JonBenet Ramsey Case Takes Strange Turn As Police Say Psychiatrist Was Murdered In String Of Arizona Deaths

It’s been 22 years since JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in Boulder, Colorado, and police have yet to identify the killer. In a strange turn of events though, Steve Pitt, the forensic psychiatrist who worked on the JonBenet case, was shot dead Thursday outside of his office in Phoenix. Three more incidents have happened since then, and police are saying that at least three of them are connected.

The Phoenix New Times reports that witnesses told police that they heard arguing outside Pitt’s office about 5:30 p.m. on May 31 before a shot rang out, and Steve was found dead. Authorities have released a sketch of the suspect that shows a white male with a dark cap, but they have yet to determine his name or whereabouts. Vincent Lewis of the Phoenix Police Department indicated that, because the two were arguing, they believe that Steve Pitt may have known his killer.

Fifty-nine-year-old Steve Pitt worked on multiple high-profile cases including the one in 2005 and 2006 for the Arizona serial killer known as the Baseline Killer. Pitt played a key role in identifying Mark Goudeau as the killer who was subsequently found guilty of nine counts of murder, 15 sexual assaults, 11 kidnappings, and multiple armed robberies. Pitt was brought into the JonBenet Ramsey case just two months after her death. The child beauty queen was only 6-years-old at the time of her death. Despite multiple leads, her killer has never been identified. Steve Pitt also worked as a consultant in the Columbine school shooting case.

The shooting death of a prominent forensic psychiatrist who assisted in high-profile murder cases including serial killings in Phoenix is connected to the killings of two paralegals, said authorities in Arizona. (Corrects link.)https://t.co/WEGKL1NFnF

— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 3, 2018

The second and third killings that police believe are connected to Pitt’s death happened in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale according to NBC News. The victims were 48-year-old Veleria Sharp and 49-year-old Laura Anderson. Both women worked as paralegals at the Burt, Feldman, Grenier law office. One of the victims managed to flee the building to look for help after being shot in the head but died on the way to the hospital. Police discovered the other woman when they followed the first woman’s trail of blood into the office. Police have declined to reveal the connection of this double homicide and indicated the investigation is ongoing.

Scottsdale police became aware of the fourth victim when they received a phone call about 10 minutes after midnight Saturday morning notifying them that a man had been found dead from a gunshot inside an office building. Sergeant Ben Hoster did not provide the name of the caller but said that they knew the deceased. The office is located in an office park made up mostly of offices for therapists and counselors. Police have not yet determined whether this latest killing is related to the other three that have taken place since Thursday.