Colorado police apparently respond to Netflix JonBenet Ramsey documentary
FILE-A photo of JonBenet Ramsey is shown in a newspaper. (Photo by Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images)
A new Netflix documentary that delves into the killing of JonBenet Ramsey has Colorado police opposing claims that there is possible evidence and leads about the 1996 killing of the 6-year-old girl that authorities are not pursuing.
Authorities’ comments came as part of their annual update on the investigation, a month before the 28th anniversary of JonBenet’s killing.
Police tell the Associated Press that they released it a little earlier because of the rising attention on the case, apparently alluding to the three-part Netflix series "Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey."
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The Netflix documentary focuses on the mistakes made by authorities and the "media circus" surrounding the case.
What are Colorado police saying about the case?
Citing a video statement, the AP noted that Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said the police department welcomes news coverage and documentaries about the killing of JonBenet, who would have been 34 this year, to generate possible new leads.
Redfearn said the department is committed to solving the case but needs to be careful about what it shares about the investigation to protect a potential future prosecution.
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Last year, police told the AP that they gathered a panel of outside experts to review the investigation to give recommendations and determine if updated technologies or forensic testing might produce new leads.
In the new update, Redfearn explained that the review ended but authorities continue to work through and assess recommendations from the panel.
According to the AP, authorities said in their annual update in 2021 that DNA had not been ruled out to help solve the case, and in 2022 reported that some evidence could be "consumed" if DNA testing is conducted on it.
Who was JonBenet Ramsey?
JonBenet Ramsey, who competed in beauty pageants, was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in the college town of Boulder the day after Christmas in 1996.
The girl’s body was found several hours after her mother called 911 to say her daughter was missing, and a ransom note had been left behind.
She was bludgeoned and strangled, and her death was ruled a homicide, but nobody was ever prosecuted.
According to the AP, details of the crime and video footage of JonBenet competing in pageants pushed the case into one of the biggest mysteries in the U.S.
Authorities were criticized for their handling of the early investigation into her death amid speculation that her family was responsible.
The AP noted that a prosecutor cleared her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, and brother Burke in 2008 based on new DNA evidence from JonBenet's clothing that pointed to the involvement of an "unexplained third party" in her murder.
Former district attorney Mary Lacy made the announcement in the case two years after Patsy Ramsey died of cancer. Lacy called the Ramseys "victims of this crime."
John Ramsey has been outspoken, calling for the case to be solved. In 2022, he supported an online petition asking Colorado’s governor to get involved in the probe by placing an outside agency in charge of DNA testing in the case.
In the Netflix documentary, John Ramsey said he has been pushing for several items that have not been prepared for DNA testing to be evaluated and for other items to be retested. He said the results should be put through a genealogy database, according to the AP.