Investigators looking at ‘new persons of interest’ in JonBenét Ramsey murder case after finishing up analyzing nearly 1,000 DNA samples and speaking to more than 1,000 people across 19 states

Investigators are believed to be looking into new people of interest in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey after analyzing nearly 1,000 DNA samples.

The six-year-old beauty pageant contestant was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado on December 26, 1996. The girl was knocked down and strangled – and several hours later her mother called 911 to say her daughter was missing and a ransom note had been left behind. She was found after a search of the basement of the family’s home.

Her death was ruled a homicide, but no one was ever charged with the murder.

In 2021, Boulder police said they had interviewed more than 1,000 people in 19 different states as part of their ongoing investigation.

Now there are ‘several’ new people on their radar, sources claim.

A police source told police Messenger: ‘There are several people on the radar.

‘New persons of interest. And we’ll see if any of these hold the key to solving this case. Time will tell if we get the answers we need. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

‘Suspects and witnesses can come from different places. It’s not just about the DNA, it’s about what happens when you investigate a very difficult case.

“There are new people to look at, to hopefully find out who killed JonBenét.”

None of the new people of interest have been mentioned. When contacted by MailOnline.com, Boulder police referred to previous case updates.

On the day after Christmas in 1996, JonBenét was reported missing and then found dead in the basement of her parents’ home in an upper-middle class neighborhood of Boulder, Colorado.

The coroner determined that the pageant girl’s cause of death was “asphyxia due to strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma,” meaning she had been strangled and beaten to death. A garrote was found around her neck.

She was covered in a white blanket with a nylon cord around her neck, her wrists tied above her head and her mouth covered with duct tape.

There was no clear evidence of rape, but police did not rule out sexual abuse.

Unmatched DNA was found under the child’s fingernails and on her clothing. A confusing ransom note demanding $118,000 was also found in the family’s home.

The country became extremely interested in the murder of the beautiful little girl, and many glamorous photos were broadcast over the airwaves because of her time in children’s pageants.

Investigators initially focused on the Ramsey family, consisting of her parents, John and Patsy, and her brother Burke. They were all eventually cleared as suspects, although this was not formal for many years.

Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer in 2006, two years before she, John and Burke would be officially removed from the suspect list. John is now 78 years old and realizes that there is little time to solve his daughter’s murder.

In a May 2022 update, police said they had followed up on 21,016 tips about the death and that her killing was “under constant review by federal, state and local partners.”

Police Chief Maris Herold said: “We have a shared goal of bringing justice – and hopefully some peace – to JonBenet’s family and everyone affected by her loss.

“Our investigation with federal, state and local partners has never stopped. That includes new ways to use DNA technology.

“We have always used state-of-the-art technology as it has been at the forefront of this research.

“Every time DNA technology changed, we tried to make sure the evidence could be tested.

“This investigation has always been and will remain a priority for the Boulder Police Department.”

Earlier this month, the man once extradited and arrested for JonBenét’s murder spoke out for the first time in years, hinting that his earlier confession may have been an attempt to “protect someone else.”

John Mark Karr, 58, claimed 17 years ago that he was with JonBenét when she died a decade earlier at her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado.

He said her death was an “accident” and that he had loved her and was “very sorry for what happened to JonBenét.”

In 2006, authorities extradited Karr from Thailand, but were ultimately unable to link him to the scene of the crime and therefore felt compelled to release him.

In an interview with The Messenger, Karr said, “I’m not crazy. I’m not delusional.’

“There is so much more to my story,” he said, adding that he has been “investigated by the FBI for many more crimes” and lives outside the U.S. “for my own safety.”

Although most ultimately dismissed Karr’s claims about his presence at the scene as elaborate lies, not everyone found the story meritless.

“Everyone was so quick to say I was a liar or delusional,” he said. “Did it ever occur to anyone that I might be trying to protect someone else?”

He declined to elaborate, but one possible explanation open to some police at the time is that Ramsey’s killer did not work alone.

When asked if he was with JonBenét when she died, or if he killed her, Karr kept quiet and said he did not want to incriminate himself as the case is still under investigation almost 27 years after the crime.

When Karr was arrested and interrogated, he knew details of the murder case that had not yet been made public. Authorities said many of his claims appeared to be supported by physical evidence.

In 2006, Karr claimed he drugged JonBenét and then had sex with her, but an autopsy revealed no drugs or alcohol in her system on blood tests.

And despite his claim that he sexually assaulted Ramsey, no semen was found on her body. However, the little girl did have minor vaginal abrasions.

The DNA evidence found on Ramsey’s undergarments did not belong to Karr. Local police believed that his DNA would have been present at the crime scene if he was telling the truth.