The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey

JonBenet Patricia Ramsey was found dead in her family’s affluent Boulder, CO, home on December 26, 1996. The 6-year-old beauty queen died of asphyxiation caused by strangulation. Evidence supports a sexual assault also occurred. The Medical Examiner ruled JonBenet’s death a homicide. More than 25-years later, the mystery behind the murder remains unsolved, though police hope DNA technology advancements will lead them closer to the answer the world has patiently waited for all these years.

JonBenet Missing From Her Bed

John and Patsy awoke to find their daughter missing from her bed on December 26, 1996. They also found a long, handwritten note demanding $118,000 for JonBenet’s safe return. The note warned John and Patsy to keep the police out of it.

This did not deter Patsy who immediately notified the police -along with friends and family- who immediately rushed to the home to help search for JonBenet. Mysteriously, no one searched the basement, where John found her body seven hours later.

Mistakes Made at the Crime Scene

The crime scene was a disaster from the start. Many people also speculate that police treated John and Patsy differently due to their affluent, high-profile status. Among the mistakes police made at the Ramsey home:

• Did not corner off any area of the home except JonBenet’s room, allowing friends/family to roam free and pick up items, potentially destroying evidence
• Shared evidence with the Ramseys
• Delayed interviews with the Ramseys
• John found JonBenet’s body and immediately brought it upstairs, again destroying evidence

JonBenet had been bound by duct tape and her wrists wrapped with a white cord. Her torso was covered in a white blanket. The autopsy determined JonBenet died from asphyxiation by strangulation and a skull fracture. Evidence of sexual assault existed, though investigators did not find exclusive evidence of a rape.

A makeshift garret was found on Jonbenet and pineapple was inside her stomach. John and Patsy said they did not feed JonBenet pineapple the night before but knew a bowl of pineapple was in the kitchen. Brother Burke’s fingerprints were found on the bowl of pineapple.

JonBenet Theories

Two popular theories in the case involve an intruder and the Ramsey family.

Investigators initially focused their investigation on John and Patsy. They found it quite odd that an intruder would write a long, handwritten ransom note requesting the odd dollar amount of $118,000. It was almost the exact dollar amount of the bonus John received from work that year. The writer crafted the letter using paper and an ink pen from the Ramsey home.

The Ramseys were reluctant to cooperate with police as well, although they later said this was because they wanted police to conduct a full investigation. The Ramseys submitted handwriting samples that did not match the note.

In 1999, a Colorado grand jury voted to indict John and Patsy on child endangerment and obstruction of a murder investigation charges, however, the prosecutor declined to prosecute. In 2008, DNA cleared John and Patsy of the murder.

The intruder theory seemed more plausible to investigators. A boot print found next to JonBenet’s body did not match anyone in the family. Police also discovered a broken window in the basement, the entry point for an intruder. They also found DNA from drops of blood found on her underwear from an unknown male.

John Karr

Arrested in 2006 after confessing to accidentally murdering JonBenet, John Karr told police he drugged and sexually assaulted her. He was arrested but later released when a toxicology report revealed no drugs in her system and when his DNA did not match a profile created from the DNA found.

Police entered DNA found on JonBenet’s underwear into the CODIS system in 2003. So far, no matches have been identified. However, in 2010, the case was reopened and DNA testing led them to believe that two people played a role in JonBenet’s murder.

As technology continues to grow and bring us new developments, police expect a break in the case.