Nearly 26 years after the murder of 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey, police in Boulder, Col. will consult a state-run cold case team to continue the investigation.
In a news release from the city of Boulder, authorities claimed detectives have investigated leads from more than 21,000 tips, letters, and emails and traveled to 19 states to speak with over 1,000 people.
Federal, state and local organizations, including the FBI, have assisted in the investigation. DNA evidence from the 1996 murder, though “extremely small and complex,” according to the news release, has also been analyzed by several private DNA laboratories across the country.
“As in any cold case homicide, the investigation can always benefit from the perspective of outside experts,” the release explained.
For this reason, police will collaborate with the Colorado Cold Case Review Team in 2023. The team of professional investigative, analytical and forensic experts from across the state will make recommendations on how to best proceed with the investigation.
In what has become one of the most famous true crime cases in North America, JonBenét was found brutally murdered in the basement of her home the day after Christmas in 1996. Her father, John Ramsey found JonBenét’s body with duct tape over her mouth and a cord wrapped around her neck. Boulder, Colo., police reported the little girl had been sexually assaulted.
A mysterious ransom note was also left in the house, demanding the random amount of US$118,000.
JonBenét’s killer has never been found. At the time of her body’s discovery, only her parents and her then-nine-year-old brother Burke were home.
“This crime has left a hole in the hearts of many, and we will never stop investigating until we find JonBenet’s killer,” Police chief Maris Herold said in the release. “That includes following up on every lead and working with our policing partners and DNA experts around the country to solve this tragic case. This investigation has always been and will continue to be a priority for the Boulder Police Department.”
The Boulder Colorado Police Department has received ample criticism over the last two decades for their investigation of JonBenét’s murder. In May, John Ramsey made public calls for an outside agency to further analyze DNA evidence from the case.
JonBenét’s half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey, called the Cold Case Review Team’s involvement in the investigation “forward progress.”
“More work to be done to catch a killer but it can be done,” he tweeted.
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