6-year-old pageant star JonBenet Ramsey's murder suspect had boasted about 'coming into money' weeks before her death in 1996
The murder of JonBenet Ramsey who was a 6-year-old beauty pageant star in 1996 has been unsolved till now. The police have no clues or leads to help close the shocking case which has continued to grip the world.
Now, a new documentary 'Hunting JonBenet's Killer: An Untold Story' which features on the A&E network is attempting to find some answers. Even though 23 years have gone by since JonBenet's murder, journalist Elizabeth Vargas is still hopeful for answers as to what happened. Since the murder, there have been multiple theories and claims as to what could have happened to little JonBenet and who her possible killer could be.
One particular theory in the documentary looks at the claims made by a 68-year-old Colorado woman, Bernice Johnson who has been locked up in prison at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility for 20 years. She was sent in for attempting to murder her baby daddy Todd Fuss who has an extensive criminal record. She sent several letters to the documentary's producer David Tomasini for many months and her theory was that the murder of JonBenet was actually a kidnapping for hire which had gone wrong.
Johnson claims that she had hired Todd at the beginning of 1993 to help out with some hands-on work with regards to construction. They ended up moving in together and even had a daughter, Cinnamon. When Cinnamon was still an infant, Johnson and Todd entered her into several beauty pageants. Johnson recalls recognizing JonBenet at the pageants after seeing her on TV which means that Johnson, Todd, and JonBenet were possibly at the same location and event on a few occasions.
According to a retired FBI agent Robert Clark, this would have provided Todd with an opportunity to "see her and study her". JonBenet's father John Ramsey is of the opinion that the family was possibly targeted for some reason.
In a particularly disturbing incident, Johnson recalls a time when she caught Todd "leaning on a door frame where some older little girls were getting dressed." She then asked Todd, "Don't you think it would be a little weird if some strange man was watching your little girl get dressed and put on make-up?" which led him to start cussing and acting out. Upon gaining access to Todd's criminal record, he had multiple DUIs and felonies which dated back to the 80s.
Johnson added that Todd used to occasionally speak about "how easy houses were to break in because he keys locks. So I know he can get into any house." Johnson also directed Clark to visit her shed which had not been opened in a decade saying that there was evidence to corroborate her claims. They were able to find documents, photo albums, and a certificate to prove that Johnson's daughter Cinnamon had been a part of the pageants where JonBenet was.
One of the biggest and most important claims that Johnson made was how Todd had started to talk about coming into some big money in the weeks leading up to JonBenet's death. He had put a down payment on a truck which he could not afford and was very certain that he was going to make some money.
As Johnson revealed, “I got a call from Chevrolet place and I guess he had put a very expensive show-type truck on hold that he was going to pay for on the first of the year. It was a small Chevrolet pickup truck.” Post the murder of JonBenet, Johnson added how Todd would go on and on about the murder and was upset that the money had not come through as planned. However, Johnson is of the opinion that there is no way that Todd had acted alone and that he had help from someone and this claim itself leads to a whole new theory of multiple sources waiting to be explored.
After detectives interrogated Todd and asked him if he were ready to submit to a DNA test, he willingly agreed to give the swabs then and there. However, Todd's DNA was not found to be matching with the crime.