posted March 19, 2004 07:19 PM         

JonBenet's death has helped him see others differently, he says
BY JOHN FLESHER
The Associated Press

CHARLEVOIX - John Ramsey acknowledges he forever will be known as the father of JonBenet - and that some people still consider him a suspect in the death of the child beauty queen whose unresolved murder became a tabloid sensation.
But Ramsey says he hopes voters in northern Michigan will focus instead on his business experience and positions on the issues as he considers a bid for the state House.
"I'm not doing this for an ego trip or publicity or to see my name in the paper - I've already had my fair share of that," he said Monday.
Instead, he said, the tragedy and its aftermath have inspired him to seek a way to contribute to society.
"I would like to make a difference," said Ramsey, sitting beside wife Patsy in the living room of the house they bought last fall in this Lake Michigan resort town, where the family previously spent summer vacations.
"We've taken a lot of abuse ... but we've been overwhelmed by the compassion, the sympathy, the anger at what was done to us. We've also seen what I guess I was a little bit blind to before all this, and that is that everybody's struggling, everybody's got a burden."
Although reluctant to invite another media onslaught by entering politics, Ramsey, 60, said his name recognition could prove helpful. "Like it or not, we've been given a voice that people listen to, if their only reason is out of curiosity."
The Ramseys were living in Boulder, Colo., when 6-year-old JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of their home Dec. 26, 1996. A contestant in child beauty contests, she had won the titles of Little Miss Colorado and Little Miss Charlevoix.
The girl's parents insisted she had been killed by an intruder, but Boulder police described John and Patsy Ramsey as under an "umbrella of suspicion." A grand jury investigation ended without charges in 1999.
Last year, a federal judge said there was no evidence showing the parents killed JonBenet and considerable evidence pointing to an intruder. The district attorney in Boulder, Mary Keenan, agreed and took control of investigation from the local police.
The Ramseys' attorney, Lin Wood, said in December that a male DNA sample found on the child's underwear had been submitted to an FBI database.
During the interview Monday, the Ramseys said they were optimistic the case would be solved but knew the cloud of suspicion over them would never disappear.
"There will be people that think we were responsible after the killer is caught, convicted and executed," John Ramsey said. "That's just a fact of life, that's the way the world works. People that know us know the truth."
After spending several years in Atlanta, Ga., the Ramseys decided last fall to make Charlevoix their full-time residence so their youngest son, 17-year-old Burke, could finish high school there. John Ramsey lived in Michigan as a teenager and attended Michigan State University.
His wife has started a Web site development and promotion company. John Ramsey is assisting the project but not working full-time as he explores a legislative campaign. He said he was leaning toward running and would decide before the May 11 filing deadline.
Ramsey said he would emphasize his business background while seeking support in Michigan's 105th House District, a mostly rural area that includes Antrim, Charlevoix and Otsego counties and part of Cheboygan County. The incumbent, Rep. Ken Bradstreet, R-Gaylord, cannot seek re-election because of term limits.
Among Ramsey's ventures was Access Graphics, a billion-dollar company later acquired by Lockheed Martin. He said his experience was mostly with smaller high-tech firms that would do well in northern Michigan.
Describing himself as an "independent-minded Republican" who opposes abortion and gun control, Ramsey said he expected opposition from some within the party establishment. During a recent visit to Lansing, he said, some legislative staffers treated him "like a leper."
Jeff Storm, spokesman for the state GOP, declined comment beyond noting that the party doesn't take sides in primaries.
The Ramseys said more than a decade of hard times had strengthened their religious faith and made John Ramsey more compassionate, and thus better suited for politics.
Another daughter, Elizabeth, was killed in a 1992 car crash. The next year Patsy Ramsey, now 47, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It went into remission but recurred three years ago, and she continues to undergo chemotherapy.
"We are deeper, more soulful," Patsy Ramsey said, clutching a family photograph from 1990 that shows her cradling baby JonBenet on her lap.
"I'm not afraid of dying like I used to be, because wherever JonBenet went, that's where I'm going."

posted March 19, 2004 08:40 PM         

On the other hand, if they are innocent, perhaps something good will come of this.

posted March 20, 2004 10:06 AM         

I can`t digest a wealthy businessman wanting a seat in these rural and relative poor farm counties. The old timer farmers here are fit to be tied. Help with the agriculture/ farming industry is whats needed. Candidly, I don`t see it happening.

juniperb