Nearly 28 years after the gruesome murder of JonBenét Ramsey, the young beauty queen’s father is speaking out — saying the murder can be solved if Boulder police work with other agencies to solve the case.
“There have been terrible failures,” John Ramsey, 80, told “Today” on Thursday. “But I believe it can be solved if the police accept help from outside their system. That was their fault.”
“For years, the police department had, in my opinion, very poor leadership; they wanted us to stay away from them,” he added.
“The man who investigated our case was a car theft investigator before our case. I never criticized them for not having experience; I criticized them for refusing help from people who had it. And it was offered.”
The murder of Little JonBenét has puzzled authorities since the early morning hours of December 26, 1996, when the six-year-old beauty queen was reported missing from her sprawling home in Boulder, Colorado.
Hours later, John Ramsey found the little girl’s body in the basement of the house. She had a garrote around her neck and her skull had been fractured by an apparent blow to the back of the head.
Police initially focused on JonBenét’s family: father John; mother Patsy; and brother Burke. But fifteen days after the murder, a DNA report seemingly ruled them out as suspects. They were formally acquitted in 2008 by the then public prosecutor.
In the 28 years that have passed, no one has ever been held accountable for JonBenét’s murder.
Last December, the city of Boulder issued a press release who claimed the murder is being investigated by a multi-agency task force – and that they hope new technologies will lead to a solution.
“Recently, the Boulder Police Department (BPD) convened a panel of outside experts (Colorado Cold Case Review Team) to review the murder investigation of JonBenét Ramsey,” the statement said.
“The purpose of the review was to generate additional investigative recommendations and determine whether updated technologies and/or forensic testing could provide new information or clues to solve the case.”
The team included the FBI, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Boulder Police Department, the Boulder District Attorney’s Office, the Colorado Department of Public Safety and Colorado’s Bureau of Investigation.
But after the promising press release, the case remains frustratingly unsolved — and the Ramsey family says Boulder police must do more.
“They have to accept the help that is offered to them,” lamented John Ramsey. ‘A new police chief has been appointed from outside. I hope he accepts help so this can be resolved.”
