The day after Christmas in 1996, a 6-year-old beauty queen lost her life. JonBenét Ramsey‘s parents awoke that morning unable to find their daughter. Then, JonBenét’s mother, Patsy Ramsey, found a ransom note saying her daughter had been kidnapped. She immediately called the police.
The police were not able to immediately locate the girl, and one of the the investigators told JonBenét’s father, John Ramsey, that maybe he should look around for her, so he did. That’s when he discovered his daughter dead on the floor in the basement.
According to John, the Boulder Police Department was quick to jump to the conclusion that either he or his wife killed their little girl. Meanwhile, the media was hooked on the fact that JonBenét was a beauty queen, and many pointed fingers at Patsy claiming that she forced her daughter to go to all of these pageants.
In the end, JonBenét’s parents were officially cleared of being involved in their daughter’s death. This was due to DNA from a third party that was found on JonBenét’s pajama pants during a police investigation in 2008. Unfortunately, Patsy didn’t live long enough to see her name cleared. She died of cancer in 2006.
John’s life goal still remains to solve the mystery of who killed his daughter. This cold case is far from closed. In fact, new technology might make it possible to find the killer in just a few hours if the DNA is given to the right investigators.
John Andrew Ramsey, JonBenét’s half-brother who was 23 at the time of her death and not even in the same state at the time, has also made it his life goal to find out who killed his half-sister. Part of this effort includes a change.org petition to Colorado Governor Jared Polis requesting that the governor “put Ramsey DNA testing decisions in the hands of a new agency that’s free from Boulder’s significant history with the case.” The petition currently has close to 29,000 signatures.
It seems that there may be hope that the Ramsey family’s request will be granted, and the killer may be brought to justice. A news release on November 9, 2022, explains that the Boulder Police Department has had “several discussions with private DNA labs about the viability of continued testing of DNA recovered from the crime scene and genetic genealogy analysis.” Police Chief Maris Herold said, “This crime has left a hole in the hearts of many, and we will never stop investigating until we find JonBenet’s killer. That includes following up on every lead and working with our policing partners and DNA experts around the country to solve this tragic case. This investigation has always been and will continue to be a priority for the Boulder Police Department.”
Watch the video below to hear more about JonBenét’s murder, the investigation, and why her father doesn’t necessarily trust the Boulder Police Department when it comes to solving the mystery of his daughter’s murder.
