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Netflix’s ‘Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey’: The Docuseries’ biggest reveal

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Netflix’s ‘Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey’: The Docuseries’ biggest reveal

I watched a series JonBenet Ramsey There have been special events over the years, and like many of those invested in the case, each hoped they would solve the unfathomable death of a 6-year-old boy at his home in Boulder, Colorado, on Christmas Day. Like previous documentaries, Netflix’s “The Unclosed Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?” It does not give us the answer we have been looking for for 28 years. But what the three-hour docuseries (out now) does exceptionally well is show how wrong it is to doubt the boy’s parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, or his brother Burke, who was just 9 years old when his sister died.

“People hated the Ramseys,” Paula Woodward, the investigative journalist who covered the case, says in the documentary series, “because the information that came out about them was inaccurate.”

In “The Infinite Case” JohnRamsey He was “followed everywhere by the media,” he recalls. “We were staying with friends and within a day or two the house was surrounded by cameras and people were banging on the doors and windows.”

Accuracy check: JonBenét Ramsey’s murder remains unsolved years after 6-year-old’s death

It’s almost surprising to see John in the first few minutes of the premiere. Now 80, his more visible wrinkles and age spots are a reminder of how long he’s gone without answers and how long his family has faced scrutiny. One in four people questioned A survey conducted in 1999 Scripps Howard News Service believed JonBenét’s mother, Patsy, killed her. Producers said Burke had five perfect suspects who refused to participate in “Cold Case,” citing his treatment by the media and “online web sleuths.” Burke received an award in 2019. Undisclosed deal from CBS Following a defamation lawsuit arising from 2016 special linking him to the murder.

“You look at pictures of 9-year-old Burke,” says John Andrew Ramsey, John Ramsey’s child from his first marriage, “and to think, ‘Oh yeah, he could have killed his sister and given birth to her,’ is absolutely ridiculous at that level of violence.”

Here are the most shocking things the Ramseys were subjected to, as presented by “Cold Case.”

‘The Geraldo Rivera Show’ mock trial sent Patsy to bed for ‘about two days’

One of the moments that will blow audiences away is revisiting a 1997 movie mock trial It was run by Geraldo Rivera, then the host of a daytime talk show, to gauge whether the Ramseys were responsible for their daughter’s death. A woman identified as a child abuse expert believes JonBenét became “sexually aroused” after watching a videotaped performance.

“She picks up a saxophone and masturbates with it for the next minute and a half,” the so-called expert says, grossly mischaracterizing footage of JonBenét pretending to play the instrument.

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” Patsy said in an earlier interview. (She died of ovarian cancer in 2006.) “It is sickening that anyone would even remotely mention something this terrible; It just makes me sick.” After the televised “jury” indicted Patsy, she says, “she found herself.” “I went to bed for about two days because I was so embarrassed.”

John Ramsey: Police kept DNA results clearing family secret for months

Investigators collected someone else’s DNA from JonBenét’s fingernails and underwear. Ultimately, the docuseries questions the validity of DNA testing, although it had previously been determined that neither Patsy, John nor Burke were a match.

Some, such as John Ramsey, express belief that police deliberately kept the results to themselves. “In January, their lab told them, ‘We tested the DNA.’ “There is an unidentified male DNA that excludes the parents and son Burke,” says Ramsey. “They kept this secret from the media and the district attorney for months… because it contradicted their inference that we were murderers.”

A reporter said police ‘distorted’ facts given to media

Woodward, the journalist, said police “took this little piece of information, twisted it, and then gave it to a couple of media reporters who said, ‘Hey, that’s what I’m going to do.'”

“The lack of tracks (in the snow) was among the first clues that led police to suspect family members,” says a March 1997 article in the Rocky Mountain News. But those interviewed say there is no snow behind the house to protect the footprints.

Lou Smit, the investigator assigned by the Boulder district attorney to assist with the case, expressed his frustration with Boulder Police in an audio recording. (He died in 2010.) “Obviously there is evidence of an intruder,” he says. “I say this over and over again. Nobody wants to listen.”

And then there’s the ransom note. “Very early on, there were a lot of cops leaking that (a) Patsy Ramsey had written the ransom note,” Woodward says. But Bob Whitson, a former police officer, says at least four experts have concluded that Patsy did not write the note.

So who killed JonBenét Ramsey?

The third episode of the documentary series includes the names of several potential suspects. But the bulk of the episode explores the possibility of the culprit of John Mark Karr, who fled the United States after being accused of child pornography. He knew a frightening number of details about JonBenét and her death and claimed to have committed the murder. However, Karr’s DNA did not match the data investigators collected. (Mary Lacy, former Boulder County prosecutor, previously said: “Mr. Karr’s family cooperated by presenting circumstantial evidence: Mr Karr spent Christmas with his family in Atlanta.”)

Suspecting that there may be a problem with the DNA results, John Ramsey wants these samples retested. He also wants additional items collected from the scene to be tested for the first time. He then asks for these results to be cross-checked with existing databases.

What does the Boulder police department say?

“JonBenét’s murder was an unspeakable crime, and this tragedy has never left our hearts,” Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said in a statement provided to USA TODAY by Public Information Officer Dionne Waugh. “We are committed to following every lead and continue to work with DNA experts and our law enforcement partners across the country until this tragic case is solved.”

Police declined to comment further on “specific aspects” of the crime, citing the ongoing investigation. We encourage anyone with helpful information to reach out via email at [email protected] or by calling (303) 441-1974.

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