Alex Hunter

Alex Hunter Alex Hunter

Personal information Born: March 28 1944 Died: March 23 2016 Role: District Attorney 1996-2001 Theory: Intruder Did It (IDI)

Alex Hunter was the Boulder District Attorney at the time of the killing of JonBenet Ramsey. Between December 26, 1996 and 2001, Hunter was in charge of the District Attorney's office's involvement in the case.

As District Attorney, Hunter facilitated the sharing of information with the Ramseys' legal team (which they described as "trust-building"), the investigation of various suspected intruders, and the reorganization of the casefile around the intruder theory.

In 1998 Hunter and his investigators were publicly accused of bias towards the Ramseys. After an intervention by the Governor and a panel of Colorado District Attorneys, Hunter agreed to convene a Grand Jury and hire a new prosecutor from outside of his office. The Grand Jury voted to charge the Ramseys with multiple felonies, but Hunter refused to take the case to court. Hunter proceeded to make several comments to the media advocating theories of a pedophile ring run by Fleet White.

Hunter has refrained from speaking about the case in recent years.

Before the Crime

In August 1983, Hunter was publicly criticized for his failure to file charges against Thayne Smika in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Sid Wells. The DA's office "did not think there was enough evidence to file charges"., prompting criticism of Hunter from the victim's grieving mother. After Hunter's retirement the case was eventually reopened, but Thayne Smika had gone into hiding.

Early Involvement

Alex Hunter was on vacation in Hawaii when the crime occurred, and was not even aware of it until Saturday December 28, 1996 - two days after the discovery of the body. By that time, the head of the felony division Peter Hofstrom had already been in private contact with John Ramsey's lawyer, former Boulder District Attorney's office employee Michael Bynum.

Assistant DA Bill Wise informed Hunter of the crime by telephone. Hunter called Wise again that evening.

Hunter returned from Hawaii on Saturday, January 4, 1997.

Though the law does not require prosecutors to provide evidence to any suspect who has not been charged, Hunter's prosecutors arranged for the Ramseys to receive:

• a copy of the ransom note
• Police reports from Dec. 26, 1996
• a copy of the autopsy report
• negatives of crime scene photographs

In a meeting with the Colorado Attorney General's office, Assistant Attorney General Mary Malatesta specifically advised Alex Hunter not to share any further information with the defense that wasn't absolutely required by law.

After the meeting, Hunter suggested that Chief Trial Deputy District Attorney Peter Hofstrom should call the Ramseys attorneys "in order to maintain and build their trust," according to Steve Thomas.

The FBI told Hunter, "Don't 'ask the Ramseys' for anything, just issue the warrants and subpoenas and take the evidence."

Hunter lated defended the actions of his office, saying, "Those things were given to the Ramseys in order to have an interview ... in order to advance a case that was totally stalled."

• When DNA testing revealed a handful of unidentified alleles on objects from the scene, Hunter hired Barry Scheck, who had worked as a defense lawyer for OJ Simpson and who had founded the Innocence Project, an organization that uses DNA evidence to try to clear wrongly convicted clients.

• After linguistics professor Donald Foster wrote a letter to the Ramseys stating his belief that they were innocent on the basis of partial quotes from the transcript he had seen, Hunter hired Foster and gave him several pieces of information relating to Bill McReynolds. When Foster had analyzed the note in full, he determined Patsy Ramsey was the author. Hunter rejected his conclusions and dismissed him.

Statements about the Ramseys

After January 15, 1997 DNA testing, Hunter told Ramsey family friend Pam Griffin he was convinced of the Ramseys' innocence. "Alex has told me that it is not John’s DNA beneath her fingernails. It is not any of the Ramseys’ DNA, and he didn’t think the Ramseys did it."

Hunter told writer Stephen Singular in 1999 "I’ve met Patsy and she seems like a quality person."

Intruder Suspects

Throughout the early months, his office strongly encouraged the investigation of suspected intruders, while passing police reports and other information to the Ramseys, who still had not participated in formal interviews.

