Murder of JonBenét Ramsey
| JonBenét Ramsey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
JonBenét Patricia Ramsey August 6, 1990 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | December 25 or 26, 1996 (aged 6) Boulder, Colorado, U.S. |
| Cause of death |
Asphyxia by strangulation Craniocerebral trauma |
| Body discovered | Boulder, Colorado, U.S. |
| Resting place |
St. James Episcopal Cemetery Marietta, Georgia, U.S. 33°57′18″N 84°33′23″W / 33.95501°N 84.55637°W |
| Parent(s) |
John Bennett Ramsey (father) Patsy Paugh (mother) |
JonBenét Patricia Ramsey (/ˌdʒɒnbəˈneɪ pəˈtrɪʃə ˈræmzi/; August 6, 1990 – December 25 or 26, 1996) was an American child beauty pageant queen who was killed in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado, on the night of December 25–26, 1996, at the age of six. A lengthy ransom note was found in the house, and her father, John Ramsey, found JonBenét's body in the basement of their house about eight hours after she was reported missing. She sustained a broken skull from a blow to the head and had been strangled; a garrote was found tied around her neck. The autopsy report stated that the official cause of death was "asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma". Her death was classified as a homicide. The case generated nationwide public and media interest, in part because her mother Patsy Ramsey (herself a former beauty queen) had entered JonBenét in a series of child beauty pageants. The case still remains an open investigation with the Boulder Police Department.
The police suspected that JonBenét's death was caused either by Patsy or JonBenét's nine-year-old brother Burke, and they believed that the ransom note and appearance of the body were staged by the parents in order to cover up the crime. In 1998, both the police and District Attorney (DA) said that Burke was not a suspect. The Ramseys gave several televised interviews, but resisted police questioning except on their own terms. In October 2013, unsealed court documents revealed that a 1999 grand jury had recommended filing charges against John and Patsy for permitting the child to be in a threatening situation and hindering the discovery and prosecution of an unidentified person who had "committed ... the crime of murder in the first degree and child abuse resulting in death". However, the DA determined there was insufficient evidence and did not pursue an indictment. In 2002, the DA's successor took over investigation of the case from the police and primarily pursued alternative theories of a non-family intruder committing the killing. In 2003, trace DNA taken from the victim's clothes was found to belong to an unknown male, inducing the DA in 2008 to send the Ramseys a letter of apology declaring the family "completely cleared". In February 2009, the Boulder Police Department took the case back from the DA and reopened the investigation.
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