JonBenét Ramsey: Police believe new DNA tech could crack the case

‘As of December 2021, that evidence has included the analysis of nearly 1,000 DNA samples’

JonBenét Ramsey (Sipa/Shutterstock)

The use of genetic DNA testing to solve the infamous sexual assault and murder case of six-year-old child JonBenét Ramsey has not been ruled out.

Boulder authorities are hoping to use a genetic DNA testing process to find her killer, the police said in a statement released on the 25th anniversary of the murder.

The city’s police department said it was “actively reviewing genetic DNA testing processes” to see if the technology can help them trace down the killer as they have collected 1,000 DNA samples and 1,500 pieces of evidence related to the murder.

“As of December 2021, that evidence has included the analysis of nearly 1,000 DNA samples,” the statement said.

“Thanks to the huge advances in DNA technology, multiple suspects have been run through the system to check for matches. CBI [Colorado Bureau of Investigation] has updated over 750 reference samples with the latest DNA technology,” it added.

“Additionally, Boulder Police have worked with CBI to ensure the DNA in the system can be compared correctly to new DNA samples that have been uploaded to ensure accuracy,” the officials further said.

The statement said that the Boulder police department was working closely with the CBI on any future DNA advancements.

JonBenét was found dead in a basement room in December 1996 with strangulation marks on her body. Evidence showed she was hit on the head and was sexually assaulted.

An autopsy had confirmed strangulation as the cause of her death.

The child was first reported missing on 26 December after her family found a ransom note asking for a payment of $118,000 (£89,012). The note was found inside the family’s home.

Boulder police department officials said they processed more than 1,500 pieces of evidence related to the murder case.

The department’s Major Crimes Unit has also “received, reviewed or investigated more than 21,016 tips, letters and emails.”

The detectives probing the case traveled to 19 states so far to interview or speak to more than 1,000 individuals in connection to the case that has attracted the entire country’s attention for a quarter century.

No one has been charged in the child’s murder so far.

Boulder police said after the death that the parents Patsy and John remained under an “umbrella of suspicion”. The two were publicly cleared of the accusation of any involvement in 2008.