Murder of JonBenet Ramsey

On October 17, 2001, The Daily Camera reported that attorneys for former Boulder detective Steve Thomas, who was involved in the Ramsey murder investigation, had moved to "block a deposition from a related case from becoming public."

The newspaper report stated, "The deposition is part of a lawsuit filed by former Boulder County journalist Chris Wolf against the Ramseys. In their book about the 1996 murder of their daughter, John and Patsy Ramsey named Wolf and a former housekeeper, Linda Hoffman-Pugh, as suspects in the case."

Ramsey attorney Lin Wood called Thomas's move to keep the deposition private "the height of hypocrisy: This is a man who has written a book accusing my clients of murder. Steve Thomas does not want the public to know the truth. When truth comes out, the people who were attacking the Ramseys want to run from the truth." Wood said that the Ramseys wanted "everything put on the table and the murder file made public."

Following those instructions, Wood subpoenaed files held by Thomas that related to the investigation, including police reports.

Attorneys for Thomas assert that "their client's deposition is confidential based on sections of the confidentiality order entered by U.S. District Court Judge Julie E. Carnes in Atlanta."

Attorney Wood later told The Daily Camera, "It is my clear belief that when the public learns about his testimony, they will realize Steve Thomas ... would have been fired in 1997, probably prosecuted, without question disgraced and would not have been in a position to write a book and make hundreds of thousand of dollars."

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On October 26, 2001, Court TV news reported that Fleet White, the former Ramsey friend and neighbor who was present when John Ramsey found his daughter's body in the basement of their home in 1996, had ignored subpoenas to appear in court for a bribery case related to JonBenet's death. As a consequence, White was charged with contempt of court and given a 30-day jail sentence.

The subpoenas related to the trial of attorney Thomas Miller, who was charged with commercial bribery after one of his clients attempted to buy a copy of the JonBenet ransom note.

Miller was later acquitted.

In his defense, Fleet White told the court that he had "ignored subpoenas in the best interest of the unsolved murder investigation, the justice system and his family."