02-03-2024, 03:37 PM
Does year 27 mark new beginning in the JonBenet investigation?
After two recent meetings with Boulder law enforcement, JonBenet Ramsey’s family believes the relationship which has often been at a standoff between the two sides may have turned a corner.
JonBenet’s father and oldest brother hope that Boulder's promise to take a new look at evidence will solve the nearly 27-year-old case before it turns 30.
John Ramsey, along with his oldest son John Andrew, met with Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold and Deputy Chief Stephen Redfearn on Jan. 20, 2023 and that group with the addition of Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty met again this past June 1.
John Ramsey has maintained that he and his wife, Patsy are innocent in JonBenet’s death, but for years the couple were considered "under the umbrella of suspicion" for the crime.
When asked if John and Patsy Ramsey are still considered suspects or persons of interest in the case, a Boulder police spokesperson said that because "this is an open and ongoing investigation, we’re unable to give any interviews or comment on specific aspects of this crime."
Mrs. Ramsey died in 2006 of ovarian cancer at the age of 49. John Ramsey remarried and has continued to pressure the Boulder police to look at alternative suspects.
It’s not new for his oldest son, John Andrew, 47, to discuss the case face-to-face with Boulder police, but he said that in meetings before, he never felt that the investigative team was aggressively pursuing anyone else besides his father and stepmother.
The meetings this year felt different.
“We have trust that they are doing the right thing,” said John Andrew. “I told them that I am not interested in litigating the past.”
JonBenet Ramsey was first reported missing from her home in Boulder on the morning of December 26, 1996. Patsy Ramsey said she found a three-page ransom note, demanding $118,000 for the child's safe return, on the bottom steps of a spiral staircase on the ground floor of the family's upscale Boulder home near Chatauqua Park. Later that day, the child's body was found in the basement by her father.
Since then, the Boulder Police Department has investigated thousands of leads including more than 21,000 tips, letters, and emails, according to officials.
Dougherty told The Denver Gazette that they are taking inventory of all of the physical evidence “verifying that it has been tested using the latest technology and advanced methods.”
In a key statement, Dougherty said, "Whether it is DNA or other evidence, more is needed if this tragic murder is ever to be solved."
The sensitivity of DNA testing has vastly improved in the last six years with the introduction of Investigative Genetic Genealogy, which applies advanced sequencing technologies to forensic DNA evidence samples. It then uses genetic genealogy methods and genealogical research, to come up with possible identities of people who have committed violent crimes. It's also used to identify human remains.
John Andrew noted that “items that had been previously tested should be evaluated for new testing."
The Ramseys believe that DNA is a critical piece of the puzzle in a case which has confounded investigators for decades, but not everyone agrees with them.
Former Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett has said in previous interviews with The Denver Gazette that the JonBenet Ramsey murder is not a DNA case. He has always maintained that her death will not be solved by identifying who the DNA belongs to, saying the case will be solved using the “totality of the evidence.” He is now in private practice with Garnett, Powell, Maximon and Barlow in Boulder.
As DA, Garnett sent several items of evidence from the unsolved case to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for DNA testing in 1996. The tests also tapped into an FBI database that includes genetic profiles from more than 15.1 million known offenders and arrestees, but did not match anyone.
This time around, a Boulder investigative team is in the process of digitizing boxes of case files in preparation for an upcoming Cold Case review team meeting, according to Dougherty. He said that a date hadn't been set for that meeting.
Why haven’t those files been digitized before? Boulder Police spokesperson Dionne Waugh texted that “new leadership and new eyes are bringing different perspectives to this investigation.”
Dougherty said that the FBI, the Colorado Department of Public Safety and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation will also be part of the renewed effort.
Herold began her tenure as Boulder chief in April 2020 and was the first lead ever brought in from outside of the department since JonBenet Ramsey’s Dec. 1996 murder. Deputy Chief Redfearn joined the Boulder force in 2021, after more than two decades of experience
Notably, one of the lead investigators who was on the Ramsey case from the beginning was removed from the investigation Nov. 1 last year when he was disciplined along with four other officers. Commander Thomas Trujillo received an involuntary transfer to patrol division, a three-day suspension and placed on a performance improvement plan after an internal audit that uncovered misconduct.
John Andrew said that he’s now going to give the Boulder police space to get the work done. “This is what we’ve been asking for 26 years,” he said.
JonBenet Ramsey would have been 33 years old had she lived.
