A week after the premiere of Netflix’s docuseries on the unsolved death of JonBenét Ramsey, police remain committed to finding the girl’s killer, but are unsure if they currently have any promising leads. avoided making a statement.
“It’s clear that the Boulder Police Department wants to solve this case, and the only reason we do that is to bring justice to the victim,” a spokesperson for the Boulder, Colorado, Police Department said in an email Monday.
Six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was found beaten and strangled to death in the basement of a mansion in Boulder nearly 30 years ago. The three-part Netflix documentary “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey” renews interest in the death of the young beauty pageant queen whose 1996 murder captivated the nation and subverts relentless cable news coverage. prompted headlines around the world.
A Boulder Police Department spokesperson declined to answer NBC News’ questions about information authorities are investigating in the case, instead referring to a video statement from Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfern last week. , in which he and everyone else who has worked on JonBenét’s case. We want nothing more than to do justice to her memory. ”
His statement came a day after the release of the Netflix series, which takes viewers back to the morning after Christmas 28 years ago. JonBenét’s mother called 911 to report finding a rambling ransom note and her daughter missing. JonBenét’s father, who discovered the girl’s body that afternoon, carried her upstairs himself, destroying the integrity of the crime scene and leading to widespread criticism of the Boulder Police Department’s handling of the case from the beginning. .
“There are a lot of things that people have pointed out over the years that could have been done better, and we agree with that,” Redfern said in a video released by the Boulder Police Department on X last Tuesday. I recognize that,” he said. “However, while we cannot go back to that horrific day in 1996, it is important to emphasize that our goal is to find JonBenét Ramsey’s killer. Our commitment to that will never waver. No.”
Finding JonBenet’s killer has so far been difficult. Her family lived under suspicion for years, but in 2008 prosecutors apologized to her parents and brother in a letter saying they were not considered suspects.
The Netflix docuseries doesn’t point to any specific suspects, but it does highlight the father’s hope that new DNA testing might solve the case. (JonBenét’s mother, Patsy, died of cancer in 2006 at age 49.)
“I believe that if the police department accepts help from outside the organization, we can solve this problem,” John Ramsey told the “TODAY” show last month before the documentary premiered. “That’s been a drawback for 25 years.”
The Boulder Police Department said it follows up on all calls and does not operate in silos.
“Any claim that there is viable evidence or leads, including DNA testing, that we are not pursuing is completely false,” he said in X last week.
“Additionally, it was the Boulder Police Department, not the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, that convened a cold case review committee in December 2023 as part of its investigative efforts,” the statement said.
The department typically releases its annual update on the case in December, but said it decided to do so earlier this year “due to the increased attention to this investigation.”
In a video message, Mr Redfern said he welcomed the report which could “finally bring the killer to justice”.
“JonBenet would have turned 34 this year,” he said. “Of course, those who loved and knew JonBenét continued to grieve. This crime has haunted the Boulder community, especially all of the police officers and detectives who have participated in this investigation to date. We are thinking of her and want nothing more than to do justice to her memory.”
