For twenty-nine years, JonBenét Ramsey's father watched investigators fumble one of America's most famous cold cases.
False leads, wrongful accusations, and bureaucratic incompetence let a child killer walk free.
And JonBenét Ramsey's father made one bold prediction that left police stunned.
Boulder Police Chief admits new evidence recovered in decades-old case
Six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was found murdered in the basement of her family's Boulder, Colorado home on December 26, 1996.
Hours earlier, her parents had reported her missing after discovering a bizarre ransom note demanding $118,000 from a supposed "foreign faction."
For nearly three decades, the case went cold while Boulder Police fixated on the wrong suspects and refused outside help.
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn disclosed earlier this month that new evidence had been recovered in the long-stalled investigation.¹
In a December 12 video, Redfearn said solving JonBenét's murder remains one of the department's "top priorities."
He revealed that older material has been re-submitted for testing using modern DNA technology.
Investigators have also quietly conducted a series of new interviews based on tips the department received.
For John Ramsey, now 82, the update represents the first real movement in years of pushing police to embrace modern forensic tools.
"I am optimistic – more than I've been in 29 years," Ramsey told the Daily Mail. "I take encouragement because finally there's movement and I'm encouraged by Chief Redfearn."²
"This has been a marathon project, and it's a project that's got to be finished," Ramsey added.
Critical evidence sat untested for decades while police chased dead ends
Ramsey says several key items collected during the original investigation were never tested for DNA or were tested using outdated methods.
The most important piece is a garrote fashioned from nylon cord and a broken paintbrush that was found embedded in JonBenét's neck.
"That had to have DNA evidence on it because it was a very complex knot, I'm told, and the assumption is that this creature couldn't have tied that wearing gloves," Ramsey explained.
Investigators also found male DNA on JonBenét's clothing and under her fingernails that doesn't match anyone in her family.
That genetic profile went into the federal CODIS database in the late 1990s and was re-entered years later with improved testing methods.
Nobody knows who it belongs to.
Police collected several other pieces of evidence from the house that were never tested — a suitcase sitting under a broken basement window, rope stored in a guest room, and a backpack the Ramseys didn't recognize.
Ramsey has been pushing Boulder Police to use investigative genetic genealogy (IGG), the cutting-edge technology that cracked the Golden State Killer case and helped identify Bryan Kohberger in the University of Idaho murders.
Ramsey believes there's at least a 70% chance his daughter's killer could be behind bars within months if police use IGG on the unidentified male DNA.³
He's even offered to pay out of pocket for the tests himself.
Boulder Police told him that wouldn't be necessary.
Bungled investigation and monster egos let killer walk free for 29 years
For more than a decade, John and his late wife Patsy were the prime suspects in their daughter's murder.
In 1998, a grand jury voted to indict them on charges of child abuse resulting in death and being accessories to a crime.
Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter declined to move forward, citing lack of evidence.
Then in 2008, District Attorney Mary Lacy wrote a letter clearing John, Patsy, and their son Burke of any wrongdoing based on new DNA evidence.
Lacy formally apologized for the cloud of suspicion the Ramseys lived under for years.
But the vindication came too late for Patsy, who died from ovarian cancer in 2006 at age 49.
Ramsey has been openly critical of Boulder Police for their years-long fixation on the wrong suspects.
The biggest mistake was refusing help from larger, better-resourced agencies like the FBI in the immediate aftermath of JonBenét's death.
"When you got inexperienced, poor leadership with monster egos, then it's just a mess," Ramsey said.
Pointing to the University of Idaho murders, Ramsey argued that decisive leadership and willingness to bring in federal resources early solved that case relatively quickly.
Something Boulder completely lacked in 1996.
Under Chief Redfearn's leadership, Ramsey said the difference is night and day.
He now has full faith in the department to close the file on his daughter's murder once and for all.
Legendary homicide detective Lou Smit, who resigned from the case in 1998 because he felt the Ramseys were being unjustly pursued, believed the killer was an opportunistic intruder who held a grudge against John.
Smit said the case would only be solved by DNA.
He was right.
"IGG is a very powerful tool – just use it," urged Ramsey. "If they do it and they come up empty-handed, at least that way I can say thank you, you've tried everything you can so far."
"It's that simple. But if you're just following up leads that come in, that's primitive."
¹ Luke Kenton, "JonBenet Ramsey's dad believes her murder is finally about to be SOLVED," Daily Mail, December 21, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
