JonBenét Ramsey’s father ‘cautiously optimistic’ about finding his daughter's killer: filmmaker
FILE - JonBenét Ramsey was murdered at age 6, in Boulder. (Photo by Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images)
JonBenét Ramsey’s father is hopeful that in his lifetime, he’ll find out who murdered his daughter – but time is ticking for the heartbroken patriarch.
"He’s cautiously optimistic," Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger told Fox News Digital about John Ramsey. "This is a guy who has been brutalized by the police department, brutalized by the court of public opinion, brutalized by the media. And for his sake, I hope the family finds the truth."
"But John, a staunch advocate for finding the killer, is 80," Berlinger shared. "I hope the guy has another decade left, but I’d like this case to be solved before he goes so that the family can have a measure of peace."
The pageant star was 6 years old when she was killed 28 years ago. The case is now the subject of a new Netflix docuseries by Berlinger, "Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?" streaming Nov. 25.
The film aims to shine a light on what John feels are missteps made by authorities who investigated the murder, as well as how advanced DNA technology could be key to cracking the cold case. It features a new interview with Ramsey, who has been speaking out in hopes of putting pressure on police to continue searching for his daughter’s killer.
FILE - John and Patsy Ramsey, the parents of JonBenet Ramsey, meet with a small selected group of the local Colorado media after four months of silence in Boulder, Colorado on May 1, 1997. (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/ The Denver Post)
"It just felt like a good time to tell this story now because there are still so many lingering misconceptions," said Berlinger. "There have been great advances in DNA technology."
"The Boulder authorities are very mum about whether they’ve retested or going to test," Berlinger claimed. "It’s time to hold some feet to the fire and get new DNA testing and finally try to put a resolution to this case."
In response to Berlinger’s statement, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told Fox News Digital in a statement: "The killing of JonBenét was an unspeakable crime and this tragedy has never left our hearts.
"We are committed to following up on every lead, and we are continuing to work with DNA experts and our law enforcement partners around the country until this tragic case is solved."
"This investigation will always be a priority for the Boulder Police Department," the statement added.
Anyone who may have information is encouraged to contact detectives at BouldersMostWanted@bouldercolorado.gov or by calling the Boulder Police tipline at 303-441-1974.
The six-year-old was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder on Dec. 26, 1996, bludgeoned and strangled.
She was discovered several hours after her mother, Patsy Ramsey, called 911 to say that her daughter was missing, and a ransom note had been left behind. The child’s death was ruled a homicide, but nobody was ever prosecuted.
"I’ve gotten six wrongfully convicted people out of prison, including two on death row with my film and television work," Berlinger explained. "I’ve shined a light on a lot of other cases and have helped move the needle. And I realized that this case has a lot of things in common with what happens in wrongful-conviction cases.
The residence at 749 15th Street, where JonBenét Ramsey was murdered in December 1996. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
"Now, obviously, the Ramseys were not wrongfully convicted, but they were wrongfully convicted in the court of public opinion, and that has hindered the case for decades," Berlinger added.
The police department was criticized for its initial handling of the investigation. The details of the crime and video footage of Ramsey from the pageants propelled the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the United States, unleashing a series of true-crime books and TV specials.
While the district attorney at the time of Ramsey's death said her parents were under "an umbrella of suspicion" early on, tests in 2008 on newly discovered DNA on her clothing pointed to the involvement of an "unexplained third party" in her slaying, and not her parents, or their son, Burke.
That led former district attorney Mary Lacy to clear the Ramseys of any involvement, two years after Patsy died of cancer in 2006, calling the couple "victims of this crime."
The docuseries takes a close look at the autopsy report and forensic evidence. Berlinger said that after looking at both, it’s "absurd" to think that the family was involved.
"There’s just no evidence, no prior history of family abuse," said Berlinger. "She had petechial hemorrhaging in her eyes and her heart, which means that the garrote was used to choke her when she was alive. . . . This is the aggressive, violent act of a pedophile."
"It’s uncontestable that she died with a garrote around her neck and her fingers trying to pry it loose," said Berlinger. "She died from strangulation by an intruder, in my opinion."
The case is still unsolved 28 years later. (Chris Rank/Sygma via Getty Images)
Berlinger noted that the family is "still pounding the table for DNA testing." There are new items that have never been tested before, as well as old items that were examined using outdated methods, he insisted.
"It’s quite clear that the crime scene was not properly secured because originally, [investigators] thought it was a kidnapping," Berlinger explained.
"The police department refused outside help, had no real experience in homicide, and therefore, the DNA sampling at the time was compromised," Berlinger claimed.
"Why has it taken so long to retest? We still don’t know if the Colorado authorities have retested. They say they’re going to . . . but they’re awfully silent about it. Hopefully, the film will get people to be outraged enough to insist that we have some accountability in Colorado."
In 2022, the Boulder Police Department said it had been working with state law enforcement agencies and the FBI on the investigation. They also shared that DNA from the case is regularly checked for any new matches.
At the time, the department added that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation had updated over 750 DNA samples from the investigation with the latest DNA technology.
In the film, Ramsey doesn’t blame anyone specifically for his daughter’s murder. He is, however, adamant that the family wasn’t involved.
"I definitively, without hesitation or doubt, believe the Ramseys are innocent," said Berlinger. "… I think everyone needs to be looked at again in terms of new DNA testing. And this is not a trial by television. We are not going to put forth who we think is guilty. . . . Everyone’s on the table. DNA needs to be tested, and a proper reinvestigation needs to happen."
Ramsey told People magazine ahead of the documentary’s premiere that of the items that were sent to labs in the beginning, "six or seven of them were returned untested."
"We don't know why they were not tested, but they were not tested," Ramsey said. "The garrote used to strangle JonBenét and several items were just sent back."
The Ramseys and their son Burke, who was nine at the time, were never charged in connection with the murder. Berlinger said Ramsey has faith that someday he’ll get the answers he’s been searching for.
"He and Patsy are both extremely religious," Berlinger reflected. "I don't share their point of view on this, because of my afterlife beliefs, which is I don't believe in an afterlife. But they strongly believe that."
"Patsy, before her death, strongly believed she would be reunited with JonBenét and know the truth," he shared. "I think John Ramsey feels the same way, and I hope for their sake that they are right about that."
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