Ramseys take questions

ATLANTA (AP) -- John and Patsy Ramsey's attorney said he hoped their first interview with police in two years would regain momentum following a dispute over a prosecutor's line of questioning in the death of their daughter.

Attorney L. Lin Wood told reporters that investigators' seven hours with Patsy Ramsey on Monday turned into one prosecutor's "fishing expedition" to pin 6-year-old JonBenet's killing on the parents.

Wood said prosecutor Michael Kane would not consider any suspects other than the Ramseys. "I'm not real hopeful" about further progress in the investigation, he said.

Investigators were planning to resume questioning of Patsy Ramsey at Wood's downtown Atlanta office Tuesday. An interview with John Ramsey was scheduled to follow.

Wood said Kane threatened to walk out of an interview with Patsy Ramsey when the two sides argued over questioning about fiber evidence and security precautions for JonBenet's older brother, Burke.

There was no comment from Kane or the rest of a seven-member investigative team led by Boulder, Colo., police Chief Mark Beckner. In Boulder, spokeswoman Jana Petersen said the police department would have no comment on the interviews until they are completed.

"They may never clear our names till they find the killer," John Ramsey said. "We're not here to prove our innocence or clear our name. We're here to find the killer of our daughter."

Wood said questions from the investigative team excluding Kane were mostly fair. At a break in the talks earlier Monday, Patsy Ramsey had said she was "very comfortable" with questions investigators posed to her in a morning session.

"I believe they're asking pertinent questions, so I'm happy to be there," she said.

The two sides disagreed in the afternoon session over questions about fiber evidence from the investigators who Wood said didn't disclose all they knew about the evidence.

The attorney said he also objected to questioning about Patsy Ramsey's concern for 13-year-old Burke's security at school. Wood said that questioning did nothing to help prosecutors find JonBenet's killer.

The Boulder investigators entered the interviews intending to question the Ramseys about forensic evidence and statements they made in their book, "The Death of Innocence," in which the Ramseys defend themselves and write about people they consider suspects.

JonBenet was found beaten and strangled on Dec. 26, 1996, in the basement of her family's Boulder home. No suspect has ever been named, though Beckner said her parents remain under suspicion. The Ramseys have denied any involvement.

Police first interviewed the Ramseys separately in April 1997 after months of negotiations. They were questioned separately again in June 1998.

A grand jury was convened in 1998 to investigate the slaying but disbanded without an indictment. Critics claim police botched the case early in the investigation and were overly deferential to the Ramseys, who now live in Atlanta.

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On the Net:

Ramseys' site: http://www.Ramseyfamily.com

Boulder police: http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/police