Libel case continues against Camera

Couple says article falsely implicated them in sex ring

By Christine Reid, Camera Staff Writer
October 23, 2002

A second request was made on Tuesday by the Boulder County District Attorney's
Office for a special prosecutor to review a case that alleges criminal libel by the Daily
Camera and other media in their coverage of the unsolved slaying of JonBenet
Ramsey.

Chief District Judge Roxanne Bailin terminated the investigation into the criminal libel
case in October 2000, she said, at the request of Fleet White Jr. and Priscilla White.
However, the Whites said they made no such appeal.

District Attorney Mary Keenan said the new motion came at the request of the Whites,
who tried to get the state Attorney General's Office involved in the investigation to no
avail. The motion states it had not been the Whites' intent to place their matter in a
"dead end" with special prosecutors.

"Our position is someone needs to look at it," Keenan said.

The Whites were friends of John and Patsy Ramsey — the parents of the 6-year-old
whose strangled body was discovered Dec. 26, 1996, in the basement of her family's
home.

The Whites asked Boulder police to investigate the Daily Camera for publishing a story
in February 2000 in which a California woman said she was abused in a child sex
abuse ring in a manner similar to the way JonBenet died. Other media also published
reports about the unidentified 37-year-old woman after the Camera's article ran.

The Whites claim that the California woman falsely implicated their family of being
connected to the sex ring.

The case was assigned to the Pueblo district attorney because of a conflict of
interest with the Boulder County District Attorney's Office, and shortly after
terminated.

The statute of limitations on the case expires Feb. 25, 2003, according to court
records.

Prosecutor Bill Nagel, who filed the motion Tuesday, said it would be up to Judge Bailin
to determine who, if anyone, would be appointed as a new special prosecutor.

"We are puzzled by this action since the court has ruled previously. Still, we look
forward to putting this matter to rest," said Colleen Conant, the Camera's editor and
publisher.

The Whites did not return a call from the Camera.

Contact Christine Reid at (303) 473-1355 or reidc@dailycamera.com.

http://www1.dailycamera.com/bdc/county_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2423_1496765,00.html

Personally I would love to see this come to trial and get it all out in the open. I think Nancy Krebs is not well and I think she made false accusations. As I feel with the Ramseys - - Fleet has the right to be publicly cleared if the evidence says he is innocent. I can see why he wants it to be an open book - - the accusations were terrible and the suspicion will always sit out there unless the issue is forced. The Whites want a public apology and retraction - - what is the big deal?