Free Perfect Murder, Perfect Town by Lawrence Schiller Page B

of Colorado. Bynum also got his law degree at CU and worked briefly as a deputy DA in Boulder before becoming a specialist in business planning, acquisitions, and commercial transactions. Bynum had a saying: when it comes to murder, it doesn’t matter if you’re guilty or innocent—you need an attorney.
    Shortly after noon that Saturday, without consulting John or Patsy, Bynum told Detective Arndt that the Ramseys would not give any more testimonial evidence without a criminal attorney present, and they would no longer share privileged information with the police. Since he was no longer a criminal attorney, Bynum called Bryan Morgan of Haddon, Morgan and Foreman in Denver, one of Colorado’s top firms. By Saturday evening, the Ramseys had retained Morgan.
    Arndt then checked with Pete Hofstrom in the DA’s office about the non-testimonial evidence the police still wanted from the Ramseys. * It was likely, Arndt knew, that according to court rulings, the Fifth Amendment and its protection against self-incrimination did not include physical evidence such as blood, hair, saliva, fingerprints, and handwriting samples.
    Hofstrom then called Michael Bynum, who confirmed that although John and Patsy refused interviews at this time, the entire family—including Burke, John Andrew, and Melinda—would give blood, hair, fingerprint, and handwriting samples. Bynum agreed that Detectives Arndt and Kim Stewart could speak to John Ramsey’s older children and his brother, Jeff, who were at the Fernies’ house.
    John Eller was unhappy with Bynum’s position. The commander acknowledged that a suspect had the right to an attorney once he was arrested, but he thought the investigative process was hindered by the courts’ liberal reading of the Sixth Amendment, which says that any person interviewed by law enforcement is entitled to counsel. For Eller, this court ruling was an unnecessary obstacle.
     
    Just after noon on Saturday, Boulder County DA Alex Hunter, who had been in Hana, a remote area on the island of Maui, without a phone or pager for the last two days, checked in with first assistant DA Bill Wise and learned about the murder. Hunter, who had been the Boulder DA for twenty-five years, often read the business section of the Daily Camera , but he didn’t recognize the family’s name and didn’t recall ever having met John or Patsy Ramsey. When Wise mentioned that Ramsey had hired private attorneys, Hunter wasn’t surprised. A man as apparently wealthy as John Ramsey would automatically retain counsel. And if the victim’s father had been Joe Schmo, Hunter knew that Boulder’s proactive public defender’s office would be right there advising Mr. Schmo just as John Ramsey’s attorneys were now advising him.
     
    Meanwhile, as Pete Hofstrom was talking to attorney Michael Bynum about the schedule for taking the Ramsey family’s blood, hair, and handwriting samples, he received a call from the police. Eller wanted the Ramseys to give the police formal interviews before they left to bury JonBenét in Atlanta, which he had learned was their intention. Eller told Hofstrom that he would withhold the child’s body until he got his interviews with the parents.
    “You didn’t get your statements in the first three days,” Hofstrom told Eller bluntly. “You may not use this method to get your statements now. It’s just not legal to withhold the body.” It was obvious to everyone that the commander wanted to rectify the mistakes made in the first hours of the case. But holding the child’s body hostage was unacceptable. “It’s illegal. It’s another mistake,” Hofstrom said. Eller said nothing.
    Hofstrom, balding, affable, and stocky, a former San Quentin prison guard, was exasperated by Eller’s thinking. If he had been the commander’s boss, he probably would have taken Eller off the case.
    When Eller hung up after this unpleasant conversation with Hofstrom, he told Larry Mason he was going to withhold the