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Federal Judge Says No Evidence Parents of JonBenet Ramsey Killed Her

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Sat Apr 05, 2003 at 07:22:29 PM EST
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An Atlanta federal judge has dismissed a civil lawuit against the parents of JonBenet Ramsey. In the 93 page opinion, the Judge "criticized police and the FBI for what she said was a media campaign aimed at making the family look guilty."
U.S. District Court Judge Julie Carnes in Atlanta said in the ruling this week there was no evidence showing the parents killed JonBenet and abundant evidence that an intruder killed the child.
You can read the 93 page opinion here. The Ramseys were represented in the case by Atlanta attorney and libel expert Lin Wood:
"I just find it, from A to Z, a total, unequivocal victory for John and Patsy Ramsey," Wood said. "The court has done what I've urged the public to do from day one. Look at the evidence. ... If you look at the evidence, you will reach the same conclusion Judge Carnes reached. This is a family that has been horribly and wrongfully accused of the murder of their child." Wood said that since Boulder County District Attorney Mary W. Keenan took office, she has rejuvenated the investigation into JonBenét's murder. Characterizing Keenan's investigation as "very active," Wood said investigators "are doing things in that case that have never been done before," including testing foreign, male DNA that was found in JonBenét's underwear.
The Plaintiff, Chris Wolf, who had sued the Ramseys for defamation, was represented by New York Lawyer Darnay Hoffman, who has been on a crusade to charge and convict the Ramseys for years, at one point even threatening to move to Boulder and run for District Attorney.

In November, 2002, a federal appellate panel in Atlanta asked the chief judge of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to discipline Hoffman for failing to appear for oral argument "without any justification or advance notice" in a similar lawsuit Hoffman filed against the Ramseys on behalf of the Ramseys' housekeeper, Linda Hoffman-Pugh. That case had been dismissed, Mr. Hoffman appealed but never showed for the oral argument. Hoffman wrote a letter to the Judge apologizing. (Miami Daily Business Review November 22, 2002)

Also that week, Hoffman failed to show in Denver for oral argument in a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals case in which he had sued to overturn Colorado's rule gagging grand jury witnesses. He brought this action to enable housekeeper Hoffman-Pugh to bring her Atlanta libel suit. (Scripps Howard News Service November 19, 2002.)

Update: Boulder DA Mary Keenan says she agrees with the Judge's opinion:
The district attorney of Boulder, Colo., has released a letter concurring with the findings of a federal judge in Atlanta in a defamation suit against the parents of murder victim JonBenét Ramsey. The DA said that she "agree[s] with the court's conclusion that 'the weight of the evidence is more consistent with a theory that an intruder murdered JonBenét than it is with a theory that Mrs. Ramsey did so.'"
< Federal Judge Lists Evidence Supporting Intruder Theory in JonBenet Ramsey Murder | Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Parents of JonBenet Ramsey >

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