Boulder police department issue update on Jonbenét Ramsey murder case after brother reveals one clue could solve it
Investigators have revealed they're 'retesting' evidence in the case of the murder of six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey nearly 30 years later.
On December 26, 1996, JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was killed in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.
The child beauty pageant star was reported missing earlier that day and her body was found around seven hours later in the basement of the house. A handwritten ransom note was also discovered in the property.
The Ramsey family immediately came under suspicion from police and the public, however, when DNA belonging to an unidentified male was discovered underneath the six-year-old's fingernails, the family were cleared from the investigation. The identity of the man remained unresolved.
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However, in a news briefing this week, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn confirmed the department is 'retesting things that were tested 30 years ago with newer technology'.
Boulder Police 'more hopeful' now 'retesting'
Redfearn noted 'maybe something comes of that' adding that it's not that something 'was missed' but 'maybe the technology just improved enough that we look at, hey, this item was tested in '97, we're testing it again, and hey, look, we found something that was missed in '97'.
Boulder County DA Michael Dougherty continued: "Chief Redfearn and I are more hopeful now than we have been in the past because of the advances in the investigation and the advances in technology. And I say that based on just how DNA has progressed over time.
"We're not gonna do it recklessly, to use Chief Redfearn's word. We're also not gonna hesitate. We recognize the clock's ticking. None of us are gonna be here forever. We wanna see this case solved for everyone involved and everyone impacted by it."
It follows JonBenét's brother Burke Ramsey stressing there was one clue that held the key to solving her murder - the DNA recovered from underneath her fingernails 'the best chance' to 'solve this'.
Burke Ramsey believes DNA from under fingernails is 'best chance' to 'solve this'
Burke, who was just nine years old when his sister was killed, told the Daily Mail the DNA recovered from his sister's fingernails is 'the best evidence' they have.
He continued: "It was underneath her fingernails and it didn't match any of us. It's probably the person who did it, you know, and it's the best chance we have to solve this.
"I don't know much about the scientific nitty-gritty and it's hard to learn the details of the case, because it is emotionally taxing. But they need to send those samples to different labs again and keep testing.
"Find the match. That will go a long way to bringing justice. It's been 30 years and enough is enough."
JonBenét's father, John Ramsey, has similarly spent years asking authorities to use investigative genetic genealogy to try and identify his daughter's killer.
JonBenét's other brother John Andrew Ramsey is also resolute the DNA holds the key to his sister's killer.
He told Fox News: "The testing available in the late 1990s was far less sensitive than today’s, yet it still detected this male DNA in the same spot as her blood. In 2008, touch DNA testing found the same unknown male’s DNA on both the left and right sides of the waistband of her long johns.
"It is the killer’s DNA."
Topics: US News, Crime, True crime, Police
Poppy Bilderbeck
