Upset that he was not getting any media attention, Jesperson drew a smiley face on a bathroom wall hundreds of miles from the scene of the crime and wrote an anonymous letter confessing to Bennett's murder, providing proof. [2][17][41][56], A grand jury was convened beginning September 15, 1998, to consider indicting the Ramseys for charges relating to the case. The weapon used was a hammer. On November 7, 2014, police announced they had arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt, Joseph . [8] Upon her arrival, she claimed that Sosnovske was hiding between two large trailers, and that the body of Bennett lay wrapped in a blanket at his feet. She walked into a scene of absolute horror: Bruce Bennett crumpled near the bottom of the stairs, Debra Bennett and Melissa dead in their bedrooms, Vanessa barely breathing. Hundreds of DNA tests were performed to find a match to the DNA recovered during her autopsy. Jesperson killed his next victim in June 1993 in Santa Nella, California. "[7] In the midst of Pavlinac's trial, a graffito was found inside a rest stop bathroom in Livingston, Montana, which read: "I killed Tanya [sic] Bennett Jan. 21, 1990 in Portland, Oregon. A weight was lifted off today, an emotional Connie Bennett said after the verdict. [25] Lipscomb said: "There's no longer any doubt that these two individuals are innocent. Yesterday, Aug 17, District Judge Darren Vahle sentenced Alexander Christopher Ewing to three life sentences, one for each member of the Bennett Family. Police were expected to use the latest DNA technology in their investigation. [14], Pavlinac's trial began on January 24, 1991. After the verdict, Connie Bennett spoke alongside District Attorney John Kellner who said he first became involved in the case in 2013 when he was part of a cold case unit. In the early hours of January 16, 1984, between midnight and 6:00 a.m., an intruderentered the Bennett home and viciously attacked the entire family. [8] Pavlinac claimed the two rolled Bennett's body into a shower curtain that she had brought, and disposed of her body along the Old Columbia River Highway, around 20 miles (32km) east in the Columbia River Gorge. A forensics team was dispatched to the house. Critics have questioned this theory, because there was an intact cobweb in the basement window. A hammer was lying nearby. Bennett, aged 13 at the time, told the babysitter to leave . [29][30] In September 2018, podcast network HowStuffWorks began releasing a show called Happy Face[31] featuring interviews with Melissa about her childhood and her father. Oliva, a registered sex offender, was publicly identified as a suspect in an October 2002 episode of 48 Hours Investigates. [26][27] The note and a practice draft were written with a pen and notepad from the Ramsey home. Investigators believe the killer knew Patricias daughter and grandchildren livedwith her. A long handwritten ransom note was found in . Alexander Christopher Ewing is already behind bars, serving 40 years for two counts of attempted murder in the state of Nevada. [8] The steel grate that covered the window also had undisturbed cobwebs, and the foliage around the grate had been undisturbed. Several years later, Hucke began to suspect Jesperson was having affairs when strange women would call. Not only was she left with physical injuries and scars as a reminder of the attack, she was also left with ADHD, PTSD and bipolar disorder. Bonnie says her paternal side of the family (the Hopkins) are boring, though she might just be referring to them as such in comparison with her magical maternal side (the Bennetts) of the family. Bruce had been slashed several times and hit in the head with a hammer. They told her a man behind bars in Nevada since August 1984, Alex Christopher Ewing, was suspected of being the attacker who altered her life and took her parents and sister from her. [35] Meanwhile, friends, victim advocates, and the Ramsey family's minister arrived at the home to show support. Why was she the lone survivor? After some legal bickering, he was extradited from Nevada and stood trial for the Bennett family murders in July 2021-37 years after he committed them. John opened the latched door which Officer French had overlooked and found his daughter's body in one of the rooms. The two would often get into trouble together, and Jesperson claimed he was often punished many times for things Martin had done and shifted the blame. District Attorney John Kellner asked the judge to instruct the jurors to keep working; defense Spengler requested a mistrial. [18] Jesperson himself also began writing letters to news and media outlets following his arrest and conviction, urging the courts to free Pavlinac and Sosnovske. [7] Others, including former Boulder police chief Mark Beckner, disagreed with exonerating the Ramseys, characterizing the DNA as a small piece of evidence that was not proven to have any connection to the crime. [15] During the trial, she recanted her confession, claiming that she had lied to police in an attempt to escape her relationship with Sosnovske, whom she said was physically abusive to her throughout their ten-year relationship. [77] There were also cobwebs in the tracks of