Basement window

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In the basement of the Ramsey home there was a broken window. Since this was an alleged home invasion, the broken window was an area of focus in the crime scene video and photographs.

John Ramsey and his friend Fleet White started looking for broken glass when they entered the basement. However, after it was obvious there were no large shards of glass lying around, John told White that he had actually broken the window himself during the summer when locked out of the house.

The basement window was not visible from outside the home. It was concealed by a steel grate, and therefore one would not be able to tell that the window was broken without standing next to the house, physically lifting up the grate and looking through it.

Initial position of window
John Ramsey stated that he went to the basement alone during the morning and the window was open an eighth of an inch. He says he observed this while alone in the basement briefly, then (he says) he closed and latched the window, before returning upstairs. John said he informed police about the window he had just closed, but there is no record of his doing so in any police reports.

This would mean that when John and Fleet White went down to the basement to do their search, the window was closed.

When asked about this, Fleet White said he could not remember if the window was opened or closed.

The "open window" photograph
A crime scene photograph was later taken with the window wide open. This has led some to falsely assume that the window was found wide open.

Lou Smit theory
The basement window was a key part of Lou Smit's intruder theory. He presented it on numerous occasions as a point of entry and a point of exit for the hypothetical intruder.