Peter Hofstrom

Peter Hofstrom Peter Hofstrom

Personal information Role: Head of felony division in District Attorney's office Theory: Intruder Did It (IDI)

Peter Hofstrom was an early proponent of the "intruder theory" and defender of the Ramsey family. As head of the felony division in the District Attorney's office, Hofstrom was the office's highest authority at the time of the crime (DA Alex Hunter was on holiday in Hawaii).

Hofstrom was accused of bias due to his frequent meetings and dealings with the Ramseys' lawyers from as early as day one of the investigation, and his longstanding friendships with several of those lawyers.

He was ultimately removed from the case, along with fellow prosecutor Trip DeMuth, after an intervention by Colorado Governor Roy Romer and a panel of District Attorneys, who were strongly critical of their conduct in relation to the Ramseys.

Background

Hofstrom joined the Boulder District Attorney's office in

prosecutorial style

Peter Hofstrom "generally had a poor opinion of the Boulder police".

Background with the Ramseys' Lawyers

“	I'm not stopping my breakfasts with Bryan. I've known him for 20 years.	”
–Peter Hofstrom, 1997

Hofstrom and Hunter had worked with John Ramseys' lawyer Michael Bynum in the DA's office in the mid 1970s. Hofstrom had a longstanding friendship with John Ramsey's lawyer Bryan Morgan and they breakfasted together frequently both before and during their involvement with the case. Prior to the crime, Hostrom's family was a member of the same church as the Ramsey family and Mike Bynum, St. John's Episcopal Church. Neither Hofstrom nor the Ramseys have ever commented on whether they were known to each other prior to the crime.

Participation in the Ramsey case

Discussions with Ramseys' Lawyers on Day Two

By day two (December 27), the Haddon Morgan firm was involved in the Ramseys defense case. Bynum

Removal from the Case

In 1998, the DA's office's conduct in this case came under intense criticism with the publication of Detective Steve Thomas's resignation letter and an exposé in Vanity Fair magazine. DA Alex Hunter's refusal to call a Grand Jury and concessions to the prime suspects were condemned by legal analysts.

Governor Roy Romer, backed by a panel of Colorado District Attorneys, informed Alex Hunter that he would be replaced by a special prosecutor if he did not replace his existing Ramsey case attorneys, hire new, more experienced prosecutors, and convene a Grand Jury. One member of Hunter's staff remarked "it was him or them". Hunter chose to save himself. He removed Peter Hofstrom and Trip DeMuth from the case, and convened a Grand Jury conducted by Mike Kane.

Hunter later confirmed that Hofstrom and DeMuth had been removed from the case because "some objectivity had been lost".

Ramseys' Lawyers Reaction

Paula Woodward notes that "for the Ramsey lawyers, the decision to switch prosecutors on the case was devastating." One of the Ramseys' lawyers, Bryan Morgan, said that after hearing the news of Hofstrom's ousting "I don't remember ever being lower in my life". "Peter was the firewall" he said. Ramsey attorney Hal Haddon criticized the "purge" of Hofstrom and Demuth, saying they were replaced by "prosecutors who were pro-police and thus anti-Ramsey".

The Grand Jury proceeded without Hofstrom's involvement and voted to charge the Ramseys with multiple felonies, however Alex Hunter opted not to proceed with the charges, and did not inform the general public of the Jury's decision.

Later Statements

Hofstrom continued to work for the District Attorney's office, on other cases, and retired in 2005.

On his retirement, he was praised by then-District Attorney Mary Lacy, who recounted an incident in court in which Hofstrom had "nearly knocked himself unconscious" by punching and slapping himself in the face in an attempt to convince jurors "how hands can be lethal". Lacy described him as "a tremendous litigator."

During his later life Hofstrom maintained a low profile. An independent TV presenter, Jann Scott, discussed the case with Hofstrom during his later life. "Hofstrom was essentially the author of the “Intruder Theory” in JonBenet's murder."

"Peter told me and insisted that “there was no evidence to suggest that the Ramsey’s murdered their own daughter. “He talked a lot about “evidence, motive, lack of family abuse or violence.” ... “He said, the Ramseys “absolutely did not murder their child and that everything pointed to a killer who knew what he was doing.”"