In Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?, Her Father Speaks Out

Trigger Warning: This piece contains mention of sexual assault.

The question of who killed JonBenét Ramsey is a persistent one in the true crime community. Now, nearly three decades later, a new Netflix docuseries asks it once again — this time with the help of her bereaved father, John Ramsey.

Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey? (which premiered on Nov. 25) revisits the investigation into JonBenét’s murder, beginning with the harrowing moment her parents learned she was missing on Dec. 26, 1996. The 6-year-old’s body was found in the basement later that day. It was eventually deemed she’d been sexually assaulted, strangled, and suffered a blow to the head.

As the investigation ensued, so too did a media frenzy. Netflix’s new, three-part docuseries examines many factors that complicated the process, including questions about how the investigation was handled, misinformation shared by media, and differences between the Boulder Police Department and District Attorney’s Office.

Addressed throughout Cold Case are theories of who killed the young girl. Some speculated that JonBenét’s own family was involved — the doc notes early questions about the veracity of a ransom note found on the scene — while others pointed to outsiders, including those who might have known her from child beauty pageants.

Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?

Though several potential leads were ruled out due to their DNA not being found at the Ramsey home, the docuseries posits that the crime scene might have been contaminated. John Ramsey — whose wife, Patsy, died in 2006 — claimed in Cold Case that several items from the scene were never sampled. He called for new and additional testing to check those items against a public genealogy database.

According to the doc, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation convened experts to review JonBenét’s case in 2023. They recommended next steps for the Boulder Police Department, which, through a spokesperson, said they’re “giving them serious consideration but won’t say if new DNA tests are being conducted.”

For John’s part, he recently urged the department to accept “all the help that’s out there” in an interview with People. If they do, he said, “Yes, I believe it will be solved.”