Death of a Little Princess : The Tragic Story of the Murder of JonBenet Ramsey

When Carlton Smith completed this book in May 1997, the mysterious beating/strangulation murder of 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey had not been solved, which placed, of course, an inherent limitation on what could be said about the case. Nonetheless, Death of a Little Princess is a well-written and readable summary, including a succinct portrait of the Ramsey family and computer business; the key events in the investigation; profiles of Boulder, Colorado, Police Chief Tom Koby and District Attorney Alex Hunter; a chronological account of the media reaction to the murder itself and to the topic of child beauty pageants; and details on the developing feud between the Ramsey "dream team" and the separate groups of the police department and the district attorney's office. Even those who've been following the case closely will be interested in the results of ex-FBI criminal profiler Robert Ressler's consultation on the case, reported in an interview with the author.