Judith Miller Is Afraid JonBenet Won't Get Justice

Twenty years after the case that shocked America, a new documentary is trying to find out who killed JonBenet Ramsey, and why. To do that, investigators are not only going over old evidence, but also talking to old friends. So, who is Judith Miller? The former family friend of the Ramsey clan says that she fears that JonBenet will never receive the justice that she deserves in a detailed interview with the team behind the new documentary, The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey.

Miller became acquainted with the Ramsey family when they were both living in Atlanta, Georgia. The Ramseys moved to Boulder in 1991, so that John Ramsey would be able to work at his firm's main office. Miller characterized her relationship with Patsy Ramsey and her family as "closer" after they moved, even playing intramural sports together. "In Boulder we became even closer friends. We were on a softball team together, 'Moms Gone Bad.'" Ramsey was also keen on keeping up appearances, Miller said. "She was a showgirl: her clothing, her home, she was a girl that never compromised." Miller, a photographer, also took the well-known photos of the Ramsey family.

According to Miller, the Ramseys were social butterflies, and Patsy put a lot of time and effort into her home. Miller told the camera, “They had lots of friends. You always felt really welcome when you walked through the door." But that sense of joviality would dissipate after the shocking death of the Ramsey's youngest child the night of Christmas, 1996.

Miller saw firsthand how her friend Patsy changed following that night. “She was not the same person that I had ever known. She looked exhausted, and she kept repeating over and over again 'Who could have killed my baby. Who could have done this?'" Their relationship deteriorated following JonBenet's murder, when Miller alleges that the Ramseys instructed them, and other friends, against talking to reporters, but also against talking with law enforcement.

“My first thought was if there was anything that I knew that could help with the investigation, I’m not going to be silent," she said. "I opened my doors to reporters and talked to police twice. They cut me off as a friend because they thought I betrayed them."

Miller, who knew the Ramseys through her first husband, has since married Tom "Doc" Miller, a lawyer and handwriting expert she met during the aftermath of the case. In The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey, Miller recounted an anecdote about one of the Ramsey's Christmas parties. "JonBenet came down with a beautiful dress, and bleach blonde hair. I was shocked, and I took Patsy aside and said "You’re not dying her hair, are you? And she said 'Oh no, Judith, that’s from the summer sun ...' Oh, are you kidding?"

Miller recounted that she was disturbed by Ramsey's seemingly obvious white lie."It bothered me that she had to lie to me. Why didn’t she just tell me the truth?”

Miller also mentioned another anecdote that stood out to her: a request from Patsy. Apparently, Patsy asked Miller to solicit "protection" from the mayor of Boulder after JonBenet's murder. "I went to the mayor's office and said 'Patsy wants protection' and [the mayor] said 'There’s no murderer out there.'"

Miller says that 20 years later, the case is still affecting her. “I feel angry. I feel angry that that little girl still, after all these years, has not gotten justice. And I don’t believe she ever will.” The DA at the time declined to prosecute the case, due to the existence of evidence that would have led jurors to believe that there was case for reasonable doubt.