One week after the discharge of Netflix’s Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey docuseries, the Boulder Police Department is responding to claims that they did not correctly examine the 1996 homicide of the 6-year-old pageant queen that just about 30 years later stays unsolved.
“The killing of JonBenét was an unspeakable crime and this tragedy has by no means left our hearts,” Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn stated in an announcement to The Hollywood Reporter by way of Boulder Police Department Public Information Officer Dionne Waugh. “We are dedicated to following up on each lead and we’re persevering with to work with DNA consultants and our legislation enforcement companions across the nation till this tragic case is solved. This investigation will all the time be a precedence for the Boulder Police Department.”
Doubling down on that assertion, Waugh added within the e mail to THR, “The assertion that there’s viable proof and leads we aren’t pursuing — to incorporate DNA testing — is totally false.”
In response to the Boulder Police Department’s feedback, Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey director and govt producer Joe Berlinger launched an announcement completely to THR calling on BPD to speak instantly with the Ramsey household, whom he says has been stored in the dead of night concerning any progress on the case.
While the Boulder Police Department’s 28-year-track report doesn’t encourage confidence, we applaud any concrete effort they’re taking to resolve this horrible crime. Neither we nor the Ramsey household stated BPD is presently ignoring viable proof and leads… we stated that we simply don’t know if the Boulder Police Department is pursuing viable proof or leads as a result of they haven’t given any concrete data to the household. In truth, in response to the household, BPD informed the Ramsey’s virtually two years in the past that they have been going to relaunch the investigation from the “ground-up” utilizing “greatest practices” and usher in new investigators with “recent eyes.” According to our data, the household was additionally informed that BPD would supply common updates and maintain them knowledgeable on all developments. To date, the Ramsey household says it has not acquired any significant updates.
The Boulder Police Department might have requested the Cold Case Team overview in 2023, however our understanding is that the Colorado Cold Case Team was established as a full-time a part of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation in 2022. It advises on all chilly instances throughout the state, not simply the JonBenét case. It is our understanding that the Ramsey household needed to petition the Governor of Colorado to have the case offered to the CO Cold Case Review group. This looks as if it could be a routine apply for any 20+ 12 months previous baby murder. In JonBenét’s case, it required a public marketing campaign to have this step accomplished. To our information, no actions have been taken after the Cold Case Review offered particular suggestions to BPD.
We (the filmmaking group) and the Ramsey household consider that new DNA testing can resolve this crime as a result of unbelievable developments in DNA know-how since 1997. However, to our information, BPD has not met with Bode Technology, Parabon Nanolabs or Othram. Othram is now used routinely by different legislation enforcement businesses as a result of its superb chilly case observe report, together with not too long ago fixing the 1995 Morgan Nick kidnapping chilly case with state-of-the-art DNA know-how. We are below the impression that BPD has additionally refused to proceed with probabilistic genotype testing. Bode Technology (a number one forensic DNA evaluation lab and present custodian of the information) can shortly full the evaluation — we’re informed that they simply want BPD to signal a launch kind. Why has this way not been signed?
Perhaps we’re improper and BPD is knee-deep in new DNA testing and are finishing the entire suggestions by the Cold Case overview group. Nothing would make us happier. The drawback is that BPD has not communicated any particular data to the household. The BPD additionally refused to take a seat down and be interviewed for our documentary, which they actually have a proper to do. It isn’t unusual for police departments to say no participation in documentaries about open instances. But after being so mistreated by BPD’s authentic investigation and the ripple impact of ache that the household has endured consequently, the Ramsey household is owed direct and particular communication about whether or not or not new DNA assessments are being carried out, which incorporates re-testing of previous objects that have been beforehand examined; testing previous objects that have been beforehand despatched to the crime lab that have been inexplicably by no means examined; and, most vital take a look at of all: new testing on the unidentified overseas male DNA pattern found in 1997 which is combined with the DNA of JonBenét Ramsey and subsequently compromised. New technological advances at the moment can separate the unidentified male DNA from JonBenét’s DNA to create a a lot cleaner profile which may benefit from at the moment’s investigative genetic family tree that has been so helpful in fixing latest chilly instances such because the Golden State Killer and the Green River Killer.
We want the BPD nice success find the killer of JonBenét Ramsey and urge them to collaborate with all outdoors entities, together with personal forensic labs, who’ve provided to help them in fixing this horrific crime. And most of all — The Boulder District Attorney’s workplace has already lengthy cleared the Ramsey household as suspects and formally apologized to them, so the group that has spent almost two years researching and creating the Netflix documentary on this case begs you to please talk with these victims extra instantly about what steps you’re taking to resolve this crime after virtually three a long time.
In response to renewed public curiosity within the homicide of JonBenét, the Boulder Police Department launched its newest examine replace, initially set to be revealed on their web site in December, forward of schedule on the finish of November, Waugh defined over e mail. That features a almost six-minute video assertion from Chief Redfearn which acknowledges the division’s preliminary mishandling of the case. “So a lot of how legislation enforcement works has modified within the final 30 years. There are quite a lot of issues that individuals have pointed to all through the years that might have been carried out higher and we acknowledge that as true,” Redfearn said. “However, you will need to emphasize that whereas we can not return to that horrible day in 1996, our aim is to seek out JonBenét Ramsey’s killer.”
Redfearn additionally introduced up the Cold Case Review Panel that was created in December 2023 in his remarks, which Waugh stated was convened by the Boulder Police Department and never the Colorado Bureau of Investigation as said within the documentary. Redfearn said that the overview took a 12 months to finish and consisted of greater than 21,000 suggestions, one thousand interviews, and samples, together with handwriting, fingerprints and DNA from greater than 200 people to find out whether or not present applied sciences and up to date forensic testing may develop new leads within the case. However, he stated publicly sharing the findings would compromise the integrity of the case and any attainable future prosecution.
In May 2022, the Ramsey household petitioned Colorado Governor Jared Polis to switch the dealing with of the DNA proof within the case from the Boulder Police Department to an impartial investigative company.
“What we’re advocating for, and we’ve been doing so for the final 12 months or so, aggressively, is we all know there’s 5 – 6 objects that have been taken from the crime scene, despatched into the lab for DNA sampling, and weren’t sampled so we would like these objects sampled,” John stated within the documentary. “We need the objects which have been sampled and examined to be retested after which use the general public family tree database to search for not solely a match however an identical relative. That’s been used very efficiently within the final three or 4 years by police departments to seek out the killer of very previous chilly instances however we don’t know what’s being carried out.”
Berlinger informed THR in a previous interview that he was impressed to revisit the case of JonBenét because of how “poorly” the Ramsey household had been handled in years previous with John, JonBenét’s mom Patsy and her older brother Burke all being suspected of her homicide. The Ramseys weren’t formally cleared as suspects till 2008 by Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy. Patsy died of ovarian most cancers two years prior in 2006.
“I feel we are able to resolve the case,” Berlinger stated. “I wish to give that household a measure of justice.” (Read his full interview with THR.)