McReynolds and Fleet White

To investigate the ransom note from "S.B.T.C", Hunter spoke to Robert Kupperman, an expert on international terrorism. According to Hunter it was Kupperman who gave Hunter the name of linguistic analyst, Donald Foster. Foster had also, in an apparent coincidence, written a letter to Patsy Ramsey just a week earlier, saying, "I know that you are innocent--know it, absolutely and unequivocally. I would stake my professional reputation on it, indeed, my faith in humanity." Foster had told Patsy that based on the few police disclosures, "my study of the incomplete transcript leads me to believe that you did not write it". He also said, "I already have a pretty well-formed opinion about who killed your daughter and where he is hiding out." After speaking to Foster, Hunter enthusiastically recommended him to the Boulder police, saying, "this case will come down to linguistics".

After seeing the full text of the ransom note, and samples of Patsy's writings from the Boulder Police, Foster ultimately concluded that "In my opinion, it is not possible that any individual except Patsy Ramsey wrote the ransom note". When he informed Hunter of this, Hunter and his investigators rejected his conclusions, ultimately firing him and informing him that "he was through doing this kind of work".

Re-organization of the Casefile

Three months into the investigation, Hunter orchestrated a comprehensive overhaul and re-investigation of the entire case-file, which shifted the focus onto the "intruder theory", the theory favored by both Hunter's office, and the Ramseys' defense team.

He hired Lou Smit for this purpose.

Ongoing Investigations of Intruders

In 1998 "the district attorney's office was still actively investigating an intruder theory" and "Fleet White, Bill McReynolds and Chris Wolf were on the top of their suspect list".

Fleet White responded by meeting with Governor Roy Romer to attempt to get Hunter taken off the case. After consulting with other District Attorneys, Romer decided not to.

In January 1998 the first public allegations of bias were made against Hunter. In a letter to the Boulder Daily Camera, Fleet White and his wife Priscille wrote that Hunter's actions over the past year have "created the strong appearance of impropriety, professional incompetence and a lack of objectivity." They referred to "various relationships between the Boulder County District Attorney and members of the Boulder and Denver legal communities that may have impaired the objectivity" of the district attorney. The couple also cites Hunter's reputation for not aggressively pursuing homicide cases as a factor in their decision to ask Romer to intervene.

In January 1999, while the Grand Jury investigation was going on, Alex Hunter chose to make a "public appeal" for information about the "suspicious santa bear" - a teddy bear the Ramseys had claimed not to recognize and which Lou Smit and the Ramseys were promoting as a key piece of intruder evidence. Hunter acknoweldged that the announcement would stir up public speculation, saying ""I make this public request for assistance knowing that it will give rise to considerable speculation about the status of the Ramsey case ... I intend to let this speculation take whatever course it will". Police eventually obtained video evidence proving Jonbenet Ramsey had won the "santa bear" at a beauty pageant shortly before her death.

Grand Jury

(See Grand Jury)

Governor's Intervention

Boulder Police had repeatedly asked Hunter to convene a Grand Jury but Hunter had refused.

Steve Thomas published a resignation letter that was sharply critical of Hunter and said the DA's office was "compromised".

In the face of a public outcry,

Governor Roy Romer again contacted the metro District Attorneys and asked them "what do we do?"

Alex Hunter was once again on vacation, this time in Alaska. He was informed of Thomas's letter by telephone in a bed and breakfast in Juneau.

At the Governor's insistence, Hunter removed Peter Hofstrom and Trip DeMuth from the case, and brought in a team of prosecutors from outside the office to run the Grand Jury: Mike Kane, Mitch Morrissey from the Denver DA's office, and Bruce Levin.

Hunter later recalled "when the governor was being pushed to put a special prosecutor in this case - in other words to take my butt out of this case - he appointed a blue ribbon panel of very distinguished lawyers" (Fox, 2000)

Grand Jury Deliberations and Indictment

The Jury deliberated for eighteen months.

