JonBenet Ramsey’s parents indicted by grand jury in 1999, documents show
BOULDER, Colo. – A grand jury found enough evidence to indict the parents of JonBenet Ramsey for child abuse and accessory to first-degree murder in the 6-year-old’s death, newly unsealed documents revealed Friday, nearly a decade after DNA evidence cleared the couple.
But the 1999 documents shed no light on who was responsible for the child beauty queen’s death, and 14 years later, authorities are no closer to finding her killer.
The documents confirmed reports earlier this year that grand jurors had indeed recommended an indictment in the case, contrary to the long-held perception that the secret panel ended their work without deciding to charge anyone.
At the time, then-District Attorney Alex Hunter didn’t mention an indictment, saying only that there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant charges against the Ramseys, who had long maintained their innocence.
The grand jury met three years after JonBenet’s body was found bludgeoned and strangled in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, the day after Christmas in 1996. Lurid details of the crime and striking video footage of the child in adult makeup and suggestive pageant costumes propelled the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the U.S., unleashing a series of true-crime books and TV specials.
Many tabloid headlines later, tests in 2008 on newly discovered DNA left behind by someone who touched JonBenet’s long underwear pointed to the involvement of an “unexplained third party” in her slaying, and not the Ramseys or their son, Burke.
The tests led Hunter’s successor, Mary Lacy, to clear the Ramseys, two years after Patsy Ramsey died of cancer. In a letter to John Ramsey, she called the couple “victims of this crime.”
Finding a match in the nation’s growing DNA database could hold the best hope for someday solving the killing of JonBenet, who would now be 23. Her slaying is considered a cold case, open but not under active investigation.
One of John Ramsey’s attorneys, L. Lin Wood, said the documents released Friday are “nonsensical” and the grand jurors didn’t have the benefit of having the DNA results.
“They reveal nothing about the evidence reviewed by the grand jury and are clearly the result of a confused and compromised process,” he said.
While the killer’s identity is still unknown, Wood said there’s no mystery about the Ramseys’ role.
“The Ramsey family is innocent,” he said. “That part of the case, based on the DNA evidence, is a done deal.”
Boulder police, who were criticized for their handling of the investigation, issued a statement saying the documents show the grand jury agreed with investigators that probable cause existed to file charges. However, the statement acknowledged that the evidence would have to meet a higher standard than probable cause for prosecutors to take the case to trial.
The current district attorney, Stan Garnett, declined to comment but will publish an op-ed piece on Sunday, given the complexity of the case, a spokeswoman said.