Advances in DNA technology and heightened public interest are rekindling hopes for breakthroughs in the long-unsolved murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, a case that has remained a harrowing mystery for nearly 28 years.
As new techniques emerge and new attention is given to evidence, many are desperate for answers that can bring an end to this tragic story.
JonBenet, who was found dead in the basement of her Boulder, Colorado home in 1996, remains frozen in time. Her father, John Ramsey, has endured nearly three decades without justice, answers, or his daughter.
JonBenet Ramsey is pictured in this undated portrait.
ABL Studio/ZUMA Press Wire via Shutterstock
“JonBenet is my 6-year-old blonde daughter that I still love,” Ramsey told ABC News. “I ran into a little friend of hers on the street, who’s now, you know, 30 years old and grown up. And it was, it was a little bit of a shock. This little girl used to play with JonBenet all the time at our house. And that was a little bit to think about, well , that could be JonBenet.”
Watch the full story on “20/20,” “Forever Young: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?” Features a new interview with John Ramsey and never-before-seen footage from Barbara Walters’ iconic interview with parents John and Patsy Ramsey.
Ramsey, now 81, has renewed hope that her daughter’s killer can finally be found. He is convinced that advances in DNA technology, including genealogy which has helped solve several high-profile cold cases, are the key to solving this mystery.
“Let’s do a reverse family tree and see if he had a relative living in Boulder in 1996. That’s the interesting thing about these cold cases,” Ramsey said. “The last first arrest came out of nowhere. They weren’t on anyone’s radar. They’ve committed this horrific crime and no one has said that guy is a suspect. That’s what we’re asking the police to do.”
John and Patsy Ramsey, parents of JonBenet Ramsey, join a small Colorado local media crew after four months of silence in Boulder, Colo., May 1, 1997.
Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post via Getty Images, FILE
Over the years, Ramsey expressed frustration with police for not solving her daughter’s case. He was unhappy that he had been the prime suspect for 12 years and that the department had rejected offers of help in finding viable evidence. He recently starred in a new Netflix docuseries, “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?” The series delves into the enduring mysteries surrounding the tragic case, examining evidence, interviews and theories that have emerged over the years.
Ramsey collaborated with director Joe Berlinger to shed light on what he described as one of the most victimized families in American history.
“Obviously, he wasn’t legally wrongfully convicted, but he was wrongfully convicted,” Berlinger said. “And his wife Patsy, the family was judged criminal in the court of public opinion.”
The popular docuseries sparked a new wave of interest among viewers.
Ramsey is hopeful that recent changes in leadership at the Boulder Police Department and better communication with his family can solve the case.
The Boulder police department has reached its final examination. Last month, the current police chief released a video statement.
“How law enforcement works has changed a lot over the last 30 years,” said Stephen Redfearn. “Over the years people have pointed out many things that could have been done better and we recognize that as true. However, it is important to emphasize that we cannot go back to that terrible day in 1996, our goal is to find JonBenet Ramsey’s killer.”
That tragic day in 1996 began in the picturesque Boulder neighborhood where the Ramsey family lived. On December 26, John and Patsy Ramsey woke up to find JonBenét, the beautiful baby queen, missing.
A handwritten ransom note demanding $118,000 was found on the kitchen stairs. Seven hours later, John found his daughter’s lifeless body in a small basement room.
An autopsy determined that JonBenet had been sexually assaulted and strangled, and her skull was fractured. Unknown DNA was found under her fingernails and on her underwear.
The Ramseys quickly became suspects, even though no evidence linked them to the crime.
John and Patsy Ramsey, parents of JonBenet Ramsey, join a small Colorado local media crew after four months of silence in Boulder, Colo., May 1, 1997.
Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post via Getty Images, FILE
The family has always denied any involvement in JonBenet’s murder. However, it took the Boulder District Attorney’s Office 12 years to fully exonerate the Ramseys and their son Burke, who was 9 when his sister died.
As weeks passed without any arrests in the case, a media frenzy began to build, fueled by relentless images of JonBenet participating in beauty pageants.
Several leads emerged, including a man named John Mark Karr, who confessed to the murder in 2006. However, his DNA did not match the evidence and he was not in Boulder at the time of the murder, so it was eliminated. suspicious The case remained unsolved.
John Ramsey believes a cloud still hangs over his family as he believes there are people in the country who believe he and his late wife Patsy JonBenet, who died in 2006, are responsible for the murder.
Investigator Lou Smit, who was initially brought to the case by Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter, believed early in his investigation that the Ramseys were innocent. He thought the police should look into the possibility of an intruder.
“I’m not saying parents don’t kill their children…parents do kill their children,” Smith said in his tapes. “But (the police) are trying to say that Patsy did it. … Their actions before, during and after (JonBenet’s death) are consistent with innocent people. … They didn’t do it.”
As the investigation progressed Smit became increasingly concerned that the authorities had completely ruled out the possibility that an intruder was responsible for JonBenet’s death. Consequently, they were not looking for evidence to support this possibility.
Smit went on to say that an unidentified intruder was responsible for JonBenet’s murder. However, in 2010, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and was running out of time.
Before Smit’s death on August 11 of that year, he carefully compiled a detailed list of interesting people, hoping that his years of research would finally bear fruit. Smit passed on his files to his surviving children, including a spreadsheet with 887 names of potential suspects to be investigated. The list is extensive, but Smit’s family is determined to continue the search. Since his death, the group has removed several people from that list, according to Smit’s granddaughter Jessa Van Der Woerd. However, the process is slow due to the time and cost involved in locating each individual, obtaining their DNA and testing them.
“For over 28 years we’ve let the killer walk,” said John Ramsey. “I think it’s imperative that we investigate every credible suspect that we’ve been given.”
