Suspect facing burglary charges
By Christopher Anderson
Daily Camera Staff Writer, Boulder October 25, 2000
A Lafayette man charged with burglary and theft of a Boulder County home told sheriff's deputies he was investigating the unsolved 1996 JonBenét Ramsey homicide.

The suspect in the case is John Edward Kenady, 47, the same person who this summer handed over a pair of Hi-Tec boots to private investigators working for John and Patsy Ramsey.

Boulder police are testing the boots at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, but do not think they are related to the case.

The source of a partial Hi-Tec bootprint inside the couple's home is one of many unanswered questions in the investigation into the Dec. 1996 homicide of 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey.

And while the boots Kenady gave investigators belonged to a former resident of the house he allegedly broke into, Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said Monday the boots are not among the items Kenady is accused of stealing.

Kenady was arrested in Longmont Oct. 10 in connection with breaking into a home in the 4900 block of Valmont Road in July.

He told sheriff's deputies that Boulder Police Detectives Cmdr. Joe Pelle gave him permission to enter the home in the name of investigating the Ramsey case. Pelle said he never gave Kenady permission to break into the home. Kenady also said he feared evidence would be lost because the house was supposed to be demolished.

Police suspect Kenady of kicking in a rear door to the home and taking with him three "drafting quality drawings," a $54,000 check and legal papers including a deed of trust.

Diamond jewelry, several watches and money in one bedroom were untouched, according to police reports.

The home is owned by the family of a deceased man the Ramseys' investigators have said may have been involved with the beating and strangulation death of their daughter.

The deceased man shot himself in the chest Feb. 14, 1997, the day after Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter held a national press conference in which he said the field of suspects had narrowed and vowed to bring the little girl's killer to justice.

The man also may have owned a stun gun, which the Ramseys' suspect may have been used in their daughter's death, according to public records.

The Ramseys remain under police suspicion in their daughter's death, but have repeatedly said they did not kill their daughter and that police should be looking for an intruder. They have moved from their 755 15th St. home and now reside in Atlanta.

Kenady, who was friends with the deceased man, said he suspected him of having some involvement in the killing, but did not say why, according to police reports.

The documents stolen from the home were found in Kenady's possession. The drawings belonged to the deceased man.

Officers at the Boulder Police Department and the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said Kenady may be mentally impaired from a car accident.

Kenady's attorney, Karin Dostal, said her client is mentally competent.

She said she would not comment on the case other than to say, "There are certain things that will come out later."

Kenady was charged Oct. 13 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Nov. 8, which will likely to be rescheduled.

Ollie Gray, an investigator for the Ramseys, said a family member gave Kenady the boots. Kenady gave Gray the boots through an attorney. Gray turned them over to police in August and answered police questions about them during an interview with the Ramseys in Atlanta at the end of August.

Contact Christopher Anderson at (303) 473-1355 or andersonc@thedailycamera.com.

October 25, 2000