Nearly 28 years after JonBenét Ramsey’s grisly murder, the father of the young beauty queen is speaking out. John Ramsey, 80, believes that the case could be solved if the Boulder Police Department collaborates with other agencies to crack the case.
“There have been horrible failures,” expressed John Ramsey in an interview with “Today” on Thursday. “But I believe it can be solved if police accept help from outside their system. That’s been their flaw.”
Reflecting on the past, John Ramsey added, “For years, in my judgment, the police department had very poor leadership; they wanted us to stay out of their way.”
“The fellow who investigated our case was an auto theft investigator before our case. I never criticized them for not having experience — I criticized them for refusing help from people who did. And it was offered.”
JonBenét’s murder has remained a mystery since the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 1996, when the 6-year-old beauty queen went missing from her Boulder, Colo., home.
John Ramsey discovered JonBenét’s lifeless body in the basement of their home, with a garrote around her neck and a fractured skull from a blow to the back of her head.
Initially, the police suspected JonBenét’s family — her father John, mother Patsy, and brother Burke. However, a DNA report excluded them as suspects 15 days after the murder. They were officially cleared in 2008 by the district attorney at the time.
Despite the years that have passed, justice for JonBenét remains elusive.
Last December, the city of Boulder issued a press release stating that a multi-agency task force is actively investigating the homicide, hoping that new technologies will provide leads for resolution.
“Recently, the Boulder Police Department (BPD) convened a panel of outside experts (Colorado Cold Case Review Team) to review the JonBenét Ramsey homicide investigation,” the release mentioned.
“The purpose of the review was to generate additional investigative recommendations and determine if updated technologies and/or forensic testing might produce new intelligence or leads to solve the case.”
The review team comprised of 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.
Despite the promising developments, the case remains unsolved, leaving the Ramsey family urging Boulder authorities to do more.
“They need to accept the help that’s offered to them,” John Ramsey emphasized. “There’s a new police chief brought in from the outside. I hope he accepts help, so this can be solved.”
