The investigation into the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colorado is ramping up following the release of a Netflix docuseries, “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey,” and increased public interest in the case. Ramsey’s father is hopeful that advanced DNA technology and an influx of new leads to the Boulder Police Department will yield results that can solve the decades-old cold case.
The case was a national story in the late 90s. The six-year-old beauty queen Ramsey was found murdered in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder. There have been confessions to the crime by individuals over the years, but they were exonerated by DNA evidence. John and Patsy Ramsey, the parents of JonBenet, were the primary suspects for two years but weren’t fully exonerated until 2008 when Boulder district attorney Mary Lacy wrote a letter saying DNA evidence proved their innocence.
Patsy died from ovarian cancer in 2006 and John, 81, is still awaiting justice for the murder of his daughter. John said he has been in contact with the Boulder Police Department, which was confirmed by Boulder police chief Steve Redfearn, who took over the position in early 2024. Redfearn and the police department issued an annual update on the Ramsey case in November following the release of the Netflix series.
Redfearn said the department worked with a Colorado cold case review panel to receive “additional investigative recommendations and determine if updated technologies and/or forensic intelligence might produce new intelligence or leads to solve the case.”
During his annual report, Redfearn said “a fresh inventory of all collected evidence was made available for investigative review, which would not have been possible without the assistance of the FBI.” The evidence collected over the last 28 years includes 21,000 tips and 1,000 interviews conducted across 17 states and two foreign countries. They have collected 25,000 pieces of evidence from over 200 individuals including handwriting, DNA, fingerprints, and shoeprints. There are also 40,000 reports and over a million pages associated with the investigation.
John Ramsey has criticized the Boulder Police Department and told The U.S. Sun that some cops in the department want him dead so they can bring an end to the investigation. The most important evidence seems to be the DNA collected on JonBenet’s clothing and under her nails, which has yet to be matched to a suspect. The DNA in question doesn’t match anyone in the Ramsey family or previous suspects in the case.
Chief Redfearn, in his November statement, assured the public and the Ramsey family that they are following all potential leads and using any potential DNA technologies to solve the case. He urged anybody with leads to contact the department with information.
Following the release of Netflix’s docuseries, John Ramsey received a letter from a woman stating “My ex-husband’s the killer, and I’ve kept this inside as long as I can - please, please call me.” Ramsey called the number, but there was no answer and no contact has been made.
Another purported suspect going by the name David Cooper allegedly confessed to the murder of JonBenet, but said he wanted to meet in person. Cooper said he wanted to bring his family with him and asked Ramsey to pay $3,000 to cover airline tickets. An investigator determined the man was a Louisiana truck driver attempting to scam Ramsey for money, so the lead wasn’t investigated any further.
Chief Redfearn said, “The cold case review panel gave us a lengthy list of recommendations which we are continuing to work through and evaluate.” He added that the cold case review panel review ended, but the collaboration continues. Redfearn said the police department cannot provide specific details regarding the investigation because they do not want to jeopardize a potential prosecution of a suspect by the Boulder DA.
