True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

The name Ian Huntley will be very familiar to you I'm sure, especially if you happen to live in the UK. My last few posts have focused on cases that have occurred further afield but in this post, I will be talking about the shocking case that took place in Soham, England back in 2002. 

I remember the news reports very well that flashed across the TV screens around the United Kingdom. The photograph of two missing young girls dressed in red Manchester United football shirts, posing, faces beaming, the picture was all over the place, on television and in the newspapers. We all knew these two little angelic faces as Holly and Jessica. We never knew the girls or their families but the public were concerned for these girls and everyone wanted to see them back home safe with their families. 

The girls had been reported missing and at first nobody knew what to think, only those close to them knew that this sort of behaviour was totally out of character for them. The pair, although young (both aged just 10), they were streetwise and had grown up being reminded by their parents and school teachers that you must never talk to strangers and to try and keep yourself safe as much as possible whilst out and about. 

Holly and Jessica were practically joined at the hip and did everything together, they were like twins, close sisters and they kept themselves to themselves. They were always very thoughtful when it came to their parents, they would never do anything to cause them worry and when told to do something, they would behave and follow whatever their parents told them. 

The girls were huge fans of the footballer, David Beckham and on the evening that they were reported missing, they had been wearing the Manchester united shirts which had been photographed just a few hours earlier. It is very sad and haunting that, the photograph was taken on the day that they would go missing, they're last picture together. 

Jessica Chapman had recently been on holiday and missed her best friend, Holly Wells, so whilst she was away she bought her a little gift as a souvenir, a pretty necklace which she was excited to surprise Holly with. It was Sunday the 4th of August 2002 and Holly's family were having a little get-together at their house with a BBQ so Jessica popped over to visit. The girls spent most of the time in Holly's bedroom with another girl they were friends with. The three girls chatted, played music and video games, ate snacks and just generally hung out. Towards the afternoon Holly and Jessica's friend went home and the pair, fed up with playing computer games and being in the bedroom, they decided to go for a little walk to the local sports centre because there was a vending machine there that had sweets. 

Normally the girls would tell their parents where they were going but it seemed that they were planning just to go out for a short while, a little walk to get the sweets and then return. They probably thought that they wouldn't be that long and they were together so possibly assumed that they would be safe. However, the girls didn't return home that night and straight away their families knew that something was not right. 

What was supposed to be a quick trip to the sports centre for some sweets, ended up with two 10 year old girls vanishing and nobody knew what had happened to them or where they had gone. Their parents didn't waste any time searching for them, calling the police and driving up and down the streets shouting their names to no avail, it was a very worrying and frightening time. 

Although all of the exact details of this case are not known, what we do know is that the girls had been spotted together out walking by various members of the public and captured on CCTV cameras, these two tiny figures in red Manchester United shirts were easy to spot around Soham but where had they gone? The truth was eventually to be known and it wasn't what anybody wanted to hear. The girls had walked past the home of Ian Huntley, a guy who was in his late 20s but had the personality of someone much younger, almost like an awkward teenage boy. He was a caretaker for the local high school and the girls recognised him as Miss Carr's partner. Maxine Carr had been a teaching assistant at the girl's school and they looked up to her. Maxine was in her early 20s and quite slim and pretty with a sweet personality, the girls adored her and the relationship was pretty much like a big sister with the two young girls feeling able to trust and listen to Maxine whenever they needed help or advice about something. 

The girls thought so much of Maxine that Holly made her a thank you card to mark the end of term. They must have thought that Ian was someone to be trusted, not only was a he a caretaker but he was Maxine's partner. They reportedly stopped to ask him how Maxine was and whether she had gotten the position at the school that she'd applied for. When Ian told the girls that Maxine hadn't got the job, they expressed their sadness. Ian later told investigators (in the beginning) that the girls simply walked away after asking about Maxine and that was the last he had seen of them. Ian made a point of inserting himself into everything that was going on with the frantic search for the girls. 400 police officers were working full time on the case and local volunteers joined in the search along with the parents of Holly and Jessica. At one point some of the personnel from the US Airforce had joined in the search as they had bases nearby. The search was very intensive and everyone was glued to the news reports and newspapers hoping for some positive news. 

With everything going on and concerns continuing to grow, there was one face that seemed to keep popping up on the TV screen and that was Ian Huntley's, for some reason this guy could not shut up and continued to give interviews declaring himself as one of the last people to see Holly and Jessica alive. Maxine Carr was out of town when the girls went missing, she had been visiting her mother at the time and having a sort of party weekend around the pubs and clubs of Grimsby. Various witnesses and CCTV footage confirmed that Maxine was where she said she was at the time. 

Ian played it to the back row, putting on the performance of the caring caretaker who was frantically searching for the girls. He would refuse to take a break during the searches and although he thought that he was a good actor, people began to grow suspicious. The police suspected him from day one and when an officer attended his house for a quick search, they noted Ian's strange demeanour. Things like the fact that the house stank of cleaning products and there was clothing that was soaking wet hanging outside on the washing line. It was obvious that Ian had been very busy cleaning the house from top to bottom. He'd also been seen cleaning his car whilst one of the searches was going on. 

