A new DNA technology could help find JonBenet Ramsey’s killer, but Boulder investigators say it is not ready to use on the evidence they hold. JonBenet Ramsey DNA testing was discussed in an ABC News 20/20 episode, “JonBenet Ramsey: Race Against Time, Who is ‘Unknown Male 1?'”, which aired on November 6 with anchor Diane Sawyer and chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky. Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn, speaking in his first interview about the case, said his department is in talks with labs that might test the DNA using forensic genetic genealogy. He said investigators are hesitant to send any sample until they have full confidence that the technology is advanced enough to get results that help the case. The JonBenet Ramsey DNA question now turns on whether the labs can get a result from the material that is left.
JonBenet Ramsey DNA samples may allow one test
Some DNA samples from the body and the crime scene are very small and complex, with multiple strands of DNA mixed together, making it hard to match them verifiably to a single person. Testing can consume some or even all of a small sample. “We might get lucky because we may only, in some circumstances, with what we have, have one shot at getting it tested,” Redfearn said. JonBenet Ramsey DNA could be tested with a newer method called single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP, testing, which can retrieve DNA from miniscule samples. Combined with genetic genealogy, it allows officials to identify suspects by matching DNA to that of distant family members in online genetic databases. The same approach helped solve the Golden State Killer case. A forensic expert, Cassie Leigh, said SNP testing and investigative genetic genealogy offer paths beyond traditional law enforcement databases, but warned the method is not a fix for every sample, especially when DNA from several people is mixed together.
What earlier JonBenet Ramsey DNA testing showed
In 2008, JonBenet Ramsey DNA was found on the outside of JonBenet’s pajama bottoms using a new method called touch DNA analysis. It matched the DNA found inside JonBenet’s underwear and traced to the same unknown male, and not to any member of the Ramsey family. Then Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy wrote to John Ramsey on July 9, 2008, saying her office no longer considered members of his immediate family suspects. “This new scientific evidence convinces us that it is appropriate, given the circumstances of this case, to state that we do not consider your immediate family, including you, your wife, Patsy, and your son, Burke, to be under any suspicion in the commission of this crime,” Lacy wrote. Patsy Ramsey had died of ovarian cancer in 2006, two years before the letter. Later, some Boulder officials said Lacy’s letter was inappropriate for a prosecutor, and she should not have cleared the Ramseys while the investigation was ongoing.
The case after nearly 30 years
The JonBenet Ramsey DNA case began on December 26, 1996, when the six-year-old was found dead in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado, home. Her mother, Patsy Ramsey, had found a two-and-a-half-page ransom note demanding $118,000 for the child’s safe return. An autopsy found that JonBenet had been sexually assaulted and killed by blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation with a makeshift corded device called a garrote. The 20/20 episode included 19 new interviews, with investigators, forensic scientists, genealogy experts, the Boulder police chief and JonBenet’s brothers Burke Ramsey and John Andrew Ramsey. Redfearn said his department is re-interviewing suspects, testing new evidence and pursuing every lead. John Andrew Ramsey said investigators must have courage and act aggressively to get the case solved. “We’ve got the DNA testing that’s in our favor. It’s not a question of if, but when,” he said.
Redfearn said he wants the testing to happen only when the lab work is ready. “I would love nothing more than 30 years since this little girl was murdered in her own home, someone finally decides to get something off their chest,” he said. The JonBenet Ramsey DNA evidence remains in police hands while the department waits for confidence that a test will give a usable result. Until the labs give a clear answer, the JonBenet Ramsey DNA testing stays on hold.