Almost 28 years have passed since 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey’s tragic death, and her killer has still not been caught. The haunting mystery of what happened to the child beauty queen in her Colorado home has puzzled investigators and gripped the nation. Now, a new Netflix documentary takes a fresh look at the case and explores whether modern technology could finally bring answers.
For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, BuzzTrail is the only truly international newsletter.
By subscribing you accept our privacy policy.
The series, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, dives into the chilling details of that December 1996 night and includes emotional interviews with her father, John Ramsey. At 80 years old, John still fights to uncover the truth while living under the shadow of suspicion, even though he and his late wife, Patsy, were officially cleared in 2008.
Reflecting on the early investigation, John says the police weren’t equipped to handle such a high-profile case. “From the start, we knew they didn’t have the experience or resources,” he told CNN. Despite his frustration, he holds out hope that advances in forensic science, like genetic genealogy, could finally reveal JonBenét’s killer.
A Young Star and Unwanted Attention
By age six, JonBenét was already a local celebrity. She’d won countless pageant titles, from Little Miss Colorado to National Tiny Miss Beauty. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Patsy—a former Miss West Virginia—JonBenét often donned glittering gowns and crowns. Just a week before her death, she waved to crowds at a Christmas parade with her name displayed on her float.
But the spotlight may have brought the wrong kind of attention. On Christmas night, 1996, JonBenét returned home with her family after dinner with friends. Her mother, Patsy, tucked her into bed. By the next morning, the little girl was gone—her body discovered in the basement, her life cruelly taken.
The Bizarre Ransom Note
That morning, Patsy found something strange: a handwritten ransom note on the stairs. It demanded $118,000—the exact amount of John’s Christmas bonus. The note, scrawled on paper from Patsy’s notepad, spoke of a kidnapping. But JonBenét wasn’t missing; her body was still in the house.
Her father and a family friend made the heartbreaking discovery in the basement. JonBenét had been strangled with a cord and suffered a skull fracture. The rope appeared to be tied to a broken paintbrush from Patsy’s art supplies. Evidence also suggested the child had been sexually assaulted.
A Troubled Investigation
The initial investigation was riddled with mistakes. Police failed to secure the crime scene, allowing family friends and officers to walk freely through the house, potentially contaminating evidence. Instead of exploring other leads, law enforcement zeroed in on John and Patsy, a move that John says cost precious time.
“They focused on us and stopped looking elsewhere,” John said. “We begged them to keep searching, but they refused outside help that could have made a difference.”
Despite these errors, the Boulder Police Department insists they’ve never stopped working on the case. They’ve recently called in outside experts to reexamine the evidence with updated forensic techniques, including advanced DNA testing.
The DNA Breakthrough
In 2008, DNA testing cleared the Ramsey family of suspicion. A sample found in JonBenét’s underwear matched an unknown male and excluded John, Patsy, and their son, Burke. Further testing revealed the same DNA on JonBenét’s long johns, suggesting the killer had pulled them down before redressing her.
Investigators hope modern genetic genealogy—a method used to solve cold cases like the Golden State Killer—could be the key. By tracing family trees through public DNA databases, experts believe they could finally identify the unknown man.
A Grand Jury’s Secret Decision
In 1998, a grand jury reviewed the case. Over 13 months, they heard from witnesses, including JonBenét’s brother Burke, but not her parents. In 1999, the jury secretly voted to indict John and Patsy for child abuse resulting in death and being accessories to the crime. However, the district attorney refused to press charges, citing insufficient evidence.
Years later, the indictment became public, raising more questions than answers. By then, the DNA evidence had already exonerated the family.
A False Confession
In 2006, a teacher named John Mark Karr was arrested in Thailand after claiming responsibility for JonBenét’s death. Karr said he loved the girl and that her death was accidental. But his DNA didn’t match the evidence, and authorities dismissed him as a suspect.
A Family’s Endless Grief
After nearly three decades, the Ramsey family continues to mourn. Patsy passed away from cancer in 2006, never seeing her name cleared. John, now remarried and living in Utah, says the pain of losing JonBenét never goes away.
Though he participated in the Netflix documentary, John admitted he can’t bear to watch it. “It’s too hard emotionally,” he said. Still, he hopes it will reignite interest in solving the case.
Advances in DNA technology bring renewed optimism. Investigators have chased 21,000 tips and interviewed over 1,000 people, but the killer remains at large. John and the filmmakers behind the documentary believe that with tools like genetic genealogy, JonBenét’s killer could finally be unmasked.
“We’ve seen breakthroughs in other cases,” said director Joe Berlinger. “There’s hope that science can bring justice for JonBenét.”
