Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder

On the night of December 25, 1996, six‑year‑old JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was killed in her family's home at 755 15th Street in Boulder, Colorado. She was reported missing early on December 26, and her body was found about seven hours later in the basement of the house. Her skull had a 8.5 inch fracture on the right side of her head, and a garrote was tied around her neck. The autopsy determined that the cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma, and the case was ruled a homicide. The Boulder Police Department initially focused on the Ramsey family, particularly a handwritten ransom note found in the house, which investigators believed had been written by JonBenét's mother, Patsy Ramsey. Police theorized that the note and the condition of JonBenét's body had been staged by Patsy and her husband, John Bennett Ramsey, to conceal responsibility for the killing. In 1999, both the police and the district attorney stated that JonBenét's nine‑year‑old brother, Burke, was not a suspect. That same year, a grand jury voted to indict the Ramseys for child abuse resulting in death and for accessory to a crime. Then-district attorney Alex Hunter declined to sign the indictment, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove the charges at trial. In 2002, a new district attorney, Mary Lacy, assumed control of the case and advanced the theory that an intruder had entered the home and committed the killing. In 2003, trace DNA recovered from JonBenét's clothing was found to belong to an unidentified male, and the Ramseys were excluded as contributors. In 2008, Lacy sent the family a letter stating that they were cleared by the DNA results. Subsequent district attorney Stan Garnett would say, in 2016, that Lacy's decision was not legally binding, and that Lacy never should have written the letter. In 2009, the Boulder Police Department resumed control of the investigation and continues to treat the case as an open homicide. The killing drew extensive national and international media attention, fueled by JonBenét's participation in child beauty pageants, the family's wealth, and the unusual evidence associated with the case. Media coverage scrutinized the police response, advanced competing theories, and prompted multiple defamation suits by Ramsey family members and associates. The case remains unsolved, and the Boulder Police Department provides periodic public updates.