Ian told Maxine when he picked her up from Grimsby that the police suspected him of being involved in Holly and Jessica's disappearance. He told her that he was completely innocent but very anxious about how things would look because he told her that he had seen the girls and they had visited the house but they left. He was worried about DNA being found if the cops decided to do another, more thorough search. Maxine, trusting him (for whatever reason) decided to ensure that the house was properly cleaned and gave Ian a false alibi. Her reason for this, she later explained, was because of Ian's past. Ian Huntley was no stranger to being on the wrong side of the law, he was a violent sex offender who somehow managed to slip through the cracks and get a job as a caretaker at a school. Maxine claimed that she believed him to be innocent of any wrong doing. 

As the suspicions grew, both Maxine and Ian were taken to the police station for questioning, more searches continued and investigators returned to Ian's house but also his place of work and it was there that they found materials matching the Manchester United shirts that the girls had been wearing when they went missing. The girls were sadly found, they had to be identified through DNA as both of their bodies had been badly burned. Ian Huntley managed to lure those two innocent girls into his home and what he did with them exactly is not known but their DNA was found in his bedroom as well as elsewhere in the house. Ian Huntley had a horrific past as a peadophile and was extremely abusive to his former partners, he had also sexually assaulted girls, he was a monster, a time bomb and now two young girls had lost their lives at his hands. The cause of death was determined as asphyxiation. 

Ian came up with all sorts of ridiculous stories about how he had been washing his dog in the bath and one of the girls had accidentally drowned and the other girl would not stop screaming so he had to kill her. It was sickening and disrespectful to the girls and their families. Maxine was said to have had a mental breakdown, she had already suffered from various eating disorders in the past but she was refusing to eat and had lost more weight. Ian had lost weight himself during the period that the searches were going on. 

When investigators told Maxine that Ian had murdered the girls and then disposed of their bodies, she howled and cried, she refused to believe it. She said she deeply regretted lying to the police to protect him. Bizarrely, after being told this horrible information, Maxine continued to be under Ian's spell for a while, whilst she was held in custody she repeatedly asked about Ian and was still convinced of his innocence. Eventually she would turn completely against him and as the pair were to have their day in court, she avoided eye contact with him completely and Ian was devastated. 

Maxine was sentenced to three years imprisonment but served 21 months. She walked out of prison with quite a comfortable number, having a full life protection order, everything set up for her and even help to change her appearance. Some members of the public were outraged and felt that she knew more about the murders than she let on, some people could never forgive her for wasting police time and tax payers money as well as protecting what she knew was a known sex offended. 

Ian got given two life sentences, his life behind bars hasn't been without drama either. He's been moved from one prison to the next and various assaults on him have occurred. Fellow inmates have attempted to scold him with boiling water and slash him, he also tried various attempts at his own life. As I mentioned earlier, upon hearing of Maxine's release he claimed that she was more involved than she let on, he claimed that she knew he'd murdered the girls, that he had confessed to her before the police arrested him and it was her idea to burn the girls bodies. Some people have always been suspicious of Maxine Carr especially as she had spoken of Holly in the past tense whilst the search was going on and she helped clean the house. Other people believe that Ian is a pathological liar who is just angry that Maxine is out of prison and he isn't. 

Whatever the situation, I am glad that Ian Huntley is behind bars and I'm also glad that it hasn't been easy for him. In regards to Maxine Carr, I think that she should have spent longer in prison. She protected a dangerous man and how much did she really know? I guess, we'll never know. Another strange fact was that when she left prison, both her and her family were trying to make money writing her autobiography on her life with Ian and the circumstances around the murders. At first, a publisher was interested but as soon as the public got wind of it the plans were scrapped and no such book exists. 

Some people thought it was in poor taste that UK channel 5 had created a mini-series based on Maxine's account of what happened. It's unclear how involved she was with that project but there were concerns (not by the genuine public but by the authorities) that the series would have her in the press and she'd have to be moved again. A lot of people have not forgiven Maxine for giving Ian an alibi and there are still people fascinated with finding and exposing her. Various supposed sightings of Maxine have been reported and even innocent women baring a slight resemblance to her have been suspected and falsely accused of being her and ended up being physically assaulted. 

It's obvious that Ian Huntley will never get out of prison which is where he belongs, as for Maxine, there is some sympathy from some members of the public, I have seen comments under newspaper articles stating that they feel that she has done her time and to let her be. Do I think that she and Ian have genuine remorse? Ian Huntley cares for nobody but himself but Maxine having remorse could be possible, it was clear that Ian had a lot of control over her but as for her knowing more about what happened, I can't say, I have no idea and It would just be playing into Ian Huntley's hands because he wants the public to believe that Maxine was more involved. 

What are your thoughts on this case? Let me know in the comments below or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com

Further Reading & Sources:

- Beyond Evil: Inside The Twisted Mind of Ian Huntley | Book by Nathan Yates

- The Soham Murders: Article | Manchester Evening News

- The Soham Murders: Article | The independent

- The Soham Murders: Article | Metro

- Maxine Carr: Article | Cosmopolitan

- Ian Huntley: Article | The Mirror

- Holly Wells: Article | Daily Mail

- Maxine Carr: Article | The Guardian

- The Soham Murders | Wikipedia

- Ian Huntley: Article | The Sun

- Ian Huntley: Article | Murderpedia

- Ian Huntley: Article | Irish Mirror

- Maxine Carr: Article | Wales Online 

The house in which Holly and Jessica were murdered, was demolished in 2004.

My heart goes out to those two beautiful angels, Jessica and Holly, those poor girls who didn't deserve any of this but the tiniest bit of comfort was that they are together, they loved each other so much and had such an incredible friendship right up to the end. RIP little angels. 

