The father of JonBenét Ramsey, a six-year-old girl found murdered in her Boulder, Colorado, home in 1996, is speaking out ahead of the release of a new Netflix documentary revisiting the case that has riveted the true crime community for more than two decades.
John Ramsey, 80, said he appeared on TODAY on Nov. 11 to keep pressure on police to continue to search for his daughter’s killer, and in hopes that someone who knows information about the murder may come forward.
“I believe it can be solved if the police accept help from outside their their system,” he said. “That’s been the flaw for 25 years.”
JonBenét Ramsey was found dead on Dec. 26, 1996, along with a ransom note asking for $118,000 in the Ramsey home in Boulder, Colorado. An autopsy report ruled she died from asphyxiation due to strangulation, and no one has been charged with wrongdoing in connection with her death.
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Ramsey was joined on TODAY by Joe Berlinger, the director of the upcoming Netflix docuseries “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey,” who also agreed that the case can be solved, citing items recovered from the crime scene that need to be tested for DNA for the first time, and other pieces that he believes should be re-tested.
“I don’t understand this institutional intransigence to solving a case,” Berlinger said. “They need help. There are labs, private labs, that can do this, that have offered help. It’s time to solve this case.”
“This is the most brutalized man, I think, in American history,” he continued, referring to John Ramsey. “Imagine losing your child in the way that that child was lost and being blamed by the media, in large part because the police fed false stories or incomplete stories to the press, and it was just a wildfire of wrongful accusation.”
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Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn issued a statement to NBC News ahead of the release of the documentary on Nov. 25.
“We are continuing to work with DNA experts and our law enforcement partners around the country until this tragic case is solved,” he said in part.
The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement to NBC News it was “continuing to work with federal, state and local agencies to make progress.”
John Ramsey said that while he was offered the opportunity to watch the new Netflix series, he chose not to.
“I’m doing this for the sake of my children and my grandchildren. This cloud over our family’s name needs to be lifted,” he said. “They need to be able to go on and close this chapter and go on with their lives. It’s hard on them.”
He added that he is doing what he can to clear up his family’s reputation for the sake of his children.
“Finding the killer is not going to change my life. I’ve lost JonBenét and it’s not going to bring JonBenét back. I would like to close this chapter so we can be more rest and at peace,” he said. “I won’t give up pressing the authorities to do their job until I see that they do their job, and that’s been the frustration for 25 years.”
John Ramsey said he was hopeful that Redfearn, who became Boulder’s police chief in September, will be open to help from outside authorities to help solve the case.
“The new chief of police seems like a good guy, (an) open communicator. All he’s got to do is open the door and let all this help in that’s standing there waiting to help,” he said.
Berlinger explained why he set out to make a new documentary about the case, which has been extensively covered by the media and true crime enthusiasts for the past 25 years.
“There’s a whole new generation of true crime fans that have rediscovered the story, going down these rabbit holes on Reddit and message boards, continuing to blame the family, continuing to spin conspiracy theories, continuing this absurd story that maybe the brother had something to do with or do it — it’s just nuts,” he said. “I really wanted to set the record straight.”
John Ramsey called the media attention on his daughter’s case “a double-edged sword.”
“We’re grateful that the public, and frankly, the world, cares about the murder of our child ... I’m grateful for the attention, but the goal has been to get the police to accept help,” he said.
Nearly three decades after JonBenét Ramsey’s death, John Ramsey explained why he’s still searching for her killer.
“You don’t get over it. One mother described the loss of her child as a hole in her heart that won’t heal, and that’s a good description,” he said. “You’re different going forward. What we realized early on was we needed to be stronger now than ever, for our other children who are still living, this was a horrible tragedy for them, and for us, too.”
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