Melissa McCarthy shares her theory on JonBenét Ramsey's murder after playing her mom
Nearly 30 years on from six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey's murder, a new Netflix drama is set to explore the unsolved case that captivated the nation.
The little girl was reported missing by her parents on December 26, 1996, and her body was found in the basement of her family home in Boulder, Colorado, a few hours later.
JonBenét's skull was fractured and she had a garrote around her neck. It was later determined that she died from asphyxia by strangulation.
While her body was found quickly, the same can't be said about the case being solved.
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Police investigations had heavily focused on her family – parents John and Patsy Ramsey, and her brother Burke.
After years of speculation, they were formally cleared by the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office in 2008. They were cleared after DNA evidence found on JonBenét’s clothing was consistent with an unknown male, not a family member.
To this day, it's still unknown who murdered the little girl. With this in mind, the cold case has long been of interest and is being depicted in a new Netflix series titled The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey.
In the show, which will debut on the streaming platform on December 10, Melissa McCarthy depicts JonBenét's mother, Patsy.
In a recent interview with Variety, McCarthy shared her thoughts on the theories about JonBenét's death and whether she thinks her family did it.
"My heart says no one in the family could have done that," said the Bridesmaids star. "I don’t have the ability, or probably the right, to say that, but that’s what my gut says. Which I probably am not supposed to say."
McCarthy added: "But shooting that, I had to pick. I had to have that for myself, if nothing else."
Discussing the Netflix series, the 56-year-old insisted that it's not a 'whodunnit' and there's, obviously, no 'big reveal'.
When asked if the show has a point of view on what happened, the actress replied: "This is not a whodunit. It’s not like, 'Ooh, there’s a big reveal!' This is a character study of everyone who was caught in the undertow, and a look at all of us — as a civilization, really. Seeing that happen to a child I think breaks everybody.
"We do show all these different theories. They were all real working theories. Showing the chaos of it is something that we’ve not seen. It’s a new telling of it, because you’re like, 'My God, is this really what was happening?'"
Addressing why she decided to take on the role of Patsy, McCarthy admitted that she initially turned down the role because she 'didn't think it was any of [her] business'.
"I spent a lot of years not working, and somebody took the time to ask me — I should take the time to look into it," she explained further.
"The more I started to, I was really floored by the lack of humanity that had been shown to that family. In 1996, I was 26, and I have a very vivid memory of standing in a grocery store and looking at a tabloid and thinking, 'How could you dress a little girl like that?' Because that’s what we were being told."
Who else is in the cast of The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey?
British actor Clive Owen stars alongside McCarthy as John Ramsey, while Emily Mitchell plays the titular role of JonBenét Ramsey and Angus Caldwell portrays her older brother, Burke Ramsey.
Also starring in the series is Garrett Hedlund as Boulder Police Detective Steve Thomas, Alison Pill as Detective Linda Arndt, Shea Whigham as Alex Hunter and Owen Teague as Shane Edwards.
Clifton Collins Jr. takes on the role of Detective Tom Trujillo and Jaime Ray Newman is set to appear as Amelia Hunt.
Topics: True crime, Netflix, Celebrity, Film and TV
Niamh Shackleton