I'm also thinking about Holly and Jessica's parents and family, as each year goes by it's another year without the girls and that must be so heartbreaking. A lot of questions remain unanswered and probably will never be answered. I wish good things for the Chapman and Wells families, they deserve so much because lord knows, they have been to hell and back. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my latest true crime post, as always I really do appreciate it. I will (hopefully) see you in my next post but in the meantime, I hope you will join me on my Social Media Platforms and if you are a regular reader of my work and would like to help support my blog, please consider donating here 

Thank you, take care until next time x

When I first came across this story I was left with feelings of both sadness and anger and as you read through the post, you will understand why. Renae Marsden was a beautiful 20 year old woman who had the world at her feet, popular, caring, fun to be around and extremely close to her parents, siblings and family. She was well thought of by everyone who knew her. She wore her heart on her sleeve and had a beautiful, trusting personality as well as stunning looks. She was adored by everyone but there was one person who envied Renae to the point of obsession and that jealous person was, her 'closest friend' Camila Zeidan. 

Renae and Camila had known each other from school and the pair did mostly everything together although they were quite opposite. Renae was pretty, popular and outgoing whilst Camila was quite frumpy and insecure. Despite their differences, Renae adored her friend and to anyone watching from the outside (in the beginning) Camila seemed to adore Renae just as much, but then things became very strange. 

It seemed that Camila grew too attached to Renae and started to behave quite controlling and obsessive, almost like a jealous lover. Renae, who could be quite naive at times, would brush it off to begin with but it became clear that Camila's behaviour was starting to take a toll on their friendship. 

The trouble was that the pair had shared a lot together, they knew each others weaknesses and Camila would exploit this fact and use this to her own advantage. Playing on Renae's insecurities, Camila started to psychologically control and manipulate Renae, even convincing her to end her happy relationship with her boyfriend. Camila would fill Renae's head with lies and create stories in an attempt to convince Renae that her boyfriend didn't love her and wasn't good enough for her. 

Camila's obsession with Renae seemed to go beyond just being envious of her looks and life, she seemed to be infatuated with her and things just seemed to go from bad to worse. Scared that Renae would find another boyfriend and that she would lose her control over her, Camila decided to create a ''fake boyfriend'' for Renae. 

Camila created 'Brayden', a tall, dark and handsome guy who communicated with Renae purely online and through Camila. I know there's a lot of people out there who would see red flags from the get-go and hear the alarm bells off the bat, but Renae trusted her friend. Camila told her that 'Brayden' could only speak to her online through Facebook because he was in prison for manslaughter after a terrible accident where he was involved in a crash that had killed his friend. She explained that he had this mobile phone that he was able to use in prison (not for phonecalls or voicenotes but for text messages at certain times only) that his lawyer had given him because he was from a wealthy family. 

There was photographs of this 'Brayden' that were sent to Renae from this particular mobile phone and she was besotted with him. Renae and 'Brayden' exchanged messages constantly and seemed to have fallen in love with each other and Camila seemed to be really supportive and ecstatic about this relationship. It's really sick when you think about the fact that she was catfishing her own friend, betraying her trust, constantly lying to her and having these intimate conversations through text messages that couples often have with one another. Renae was completely oblivious to what was really going on but did notice that Camila was starting to act strange again. 

In one of the text messages from 'Brayden' to Renae, he asked her to have sex with Camilla but Renae refused. When Renae suggested that they both exchange some intimate pictures, he would encourage her to send things but he wouldn't return the favour. Renae would cast this off as him either being shy or concerned that he may get into trouble in prison if his phone happened to fall into the wrong hands. 

As time went on and Renae grew more and more in love with 'Brayden', Camila began to realise that her sick plan wasn't going the way that she hoped. Suddenly everything was all about 'Brayden' and he was all that Renae could talk about, she wanted to marry him and have kids. 

The novelty of her sick mind games was beginning to wear off and Camila began to spiral down even further. 'Brayden' had access to Renae's Facebook and even had the nerve to send rude messages to Renae's parents. Despite the tension, Renae stood by 'Brayden' and refused to break up with him. Camila was getting more and more aggressive and started to see red when Renae had sent a message to 'Brayden' saying that she wanted to distance herself from Camila because of how she was behaving. Camila knew her days were numbered. 

At this point, Camila was able to get inside Renae's head and turn her against pretty much anyone, from friends to relatives. She soon realised that with 'Brayden' she had created a monster because that was the one relationship that Renae wasn't prepared to give up that easily. 

Out of the blue, it was announced that Camila had to go on a trip to America with her relatives for a month. Camila knew she would have problems trying to keep track of the two phones she had (one which was for her own personal use and the other which was supposed to belong to 'Brayden') whilst being away so she came up with another story that 'Brayden' had to take part in a parole assessment for a month and would have his phone removed. 

Renae believed this story too and missed 'Brayden' terribly but there was a shocking incident that really shook Renae up and there was no going back from it. Before Camila left town she tried her best to persuade Renae to get a tattoo of 'Brayden's' name but she refused and tensions between the pair began to rise again. As they were both in the car on the highway, Camila grabbed the wheel and was trying to cause Renae to crash the car and kill them both. Luckily no harm occurred and Renae was able to calm Camila down and go home safely. Renae told her mother about the incident and it was clear that this was the final straw. 

