Nearly three decades after her murder, JonBenét’s surviving family members still continue to search for her killer
Courtesy of Netflix
Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet Ramsey, John Andrew Ramsey and John Ramsey in ‘Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey’
The murder of JonBenét Ramsey in December 1996 still haunts her surviving family members nearly 30 years later.
The pageant queen was just 6 years old when she was found dead in her Boulder, Colo., home the day after Christmas in 1996. While the late 1995 Little Miss Colorado was used to attention from audiences, in the aftermath of her murder, it was her family who were thrust into the spotlight.
JonBenét’s mother, Patsy, and father, John Ramsey, as well as her half-brother John Andrew and brother Burke Ramsey, were all put under a microscope by investigators as well as the public in the search for answers about her death.
In 1999, a grand jury voted to indict John and Patsy Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting in death and being accessories to a crime, but they were later cleared of any criminal involvement. JonBenét’s killer has yet to be found, though investigators and her family are hopeful that DNA evidence may identify a suspect eventually.
Now, the unsolved case is being thrown into the spotlight yet again through Netflix’s three-part docuseries, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, which will premiere on Nov. 25. Ahead of the docuseries’ release, John told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that he is hopeful his daughter’s case “will be solved.”
Since then, JonBenét’s family members have each tried to move on while still trying to get justice for the budding child model that they lost too soon. Find out where JonBenét Ramsey’s parents and siblings are now.
What happened to JonBenét Ramsey?
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JonBenet Patricia Ramsey posing for a beauty pageant portfolio for an upcoming Beauty Pageant.
At 5 a.m. on Dec. 26, 1996, Patsy found a ransom note on the stairs of the family’s Boulder home purportedly “from a small foreign faction,” saying that JonBenét had been abducted. The note, written with a Sharpie on a pad from the Ramsey home, demanded $118,000, the exact amount that John recently was paid in a bonus from his job as a computer executive, and said to expect a call from the abductor. Patsy called 911 and reported that JonBenét had been kidnapped.
Local officers and FBI agents from Denver arrived shortly afterward, but no call came. There were no signs of forced entry on the Ramseys’ property or in their home.
After police left to obtain a search warrant, around 2 p.m., John and an unidentified family friend found JonBenét’s body in a windowless room of their basement. She had duct tape over her mouth and a garrote around her neck. She’d been struck over the head and strangled and showed signs of potential sexual abuse.
What happened to JonBenét’s parents and siblings following her death?
Mark Fix/ZUMA Press
JonBenet Patricia Ramsey winning a beauty pageant at 1996 America’s Royale Little Miss National Beauty contests.
JonBenét’s murder remains unsolved, but several suspects and persons of interest have emerged through the years, beginning with her parents and brother Burke.
After a year of secret testimony, a grand jury voted to indict Patsy and John on charges of child abuse resulting in death and being accessories to a crime. The grand jury ruled at the time that the pageant princess’ parents “unlawfully, knowingly, recklessly and feloniously [permitted] a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation which posed a threat of injury to the child’s life or health.” The Boulder County prosecutor declined to pursue criminal charges against the couple and Burke, however, saying the evidence wasn’t compelling enough to implicate them.
In 2008, then-D.A. Mary Lacy cleared Patsy, John and Burke of any involvement in the murder.
“The match of male DNA on two separate items of clothing worn by the victim at the time of the murder makes it clear to us that an unknown male handled these items,” Lacy said in a statement addressed to the Ramseys. “To the extent that we may have contributed in any way to the public perception that you might have been involved in this crime, I am deeply sorry.”
In 2016, prosecutor Stan Garrett told PEOPLE that he didn’t believe the Ramseys should be considered exonerated, but that they still have the presumption of innocence.
In December 2021, police told PEOPLE that they’d “received, reviewed or investigated more than 21,016 tips, letters and emails and detectives have traveled to 19 states to interview or speak with more than 1,000 individuals in connection to this crime.”
When did Patsy Ramsey die?
Erik S. Lesser
John and Patsy Ramsey attend a press conference following questioning by the Boulder, Colorado police on August 28, 2000.
In the years that followed JonBenét’s murder, the Ramseys moved to Atlanta and Patsy underwent treatment for ovarian cancer, which she’d previously endured years prior. She died from ovarian cancer in 2006, two years before she and John were cleared of wrongdoing in their daughter’s death.
Where is Burke Ramsey now?
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Dr. Phil and Burke Ramsey in 2016
In 2012, John told PEOPLE that Burke, then 25, worked as a software engineer, had a girlfriend and lived a generally quiet life. Describing his son as “pretty quiet,” he noted, “He’s certainly matured. He’s got a 401(k) plan and an IRA, and he did it all on his own.”
In September 2016, Burke spoke publicly about JonBenét’s murder on Dr. Phil, telling Dr. Phil McGraw that he knows some people think he or his parents killed his younger sister. He and his parents have always maintained their innocence.
Burke also said that when police arrived at his family home after Patsy called 911, he didn’t leave his bedroom and initially didn’t believe that JonBenét died when John broke the news to him, thinking his little sister was just “hiding somewhere.” He said he thinks a “pedophile from the pageant circuit” killed JonBenét and that they may have entered the home while the family was out on Christmas Day.
Later that month, CBS aired a special titled The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey that floated the theory that Burke hit JonBenét with a flashlight, accidentally killing her, and that his parents aided in covering up his guilt. The investigative team in the show pointed to Burke’s demeanor during questioning on Dr. Phil as an indicator of his guilt, a point with which other experts took issue.
Legal analyst Scott Robinson told PEOPLE, “I’m astonished at the conclusions that people can make about someone’s guilt or innocence based on an interview they see on television. He was awkward and didn’t show much emotion, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
That December, Burke sued Dr. Werner Spitz and other experts featured in the special for $150 million, citing defamation, as well as CBS for $750 million. In January 2019, the Associated Press reported that Burke and CBS settled the lawsuit, though the details weren’t disclosed.
Where is John Andrew Ramsey now?
ABC News
JonBenet Ramsey’s half brother John Andrew Ramsey gives an interview with ABC’s 20/20.
JonBenét’s older half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey, has been vocal about his sister’s case over the years and expressed criticism of the Boulder Police Department’s handling of the pageant star’s murder. Still, he is hopeful that DNA evidence will aid in finding the killer.
Describing himself as “a numbers guy,” he told Westword in July 2023, “An easy way to improve the odds [of catching JonBenét’s killer] is to identify and investigate any child sex offenders living in Boulder in 1996. To further narrow the field, we are looking for a very rare breed of pedophile. A sadistic pedophile. A creature so craven they gain pleasure by torturing and quite often killing young children.”
Where is John Ramsey now?
Courtesy of Netflix
John Ramsey in ‘Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey’
After Patsy’s death, John briefly dated Natalee Holloway’s mother, Beth Twitty. In 2011, he married his third wife, fashion designer Jan Rousseaux.
As of 2016, John and Jan split their time between Michigan (where the Ramseys moved when Burke was in high school) and Las Vegas.
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2024, John claimed the answer to his daughter’s murder could already be in the hands of the police. However, Boulder police haven’t approved the DNA testing of genetic material left on the garrote used to strangle JonBenét and other items at the crime scene.
“We’re begging the police to engage,” Ramsey said. “There are cutting-edge DNA labs that want to help and who believe they can move the case forward.”
He added of his daughter’s case: “If it stays in the hands of the Boulder Police, it will not be solved, period. If they accept help, all the help that’s out there, that’s available and offered, it will be solved. Yes, I believe it will be solved.”
