JonBenet Ramsey murder: John Ramsey wants new probe by INDEPENDENT investigators NOT Boulder PD
This article contains information about sexual assault that could be traumatic for some readers. Discretion is advised.
BOULDER, COLORADO: Slain beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey’s father, John Ramsey, is seeking an independent investigation and additional DNA testing in his daughter's 1996 murder, which is still unsolved. John wants an independent agency to do the testing, and not the Boulder Police Department. He has addressed his petition to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
"It’s a petition to hopefully get the state of Colorado to intervene and have the items from the crime scene that should be tested for DNA that haven’t been tested,” John Ramsey told Fox News during an interview at CrimeCon 2022 in Las Vegas. "It’s gonna take a lot of help to get that moving,” he added. “Governments are very reactive. … And we’re talking about politicians, we want them to do the right thing and if they know there’s enough people behind it asking them to do the right thing, they’ll get behind it.”
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"The ensuing years have brought false investigative starts, wild conspiracy theories, and a seemingly infinite number of accusations against nearly everyone involved with the case," the petition says. The one thing the years have not brought is an arrest.
"JonBenét Ramsey deserves justice and new advances in DNA technology finally make that possible. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, you are the only person with enough power and independence in the state to put Ramsey DNA testing decisions in the hands of a new agency that’s free from Boulder’s significant history with the case," adds the petition.
"Boulder Police are working hard to placate the public by telling the media that they hope DNA will solve this case while, at the same time, doing very little to make that happen. And it makes sense: the same two key investigators from 1996 still have control of the case. Isn’t it time for new perspectives and ideas?" it continues. "In short, justice for JonBenét has seemingly given way to politics and the massaging of egos. She deserves better. Everyone, from the police to the family, should have a vested interest in finding the truth. The fact that those with the ability to do that are not doing it should tell us everything we need to know.
"Governor Polis, you were born in Boulder 15 years before JonBenét. You have a connection to the city. Your intervention in the Colorado truck driver case shows you have compassion. You have the power. Given the lack of progress by the Boulder Police, we the undersigned petitioners ask you to move DNA decisions in this case away from the BPD to an independent agency so that JonBenét has a last chance at the justice she deserves," it concludes.
Over two decades after JonBenet Ramsey was killed, police say that DNA profiling has not yet been ruled out to help solve the chilling case. On December 26, 1996, the six-year-old beauty queen was found dead in the basement of her family’s Boulder home. Ramsey had been bludgeoned and strangled to death. Her mother had called 911 to report her daughter missing and shortly after, the girl's body was found. Ramsey's death was ruled a homicide, but nobody was ever charged for her murder.
Boulder police recently said that they are working closely with state investigators on “future DNA advancements." “As the department continues to use new technology to enhance the investigation, it is actively reviewing genetic DNA testing processes to see if those can be applied to this case moving forward,” police said. Several suspects have been identified in recent years by comparing DNA profiles from crime scenes and to DNA testing results shared online by people researching their family trees. One of these suspects was the Golden State Killer in California.
Back in 2008, newly discovered DNA on Ramsey's clothing suggested there could be the involvement of an “unexplained third party” in her murder. The new discovery pointed at the fact that her killers were not her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, or their son, Burke. The Ramseys were thus cleared of any involvement in the case.
The autopsy of JonBenet's body showed that she had been killed by strangulation and a skull fracture. The official cause of death was listed as "asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma." The autopsy did not show any signs of conventional rape, but sexual assault was not ruled out. Although there was no semen found, there was evidence of a vaginal injury. The pathologist also noted that it appeared her vaginal area had been wiped with a cloth.
In December 2003, foreign investigators extracted enough material from a mixed blood sample found on JonBenet's underwear to establish the DNA profile of an unknown male person. This DNA profile was then used to rule out JonBenet's parents as suspects in the murder. To date, the DNA sample has not been matched with any profile in the FBI's CODIS.
Over the years, many possible suspects for JonBenet's murder have cropped up. Significant among these is former school teacher John Mark Karr, who randomly owned up to the murder in 2006. However, he was cleared when the DNA analysis did not match his to the profile found on the scene.