Despite 'Brayden' not having access to his mobile phone, Renae continued to send him text messages and she began to open up to 'him' about what had been going on with Camila. Renae expressed in messages and personal letters that were later found in her bedroom, that she wanted to end her friendship with Camila once and for all and be with him completely. 

Weeks went by and it was finally time for Camila to return to Australia. Camila switched on the phone she was using to catfish Renae and soon discovered all of the text messages. She read each one of them in a rage and decided that she wanted the ultimate revenge. Feeling rejected, she decided that she would have 'Brayden' dump Renae in a very cruel fashion. She send over 90 abusive messages to Renae's new phone in an aim to cause as much hurt and damage as possible. 

In the middle of all of this, 'Brayden' sent a message to Renae's mother telling her that Renae was suicidal and that she had better sort her out. It was very cold and heartless. Renae's mother tried to talk to her but she insisted that she was fine and that she wanted to go out and have some dinner with some of her other friends. 

When time went on and Renae didn't return home it became apparent that something was wrong, very wrong. Her loving parents were soon to know the truth, Renae had driven to a popular beauty spot and took her own life by jumping to her death from a cliff. Her car was there with her old mobile phone (her new mobile phone which contained the 90+ abusive messages from Camila, was never found, it is assumed that she had the phone with her when she died) in the backseat with a message that had been written on the window ''I love you Brayden''. 

It was clear that Renae had been driven to take her own life from whatever horrible messages were on that new phone and the fact that she had just been dumped that day by her 'boyfriend' of 18 months. This beautiful and bright young woman had lost her life because her so-called friend had been stalking, catfishing and emotionally abusing her. Renae never knew that 'Brayden' didn't exist and even if she did find out the truth, things would probably have ended the same tragic way. It was bad enough to be dumped, harassed and abused by someone that you thought the world of but to also find out that he never existed and that it was actually your best friend that you had been privately messaging and sexting with, one just can't imagine that level of upset, trauma and utter humiliation. 

Camila didn't waste any time deleting messages left, right and centre and played the part of the grieving best friend. Renae's old phone was locked and the police explained to her heartbroken parents that they couldn't access any of the data on the phone for whatever reason. Her parents were not about to let that rest, they knew their own daughter and they were determined to get to the bottom of all of this. 

In a bizarre turn of events, a 13 year old boy told Renae's parents about an app which could open their daughter's old phone. It worked and shockingly, all the messages that had been sent to the old phone (minus the recent ones that were sent to the new phone on the day of her death) between Renae, Camila and 'Brayden' were all there in black and white, all 18 months worth. Renae's father noticed a pattern with the messages, it became pretty obvious that every time Camila sent a message to Renae, 'Brayden' would be silent and so on and so forth, it was plain as day that these messages were being sent by the exact same person. 

Suspicions were already running high after Camila had visited Renae's parents and freaked out after they told her that they'd passed on 'Brayden's' phone number to the police. She began to crumble and it was there for all to see. Everyone was horrified and in complete and utter shock when all the details were revealed. Camila Zeidan was a cruel, calculating and evil psychopath who drove her friend (who she had an unhealthy obsession with) to her death. She spent months portraying someone who didn't even exist and basically destroyed her best friend's life as well as her family's life and many others. 

Renae's body was never found, the new phone was never found and there's no trace either of those final 90+ abusive messages that drove her to take her own life. Only Camila Zeidan knows what she wrote in those text messages that day but it is clear that she wanted to end Renae's life, if she couldn't have her, then nobody could. 

The outcome of this case was appalling, Camila Zeidan basically got away with it. No prison sentence, nothing. Apparently there's no law against catfishing (at this moment in time), you have to be gaining financially out of it for it to be a crime and because Camilla wasn't extorting money or goods from Renae, then it wasn't seen as a punishable offence, 

The whole ordeal for Renae's parents and family continued on and on with yet more lies from Camila, even seven years after Renae's death she was claiming that she and Renae were a lesbian couple who were frightened of not being accepted by their parents so they made up 'Brayden' together. It was all lies and letters were found in Renae's bedroom which were for 'Brayden' which expressed how uncomfortable she felt about Camila and planned to end the friendship. 

So no proper justice for Renae, her family or the poor man who's photographs had been stolen by Camila in her sickening performance as 'Brayden'. The man had never met Camila and had no idea who she was, he wasn't even in prison, his name wasn't even Brayden, none of the story was true. Everything was complete lies and a young girl lost her life over it. 

Renae's parents are still fighting for a change in the law in regards to catfishing and coercive control. They are amazingly strong people and I hope that changes are made because this is, sadly not the first time we have heard a tragic story like this. People who commit these evil, manipulative crimes must be held accountable. 

Camila Zeidan got away with it and just carried on with her life. She got married (someone actually married her|) and has had children. Another twisted and shocking part is that she still lives locally, Renae's parents often see her shopping at the grocery store. She has got some nerve to be showing her face after all she has done. I think it is just another example of how sick this person is, if I was her husband I'd sleep with my eyes open. To be honest, he must be crazy himself, to have married such an individual. 

I hope more people in the true crime community cover this case because this has to stop, catfishing is seriously dangerous, it destroys lives and the perpetrators keep getting away with it. 

I'm going to continue working on my latest case which is more local to me in the UK but this one will be posted next week. I just felt moved to cover this case because it's so important for Renae's story to be told. She was such a beautiful girl with a loving family and so much left to experience. It's really devastating when someone is driven to do such things. In my opinion, Camila Zeidan should be in prison right now, I don't know how she can live with herself, especially those 90+ messages that she sent, I'm sure she remembers fine well what she said. 

