Haddon, Morgan & Foreman). |
| 12/28/96 - ~12:00pm | Shortly after noon that Saturday, without consulting John or Patsy, Bynum told Detective Arndt that the Ramseys would not give any more testimonial evidence without a criminal attorney present, and they would no longer share privileged information with the police. Since he was no longer a criminal attorney, Bynum called Bryan Morgan of Haddon, Morgan and Foreman in Denver, one of Colorado's top firms. By Saturday evening the Ramseys had retained Morgan. |
| 12/28/96 - ~1:00pm | Pam Paugh Retrieves Items from Ramsey Home. Patsy Ramsey's sister, Pam Paugh, returned to the Ramsey house to get some personal belongings, some clothing, and some things appropriate for JonBenet's burial. |
| 12/28/96 - ~1:00pm | PR chooses her funeral outfit from a selection of outfits sent to her by a local store. |
| 12/28/96 - ~1:00pm | The Ramseys met with attorneys Bryan Morgan and Patrick Burke at the Fernies. |
| 12/28/96 - ~1:00pm | In a telephone conversation, the DA chief trial deputy, Peter Hofstrom, asked Meyer if there was any medical reason to retain custody of the body. He said no, he had decided to release the body on Dec. 29, before investigators made their inquiry. |
| 12/28/96 - ~1:00pm | BPD issue Press Release: Ramsey Update #03. |
| 12/29/96 - ~8:00am | Big Red Boat Cruise. This is the day the Ramseys originally had planned to take their first cruise on Disney's Big Red Boat in celebration of Patsy's 40th birthday on this day. |
| 12/29/96 - 2:00pm | Memorial Service in Boulder. About 200 family members and friends gathered Sunday at St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder to mourn the girl's death. |
| 12/29/96 - ~4:00pm | Ramseys Flew to Marietta, GA. The family flew to Marietta Georgia, in a private jet, piloted by John Ramsey, for JonBenet's funeral . |
| 12/28/96 - ~4:00pm | BPD Press Release: Ramsey Update #04. |
| 12/28/96 - 5:00pm | Third Boulder Search Warrant. Police obtained search warrant for Ramsey house in Boulder. An inventory of property taken is included. |
| 12/30/96 - 12:00pm | Visitation at Funeral Home. 300 Friends and family visited JonBenet at Mayes-Ward Dobbins Funeral Home in Marietta, Georgia. |
| 12/30/96 - ~3:00pm | Ramseys Hired Attorneys. John Ramsey hired a prominent criminal attorney, Bryan Morgan, and Patsy hired his partner, Patrick Burke. Patrick Korten received a call from Hal Haddon, Bryan Morgan's other partner, and became the Ramsey family official spokesperson. |
| 12/30/96 - ~12:00pm | BPD Press Release: Ramsey Update #05. |
| 12/31/96 - ~1:00pm | JBR Funeral Following a funeral at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, JBR was buried in Marietta, GA; she was wearing a pageant gown and glittering tiara. |
