Some Believe the Key to Solving JonBenét Ramsey's Murder Is a Bowl of Milk-Soaked Pineapples
"You won’t find any evidence because that’s not what happened."
Published Dec. 3 2024, 10:05 p.m. ET
When it comes to the unsolved murder of JonBenét Ramsey, there are more conspiracy theories than actual theories. Until DNA testing cleared them in 2008, the 6-year-old's parents were the main suspects. Blood found on JonBenét's underwear was not a match for John Ramsey, Patsy Ramsey, or their son Burke.
Some believe Ramsey's time as a child beauty pageant queen attracted the wrong person to their home the night she was killed. That brings us to the most popular theory.
Despite the fact that JonBenét's then 9-year-old brother was cleared as a suspect, many people insist he murdered his sister. It doesn't matter if you're new to the story, or are an obsessed web sleuth, far too many folks are still pointing fingers at Burke.
One thing they use to support this theory is a bowl of milk-soaked pineapples found in the dining room the morning after JonBenét was killed. What does that have to do with her death? Let's get into it.
When it comes to the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, what do the pineapples mean?
According to JonBenét's autopsy report (via The Denver Post), a "yellow to light green-tan apparent vegetable or fruit material which may represent fragments of pineapple," was found in her stomach.
This was strange for Patsy Ramsey who said she did not give her daughter any pineapple the night before she died. Despite that, while searching the Ramseys' home, police found a bowl of milk-soaked pineapple chunks in the dining room.
Steve Pitt, a forensic psychiatrist in Arizona who worked on the investigation, told People Magazine that "fingerprints on the bowl or cup that were used to give JonBenét the pineapple were Patsy’s fingerprints." He thinks the mysterious serving of pineapple is key to solving JonBenét's murder.
When Burke was interviewed after the murder, he was shown a picture of the dining room table where the bowl of pineapple chunks was sitting. They were submerged in milk, almost as if it were a bowl of cereal. When asked to describe what he saw, Burke didn't appear to know what was inside the dish.
He successfully described everything around it but was clearly confused by the contents of the bowl. His confusion has led to some wild leaps regarding what happened that night.
Some people think Burke Ramsey fought with his sister over the pineapples.
Burke's inability to recognize the pineapples has led some people to believe he was so traumatized by what happened, that he could no longer even say the word "pineapple." In September 2016, CBS aired a docuseries titled The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey. In it, retired FBI agent Jim Clemente and behavioral analyst Laura Richards landed on a theory that involves Burke and the strange bowl of pineapple.
They believe that the bowl of milky pineapple pieces was a late-night snack made for Burke. He either did it himself, or it was prepared by Patsy, which explains her fingerprints. Clemente and Richards then claimed that a fight broke out between Burke and JonBenét after his little sister ate some of the pineapple.
Enraged, Burkey hit JonBenét in the head with a blunt object. Patsy or her husband John then hastily wrote a ransom note to cover up for their son.
Burkey appeared on an episode of Dr. Phil around the same time this docuseries aired. When asked by the controversial psychologist if he did it, Burke said, "You won’t find any evidence because that’s not what happened."
At the time, he was of the mind that it was probably some "pedophile in the pageant audience."
