DENVER — Amid renewed interest in the murder of JonBenet Ramsey Prompted in part by a new Netflix documentary, police in Boulder, Colorado, this week refuted claims that there is viable evidence and leads about the 1996 murder of the 6-year-old girl that they are not pursuing.
JonBenet Ramsey, a beauty pageant contestant, was found dead the day after Christmas in 1996 in the basement of her family’s home in the college town of Boulder. Her body was found hours after her mother called 911 to report her daughter was missing. a ransom note was left behind. The details of the crime and video footage of JonBenet participating in parades made the case one of the most high-profile mysteries in the United States.
Police’s comments were part of their annual update on the investigation, a month before the 28th anniversary of JonBenet’s murder. Police said they released it a little early due to increased attention on the case, apparently referring to the three-part Netflix series “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey.”
In a video statement, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said the department welcomes reporting and documentaries about the killing of JonBenet, who would have turned 34 this year, as a way to generate possible new leads. He said the department is committed to solving the case but must be careful about what it shares about the investigation to protect a possible future prosecution.
“What I can tell you is that we have thoroughly investigated several people as suspects over the years and we remain open-minded about what happened as we investigate the tips that come in to detectives,” he said.
The Netflix documentary focuses on the mistakes made by the police and the ‘media circus’ surrounding the case.
JonBenet was knocked down and strangled. Her death was ruled a murder, but no one was ever prosecuted.
Police were widely criticized for mishandling the early investigation into her death, amid speculation that her family was responsible. However, a prosecutor acquitted her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, and brother Burke in 2008 based on new DNA evidence from JonBenet’s clothing that pointed to the involvement of an “unexplained third party” in her murder.
The announcement by former prosecutor Mary Lacy came two years after Patsy Ramsey died of cancer. Lacy called the Ramseys “victims of this crime.”
John Ramsey has continued to speak out to resolve the case. In 2022, he supported an online petition asking the governor of Colorado to intervene in the investigation by putting an outside agency in charge of DNA testing in the case. In the Netflix documentary he said yes plead for some items that have not been prepared for DNA testing to be tested and for other items that need to be retested. He said the results would have to be entered through a genealogical database.
In recent years, investigators have identified suspects in unsolved cases by comparing DNA profiles from crime scenes with DNA test results shared online by people researching their family trees.
In 2021, the police said this in their annual update DNA was not excluded help solve the case, noting in 2022 that certain evidence could be “consumed” if DNA tests are performed on it.
Last year, police said they had convened a panel of outside experts to review the investigation, make recommendations and determine whether updated technologies or forensic testing could yield new clues. In the latest update, Redfearn said the review had concluded, but police are continuing to work through and evaluate a “long list of recommendations” from the panel.
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Amy Beth Hanson contributed to this report from Helena, Montana.