True Crime Detectives Guild - Listen Carefully: Truth and Evidence in the JonBenet Ramsey Case

Listen Carefully!

On December 26, 1996, Kim Archuleta had nearly finished her overnight shift as an Emergency Dispatch Operator in Boulder, Colorado. At 5:52 am, Archuleta received a 911 call she will never forget.

: 9-1-1 Emergency... (interrupted)

Patsy : Hon, we need ... Police!

: Whats going on... (interrupted)

Patsy : 7-5-5 15th Street!

: What's going on there, ma'am?

Patsy : We have a kidnapping! Hurry, please!

: Explain to me what's going on. Okay?

Patsy : There we have a theres a note left, and our daughters gone.

: A note was left and your daughter is gone?

Patsy : Yes.

: How old is your daughter?

Patsy : Shes six years old. Shes blonde six years old.

: How long ago was this?

Patsy : I don't know. I just found the note... and my daughters...

: Does it say who took her?

Patsy : What?

: Does it say who took her?

Patsy : No! I don't know. Its... theres a... theres a ransom note here.

: It's a ransom note?

Patsy : It says S-B-T-C Victory. (long pause with heavy breathing) Please!

: Okay, what's your name? Are you Pat-... (interrupted)

Patsy : Patsy Ramsey, I am the mother. Oh my God! Please!

: Im... Okay, I'm sending an officer over. Okay?

Patsy : Please!

: Do you know how long she's been gone?

Patsy : No, I don't! Please, we just got up, and she's not here. Oh my God! Please!

: Okay, calm d-... (interrupted)

Patsy : Please, send somebody!

: I am, honey.

Patsy : Please.

: Take a deep breath and youll be okay.

Patsy : Please. Hurry, hurry, hurry!

: Patsy! Patsy? Patsy? Patsy....?

Archuleta was still talking to Patsy and entering information into the computer when, unbelievably, Patsy tried to hang up. Instead of staying connected to the 911 lifeline until police arrived, Patsy attempted to end the short, one-minute phone call, but the phone connection continued.

Archuleta repeatedly called Patsys name and waited for a response on the open line. Patsy, thinking she had hung up the phone, did not answer. Archuleta could hear Patsy speaking away from the receiver. Other voices could be heard in the background but not clearly enough for Archuleta to understand everything being said.

On September 9, 2016, Kim Archuleta was interviewed by NBC Dateline . Her voice breaking, Archuleta said:

Thats been the hardest call I ever took. And I think it was because there was something inside me that said somethings not right. She [Patsy] continued screaming, like she was very hysterical. Without me giving her any kind of closure or any reassurance, she hangs up the phone. Or it sounds like she goes to hang up the phone. You could hear the phone go to the cradle, and it didnt hang up.

There was a male voice, and I knew that for sure. And then there was another voice, so there were three different voices. The third one was a little bit more faint, but I knew there was a third distinct different voice.

A week later, Kim Archuleta was interviewed by CBS on September 18, 2016 for their television program, The Case Of: JonBent Ramsey .

This is the first time that anyones asked for my opinion in 20 years, Archuleta said. I just remember having that sunken feeling, like something wasnt right . The problem was, if you hear the frantic [tone] in her voice when shes speaking to me, where she couldnt even answer my questions, it immediately stopped.

What bothered me immensely [after Patsy tried to hang up], it sounded like she said, Okay, weve called the police, now what? Archuleta said. And that disturbed me. So I remained on the phone, trying to hear what was being said.

It sounded like there were two voices in the room, maybe three different ones, Archuleta added. I had a bad feeling about this. To me, it seemed rehearsed thats never changed.

Archuleta stated an unnamed person, who identified themselves to her as an investigator, came to her home shortly after the murder and told her that she was under a gag order until charges were made. Incredibly, Archuleta was not contacted to testify during the 1998-1999 Grand Jury that was impaneled to examine the Ramsey case.

There were things being said that somebody needed to know, Archuleta explained. It was never addressed. I think it would have really turned the case around.

The Night Before

On December 25, 1996, John and Patsy Ramsey, ages 53 and 39 respectively, and their children, nine-year-old Burke, and six-year-old, JonBent, had attended a fun-filled holiday dinner at the Boulder home of their close friends, Priscilla and Fleet White, Jr. Along with the Whites children, Daphne and Fleet III, there were several other guests, including relatives of the Whites who were visiting from California.

The Ramsey family left the gathering sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 pm. They planned to get up early the next morning for a flight on Johns private plane to their vacation home in Charlevoix, Michigan. Johns older children from his previous marriage were supposed to fly from Atlanta to Minnesota, where the private plane would connect with them and on to Michigan. After a few days in Charlevoix, the Ramseys were to return to Boulder before flying to Florida for a cruise on Disneys Big Red Boat to celebrate Patsys 40 th birthday.