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Murder of JonBenét Ramsey

Published August 17, 2026Updated August 20, 2026
Dec 26, 1996

Ransom note reported; police respond to family home

Patsy Ramsey reported a ransom note and a missing child at the Ramsey residence in the 700 block of 15th Street; police initiated a kidnapping response.

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  1. early morning
    Patsy Ramsey called 9-1-1 after reporting that she found a handwritten ransom note and could not locate JonBenét.
  2. Responding officers treated the report as a possible kidnapping for ransom and began securing the residence and speaking with people present.
  3. Boulder Police requested assistance from the FBI’s Boulder and Denver offices and the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office while detectives remained with the family.
Dec 26, 1996

Body discovered in the basement; case becomes homicide

A search of the home produced JonBenét’s body in the basement; the investigation shifted from a kidnapping to a homicide.

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  1. early afternoon
    Detective Linda Arndt asked John Ramsey and Fleet White to search the house.
  2. shortly afterward
    John Ramsey opened the basement wine-cellar room and found JonBenét’s body; Fleet White was nearby during the search.
  3. John carried JonBenét upstairs and placed her in the first-floor area. People and objects in the home had already moved through the scene, complicating later reconstruction.
Dec 27, 1996

Autopsy determines cause of death

The Boulder County Coroner conducted an autopsy and recorded the cause of death as asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma; the manner of death was homicide.

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  1. morning
    Boulder County Coroner John E. Meyer performed the autopsy and documented a ligature around the neck, a skull fracture, and other injuries.
  2. The report classified the manner of death as homicide and the cause as asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma; it did not establish the order of the two principal injuries.
Dec 30, 1996

Boulder Police extend crime scene processing; CBI to assist

Investigators continued extended processing of the house and enlisted the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for forensic analysis.

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  1. Boulder Police extended processing of the large residence because investigators said there was substantially more material to evaluate than expected.
  2. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation was assigned forensic examinations of physical evidence and hair, blood, and handwriting samples collected from family members and associates.
  3. Police said the testing could take weeks and that no one had been detained or formally identified as a suspect at that stage.
Dec 31, 1996

JonBenét is buried in Marietta, Georgia

Following funeral services in the Atlanta area, JonBenét was buried at St. James Episcopal Cemetery in Marietta beside her half-sister Elizabeth Pasch Ramsey.

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  1. JonBenét was interred at St. James Episcopal Cemetery five days after her body was found in Boulder.
Apr 30, 1997

Police conduct separate formal interviews with John and Patsy Ramsey

After months of negotiations over conditions, Boulder detectives interviewed John and Patsy Ramsey separately at the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office.

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  1. 8:00 a.m.
    Two Boulder detectives began the interviews with a representative of the district attorney, Ramsey counsel, and a Ramsey-family investigator present.
  2. Police questioned the parents separately; the official release did not disclose the substance of their answers.
Mar 12, 1998

Boulder Police formally recommends a grand-jury investigation

Police Chief Tom Koby and Commander Mark Beckner asked the district attorney to convene a grand jury, saying subpoena authority was needed to obtain testimony and evidence unavailable through ordinary investigative methods.

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  1. Police made the recommendation after approximately fourteen months of investigation and began helping prosecutors review the case files and evidence.
Sep 15, 1998

Boulder County grand jury begins hearing evidence

A Boulder County grand jury was convened to hear evidence and compel testimony in the Ramsey investigation.

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  1. The panel began hearing evidence under the supervision of special prosecutors, with authority to subpoena witnesses and records.
Oct 13, 1999

Grand jury votes for charges; prosecutor declines to proceed

The grand jury voted to indict John and Patsy Ramsey on child-abuse-resulting-in-death and accessory counts. District Attorney Alex Hunter did not sign or prosecute the proposed charges, announcing that there was insufficient evidence to file charges against anyone.

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  1. The grand jury returned proposed counts alleging that each parent unlawfully placed JonBenét in a situation posing a threat of injury and assisted another person connected to the killing.
  2. District Attorney Alex Hunter declined to sign and prosecute the true bills, publicly stating that the evidence was insufficient to file charges against anyone.
Jun 24, 2006

Patsy Ramsey dies of cancer

Patsy Ramsey, JonBenét’s mother, died at age 49 after a recurrence of ovarian cancer.

Aug 28, 2006

Prosecutors reject John Mark Karr’s confession

Prosecutors declined to charge John Mark Karr after his account conflicted with evidence, his DNA did not match the crime-scene profile, and information placed him outside Colorado at the time of the murder.

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  1. John Mark Karr was returned from Thailand after making statements claiming involvement in JonBenét’s death.
  2. Investigators found that his DNA did not match the unidentified crime-scene profile and that material details of his account conflicted with the evidence.
  3. The Boulder County District Attorney announced that no charges would be filed against Karr in the Ramsey homicide.
Jul 9, 2008

District attorney issues Ramsey-family clearance letter

District Attorney Mary Lacy told John Ramsey that DNA testing supported an unexplained third party and that his immediate family should no longer be considered suspects.

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  1. Mary Lacy cited additional testing that detected an unidentified male DNA profile on more than one item of JonBenét’s clothing.
  2. Lacy apologized to the family and wrote that John, Patsy, and Burke Ramsey should no longer be treated as suspects.
  3. The letter represented the district attorney’s assessment, not a judicial ruling; later officials cautioned that the DNA evidence must be considered with the full case record.
Feb 2, 2009

Boulder Police resumes primary control of investigation

The Boulder County District Attorney returned primary investigative responsibility to the Boulder Police Department, which began a renewed cold-case review with outside assistance.

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  1. District Attorney Stan Garnett returned primary investigative responsibility from his office to Boulder Police.
  2. Police initiated a renewed review that included consultation with outside agencies and specialists.
Oct 25, 2013

Court releases previously sealed grand-jury true bills

Following a public-records lawsuit, a Colorado court released four pages showing that the 1999 grand jury had voted to indict both parents on two counts each.

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  1. A court ordered release of the signed true bills after a journalist prevailed in litigation seeking the records.
  2. The four released pages showed two proposed counts against each parent; the remaining grand-jury record stayed sealed.
Dec 28, 2023

Boulder Police convene Colorado Cold Case Review Team and provide update

Boulder Police announced an external cold-case review to generate investigative recommendations and evaluate updated forensic testing options.

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  1. The Colorado Cold Case Review Team examined the investigation and supplied recommendations to Boulder Police.
  2. BPD reported digitizing thousands of paper case materials to make them easier to search and compare.
  3. Investigators said they were consulting DNA experts about further testing while continuing to follow tips and leads.
Dec 1, 2025

Boulder Police reports new interviews, evidence collection, and testing

In its 2025 annual statement, Boulder Police said detectives had conducted new and repeat interviews, collected new evidence, and tested or retested evidence to generate leads while continuing to consult DNA experts.

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  1. Detectives reported conducting both first-time and repeat interviews intended to clarify earlier statements and develop leads.
  2. Police said they had collected additional evidence and submitted items for new or repeat forensic testing.
  3. The department continued consulting DNA specialists but announced no identification, arrest, or change in the case’s open status.