Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey? Netflix series looks at unsolved case suspects

Berlinger says the series targets “those who have played armchair detectives for three decades, often callously blaming people who have suffered such unthinkable loss.”

“Through unprecedented access and a comprehensive multi-year investigation, we uncovered deep flaws in how the case was initially handled, resulting in a sea of ​​conspiracy theories that nearly destroyed the Ramsey family for a second time,” he said ahead of the programme. release.

Ahead of the docuseries coming to the streaming service, we’re taking a look at what we know for sure about JonBenét Ramsey and those connected to the case.

Who was JonBenét Ramsey?

JonBenét Ramsey was born on August 6, 1990. She has won numerous child beauty pageants, including Royal Miss America and Little Miss Colorado. He was joined by his mother, Patsy, who regularly competed in competitions in her youth.

In the early morning of 26 December 1996, JonBenét was reported missing by her parents, who found a ransom note demanding $118,000 (about £93,000) to ensure the safe return of their daughter.

JonBenét’s father, businessman John Ramsey, claimed that the amount requested was about the same as her Christmas bonus, leading her to believe that the kidnapper was someone who knew her.

While an initial search of Ramsey’s luxury family home was unsuccessful, a second search of the property found John’s daughter’s body in the basement. JonBenét’s mouth was covered with duct tape, cords were tied around her wrists and neck, and her body was covered with a blanket. An autopsy revealed that he died of asphyxiation and also suffered a fractured skull. Detectives ruled his death a homicide.

Who killed JonBenét Ramsey? Suspects and evidence

ramsey family

Following the murder, suspicion immediately fell on the Ramseys. Police investigating the murder raised concerns about the ransom note left because it was unusually long and was written using a notebook and pen already in the family’s home. The strange ransom amount also raised suspicion.

Police also claimed that John and Patsy were reluctant to co-operate with police investigations. But the family rebuked this, saying they did not want to be scapegoats and police needed to conduct a thorough investigation.

In addition to John and Patsy, their son Burke, who was nine years old at the time of the murder, was also interviewed by the police. They also had to submit handwriting samples to prove they did not write the note. While John and Burke were acquitted, Patsy’s handwriting sample was inconclusive; but there was no evidence to support the theory that he wrote the note.

No members of the Ramsey family were officially named as suspects by authorities, and in 2000, John and Patsy were released. Death of Innocence Regarding the murder of their daughter, they absolutely denied any involvement.

In 2008, new tests on JonBenét’s clothes found DNA implicating an “unexplained third party” in her death. This led Boulder district attorney Mary Lacy to absolve the Ramsey family of any involvement, claiming the family “was also the victim of this crime.” The Ramseys’ exoneration came two years after Patsy died of ovarian cancer.

Burke Ramsey is comforted by his father following Patsy’s death

Burke also maintained his innocence; In 2008, American talk show host Dr. He caught up with Phil and talked about how he grew up as part of a loving family.

There was physical evidence indicating that it was the intruder who killed JonBenét; Along with new DNA evidence, a boot print was found next to his body and there was a broken window in the basement, suggesting forced entry.

John Mark Karr

In 2006, teacher John Mark KarrHe confessed to the murder of JonBenét, who lives in Thailand. So was Karr. Linked to child pornography charges in the US At that time, he claimed that he had drugged the child before sexually assaulting him. Karr claimed that he killed her accidentally.

However, most of Karr’s claims were quickly debunked upon investigation; JonBenét’s autopsy showed that she had not been drugged, and Karr’s DNA did not match DNA found on the body. The only details Karr gave about the case were those that were already public, and his confession was quickly discredited.

Gary Oliva

In recent years, convicted sex offender Gary Oliva has emerged as a suspect. in 2016 Arrested after he was found using public Wi-Fi to upload images of children being sexually abused. There were also many photos of JonBenét previously leaked to the press, including 19 autopsy photos.

While serving a 10-year prison sentence (he was released on parole earlier this year),

Oliva wrote a letter to his schoolmate Michael Vail, claiming that he had killed JonBenét.

“I never loved anyone more than JonBenét, and yet I let her slip, let her head split in half, and watched her die,” he wrote in 2019. It was an accident. Please believe me. “He wasn’t like the other kids.”

Oliva was living just 13 houses away from the Ramsey family in Boulder at the time of the murder.

Vail also alleges that Oliva called him the night JonBenét was killed, before her death became public, and claimed he had “hurt a little girl.” Vail claimed that although he reported the phone call to Boulder authorities twice, they received no response.

Oliva’s DNA did not match the DNA found on JonBenét’s body, but his handwriting is thought to be similar to that in the ransom notes. Despite the developments, Oliva did not face any charges in the case.

Boulder police reopened the case in 2010. and claimed that they had since examined “more than 21,000 tips, more than 1,000 interviews conducted in 17 states and two foreign countries, and samples from more than 200 different individuals, including handwriting, DNA, fingerprints, and shoe prints.”

The case file consists of nearly 2,500 exhibits and nearly 40,000 reports, documenting more than a million pages of the investigation.

‘Unclosed Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?’ currently available to watch on Netflix