A new documentary premiering on Netflix on Monday will explore one of the nation’s most infamous cold cases.
JonBenet Ramsey, 6, was found dead in the basement of her home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 26, 1996. Her death was ruled a homicide. Almost 30 years later, her killer still has not been identified.
The three-part docuseries Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey? by Academy Award–nominated director Joe Berlinger will reexamine the mysterious death.
What happened to JonBenet Ramsey?
JonBenet was found dead with duct tape on her mouth and a nylon cord around her wrists and neck. Part of her body was covered by a white blanket.
An autopsy report found that JonBenet was killed by strangulation and a skull fracture.
In this May 24, 2000 file photo, Patsy Ramsey and her husband, John, parents of JonBenet Ramsey, appear at a news conference in Atlanta regarding their lie-detector examinations for the murder of their daughter. A new Netflix docuseries will reexamine JonBenet’s unsolved killing.
AP Photo/Ric Feld, File
Who was JonBenet Ramsey’s mother, Patsy?
Patricia “Patsy” Ramsey was born in West Virginia in 1956. She won the Miss West Virginia title in 1977.
Patsy married John Ramsey in 1980 at the age of 23. They had two children, Burke and JonBenet.
She entered JonBenet in child beauty pageants in Boulder. JonBenet won the titles of America’s Royale Miss, Little Miss Charlevoix, Little Miss Colorado, Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl and National Tiny Miss Beauty.
Patsy reported JonBenet missing at 5:52 a.m. She told officials that a ransom note had been left claiming that JonBenet had been kidnapped and demanding $118,000 for her return. JonBenet was found dead seven hours later.
Patsy and John were both questioned by Boulder law enforcement officials, who said the couple was “under an umbrella of suspicion” for possible involvement in the killing.
In 1999, a grand jury voted to indict Patsy and John on charges of child abuse resulting in death, but Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter did not sign the indictment, citing insufficient evidence.
Patsy died from ovarian cancer at the age of 49 in 2006.
Who is JonBenet Ramsey’s father, John?
John Ramsey was born in Nebraska in 1943. He joined the Navy in 1966, where he served as a Civil Engineer Corps officer in the Philippines for three years. He also served in an Atlanta reserve unit in eight years.
John later worked as a businessman and was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce in 1996.
He married his first wife, Lucinda Pasch, in 1966. They had three children together. The couple divorced in 1978.
JonBenet’s body was discovered by John and Fleet White, a family friend. John picked up the body and went upstairs, which created complications for the forensics team.
In 2004, John ran for a seat in Michigan’s House of Representatives. He came in second place in the Republican primary, winning 24.3 percent of the vote.
John appeared on TODAY on Thursday to discuss the upcoming docuseries. He said he still hopes for answers in the case.
“So we want to keep the case alive and in front of people,” John said. “I believe it can be solved if the police accept help from outside their system. That’s been the flaw for 25 years.”
When did JonBenet Ramsey’s father remarry?
John married his third wife, Jan Rousseaux, in 2011. Rousseaux is a fashion designer. The two met at a wedding in 2009.
Who is JonBenet Ramsey’s brother, Burke?
Burke Ramsey was born in 1987. He was three years older than JonBenet.
Patsy, John and Burke were the only people known to be in the house on the night of JonBenet’s death.
In 1999, the police and district attorney both said that Burke, who was 9 years old at the time of her death, was not a suspect.
Was there DNA found on JonBenet?
In 2003, forensic investigators used a blood sample to create a DNA profile. The DNA did not match the DNA of her parents or other individuals close to her family. The sample was submitted to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which contains more than 1.6 million DNA profiles, but no matches were found.
The Boulder District Attorney “completely cleared” John and Patsy of any wrongdoing in JonBenet’s death based on the DNA evidence in 2008.
In 2016, new forensic analysts found that the sample contained genetic markers from two individuals.
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