This quote springs to mind when I think about Camilla Zeidan....

'Do not seek revenge, the rotten fruits will fall by themselves'

Rip beautiful Renae, you will never be forgotten x

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Renae Marsden: Article | Daily Mail

- Renae Marsden: Article | News.Com.AU

- Renae Marsden: Article | 9Now.Nine

- Renae Marsden Petition

- Renae Marsden: Article | The Guardian

- Renae Marsden: Article | Sydney Morning Herald

Thank you as always for checking out my latest post, I hope you will join me again in my next one. To keep up to date with my latest posts, news and where to find me for a chat, all of my links are here.

Take care of yourself x

There are a few true crime cases that tend to haunt all of us at some time or another and this could be due to the horrific details of the case or for the simple fact that it may be (currently) unsolved. In the collage above, I'm sure you will recognise these little faces, faces that have stared out of many a magazine, newspaper, news report or the front cover of a book on a shelf at Waterstones. These three angels, JonBenet Ramsey, Madeleine McCann and Azaria Chamberlain each have a different story to tell and from different parts of the world in different circumstances. What led me to put this particular post together was the similarities in which their parents were thrust into the spotlight for very negative reasons. Each of these three cases are always bound to strike up a debate and a possible argument as to who was really responsible, but I want to talk a little bit about each of these cases (just a reminder that some of the details shared will be disturbing but as always, I will try and be as sensitive as I can be when sharing the details), so I hope you will join me in this post and share your thoughts too. 

JonBenet Ramsey

I was reading a book recently about the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation. I've lost count of exactly how many books I've read about the case, but I heard that there are actually 17 books in total (so far) that have been written about her murder. Various documentaries over the years have been made about her death and the mysteries and theories surrounding it. So you can imagine the various 'experts' who each have their own ideas and thoughts as to who is responsible for the horrific murder of the little 6 year old beauty queen. 

I've never written about the JonBenet Ramsey case before (despite requests) because it's a real rollercoaster of different opinions and nobody can be 100% sure on what the truth actually is. The book that I read recently was JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation by Steve Thomas and Donald A. Davis and this is now considered to be an 'older book' despite some people claiming it to be the most compelling book on the case. The book was co written by a former detective of Boulder police in Colorado, Steve Thomas and basically points the finger at Patsy and John (JonBenet's parents). The book talks about the investigation, the failings and the evidence presented as well as information not heard in public before but the Ramsey family ended up taking the writers of this book to court and a settlement was made so that kind of puts it's relevance away to the side for me. 

It was actually after this book was published that Patsy and John Ramsey were vindicated and together with their son, Burke, completely cleared of any involvement in JonBenet's death. Sadly, Patsy wasn't able to see this day due to her untimely death from cancer. It didn't stop the 'experts' with a drive to solve the case (and make a big name for themselves in the process) putting together a TV series where the details of JonBenet's death was put under the microscope. The team of investigators came to the conclusion that it was Burke (her brother) who had murdered her and their parents had covered it up.

As you can imagine, this did not go down well with the Ramsey family and they successfully sued the makers of the series along with the investigators and not a thing was said about it again. In this case, the accusations fly about non-stop with fingers pointing everywhere. The case remains open to this day and is considered a cold case. Will it ever be solved or has the truth really died with Patsy? 

All we know is, is the Ramsey's lived a comfortable lifestyle, John Ramsey was a successful businessman and Patsy was a former beauty queen. They had two beautiful children together (John had 2 grown up children from his first marriage but they didn't live with him) and Patsy was determined that her beautiful, little daughter, JonBenet (6) was going to carry on her family tradition of participating in beauty pageants. Patsy was every inch the 'showbiz' mother type, JonBenet was styled to perfection and thousands of pounds were spent on her outfits, makeup and hairstyles. JonBenet was coached by her mother on how to perform and behave whilst participating in beauty pageants and although some people thought that the little girl looked cute and like a little glamorous doll, other people were completely horrified by it. A lot of us girls at a young age love to play dress up and put makeup on but with JonBenet, there was something disturbing about a young child dressing and acting like a grown woman. 

Although Patsy tried to paint the perfect image of the perfect family, all was not as it seemed in the Ramsey household. For whilst they impressed their friends with dinner parties and their beautiful decor at home, JonBenet was going through some strange behaviours such as wetting and soiling her bedsheets, she would also soil her clothes and not wipe herself properly (sorry for the graphic details), something was clearly wrong here. Lots of kids wet the bed and have accidents but with JonBenet, it was a regular thing and it drove Patsy crazy. There had been alleged incidents in the past between Burke and JonBenet too, they fought quite a lot and Burke once hit JonBenet over the face with a golf club and she had to be taken to the hospital. If JonBenet ever fell and accidentally scratched her face, Patsy would freak out because her face had to be 100% perfect for the pageant shows.

On the morning of the 26th of December 1996, Patsy had discovered that JonBenet was not in her bedroom. As she went to look for her daughter she found what looked like a handwritten note on the stairs, it contained the following text (please note that the original letter had a few spelling mistakes): 

Mr Ramsey, 

Listen carefully! We are a group of individuals that represent a small foreign fraction. We do respect your business but not the country that it serves. At this time we have your daughter in our possession. She is safe and unharmed and if you want her to see 1997, you must follow our instructions to the letter. 