- Carol McKinley carol.mckinley@gazette.com
- Oct 2, 2023 Updated Feb 1, 2024
![[Image: 645c6d8f5198d.image.jpg]](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/denvergazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/ac/2acf1702-6173-11ee-adf7-bf9821678277/645c6d8f5198d.image.jpg)
After two recent meetings with Boulder law enforcement, JonBenet Ramsey’s family believes the relationship which has often been at a standoff between the two sides may have turned a corner.
JonBenet’s father and oldest brother hope that Boulder's promise to take a new look at evidence will solve the nearly 27-year-old case before it turns 30.
John Ramsey, along with his oldest son John Andrew, met with Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold and Deputy Chief Stephen Redfearn on Jan. 20, 2023 and that group with the addition of Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty met again this past June 1.
John Ramsey has maintained that he and his wife, Patsy are innocent in JonBenet’s death, but for years the couple were considered "under the umbrella of suspicion" for the crime.
When asked if John and Patsy Ramsey are still considered suspects or persons of interest in the case, a Boulder police spokesperson said that because "this is an open and ongoing investigation, we’re unable to give any interviews or comment on specific aspects of this crime."
Mrs. Ramsey died in 2006 of ovarian cancer at the age of 49. John Ramsey remarried and has continued to pressure the Boulder police to look at alternative suspects.
It’s not new for his oldest son, John Andrew, 47, to discuss the case face-to-face with Boulder police, but he said that in meetings before, he never felt that the investigative team was aggressively pursuing anyone else besides his father and stepmother.
The meetings this year felt different.
“We have trust that they are doing the right thing,” said John Andrew. “I told them that I am not interested in litigating the past.”
JonBenet Ramsey was first reported missing from her home in Boulder on the morning of December 26, 1996. Patsy Ramsey said she found a three-page ransom note, demanding $118,000 for the child's safe return, on the bottom steps of a spiral staircase on the ground floor of the family's upscale Boulder home near Chatauqua Park. Later that day, the child's body was found in the basement by her father.
Since then, the Boulder Police Department has investigated thousands of leads including more than 21,000 tips, letters, and emails, according to officials.
Dougherty told The Denver Gazette that they are taking inventory of all of the physical evidence “verifying that it has been tested using the latest technology and advanced methods.”
In a key statement, Dougherty said, "Whether it is DNA or other evidence, more is needed if this tragic murder is ever to be solved."
The sensitivity of DNA testing has vastly improved in the last six years with the introduction of Investigative Genetic Genealogy, which applies advanced sequencing technologies to forensic DNA evidence samples. It then uses genetic genealogy methods and genealogical research, to come up with possible identities of people who have committed violent crimes. It's also used to identify human remains.
John Andrew noted that “items that had been previously tested should be evaluated for new testing."
The Ramseys believe that DNA is a critical piece of the puzzle in a case which has confounded investigators for decades, but not everyone agrees with them.
Former Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett has said in previous interviews with The Denver Gazette that the JonBenet Ramsey murder is not a DNA case. He has always maintained that her death will not be solved by identifying who the DNA belongs to, saying the case will be solved using the “totality of the evidence.” He is now in private practice with Garnett, Powell, Maximon and Barlow in Boulder.
As DA, Garnett sent several items of evidence from the unsolved case to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for DNA testing in 1996. The tests also tapped into an FBI database that includes genetic profiles from more than 15.1 million known offenders and arrestees, but did not match anyone.
This time around, a Boulder investigative team is in the process of digitizing boxes of case files in preparation for an upcoming Cold Case review team meeting, according to Dougherty. He said that a date hadn't been set for that meeting.
Why haven’t those files been digitized before? Boulder Police spokesperson Dionne Waugh texted that “new leadership and new eyes are bringing different perspectives to this investigation.”
Dougherty said that the FBI, the Colorado Department of Public Safety and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation will also be part of the renewed effort.
Herold began her tenure as Boulder chief in April 2020 and was the first lead ever brought in from outside of the department since JonBenet Ramsey’s Dec. 1996 murder. Deputy Chief Redfearn joined the Boulder force in 2021, after more than two decades of experience
Notably, one of the lead investigators who was on the Ramsey case from the beginning was removed from the investigation Nov. 1 last year when he was disciplined along with four other officers. Commander Thomas Trujillo received an involuntary transfer to patrol division, a three-day suspension and placed on a performance improvement plan after an internal audit that uncovered misconduct.
John Andrew said that he’s now going to give the Boulder police space to get the work done. “This is what we’ve been asking for 26 years,” he said.
JonBenet Ramsey would have been 33 years old had she lived.