various windows, and dust and debris were on some sills. Sam Tabachnik is a roving reporter for The Denver Post, focusing on stories outside metro Denver. [19] On October 13, 1999, Alex Hunter, who was the district attorney at the time, refused to sign the indictment, saying that the evidence was insufficient for prosecution. The mother of Bruce Bennett, 27, and grandmother of 7-year-old Melissa Bennett all killed in the 1984 home invasion, along with Debra Bennett, 26 the 87-year-old admitted shes very happy its all over.. [4] She worked as an aide at Dammasch State Hospital in Wilsonville, and resided in West Linn. BLAME: The Fear All These Years takes listeners back to the attacks and tells the stories of those most deeply impacted the survivors and the loved ones of the dead. In fact, there was a string of unsolved crimes in the area that took place just days apart from each other. The hammer stuck her in the jaw, shattering the bone which splintered in an explosion of small fragments that punctured her windpipe. You will also be denied her remains for proper burial. He paused for a moment in front of the door, but walked away without opening it. [51][53] According to Gregg McCrary, a retired profiler with the FBI, "statistically, it is a 12-to-1 probability that it's a family member or a care giver" who is involved in the homicide of a child. [52], Errors that were made in the initial investigation complicated the resolution of the investigation and applicable theory. [7] He had watched and laughed as the kittens clawed each other to escape, then he killed them. It is not clear if the January 4th attacks were tied tothe same killer, although it is very likely. [26], In 2008, Moore published a book titled Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter. [7] A key piece of evidence was her taped confession. [31][non-primary source needed], Mr. Ramsey,Listen carefully! The Stay and Bennett family murders. Jesperson's last victim was the crime that ultimately led to his capture. He is eligible for parole on July 21, 2021, and his sentence expires in April 10, 2037. Example video title will go here for this video. The 1995 murder of teen mother Robin Farnsworth, Brandon Embry murder and the blatant cover-up by Asheboro PD, The 1917 unsolved murder of Alta Marie Braun, The harrowing story of seven-year-old Shane Alan Coffman, The Tragic Short Life of Florence Sally Horner, The death of Korean medical student Son Jung-min. In May 1999, the Boulder County District Attorney's office reiterated that Burke Ramsey was not a suspect. ", Complete Coverage: The JonBent Ramsey Case, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Killing_of_JonBent_Ramsey&oldid=1152512922, Deaths by strangulation in the United States, December 1996 events in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 17:55. [64] JonBent's brother Burke Ramsey later said, "We didn't get spanked, nothing of the sort, nothing close, nothing near laying a finger on us, let alone killing your child. After moving to Selah, Washington, United States, he had trouble fitting in and making friends because of his large size. The DNA was submitted to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database containing more than 1.6 million DNA profiles, but the sample did not match any profile in the database. All Rights Reserved. The family originated from Ancient Greece, then eventually settled in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Investigators had collected and stored the killers DNA from the crime scene back in 1984 and since they did not know the hammer killers identity at the time issued a warrant for the arrest of John Doe on three counts of murder, attempted murder, felony murder, two counts of sexual assault, and two counts of child sexual assault in the hope that technology in the future could aid in identifying the assailant. Ewing, 60, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of felony murder in the Bennett familys slaying, one in a string of seemingly random attacks across metro Denver that terrified residents during a two-week span in early 1984. He would often get into trouble for behaving badly, sometimes violently, and would be severely punished by his father. The 1984 Bennett Family Murder - True Crime Diva The 1984 Bennett Family Murder Published: April 18, 2015 Last Updated on January 18, 2022 Share Bruce Bennett, 27, his wife, Debra, 26, and their two children, Melissa, 7, and Vanessa, 3, resided in a quiet neighborhood in Aurora, Colorado, in 1984. Hear the story of the sole survivor of a 1984 attack that killed her family, Vanessa Bennett was the only survivor when a man entered her family's home in 1984 in a Denver suburb. [3], A garrote that was made from a length of nylon cord and the broken handle of a paintbrush was tied around JonBent's neck and had apparently been used to strangle her. Constance Bennett raised little Vanessa. Before the jury was brought into the room Friday afternoon, defense attorney Katherine Spengler requested a mistrial, asserting that the judges instruction the night before was coercive and likely forced at least one jury to surrender an honest conviction that Ewing was not guilty. [34][a] Smit's theory was that someone entered the Ramsey home through the broken basement window. [74], The second theory is the intruder theory. [32] The series had 12 episodes. That same day, a man used a hammer to attackflight attendant Donna Dixon in the garage of her Aurora home, leaving her in a coma. