In a rare public statement, the Boulder Police Department is responding to a call by JonBenet Ramsey's father to take the case out of their hands and be given to an "independent" agency.
JonBenét Ramsey, who participated in child beauty pageants, was 6 years old when her parents reported her missing from their Boulder home the day after Christmas in 1996. She was found in the afternoon of Dec. 26 in the basement of the family's home, strangled, with a garrote around her neck. An autopsy later revealed she had suffered a blow to the head.
JonBenét's parents, John and Patsy, were looked at as possible suspects. But no one has ever been charged and the case remains unsolved. Patsy Ramsey died in 2006.
John Ramsey reportedly asked people at CrimeCon 2022 in Las Vegas to sign a petition to Gov. Jared Polis calling for genetic genealogy and other DNA testing to be used in investigating his daughter's 1996 death.
"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," says the petition.
"Isn’t it time for new perspectives and ideas?"
The petition had more than 1,800 signatures shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday.
In a statement Sunday evening, Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said evidence from the case has been tested each time DNA technology changed, saying sophisticated technology has been at the forefront of the case since its beginning.
“We have a shared goal to bring justice — and hopefully some peace — to JonBenet’s family and everyone who was impacted by her loss,” Herold said. “Our investigation with federal, state and local partners has never stopped."
The Boulder police's statement said to date investigators have traveled to 19 states to talk to more than 1,000 people about the crime. The department hosted a meeting with agencies and DNA experts as recently as March this year, said their statement.
A spokesperson for the governor's office said the state plans to review John Ramsey's petition "and look into how the state can assist in using new technology to further investigate this cold case and to identify JonBenét Ramsey's killer and bring him or her to justice."
In recent years, the Ramsey family has asked the Boulder Police Department to consider using new technology for genetic geneaology and other advances to investigate JonBenét's death. At the time, it was unclear what steps Boulder police were taking to advance the case.
John Andrew Ramsey, the oldest son of John Ramsey, told The Denver Gazette he would like to see Boulder police and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation work with the FBI and private DNA labs to solve his sister's killing. He was in college, visiting his mother for the holidays in Georgia, when his father told him JonBenét had been killed.
"Bring everybody to the table. The reality is everybody wants to work on this case. Call them and they will be in Boulder, Colorado, tomorrow."
Gloss