Ramseys May Be Exonerated At Last

Too much has been written about the life and death of JonBenet Ramsey already, so I hesitate to add anything more. But I must, on behalf of my one-time friend and associate, John Ramsey, state that I always believed, without a doubt, that he had nothing to do with his daughter’s death.

John was well-known to Sandy and me; we had dinner with him on occasion, and were a guest on a dinner cruise that Access Graphics, his former company, held some years ago from Newport Beach, California. We attended Access Graphics’ annual retreat for VARs for many years, in Keystone, Colorado at the Conference Center. That was where we became well acquainted with John, and on one memorable occasion spent an evening, along with other guests, with him and his wife and JonBenet in a large tent at the base of Snowmass Mountain.

Another time we had dinner at the very top of the ski lifts at Keystone, a high altitude evening, where legendary mountain climber Dick Bass, author of Seven Summits, talked about his ascent of Mount Everest and showed slides taken on that climb. That evening was rather memorable for more than one reason. Many of the guests became rather tipsy at that high altitude. It was fortunate they all made it back down the lifts when the evening was over.

John is a humble and soft spoken man, who did not come from wealth. He was, to start with, just another struggling businessman in Atlanta, selling CAD-related hardware to VARs. His company merged with two others in the same business, including one in Colorado, and the new company named itself Access Graphics and set up shop in Boulder. John and Patsy moved to Boulder, as he was made CEO of the new combined company.

One of our last trips to the summer conference in Keystone occurred after JonBenet’s death – it would have been 1997, and John addressed the entire conference at the beginning. Of course, he had to bring up his personal tragedy. One thing he asked the audience was, “Would you kill your daughter?” Then he made the point, “Then why would you think I would?” It was just inconceivable to him that anyone could suspect him and Patsy of committing such a heinous act, to one they loved so much.

He told of the support he had received from many throughout the country. He recounted one lady who sent him a card, and said she had to wait for her social security check to come before she could purchase a stamp for it. This is the type of person John is, an unpretentious man, who accepted the publicity and suspicion and accusations with humility and faith.

So, while nothing can bring back JonBenet, let us appreciate the great example her parents gave throughout this horrible ordeal.