You will withdraw $118,000,00 from your account. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills. Make sure that you bring an adequate size attache to the bank. When you get home you will put the money in a brown paper bag. I will call you between 8 and 10 am tomorrow to instruct you on delivery . The delivery will be exhausting so I advise you to be rested . If we monitor you getting the money early, we might call you early to arrange an earlier delivery of money and hence an earlier pick-up of your daughter. 

Any deviation of my instructions will result in the immediate execution of your daughter. You will also be denied her remains for proper burial. The two gentlemen watching over your daughter do not particularly like you so I advise you not to provoke them. Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as police, F.B.I, etc will result in your daughter being beheaded. If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. You will be scanned for electronic devices and if any are found, she dies. You can try to deceive us but be warned that we are familiar with law enforcement countermeasures and tactics. You stand a 99% chance of killing your daughter if you try to outsmart us. Follow our instructions and you stand a 100% chance of getting her back. 

You and your family are under constant scrutiny as well as the authorities. Don't try to grow a brain John. You are not the only fat cat around so don't think that killing will be difficult. Don't underestimate us John. Use that good southern common sense of yours. It is up to you now John!

Victory!

S.B.T.C 

The only people that were in the house at the time along with Patsy, was John and nine year old Burke. The strange thing about the letter was that it detailed the exact amount of bonus that John was due to receive, how did these 'kidnappers' know that? The house had been searched but no trace of JonBenet was found. The cops were going on the assumption that JonBenet had indeed been kidnapped and John was prepared to pay the money stated in the ransom letter. On a second search of the house, hours later, John ended up finding JonBenet's, sadly deceased body, she'd been in the house the whole time in one of the rooms in the basement. 

For the forensic team the situation had an added nightmare because everyone thought that JonBenet had been kidnapped initially so no care was taken to preserve anything so there was fingerprints, footprints and other people's DNA everywhere. 

When John found his daughter's body, he was said to have gone into shock. JonBenet had been clearly strangled as there was a piece of nylon cord around her neck, her mouth had been duct taped closed, she'd been partially covered with a sheet and there was cord around her wrists too. John picked his daughter up and took her upstairs in a moment of sheer devastation, the crime scene had been disturbed and contaminated. 

JonBenet's autopsy revealed that her death had been the result of strangulation and blunt force trauma as if someone had hit her with a blunt object. There's been been many theories over the years that she'd been hit over the head with a torch. They couldn't rule out sexual assault even though they couldn't find any semen on or inside of the body or the surrounding area where she had been originally found. They did say that she had some sort of vaginal injury and irritation as if someone had wiped her private area with a cloth in a rough fashion. The killer had made a garrotte using the cord with a paint brush handle to strangle JonBenet. It was truly disturbing. 

As I previously mentioned, there was a TV series where a group of investigators had turned their attention to Burke and tried to paint him as the killer. This was because they'd arrived at this idea sue to the fact that JonBenet had pineapple in her stomach but Patsy and John claimed that she didn't have any pineapple in the hours before she was reported missing. However, there was a bowl in the kitchen that contained pineapple and Burke's fingerprints were on it. In that particular TV series they had a theory that Burke had been eating pineapple and that JonBenet had grabbed some of the fruit out of his bowl and he chased after her. In their idea, Burke grabbed a torch and hit his sister over the head with it to which she collapsed and sadly passed away with Patsy and John working together to set the scene and help cover up for Burke. All of this was denied by the family and the series creators were sued. 

In 2003 some DNA that had been found on JonBenet's underwear was tested and forensic investigators claimed did not match anyone in the Ramsey family and they were officially eliminated from suspicion, however there are still people who feel that the DNA evidence was minute and not enough to prove someone else was there. They claim that the DNA sample could be from a factory worker who made that particular piece of clothing. 

Various known child sex offenders have been questioned, some have claimed to be involved but then been found out to just be fantasists looking for attention and just sick perverts basically. Some known paedophiles that lived near to that area have also been put on the list of possible suspects but nobody knows for sure. 

So this case remains open and the theories and discussion remain. Did the truth die with Patsy? John is in his 70s now and had remarried, Burke is all grown up and had a battle on his hands in recent years to clear his name. It's a heartbreaking case and one wonders if it will ever be solved. 

Madeleine McCann 

If you ever want to start up a heated argument online (I wouldn't advise) all you have to do is mention the name 'Madeleine McCann' cause unfortunately, this beautiful little girl has become somewhat a symbol of class war. Along with the JonBenet Ramsey case, this story comes with a lot of theories but with more of an intensity, more of a sheer anger towards Madeleine's parents. Back in 2007, Kate and Gerry McCann, who were medical professionals (Kate was a Doctor and Gerry was a successful and popular cardiologist) decided to take their 3 children (Madeleine was aged 3 at the time and her little brother and sister were aged just 2) to the beautiful town of Praia da Luz in Portugal for a holiday. Their friends were also going for a break and it was a chance for the adults to relax and for the kids to have some fun in the sun. 

What was supposed to be a dream holiday and a get-away-from it all sort of affair, soon turned out to be a real-life nightmare that had never left the UK's consciousness. Even I remember where I was when the news of this case first broke on morning TV. It was initially reported as a possible child abduction and there was instant sympathy and support for Kate and Gerry McCann. But as time went on and more details began to emerge, the public sympathy soon wore thin. It turned out that Kate and Gerry had a habit of leaving their 3 young children alone in their holiday home in the evenings so that they could go and have dinner and drinks with their friends. This left a bad taste in everyone's mouths because this was a foreign country that they were in, their children were far too young to be unsupervised and it all seemed so very careless on their part.

