BOULDER, Colo. –Monday marks the anniversary of the infamous murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, a Boulder girl.
Boulder police Chief Greg Testa released a video statement in September saying the department remains focused on the investigation into the death of JonBenet Ramsey.
Ramsey was 6 years old when she was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in the 700 block of 15th Street on the day after Christmas 1996.
Her mother Patsy Ramsey called 911 to say her daughter was missing and a ransom note was found. Her father John Ramsey found her body. An autopsy declared she died of strangulation.
“We have not and will not give up,” Testa said. “We remain focused on this investigation and finding justice for JonBenet.”
John and Patsy Ramsey constantly maintained they had nothing to do with the death even after they were the focus of a grand jury that first convened in September 1998.
It was later revealed the grand jury decided to indict John and Patsy Ramsey, but then-Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter did not sign the indictment, which was sealed for several years.
Hunter said there was not enough evidence to file charges.
In 2008, then-Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy said DNA uncovered in the case had a “genetic profile (that) belongs to a male and does not belong to anyone in the Ramsey family.”
No member of the Ramsey family, including brother Burke Ramsey, was considered suspects, Lacy said. No charges have been filed in the case.
Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer in 2006.
Testa said more than 1,500 pieces of evidence have been processed and more than 200 DNA samples were analyzed.
The department has received more than 20,000 letters, tips and emails, and more than 1,000 people have been interviewed.
“The Boulder Police Department is committed to finding justice for JonBenet through a methodical and comprehensive investigation while looking at all aspects of the case,” Testa said. “This is an open investigation.”
Police have received several media requests as the 20-year anniversary approaches.
“This video has been created to express the department’s continued commitment to this open case and demonstrate the level of investigation that has occurred to date, while also protecting the integrity of the ongoing investigation,” the department said.
“Members of the Boulder Police Department will not be participating in interviews related to this investigation.”
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation will conduct new DNA tests in the unsolved case of JonBenet Ramsey, Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said.
The CBI will use new testing procedures that includes using an FBI database that includes genetic profiles from more than 15.1 million known offenders, the Boulder County District Attorney’s office said.
“What I am confident about is that the Ramsey case is more than a DNA case, and to ever have a prosecutable case, we have to have several different pieces of evidence come together,” Garnett said in a statement.
“DNA would be a part of that and additional testing might give us new information that could be helpful to the investigation, however I don’t expect that DNA test results alone will definitively solve or prove the case.”
Other cold case homicides and pending investigations will also undergo further testing, Garnett said.
The Boulder Police Department said it would comment “until there is new information to announce.”
Ramsey was 6 years old when she was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in the 700 block of 15th Street on the day after Christmas 1996.
Her mother Patsy Ramsey called 911 to say her daughter was missing and a ransom note was found. Her father John Ramsey found her body. An autopsy declared she died of strangulation.
John and Patsy Ramsey constantly maintained they had nothing to do with the death even after they were the focus of a grand jury that first convened in September 1998.
It was later revealed the grand jury decided to indict John and Patsy Ramsey, but then-Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter did not sign the indictment, which was sealed for several years.
Hunter said there was not enough evidence to file charges.
In 2008, then-Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy said DNA uncovered in the case had a “genetic profile (that) belongs to a male and does not belong to anyone in the Ramsey family.”
No member of the Ramsey family, including brother Burke Ramsey, was considered suspects, Lacy said. No charges have been filed in the case.
More than 1,500 pieces of evidence have been processed and more than 200 DNA samples were analyzed.
Police have received more than 20,000 letters, tips and emails, and more than 1,000 people have been interviewed.
In October, JonBenet’s older brother Burke Ramsey filed a $150 million defamation lawsuit against forensic pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz.
The lawsuit stems from the airing of a two-part CBS series in which Spitz theorized Burke Ramsey killed his sister.
Last month, Spitz filed a motion for summary judgment in the case, arguing he was expressing his “point of view” that is allowed under the First Amendment.