Six years old JonBenét Ramsey was described by the American media as a beauty queen, despite the fact that she was only six years old. Her parents had entered her in children’s beauty pageants, which had brought the family attention.
When she was found murdered in the family’s basement, it was to be the beginning of a long series of books, documentaries and podcasts – all with the same starting point: “Who killed JonBenét Ramsey?”.
New methods
JonBenét’s parents have never given up hope of finding their daughter’s killer and bringing the person to justice. The now 78-year-old father, John Ramsaydemanded as recently as November 2022 that documents in the investigation be released to an independent investigative team.
PRESS CONFERENCE: Parents Patsy and John Ramsey hold a press conference after their daughter’s murder. Photo: Ric Feld / AP Photo / NTB Scanpix
The hope is that today’s methods for investigating DNA traces and other methodologies in criminal investigations will lead to the perpetrator being caught.
The parents themselves have had to endure sometimes very rough treatment from the media, and suspicion surrounding their roles in the case for years.
Suspect
It was early on Boxing Day 1996 that Patsy RamsayJonBenét’s mother, discovered that her daughter had disappeared without a trace from the family mansion in Colorado.
The police were quickly called, and the search for the daughter ended tragically with her own father finding her dead in the family’s basement. The autopsy report concluded that she had been strangled, and that she had been subjected to violence to the head.
When it was eventually made public that the family had found a ransom demand – which was exactly the same amount as John Ramsey had been paid as a bonus from work, and that the handwriting was similar to Patsy’s – a drama that has lasted almost 30 years for the Ramsey family.
CHILD BEAUTY: JonBenét’s parents entered her in several beauty pageants for children. Photo: AP Photo / Ramsey family home video / NTB Scanpix
Washed clean
The parents were completely written off the case as suspects in 2008, after fighting for years to convince the public and the legal system that they had nothing to do with their daughter’s death.
By then, JonBenét’s mother, Patsy, had been dead for two years after she lost her battle with cancer in 2006.
Despite thousands of hours of investigation, and a number of suspects, the police have not been able to come to a conclusion with a credible perpetrator. That is the reason why Jon Ramsey wanted a private investigation company to now have access to all the evidence.
IN MOURNING: John Ramsey and his son Burke at the funeral of Patsy Ramsey in 2006. She died of cancer. Photo: Ric Feld / AP / NTB Scanpix
Hoping for the technology
“Whoever is responsible for this has lived for the last 25 years in fear that technology will one day develop to the point where this murder can be solved. That day – and that technology – is here now,” John Ramsey wrote to the Boulder Police Department, seeking to convince them to hand over the material.
FUNERAL: JonBenét Ramsey was buried on December 31, 1996. Photo: Chris Rank / AP / NTB Scanpix
In addition to massive support from those closest to them, who have been convinced for years that the killer is at large, over 29,000 signatures from people involved in the case have been handed over to the authorities to put further pressure on them.
“Solving my daughter’s murder will not fill the void in my heart, but it will identify and remove a disturbed person who is out there, and potentially protect the lives of other children,” Ramsay wrote.
Criticizing the police
According to The Sun newspaper, which has written a long series of articles about the murder over the years, a 12-year-old girl, who also went to the same dance school as JonBenét, is said to have been assaulted by an unknown man.
The girl, who is called “Amy” in the American media, is said to have woken up to an unknown man, dressed in black, standing over the bed and holding his hand over her mouth. He then allegedly sexually assaulted the 12-year-old for seven minutes before he was caught off guard by “Amy’s” mother, who is said to have rushed into the room with tear gas after she heard suspicious noises from her daughter’s bedroom.
ELECTION: John Ramsay got involved in politics. Here with his wife Patsy, two years before she died of cancer. Photo: Carlos Osorio / AP / NTB Scanpix
Doubt the police
Shockingly, the same detectives who were responsible for investigating the murder of JonBenét were said to have also been investigating the assault on Amy.
No perpetrator was caught in any of the cases, but Amy’s father claims there can be no doubt that it must be the same man who killed JonBenét and abused his daughter.
John Ramsay has for years criticized the work the police have done with the investigation, and has little faith that the investigators from the so-called Cold Case group, which investigates unsolved criminal cases, will be able to get to the bottom of the case.
Promises progress
Due to the public interest and high attention to the case, the Boulder Police District has promised that the case will be moved to an investigative team that has considerably more experience and expertise in DNA investigation in 2023.
But John Ramsey would rather have the material released so that he can use a private investigative agency.
– I have never heard of this investigative unit, John Ramsay told OK Magazine.
– They say I can approach them next year. But that could mean 12 months from now. But I guess people think it doesn’t matter when this has already taken 26 years.
ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Flowers and words of remembrance at the grave of Jon Benet on the anniversary of her murder. Photo: Ric Feld / AP / NTB Scanpix
Sources:
OK Magazine
The Sun
CNN
The New Yorker
BuzzFeedNews
BBC
USAToday
