A retired detective who returned to active duty to assist in the drawn-out homicide investigation of the then 6-year-old Jon Benet Ramsey quit his job as a "special investigator" with the Boulder County, Colorado, District Attorney's Office.
According to the Reuters News Agency, Detective Lou Smit reduced his input into the investigation in July, stating that his wife was ill. Althought Boulder County DA Alex Hunter, stated that he was unable to release Smit's letter of resignation, and Smit has given no public indication of why he quit, some say that his wife's illness was the reason.
Smit was a detective with the Boulder Springs, Colorado, Police before retiring, and had a high success rate dealing with homicide investigations.
Smit is the second resignation of a detective directly associated with the Ramsey investigation. The first, Detective Steve Thomas, resigned after 13 years on the job, and after sending a blistering letter to his chief stating that he was resigning because of the botched Ramsey investigation. Thomas originally told superiors that he was quiting because of a personal medical ailment.
What effect this recent resignation will have on the investigation, which has been going on for almost two years, is not known. But published reports, as well as Det. Thomas' letter, have made it well known that the investigation has been in turmoil almost from the start, due to mistakes made in the initial moments, to the obvious political influences that have made the death of a six-year-old an international topic, as well as a prime example of what these influences will do to legitimate attempts to seek out justice.
