JonBenet Ramsey case could benefit from new DNA technology as police renew commitment
It's been nearly 30 years since JonBenet Ramsey's haunting Christmastime murder — and there’s renewed optimism that investigators could be closer than ever to solving it.
Boulder police, who have made little visible progress in the case over the years, said this month that the investigation "remains a top priority."
"Techniques and technology constantly evolve," Chief Stephen Redfearn, of the police department in Boulder, Colorado, said in a video statement. "This is especially true with technology related to DNA testing."
JonBenet's father, John Ramsey, met with Boulder police last January and said it was "an important meeting." He told Fox News Digital earlier this year that he urged the department to accept help from a private genetics lab with a track record of cracking other cold cases.
In a September interview with Fox News Digital, he implored President Donald Trump to get involved in the case.
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"I told the DA that money should not be a restrictor here," he said during an interview at CrimeCon in Denver. "I need to get Donald Trump on them. He'll stir things up one way or the other, but somehow we've got to get them to do that."
He said he believes that ongoing advances in forensic genetic genealogy could be the key to solving the case.
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"I am absolutely convinced that's the gold standard today," Ramsey said. "So I've been pushing that pretty hard in terms of what I think ought to happen, and I don't know that they're doing it. I know they listen, but I don't know where they are mentally, in terms of making that happen."
Ramsey echoed his sentiments in an interview this month with the Daily Mail, when he added that leaders at advanced DNA laboratories had informed him about how investigative genetic genealogy only requires a minuscule sample to yield results – while also insisting he believes there is a 70% chance his daughter's killer could be named within months.
"IGG is a very powerful tool – just use it," Ramsey told the outlet. "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."
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Ramsey also pointed to a list of potential suspects compiled by legendary homicide detective Lou Smit in the 1990s, with Smit theorizing his daughter's killer was someone who held a grudge against Ramsey, the outlet reported.
"Lou Smit's list [of potential persons of interest] is 700 people long," Ramsey told the Mail. "There's so many leads – but using DNA makes this case solvable."
Ramsey, who was previously a vocal critic of the Boulder Police Department over its handling of the case, is now praising investigators in light of the new developments.
"It’s encouraging," Ramsey told NewsNation. "The key really in progress has been the addition of new leadership there. It was not very good for 25 to 26 years. And now, knowing Chief Redfearn from the outside, I’ve met with him three or four times. I’m impressed with him. I think he’s sincere and honest.
"The problem with the old leadership was the old guard. These people that were in that police department had never investigated a murder."
Although Boulder police in the past have been resistant to sacrificing what few samples they have left to new testing, Redfearn is a new leader in the department and may change course.
There are items in the case that have never been tested.
"The most important one was the garrote that was used to strangle my daughter," Ramsey told the Mail.
"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 – so that was a real piece we want to be either tested or re-tested."
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JonBenet was reported missing by her mother, Patsy Ramsey, on Dec. 26, 1996, after finding a ransom note demanding $118,000. John Ramsey found her body later that same day in the basement of their Boulder home.
An autopsy revealed that JonBenet died of strangulation and a blow to the head, and DNA testing ruled out her family as suspects early on.
Boulder police say they've followed up on "every lead" they've received over the years, including interviewing more than 1,000 people and sorting through more than 21,000 tips.
Anyone with information on the cold case, including the killer, is asked to contact the Boulder Police Department at BouldersMostWanted@bouldercolorado.gov or the department's tip line at 303-441-1974.
"It is never too late for people with knowledge of this terrible crime to come forward, and I urge those responsible for this murder to contact us," Redfearn said.