Police Testing Evidence in Infamous Unsolved Murder Case

Nearly three decades after the shocking death of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey, Boulder police are still collecting and testing evidence — and her father says he hasn’t given up hope that her killer will one day be found.

“It’s been nearly 29 years,” John Ramsey told ABC News this week. “DNA testing and genealogy research could finally expose the truth. Somebody out there knows something — and science is catching up.”

JonBenét’s murder in December 1996 remains one of America’s most haunting unsolved crimes. The little girl was discovered dead in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado home after her parents found a ransom note demanding $118,000 — a figure that eerily matched her father’s recent Christmas bonus. Hours later, John Ramsey found his daughter’s body.

The coroner’s report determined JonBenét had been sexually assaulted, strangled, and struck in the head. Investigators discovered unidentified DNA under her fingernails and in her clothing, evidence that remains central to the case. Despite intense scrutiny from the media and police, the Ramseys were officially cleared of suspicion in 2008. JonBenét’s mother, Patsy Ramsey, died of ovarian cancer two years earlier, maintaining her innocence until the end.

Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said Friday that the investigation remains a “top priority.” He confirmed that detectives have collected new evidence, conducted fresh tests on old samples, and re-interviewed witnesses in the past year. However, he declined to share details about what was tested or who was questioned.

“We share the same goal as the Ramsey family — to bring JonBenét’s murderer to justice,” Redfearn said. “It is never too late for people with knowledge of this terrible crime to come forward.”

For John Ramsey, now 81, the wait has been agonizing. He’s been calling for independent experts to use advanced genetic genealogy — the same technology that helped identify the Golden State Killer — to reexamine the DNA evidence. “Technology has evolved,” he said earlier this year. “We just need access and transparency. Let the experts do their work. We owe that to JonBenét.”

The child’s death remains one of the most publicized unsolved murders in U.S. history, blending tragedy, mystery, and lingering suspicion. Over the years, countless documentaries, books, and podcasts have revisited the case, but no arrests have ever been made.

“Someone out there knows what happened in that basement,” a former investigator told The Denver Post. “Until the right DNA match surfaces, that person’s secret is still safe.”

As the 29th Christmas since JonBenét’s death approaches, her father says the passage of time hasn’t dimmed his determination. “Justice is coming,” Ramsey said quietly. “One way or another.”