Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary series, we can only describe as equal parts baffling and intriguing, Netflix’s ‘Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?’ truly lives up to its title in every way conceivable. That’s because it incorporates not just exclusive interviews with those close to the case but also dramatic recreations as well as archival footage so as to really explore every avenue of this matter. It thus comes as no surprise there was significant mention of then-Boulder Police Department Detective Linda Arndt, whose statements concerning the case raised a lot of controversy.
Linda Arndt Allegedly Believes She Was Face to Face With JonBenét’s Killer
Although not much regarding Linda’s early life or career is known as of writing, we do know she was a Colorado native who had joined the police force at a relatively early age to serve her people. Therefore, when Patsy Ramsey dialed 911 on the morning of December 26, 1996, to report her 6-year-old daughter missing, possibly kidnapped, she was one of the first officials to arrive at the scene. In fact, she was also the one who had asked John Ramsey and a family friend to check the house again a few hours later in case they missed anything, only for it to almost immediately yield JonBenet’s remains.
According to records, as the only officer present at the scene at the time, Linda thought this to be very strange as John had essentially bee-lined to where the young girl’s body was. John has since asserted that he only went into the basement, thinking the most logical way would be to work his way up, and it was by pure chance that he found his daughter and, in a panic, decided to carry her up the stairs. In Linda’s eyes, though, he not only disturbed the scene but also behaved in a manner she thought to be strange and possibly dangerous.
As per an interview, Linda described John as “cordial,” but she had this feeling that she was face to face with JonBenet’s killer when she was on her knees examining her body. In fact, as per her statements, she felt so strange about this entire ordeal that she even made a mental note of his shoulder holster, the gun within it, and the fact she had 18 bullets on her body. This implied narrative of the Ramseys being behind their own daughter’s murder is a theory that has persisted for over three decades, but no one has ever been arrested or charged with this matter.
Linda Arndt Prefers to Lead a Quiet Life Today
Considering the backlash the Boulder Police Department was getting for not properly securing the scene beforehand, several officiers were removed from it, amongst which was Linda. Though what’s even more imperative to note is that although she continued serving her people for a while to come, things had soon changed for him, driving her to leave this life behind in 1999. She actually resigned in March, nearly a year after filing suit against former Chief Tom Koby and the city of Boulder on the grounds they violated her civil rights through a gag order that prevented her from defending her reputation after being pulled from JonBene’s murder investigation.
It’s actually unclear precisely how her suit against the former chief as well as the city concluded, yet we do know Linda left the police department for good on April 1, 1999. As per reports, she had been in the force for over 11 years, with eight of them as a detective. However, in this case, while she never named the person she said she believed killed JonBenét, she did cast suspicion toward the girl’s father during an ABC interview. Since then, from what we can tell, this 60-something-year-old has preferred to lead a life well away from the spotlight, likely surrounded by a family of her own in Penrose, Colorado.
Read More: Where is JonBenét’s Brother John Andrew Ramsey Now?
