TCP Ep 42: John Wesley Anderson and the Jon Benet Ramsey Case
It is good to be back. I had to take a break from the podcast so I could finish up edits on Ty Benhoff two. I also wanted to change some stuff around on the podcast so thank you for your patience.
Getting right back into it though, tonight I’m talking to John Wesley Anderson about his new book Lou and Jon Benet, an outstanding story about Homicide Detective Lou Smit, and his quest to find Jon Benet Ramsey’s killer.
John Wesley Anderson, MBA, is a published author, storyteller, and TEDx speaker. He enjoyed a 30-year law enforcement career and was twice elected Sheriff for El Paso County, Colorado (1995-2003). Prior to serving as Sheriff, John was employed with the Colorado Springs Police Department and retired at the rank of sergeant (1972-1995). After being term-limited as Sheriff, in 2003, John went to work for the Lockheed Martin Corporation, where he focused on corporate and homeland security initiatives and advanced technology development. In 2012, he retired from the corporate world to launch a consulting company, JW Anderson & Associates, LTD., allowing him the freedom to pursue his passion for writing, history and the arts. Although John has traveled around the world, including several adventures on a catamaran sailing the Caribbean, three corporate security assignments into a combat zone on the Horn of Africa, and landing on an aircraft carrier at sea in the Pacific Ocean, he remains most fascinated by the rich history and art discovered in his own backyard in the American Southwest.
John and a team comprised of retired detectives and the Smit family continue the hunt for Jon Benet’s killer. Please consider donating to their GoFundMe at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/JonBenet-Lou-Smits-family-searches-for-justice.
About Lou and Jon Benet.
On Christmas Night 1996, six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado. A ransom note was found in the home, but it was hours before her father, John, found her body in the basement. She had been strangled with a garrote and her skull was fractured.
The media sensationalized the tragic death of the “child beauty queen” and public speculation and rumors ran rampant. What followed was one of the most notorious unsolved murder investigations in American history.
Boulder police fixated on JonBenet’s parents as suspects. Needing investigative help, the Boulder DA brought in legendary homicide detective Lou Smit. However, he was soon disenchanted with law enforcement’s obsession with the Ramsey family as the primary suspects, excluding other possibilities.
Smit resigned but continued to work on his own time, and at his own expense, determined to find justice for JonBenet. He determined the Ramsey family was not involved in her death but died in 2010 before he could identify the killer.
Thousands of people attended his funeral service, including John Ramsey, and the detective’s lifelong friend and colleague, John Anderson. Along with a handful of retired detectives, Anderson and Smit’s family continue to pursue justice based on Smit’s work.
Now, for the first time in LOU AND JONBENET, Anderson tells the story of Smit’s investigation and why the Smit family team now believes that the killer can be identified.
To learn more about John and his writing check out his Meet the Author page on the WildBlue website.
Don't forget to check out Blood Red Ivory on amazon or where ever books are sold. Ty Benhoff two coming soon.
Thanks to Crush Limbo for the music.