Colorado cops launch new effort to solve murder of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey

Police in Colorado are launching a new effort to solve the infamous murder of six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, close to 30 years after her shocking death.

Police, who are working with a cold case review team, are hopeful that new technology can help them use the very small amount of DNA evidence found on the child to create a profile to match the killer.

The case is being revisited by the Colorado Cold Case Review Team next year in another bid to solve the case that has haunted Colorado law enforcement officers. 

If DNA analysis produces the killer, it will be one of the largest cold case breakthroughs in American history. 

'Since JonBenet’s murder, detectives have investigated leads stemming from more than 21,000 tips, letters, and emails. We have traveled to 19 states to interview or speak with more than 1,000 individuals,' the Boulder police said in a statement released Wednesday.

'There have been several discussions with private DNA labs about the viability of continued testing of DNA recovered from the crime scene and genetic genealogy analysis.'

But the decision to utilize the new technology is not without its risks. 

'The amount of DNA evidence available for analysis is extremely small and complex. The sample could, in whole or in part, be consumed by DNA testing,' said the police.

The six-year-old was reported missing on the morning of December 26, 1996 when her father - businessman John Ramsey - found a three-page handwritten note demanding $118,000 in $100 and $20 bills.

John Ramsey found his daughter's body bludgeoned and strangled in the basement close to seven hours after she was reported missing.

John and Patsy Ramsey, the parents of JonBenet Ramsey, meet with a small selected group of the local Colorado media after four months of silence in Boulder, Colorado on May 1, 1997

The body of JonBenet Ramsey (pictured) was found bludgeoned and strangled in her basement hours after she was reported missing on December 26, 1996

No one in the family was ever charged in the death, but for years tabloids and members of the public believed one or more were the culprits

'This crime has left a hole in the hearts of many, and we will never stop investigating until we find JonBenet’s killer,' said Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold.

'That includes following up on every lead and working with our policing partners and DNA experts around the country to solve this tragic case.

'The investigation has always been and will continue to be a priority for the Boulder Police Department.'

District Attorney Michael Dougherty said, 'The murder of JonBenet Ramsey is a terrible tragedy and sparked years of unanswered questions and theories. Our office has successfully prosecuted other cold case homicides and many murder cases.'

'In every one of those cases, it was the evidence that proved the defendant(s) guilty. Whether it is DNA or other evidence, more is needed to solve this murder. I appreciate the collaboration with CBI, the FBI and the Boulder Police Department.'

JonBenet's half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey, wrote on Twitter that the move marked 'progress.'

'This is positive. Forward progress. More work to be done to catch a killer but it can be done,' he wrote.

John Andrew Ramsey, who was 23 when his half-sister was killed, has previously been highly critical of the Boulder Police department, who he has said 'refused the help of the much more experienced Denver PD' at the time of the initial investigation.

John Ramsey called upon Colorado Governor Jared Polis in 2021 to allow an independent agency to take over the murder investigation from the Boulder Police Department

John and Patsy would remain the primary suspects in their daughter's death for more than a decade, and it was not until 2008 that police finally cleared them of any wrongdoing

In recent years, John Ramsey has gone to significant efforts to bring renewed attention to the case of his murdered child.

He helped lead an effort in 2021 that called upon Colorado Governor Jared Polis to allow an independent agency to take over the murder investigation from the Boulder Police Department.

The girl's father has repeatedly expressed disappointment with BPD's handling of the case over the last quarter century and believe an independent research team would have more success finally identifying the killer. But, in order to do so, BPD would need to hand over the evidence in their custody.

If either an independent agency or the BPD could establish a more complete DNA profile of the suspect, the information could then be compared to millions of DNA profiles available on public databases. 

Patsy Ramsey is pictured with her daughter JonBenet and son Burke - who was nine when JonBenet died -in 1993

JonBenet Ramsey a child beauty queen was brutally murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado. Her parents John and Patsy Ramsey as well as her older brother Burke have at various times been considered suspects in the case but no charges have been filed

For many years following her death, John and Patsy Ramsey would remain the primary suspects in their daughter's murder.

It was not until 2008 that they were officially cleared - though they were never charged with any crime. 

Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in 2006 and John Ramsey told The Daily Beast in 2019 that even though he has been cleared, the accusations against him linger. 

'The fact I'm no longer under suspicion will never bring back my life,' he said at the time. 'Once your reputation is tarnished, it stays tarnished.'

No one in the family was ever charged in the death, but for years tabloids and members of the public believed one or more were the culprits. 

Several years ago, CBS aired The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey, which concluded with investigators revealing that after extensive research into the events that happened on the night of the murder they believed Burke Ramsey was responsible for killing his sister- despite the fact that he was only nine-years-old at the time.

Burke sued the network and settled that case after demanding damages of $750million. 

Private investigator Ollie Gray, who continued to investigate the murder case even after he stopped working for the Ramseys, claimed in 2016 that the child's killer was a local 26-year-old whose family owned a junkyard on the outskirts of the city - Michael Helgoth.

On February 13, 1997, Alex Hunter, who was the district attorney at the time of the murder, held a press conference where he spoke to JonBenet's unknown killer, saying: 'The list of suspect narrows. Soon there will be no one on the list but you.'

Helgoth died of an apparent suicide two days later at his home.

A few years after his death, however, Helgoth was cleared when it was revealed that none of his DNA was found under JonBenet's fingernails or in her underwear.

In 2006 - 10 years after JonBenet's death - a 41-year-old schoolteacher named John Mark Karr confessed to killing the little beauty.

He was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, but he was never charged with the murder because his DNA did not match that found on the girl's body.