Hunter refused to sign the indictment and made the following public announcement:

Oct 13 1999: "The Boulder County grand jury has completed its work and will not return. No charges have been filed. ... The Ramsey family lives in a nightmare. There has been no end to the public lynching and speculation which marred this case from the beginning. ... The grand jurors have done their work extremely well, bringing to bear all their legal powers, life experiences and shrewdness. ... I must report to you that I and my prosecution task force believe we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant the filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time. Under no circumstances will I or any of my advisers, prosecutors, the law-enforcement officers working on this case, or the grand jurors discuss grand-jury proceedings, today or forever, unless ordered by the court."

Final year as DA

After Hunter's announcement that the Grand Jury had not returned an indictment, public criticism of his office died down. The Ramseys embarked on a public media campaign, including a memoir The Death of Innocence, which climaxed with Hunter's announcement and referred to it as a moment of "vindication".

Hunter himself began going on speaking engagements while still serving as District Attorney. In March 1999 he spoke on "Prosecuting Crimes Against Children" in Connecticut. His appearance at one conference in a beach resort in Alabama, in which he gave a speech on 'Managing the High-Profile Child Homicide', was criticized by Steve Thomas.

Schiller interview, DNA "evidence"

Hunter's office told Barbara Walters that reports of similarities between Patsy's handwriting and the ransom note were "grossly exaggerated".

Public Accusations against Fleet White

In February 2000, Hunter did an interview with the Boulder Daily Camera in which he advocated Nancy Krebs' allegations of a pedophile ring as a "major breakthrough in the case". The article mentioned Fleet White and Fleet White's father by name, and detailed Krebs' allegations of violent pedophile "sex parties" involving the White family. Hunter said he found Krebs' allegations "very believable". Hunter made no mention of Krebs' allegations of rape and sodomy by John Ramsey. Boulder Police investigated the allegations and determined they were completely false.

Hunter's public accusations against Fleet White was later criticized by Detective Steve Thomas. Prosecutor Mike Kane called Hunter's office, bemused as to why Hunter was publicly endorsing Krebs, who Kane referred to as a "goofball". It was revealed that Hunter had been repeatedly informed of Krebs's mental problems and credibility issues.

Hunter also discussed the Ramsey case repeatedly with Stephen Singular, an author who believed there was a widespread pedophile conspiracy in Boulder. Hunter complained openly about the Boulder Police and told Singular his theory was that a group of fraternity brothers from the University of Colorado had "gotten high Christmas night" and made "an aborted attempt to kidnap JonBenet".

Hunter also discussed Fleet White with Singular, and continued to state his suspicions of Fleet White. "Í've met the man," Hunter said, "and he made me very uncomfortable. He's six-foot-four, with big shoulders and huge hands. An iron grip." Hunter also strongly implied, without evidence, that Fleet White's daughter had been abused, telling Singular that he was "not satisfied with" the investigation of Fleet White by social services. Hunter reportedly told Singular on another occasion that "he was interested in any nexus to Fleet White".

Hunter had also discussed Fleet White repeatedly with tabloid reporter Jeff Shapiro, commenting to him on one occasion, "Don’t you find it strange that this guy [Fleet White] is so fuckin’ angry?” Hunter also reported said, "As a prosecutor, it would be irresponsible for me not to look in other places, wouldn’t it? ... I want to know who this guy Fleet White is."

Affidavit Controversy

On October 12, 2000, Hunter signed an affidavit stating that Burke Ramsey was not a suspect. Leaked documents later revealed this affidavit had been written for Hunter by the Ramseys' lawyer Lin Wood.

Post-Retirement

Alex Hunter post-retirement

text

Burke Ramsey CBS Lawsuit

CBS issued Hunter with a subpoena to testify in the lawsuit. Hunter objected that it was "an 'annoyance' that would interfere with his annual relocation to Hawaii," and said that cooperating would "compromise an 'open investigation and potential prosecution' of the person or persons responsible for JonBenét's death".

