DENVER –
John Bennett’s father, Ramsey, has backed an online petition asking the Colorado governor to intervene in the investigation into her death more than 25 years ago by setting up an outside agency responsible for DNA testing.
A 6-year-old child was found dead in the basement of his family’s home in Boulder on December 26, 1996, beaten and strangled, hours after her mother called 911 to report that her daughter had disappeared and was left behind. ransom note. Her death was defined as murder, but no one was ever prosecuted.
John Ramsey said he wanted DNA evidence that had never been tested before to be transferred by Boulder police to another agency, KUSA-TV reported on Sunday.
“Somehow we have to force the police or take them away, the ability to go on and test some of the evidence at the crime scene that has never been tested for DNA,” he said. “Why this has never been done and will never be done by the police puzzles me.”
The petition notes that advances in DNA and the use of genetic genealogy are addressing colder cases across the country. He criticized the Boulder Police Department for not doing enough to use DNA to solve the case, noting that the department said on the 25th anniversary of JonBenet’s death that it was “actively reviewing the processes of genetic DNA testing.” to see if they can be attached to the case.
A statement from Governor Jared Polis said that “the state will review the petition and see how the state can help use new technology to further investigate this cold case and identify the killer of John Bennett Ramsey.” The statement did not mention police involvement in Boulder.
Boulder Police Department, meanwhile, said it was working with law enforcement and the FBI to investigate, and that DNA from the case was regularly checked for new matches. As of December, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation had updated more than 750 DNA samples from the investigation with the latest DNA technology, the department said in a statement.
“We have a common goal to bring justice – and hopefully – a little peace – to the John Bennett family and all those affected by her loss,” Police Chief Maris Harold said in a statement.
The police department has been criticized for its initial management of the investigation into the death of JonBenet, who competed in beauty pageants.
The details of the crime and the videos of JonBenet from the competitions led the case to one of the most popular mysteries in the United States, unleashing a series of real crime books and television specials.
While the district attorney at the time of JonBenet’s death said her parents were under an “umbrella of suspicion” in the beginning, tests in 2008 on newly discovered DNA on her clothes showed an “unexplained third party” involved in her murder and not her parents. her John and Patsy Ramsey or their son Burke. This prompted former District Attorney Mary Lacey to clear Ramsey of all involvement, two years after Patsy Ramsey died of cancer, calling the couple “victims of the crime.”
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