I know everyone's different but I'm of the opinion (and don't shoot the boots off of me) that kids as young as 2 and 3 have no business going on holiday to places like Portugal for a holiday. That's far too young in my book, the potential for something sinister happening is every high and your're miles and miles away from home too. In this case, Kate and Gerry had been having their cake and eating it, leaving the children on their own whilst they sipped cocktails. They would go once or twice to check if the children were ok but still, it was a huge risk for them to take. 

Well, you no doubt know the story but Madeleine 'vanished' into thin air and all hell broke loose and I'm sitting here at my laptop in 2023 and typing that she had never been found. despite the endless searches, campaigns and millions of pounds raised and spend, there is no trace of Madeleine McCann. 

Kate and Gerry have a lot of eyes on them as suspects, a lot of people believe them to be guilty or that they know something. Others believe that the couple are innocent and just made a terrible mistake. Some people believe that they should be in prison and charged with neglect. The reason I mentioned 'class' earlier is because of the way that his case has been handled. As you know, we have thousands of children missing and they have not had this level of public attention or government assistance and it's caused a bit of an uproar. Gerry and Kate are quite privileged, they're middle class and work as medical professionals so they are treated a different away as opposed to a low income couple who live on a council estate. This is the feeling of most people in the UK. 

As I'm talking about this case in this post, it has been announced that the UK government plans to spend another few hundred thousand pounds on the 'search' for Madeleine. It's well known that investigators have been going out to Portugal on a regular basis, staying in fancy hotels and getting nowhere near to an answer. Seems to be that some people are taking advantage of the situation. A reported £13 million pounds has been spent so far on this case and as I said before, this kind of attention and funding has never been given to any other missing persons case so it has people up in arms. Everyone wants Madeleine found but we want attention and help on other missing children cases too. Sadly, as more time goes on, the hopes of finding Madeleine get slimmer and slimmer. 

There have been many theories attached to the case including a Polish woman who has been going on every TV show known to man right now, claiming to be Madeleine - I'll keep you posted about that one!

A lot of things about this case do not sit right with me. The fact that Kate and Gerry would administer 'medicines' to their children to 'help them sleep', the fact that they were happy to leave their kids alone, that Kate washed Madeleine's beloved 'Cuddle Cat' cuddly toy which raised a few eyebrows. If your child had gone missing and all you had left was their favourite blanket or cuddly toy, you wouldn't wash it, would you? because their scent would still be on those items. You would keep whatever you could close to you that belonged to them. This upset people, especially Mothers who would never dream of doing that. Quite a lot of strange behaviour from the pair of them over the years and they've never been brought to task for neglecting their children. 

The situation with this lady took even more of a dark turn because, after the humiliation of being plastered all over Sky News for everyone to see, she booked herself into a hotel and took her own life.

It was clear that this lady had some personal problems and an obsession with the case but she had a right to an opinion as everyone else did. Out of everyone she was selected to put on blast and it was felt by many that it wasn't fair. A lot of people still feel so strongly about the Madeleine McCann case over here in the UK. 

Azaria Chamberlain

Now, for a different turn in this post (which is proving to be quite long....I hope you have a cup of tea), in this case which you night be scratching your head about when you see the name 'Azaria Chamberlain', let me tell you the sentence that will spark the memory for you...''A Dingo ate my baby''. It's not the nicest of things to say but whenever this particular case is mentioned, this sentence will always be mentioned. I am of course talking about the infamous story of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain and the heartbreaking disappearance of their beautiful baby girl, Azaria who was only nine weeks old. 

This story was so shocking and haunting that a movie starring Meryl Street and Sam Niell was made and it was one of the most incredible performances of Meryl Streep's career. Meryl played the role of Lindy, Azaria's mother. The movie is called 'A Cry In The Dark'. In August of 1980, Lindy and her husband Michael took a camping trip with their two sons & baby daughter Azaria to the beautiful and iconic, Ayers Rock in Australia. What was supposed to be quality time with the family, ended up with Lindy and Michael frantically searching for their baby girl in the darkness. 

The family had tents which they thought were secure and there was various people camping that night so Lindy stepped away for a few seconds from the tent whilst Azaria was sleeping and in a flash, the baby had gone. It's hard to imagine how that must have felt, that heart-stopping moment but it was captured very well in the movie (A Cry In The Dark). Everyone was searching the vast area with flashlights but Azaria was gone and nobody knew where. There had been Dingos spotted around the camp previously. A Dingo is an Australian wild dog which lives around Ayers Rock and it was suspected that one of the dogs had managed to get into the tent and grab the baby. 

When Lindy tried to explain this to the cops and the media, that a Dingo had taken her baby, she was made a laughing stock and the eyes of suspicion fell on to her and Michael. They were accused of killing Azaria and all sorts of wild stories went around about them. There was even a rumour that they killed Azaria as part of a occult sacrifice. The Chamberlain's were put through hell and their names were basically mud in Australia and the story reached other parts of the world too. 

Things just got even more horrendous when Lindy was found guilty of murdering Azaria even though she was innocent. She spent three years in prison where people continued to taunt her and brand her a baby killer. Michael also spent some time behind bars as he was classed as an accessory to murder. Lindy tried to stay strong throughout the whole ordeal and was determined to not let the media or negative members of the public get to her so she put up a front, Lindy's strong demeanour was seen as cold and in the minds of some of the public, it made her appear to be cold-hearted and guilty. 

