Nashville, Tennessee – John Ramsey, father of murder of 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey, Nearly 28 years later, he’s still putting pressure on police, even as he says they want him to stop asking questions.
JonBenet was found beaten and strangled to death She was found dead with a garrote around her neck in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado, the day after Christmas in 1996. Boulder authorities initially fingered John Ramsay and his late wife, Patsy Ramsay, as suspects based on probable cause, but they were eventually ruled out.
“We have heard credibly that a member of the police department — I don’t know who — told a reporter, ‘We’re just waiting for John Ramsay to die,’” Ramsay, 80, told Fox News Digital in an interview at CrimeCon, a true crime convention held over the weekend in Nashville on May 31. “And what that means is: Then the pressure will be off, and this will all be over.”
“It’s disgusting, but it’s also not in keeping with his character,” he said.
John Ramsey said he heard from one source that a member of the Boulder Police Department said, “We’re just waiting for John Ramsey to die.” (Crimecon)
Investigative journalist and author Paula Woodward, who has been covering JonBenét’s murder since the 1990s, also confirmed hearing about this statement from a BPD officer during a panel with Ramsey at CrimeCon 2024.
“Not only have we told the Ramsey family that we have never stopped working to solve this terrible crime and bring justice to JonBenét, but I regularly communicate with John to give him updates or progress reports and answer any questions he may have, but this issue has never come up,” interim Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfern said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Ramsey says he’s not going anywhere.
“I’m not going to die. Well, I’m going to live a long time,” Ramsey told Fox News Digital, adding that his son John Andrew Ramsey will “take his place” after he’s gone. “He’s very passionate about solving this problem, and I’m grateful for that,” the elder Ramsey said.
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Investigative journalist and author Paula Woodward interviewed John Ramsey during a panel at CrimeCon (a true crime convention) in Nashville on June 1. (Crimecon)
Twenty-eight years after JonBenét’s murder, John is still pressing the Boulder Police Department to allow an independent forensic genetic genealogy company to perform DNA testing on existing items in his daughter’s case, including a pair of JonBenét’s underwear that tested positive for traces of an unknown male’s DNA in 1997. He also wants the BPD to turn the case over to the FBI.
An autopsy performed in 1996 revealed that JonBenét had died from strangulation and head trauma. The Boulder City medical examiner reported an 8 1/2-inch fracture to her skull.
JonBenét Ramsey murder: Family ‘encouraged’ by new interest in case and prospect of DNA testing
An autopsy performed in 1996 revealed that JonBenét had died from strangulation and head trauma. (Crimecon)
When Woodward submitted a public records request to determine which evidence items had been DNA tested, he learned that several key items had never been analyzed, including the garrote found around JonBenét’s neck, a ransom note found in the Ramsey home the morning of the murder, a suitcase found in the basement that authorities believe the killer used to escape through a window, an unidentified flashlight found on the Ramsey family’s kitchen counter the morning of the murder, and an unidentified rope found in her brother Burke Ramsey’s room that day, Woodward said at CrimeCon.
Ramsey fears the BPD may have missed some items that were being tested for DNA evidence over the years.
JonBenét Ramsey murder: Family ‘encouraged’ by new interest in case and prospect of DNA testing
Ramsey fears the BPD may have missed some items that were being tested for DNA evidence over the years. (Crimecon)
“As far as we know, these items have never been tested,” Ramsey said. “They were taken from the crime scene as potential evidence. We want them tested, and we want them tested at an outside laboratory for DNA sampling. To my knowledge, that has never happened.”
“Now, my concern is that they possibly lost that evidence.”
Ramsey said it is up to the police chief whether to bring in an independent testing firm. The BPD has had five police chiefs since JonBenét’s killing.
He is also pushing states to implement the federal Murder Victims Family Rights Act, so family members of murder victims can take action against police departments if their cases go unsolved, since murder cases are prosecuted at the state level.
Boulder police initially pointed to John Ramsey and his late wife, Patsy Ramsey, in JonBenét’s killing. (Crimecon)
In 1997, the Boulder County District Attorney asked renowned Colorado detective Lou Smit, who claimed to have solved more than 200 murder cases, to assist in the JonBenét case. Smit died in 2010, but he had compiled a case file for JonBenét and a list of hundreds of names of potential suspects before his death.
“On his deathbed, (Lou Smit) said, ‘Don’t forget that name, John.'”
“On his deathbed, (Smit) said, ‘Don’t forget this name, John.’ I went to the hospital just a couple of days before he died. He said, ‘Don’t forget this name.’ So there was one guy he was very interested in,” Ramsey said.
JonBenét Ramsey case: Boulder police uncover DNA bombshell
Ramsey said Smit also said “the case will be solved by DNA.”
JonBenét Ramsey’s parents John and Patsy Ramsey meet with a small select group of local Colorado media after four months of silence in Boulder, Colorado on May 1, 1997. Patsy shows a sign offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of her daughter’s killer. Their 6-year-old daughter was found dead on Christmas Eve 1996. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
Two years ago, Ramsey sent a letter. Letters and petitions A letter with over 30,000 signatures was sent to Colorado Governor Jared Polis’ office, urging him to allow an independent firm to conduct forensic genetic genealogy testing on evidence in his daughter’s case. After the letter was published, the governor told local media that he was “still optimistic” that the case could be solved.
“I can say one thing: JonBenét Ramsey’s killer should not rest in peace, because I’m still optimistic that he will be caught in five or 10 years with the technology that exists today,” the governor said. CBS Denver In 2022.
JonBenét’s father challenges Colorado governor to meeting: ‘Time for answers is running out’
JonBenét Ramsey will turn 33 on Saturday, August 6, 2023. (Ramsey Family)
The BPD announced in 2022 that it will conduct consultations Colorado Cold Case Review Team for help with the Ramsey case.
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After the petition was released, the BPD released a statement saying officers had “digitized all evidence” to create a searchable database that contains thousands of files of information, including more than 21,000 tips, a thousand interviews conducted in 17 states and two foreign countries, and identification samples from 200 people. The files also contain about 2,500 pieces of evidence and nearly 40,000 reports, police said.
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“DNA testing remains a focus of the investigation. DNA testing has already been completed, but the science behind DNA testing is rapidly evolving. (BPD) is working with leading DNA experts throughout the county to ensure the latest forensic techniques are used to analyze the remaining DNA samples,” BPD said in a December 2023 press release. “Evidence has been preserved and will be ready for testing when there is proven and validated technology that accurately tests forensic samples consistent with the evidence available in this case.”
Authorities are asking anyone with information regarding the JonBenét investigation to contact them at 303-441-1974. BouldersMostWanted@bouldercolorado.gov Or contact Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