In an interview about the matter, Ramseys' lawyer Lin Wood said there was no need for Hunter to testify, and referred to the earlier affidavit in which Hunter had stated Burke was not a suspect. Wood did not mention that he himself had written that earlier affidavit.

CBS ultimately settled the case with the Ramseys' lawyers before it could go to trial, so Hunter did not have to testify.

Criticism of Alex Hunter

The conduct of Hunter's office in this case has been described as "bizarre". Hunter himself has been criticized for his frequent conversations with tabloid journalists during his involvement with case - even at one point attempting to plant false stories in a tabloid alleging sexual misconduct by a member of the Boulder Police

Hunter often gave contradictory statements about his beliefs and intentions to different people.

Hunter was criticized for his leaking of information to the press. Even Lou Smit, who shared Hunter's belief in the Ramseys' innocence, criticized his leaking of information. "The leaks are over at the Justice Center," Thomas protested. "You’re right. Alex Hunter is the worst," Smit answered. "I feel bad that you guys get blamed for all the leaks."

In a 2000 interview, Hunter criticized the tabloid "frenzy" that had developed around the case. In that same interview he admitted to engaging in "very open communication" about the case with several tabloid reporters from the "Globe".

VAN SUSTEREN: Let me turn a corner to the issue of speaking to the "Globe." ... Did you do that?

HUNTER: I did that.

VAN SUSTEREN: OK, and why did you do that?

HUNTER: Because they had a million-dollar reward and they were getting hundreds of tips a week, which they were sorting through and giving to me. [...] In fact, the "Globe," with their million-dollar reward, I hoped would break the case. [...] So I had very open communication with several of the "Globe" reporters. I never met with them when they didn't have something to give to me.

A secretly-taped conversation revealed that Alex Hunter had been speaking to Globe reporter Jeff Shapiro at least every other day, providing him with confidential evidentiary information, and asking him to investigate members of the Boulder Force to publicly discredit them.

Hunter's most vocal critics were Steve Thomas and Fleet White. While White's attempts to oust Hunter were largely brushed aside by the governor, Thomas's public accusations were taken more seriously. Chief Mark Beckner said the DA's interference was "inappropriate", and subsequently changed police policies in missing persons cases to prevent District Attorneys from interfering as Hunter had.

Shapiro recalled Hunter "teasing" him with case evidence. On one occasion in Hunter's office, before the ransom note had been made public, Hunter held up a copy of the ransom note up to Shapiro's face "then he quickly pulled the pages back, put them away, and went, “Ha, ha, ha.” “Don’t tell anyone I did that".

Hunter's efforts to plant damaging and false stories in the media about John Eller and Fleet White--two men who had both spoken out against Hunter himself--have been widely criticized. Some have even alleged that Hunter's conduct constituted an abuse of the powers of his office.

Defenses of Hunter

Denver criminal defense attorney Scott Robinson said there is no question that the information given to the Ramseys helped them prepare a stronger defense, whether they are guilty or innocent. But Robinson noted that the Ramseys have a constitutional right not to talk to police and that most defense attorneys strongly advise their clients not to talk. "Sometimes you have to pay a price to get information. ... That doesn't mean it was wrong," Robinson said. "That seemed like a reasonable bargain, considering the evidentiary value of a formal statement, even if it's months later."

Lawrence Schiller's book Perfect Murder, Perfect Town contains several defenses of Hunter and his office from assistant DA Bill Wise. It claims that because DNA testing would destroy evidence "under the law a defendant had the right to be present" - this is not true.

Craig Truman, a former Colorado chief deputy public defender, said the law does not require prosecutors to preserve evidence for suspects who have not been charged. But he said it's still a wise practice for prosecutors to allow them to see it. "What it does is cleverly eliminate any argument from the defense that it wasn't fair or proper," Truman said. If the prosecutor does not let a suspect's attorney see evidence before it is destroyed, the prosecutor "runs a risk of the having the destruction of the evidence come back to bite him," Truman said.