In a media infused frenzy to find the killer of a child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey, the 20-year-old mystery has yet to be solved. In hopes of revamping the the case and the effort to find her killer, CBS has created a documentary that follows the footsteps of the popular "Making A Murderer" in a six hour limited series that premieres September 18 on CBS. Before you can dive into the fascinating and bizarre case, here is a quick guide into the murder of a six-year-old beauty queen.
The Discovery
On a December afternoon in 1996, parents of JonBenét Ramsey contacted police about their missing daughter and her trashed room. After finding a ransom note, police urged to check their house for any peculiarities. That same night her father, John Bennett Ramsey found his daughter strangled to death in their own basement, covered by her pure white blanket.
The Official Report
The autopsy reveals that the 6-year-old died from strangulation and had suffered from a fractured skull, but the official report says she died of asphyxiation. Due to such poor care of the crime scene by police and investigators, it’s assumed evidence was removed from the scene.
The Ransom Note
In the special case of JonBenét Ramsey, her failed kidnapper and later killer left a two-and-a-half page hand written ransom note asking for a specific sum of $118,000. The sum is said to match the bonus sum Mr. Ramsey made that year. Whether a coincidence or the family was targeted, the investigators never made a connection. What baffled investigators was the closest handwriting match came from JonBenet’s mother, Patsy Ramsey, but the official conclusion is inconclusive.
The Reaction
After the ransom note demanded money, John Bennett Ramsey was said to have tried to organize a ransom before the discovery of JonBenét’s body in the basement, while her mother, Patsy Ramsey was allegedly talking to friends and family about the ordeal, despite the ransom’s order to keep the matter quiet. The behavior immediately made police suspicious, but nothing came from that line of inquiry.
The Favorite Child
For a brief but intense moment, JonBenét’s 9-year-old brother was a prime suspect in the murder of his sister. After the autopsy, pineapple was found in her stomach, which lead investigators on a chase from pineapple bowl to the fingerprints of Burke Ramsey. The motive would be easy to find since 6-year-old JonBenét would have overshadowed her older brother, and jealousy is a common motive. Yet again, that line of inquiry led to a dead end.
Sex Crimes
Another popular theory is that sex offenders or traffickers had something to do with her botched kidnapping and later murder. With so many tittles such as Little Miss Colorado and America’s Royale Miss, JonBenét was a beautiful and successful pageant girl, which would have attracted both good and bad attention. Since it was rumored that the Ramsey’s lived in a rough neighborhood with sex offender’s at an unsettlingly close distance, the theory has been played over and over again. An investigative journalist wrote an in-depth theory on how JonBenét’s murder was attached to a sex trafficking ring that involved children, but not enough evidence convinced grand jury members in 1999.
The Indictment
Both parents of JonBenét Ramsey were indicted by a grand jury in 1999 for the murder of their daughter, but District Attorney Alex Hunter refused to sign the indictment because of the lack of strong evidence. Since the grand jury indictment, Patsy and John Bennett Ramsey have filed numerous defamation lawsuits against media outlets to try and clear their name.
Close to 20 years later the mystery is being revisited in hopes of putting the case to rest. The link trailer for the special is posted below.