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head- and the murder weapon? "I think it will make a difference in the lives of the family. [4] The investigators had never considered him a suspect. Her parents and her sister were killed, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Her grandmother, Constance Bennett, went to the familys home that morning after her son and daughter-in-law didnt show up for work at the familys furniture business. They served almost 6 years before both were exonerated after serial killer Keith Jesperson confessed to Bennett's murder. [20] Jesperson took her back to his residence, where he beat and strangled her to death. [20], According to statements that Patsy gave to authorities on December 26, 1996, she realized that her daughter was missing after she found a two-and-a-half-page handwritten ransom note on the kitchen staircase at the Ramsey family's Boulder residence. After all, Ewing was facing multiple counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Smith and the three members of the Bennett family. [16] In 1991, John had moved with Patsy, his second wife, and family to Boulder, where Access Graphics' headquarters was located. "[53] Gordon Coombes joined the office as an investigator under Lacy when they were testing JonBent's clothing for touch DNA. [6] She had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled to death. Nothing was taken from the house except the knife used to slash Bruce and a purse, discardedoutside. [5] This continued as he got older. Photo Credits: Mamamia The real-life story of Paris. Peter Manfredonia sentenced for 2020 crime spree, Missing Medford men found decapitated in Boston storage unit, Orange County dermatologist charged on multiple accounts of attempting to poison her husbands drinks indicted. At this time we have your daughter in our posession [sic]. They saw her parents killer as a boogeyman who would attack and them and kill them if they went anywhere near little Vanessas home for parties or play dates. If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. [58][59], On February 2, 2009, Boulder police chief Mark Beckner announced that Stan Garnett, the new Boulder County District Attorney, was turning the case over to his agency, and that his team would resume investigating it. Therefore, both cases remain unsolved. Stay & Bennett Family Murders. ", Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa stated in September 2016 that "To date, the Boulder Police Department has processed more than 1,500 pieces of evidence, including the analysis of over 200 DNA samples. True Crime Diva 2010-2023. [8] Pavlinac initially thought she was ill, but was told by Sosnovske that she was in fact dead. We do respect your bussiness [sic] but not the country that it serves. She said in an interview that she has big plans for the future, and reminds us that "its never too late to achieve big things. She ran to get her mother, and when they returned, the kittens lay on the ground dead. The attacker was savage beating all four with a hammer, slashing Bruce Bennetts throat with a butcher knife as he fought to save his family. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. And we didnt have much hope then. It was there that it was matched first to the Bennett murders and then to Smiths killing. [9] Garnett found that the statute of limitations for the crimes identified in the 1999 grand jury true bill had expired, and did not pursue review of the case against the Ramseys. [33], One theory is that Patsy struck JonBent in a fit of rage after a bedwetting episode, and strangled her to cover up what had happened, after mistakenly thinking she was already dead. Ewing didn't speak during his sentencing hearing. Jesperson's first known victim was Taunja Bennett on 21 January 1990, near Portland, Oregon, United States. Amy Mihaljevic: 1989 Murder Still Unsolved. I was in a coma, Vanessa Bennett said Thursday. Those errors included loss and contamination of evidence, lack of experienced and technical staff on the investigation, evidence shared with the Ramseys, and delayed informal interviews with the parents. Read more true crime, cold cases and unsolved mysteries from meHERE<<. [6] Approximately one year later, Jesperson was swimming in a lake when another boy held him underwater until he blacked out. Hawaii Cold Case: Who killed Jubilee Lum in 1999? She threatened to call the police, and he strangled her. [36], One of the individuals whom Smit identified as a suspect was Gary Howard Oliva, who was arrested for "two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one count of sexual exploitation of a child" charges in June 2016, according to Boulder's Daily Camera. What was the motive for killing the Bennetts? Singular, Stephen. In 1998, the police and district attorney (DA) both said that JonBent's brother Burke, who was nine years old at the time of her death, was not a suspect.