Nearly three decades after JonBenet Ramsey was mysteriously murdered, Colorado police say her cold case remains a top priority.
In an annual update, the Boulder Police Department urged anyone with information to report the 1996 slaying of a 6-year-old child beauty queen in her childhood home. Ramsey’s killing has captivated international audiences for decades.
Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said detectives conducted several new interviews and collected and tested new evidence last year based on tips they received. They have released no information about what new evidence they collected.
Meanwhile, police re-interviewed people and re-tested other evidence, particularly using evolving DNA technology.
Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at the residence at 749 15th Street in Boulder, Colorado, where JonBenét Ramsey was killed in December 1996.
“It is never too late for anyone with knowledge of this horrific crime to come forward and I urge those responsible for this murder to contact us,” Redfern said in a pre-recorded video on December 12.
On the morning of December 26, 1996, John Ramsey and Patsy Ramsey called 911 after discovering their daughter was missing. John Ramsey later found JonBenét Ramsey dead in the basement of his home.
An autopsy determined her cause of death was strangulation and that she had been sexually assaulted. She also suffered a fractured skull. There was unknown DNA under her fingernails and in her underwear.
Patsy Ramsey died in 2006, ten years after her daughter. In 2008, local prosecutors used DNA testing to eliminate members of her family, including her brother, as suspects.
Redfern, who joined the department in 2021 and became chief in 2024, said in the video that he had met with JonBenét Ramsey’s family and said they had a common goal of finding the girl’s killer. Boulder Police encourage anyone with information to contact BouldersMostWanted@bouldercolorado.gov or the police tip line at 303-441-1974.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The search for JonBenét Ramsey’s killer remains active; new evidence gathered