`Santa Claus' Is Probed In Slaying Of Jonbenet

BOULDER, Colo. - A man who played Santa Claus in the home of JonBenet Ramsey during a party three days before she was found slain has given hair and handwriting samples to police.

The Rocky Mountain News reported yesterday that police re-interviewed Bill McReynolds, who played Santa Claus on Dec. 23, and his wife, Janet, and collected the samples from them last week. They were also interviewed Feb. 7.

JonBenet, 6, was found slain in the basement of her home Dec. 26. There are reports she may have been sexually assaulted. Police are interested in the couple because of two parallels to the Ramsey slaying, the newspaper reported.

On Dec. 26, 1974, the couple's 9-year-old daughter was abducted with a friend and witnessed the sexual molestation of her friend. No one was arrested.

Another parallel is that Janet McReynolds, 64, wrote "Hey Rube" in 1976, a play about the sexual assault, torture and murder of a girl whose body is found in a basement.

Bill McReynolds, 67, said he had nothing to do with the killing and said his wife "could never be a suspect." He said his daughter's abduction and his wife's play are just coincidences.

The couple told police that they went to bed at 8 p.m. on Dec. 25. JonBenet died between Christmas night and dawn the next day.

"They've always said they're doing this for the purpose of exclusion," Janet McReynolds said of the police request for hair and handwriting samples. "I'm sure we're very far down the list of potential suspects."