Detectives continue to look for potential leads in the decades-old mystery of JonBenét Ramsey’s murder. JonBenét was six years old when her family reported her missing from their Colorado home on December 26, 1996. The same day, the girl’s father found her dead body in the basement.
The unsolved case has garnered significant media attention over the decades and recently resurfaced after a crime lab conducted new DNA testing. The Messenger reported that this might help clear JonBenét’s family members of suspicion for good this time. They have previously become targets of rigorous investigation and harsh accusations.
Authorities have previously told the outlet that they don’t expect “the familial DNA to be a Ramsey or even a distant Ramsey relative. We expect it to be someone completely unrelated.” They ruled the victim’s family and others close to them out as suspects.
New DNA testing in JonBenét Ramsey’s unsolved case
Detectives have used DNA evidence on JonBenét Ramsey’s clothes and underneath her fingernails during the initial stages of the investigation. However, the evidence that once seemed crucial to the case has failed to prove fruitful in solving the same. Nonetheless, they used the DNA to clear JonBenét’s parents as suspects after learning that it belonged to an unknown person.
According to CNN, in 2006, authorities arrested John Mark Karr as a suspect after he admitted to drugging JonBenét and also sexually assaulting her. Karr also claimed that he accidentally killed the girl. Prosecutors eventually dropped the case against him after failing to directly link him to the crime scene.
The Messenger reported that the Boulder Police Department is now working with the FBI, the DA’s Office, the Colorado Department of Public Safety, and Colorado’s Bureau of Investigation. Moreover, a crime lab recently completed new DNA testing. Authorities now hope to find potential leads and solve the mysterious case. As of now, the results are yet to be released.
A law enforcement source told the outlet, “Time will tell if this is the evidence needed to solve this case. I hope we get answers, and more importantly, I hope her family finally gets answers.”
JonBenét Ramsey’s mother, Patsy, first reported her missing on December 26, 1996. Hours later, John, the girl’s father, found the body in the basement. Officials also reported that the six-year-old’s mother had also found a strange ransom note that demanded $118,000. The killer had strangled the six-year-old to death using a garrote. She had also suffered a fatal blow to the head, which resulted in a fractured skull. The official cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation.
The Messenger also stated that the girl’s father, John Ramsey, who was once a suspect in the case, spoke about the DNA in a NewsNation show. He said, “We know there’s evidence that was taken from the crime scene that was never tested for DNA. There are a few cutting-edge labs that have the latest technology.”
John continued, “And then, use the public genealogy database with whatever information we get to research and basically do a backwards family tree. He believes this “has been wildly successful in solving some very old cases.”
The father deemed law enforcement’s renewed efforts to crack the decades-old murder case “encouraging.” He also praised the new leadership at the Boulder Police Department for their “commitment to get this solved.”