The investigation into Azaria's disappearance & possible death, continued and finally all charges and accusations against Lindy and Michael were dropped in 1988, however, the battle wasn't over. Various inquests were held and it was finally decided that, after a thorough investigation that Azaria was most likely to have been taken by a Dingo. All of the evidence that they did have, pointed to that conclusion and Lindy was awarded compensation for being falsely accused and imprisoned. 

Lindy and Michael had a huge outpouring of support from the public and a lot of people were deeply sorry for judging them from the beginning. It was very much a case of trial by media and it just goes to show that sometimes the people you suspect, despite their strange or uncommon behaviour, can be innocent at times. It's scary to think that Lindy could have spend her life in prison, 3 years was bad enough and this couple were completely hated by the press and the public. If the McCann's think they have it bad, it's nothing compared to what Lindy and Michael experienced in the 1980s. 

It took a long time of fighting to clear their name but they got there in the end. Sadly, Michael passed away from leukemia in 2017. Lindy remarried in 1992 and is now 75 years old, she is seen as an inspiration to many. Interestingly, some of the evidence from that horrible night as well as some items from Lindy's prison days, has been placed as an exhibition in the National Museum of Australia. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Jonbenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation by Steve Thomas & Don Davis

- Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey? by Cyril H Wecht & Charles Bosworth Jr

- Unsolved: The JonBenet Ramsey Murder: 25 Years Later by Paula Woodward

- Killing JonBenet Ramsey by Dylan Howard

- Killing of JonBenet Ramsey | Wikipedia

- JonBenet Ramsey: Article | Daily Star

- JonBenet Ramsey: Article | Fox News

- JonBenet Ramsey: Article | The Independent

- JonBenet Ramsey Murder Case: Article | The Denver Post

- The Ramsey Family: Article | News Nation

- JonBenet Ramsey: Article | Daily Mail

- JonBenet Ramsey Case: Timeline | Court TV

- JonBenet Ramsey: Article | Denver Gazette

- JonBenet Ramsey's Brother Breaks Silence 20 Years After Her Murder

- The breakthrough new DNA evidence that could find JonBenét Ramsey's killer | 60 Minutes Australia

- JonBenét Ramsey's Father Speaks to Court TV

- Burke Ramsey compilation of all police Interviews available of Burke when he was 9 and 11.

- Revisiting JonBenet Ramsey Murder Case, and How New DNA Tech Can Help, with Her Father John Ramsey

- 20/20 John and Patsy Ramsey Interview with Barbara Walters (March 17, 2000) FULL EPISODE

- 9NEWS interviews John and Patsy Ramsey

- Find Madeleine (Official Website)

- Madeleine McCann: News & Updates | Daily Mail

- Madeleine McCann: News & Updates | Daily Record

- Madeleine McCann: News & Updates | The Independent

- Madeleine McCann: News & Updates | Telegraph

- Madeleine McCann: News & Updates | Metro

-  “I Believe I am Madeleine McCann” | Dr Phil Show

- Kate McCann: I Would Never Have Taken A Risk

- Searching for Madeleine: A Sky News documentary on the McCann investigation

- The hunt for Madeleine McCann 15 years on

- What happened to Madeleine McCann? Her parents speak and the bungled investigation | 7NEWS Spotlight

- Disappearance of Madeleine McCann | Wikipedia

- Death of Azaria Chamberlain | Wikipedia

- Lindy Chamberlain: Article | Daily Mail

- Azaria Chamberlain Inquest | National Museum of Australia

- Azaria Chamberlain: Biography | Australian Dictionary of Biography

- Lindy Chamberlain: Article | The Guardian

- Michael Chamberlain | Wikipedia

- Lindy Chamberlain - Creighton | Wikipedia

- Lindy Chamberlain - Creighton | Lindy's Official Website

- Lindy Chamberlain | The Forensics Library

- Evil Angels by John Bryson

- The Lindy Tapes: the mystery behind the famous quote: "A dingo’s got my baby" | 7NEWS Spotlight

- The Baby Girl Taken by a Dingo: The tragic saga of Azaria Chamberlain | 60 Minutes Australia

- Lindy Chamberlain On Forgiveness | Studio 10

- A Cry In The Dark aka Evil Angels: Movie based on the Chamberlain case

RIP little angels, JonBenet, Madeleine, Azaria.

RIP Patsy & Michael. 

Three very different cases where suspicion fell automatically on to the parents. We know that Lindy and Michael Chamberlain were proven innocent after years of hell and constant accusations but what is he truth concerning the Ramseys and the McCanns, will we ever truly know?

I hope that you found this post interesting and informative, maybe it sparked up some thoughts for you? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on each of these cases, either here in the comments section below, or feel free to email me in private (jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com) if there's anything you would like to share or say. 

I will be taking a little break for the Easter holidays. I'll also be attending (& meeting - eeeeek!) one of Professor David Wilson's shows, who, as you know, is one of the UK's leading Criminologists so I might do a post on that too. I will be back after the short Easter break with more content, so stay tuned for that.

I hope you have a wonderful Easter (if you celebrate the holiday) or a wonderful week in general. I will be stuffing my face with Lindt and Cadbury's chocolate whilst giving thanks too of course and appreciating the true meaning of everything. 

Take care & I will see you (hopefully) on my socials x