Killing of JonBenét Ramsey


JonBenét Ramsey photographed by Randy Simons on June 5, 1996.

Born: JonBenét Patricia Ramsey; August 6, 1990; Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Died: December 26, 1996 (aged 6); Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
Cause of death: Asphyxia by strangulation, Craniocerebral trauma
Resting place: St. James Episcopal Cemetery; Marietta, Georgia, U.S.; 33.95501°N 84.55637°W

JonBenét Patricia Ramsey (August 6, 1990 – December 26, 1996) was an American child beauty queen who was killed at the age of six in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. A long handwritten ransom note was found in the home. Her father, John, found the girl's body in the basement of their house about seven hours after she had been reported missing. She had sustained a broken skull from a blow to the head and had been strangled; a garrote was found tied around her neck. The autopsy report stated that JonBenét's official cause of death was "asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma". Her death was ruled a homicide. The case generated worldwide public and media interest, in part because her mother Patsy Ramsey, a former beauty queen, had entered JonBenét into a series of child beauty pageants. The crime is still considered a cold case and remains an open investigation with the Boulder Police Department.

The Boulder police initially suspected that the ransom note had been written by Patsy, and that the note and appearance of JonBenét's body had been staged by her parents in order to cover up the murder. In 1999, the police and district attorney (DA) both said that JonBenét's brother Burke, who was nine years old at the time of her death, was not a suspect. JonBenét's parents gave several televised interviews, but resisted police questioning except on their own terms. In October 2013, unsealed court documents revealed that a 1999 grand jury had recommended filing charges against the Ramseys for permitting the child to be in a threatening situation. John and Patsy were also accused of hindering the prosecution of an unidentified person who had "committed ... the crime of murder in the first degree and child abuse resulting in death". However, the DA determined that there was insufficient evidence to pursue a successful indictment.

In 2002, the DA's successor took over investigation of the case from the police and primarily pursued the theory that an intruder had committed the killing. In 2003, trace DNA that was taken from the victim's clothes was found to belong to an unknown male; each of the family's DNA had been excluded from this match. The DA sent the Ramseys a letter of apology in 2008, declaring the family was "completely cleared" by the DNA results. Others, including former Boulder police chief Mark Beckner, disagreed with exonerating the Ramseys, characterizing the DNA as a small piece of evidence that was not proven to have any connection to the crime.  In February 2009, the Boulder police took the case back from the DA and reopened the investigation.

National and international media coverage of the case focused on JonBenét's brief beauty pageant career, as well as her parents' wealth and the unusual evidence found in the case. Media reports questioned how the police handled the investigation. Ramsey family members and their friends have filed defamation suits against several media organizations.

{snip}