Who were the suspects in the JonBenét Ramsey cold case?

JONBENET Ramsey was just six years old when she was murdered in her family home on Christmas Day. 

Her killer was never found but a new Netflix documentary named Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey hopes to uncover who her murderer really was. 

JonBenét’s tragic murder

JonBenét Ramsey lived in Boulder County, Colorado with her dad John Bennet Ramsey, mom Patricia, known as “Patsy”, and brother Burke.

She competed in several child beauty pageants and took home titles including America’s Royale Miss, Little Miss Charlevoix, Little Miss Colorado, Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl and National Tiny Miss Beauty. 

On the night of December 25, 1996, JonBenét was killed at her home and hidden in the property’s basement. 

She was reported missing on December 26, launching a search for the six-year-old which ended in the discovery of her body behind a door in the basement. 

This sparked an investigation into who murdered JonBenét which had two lines of inquiry. 

One examined whether she was killed by a family member and the other suggested she was killed by an intruder, who might have entered through the property’s two open windows or basement door.  

JonBenét’s family

John, Patsy and Burke were never named as suspects in JonBenét’s murder but much of the police inquiries into the six-year-old’s death focused on her family. 

Patsy was the person to report her daughter as missing, after discovering a two-and-a-half page ransom note on the kitchen staircase. 

The note was written using a pen and some paper that belonged to the Ramseys, and it asked for a monetary amount equivalent to John’s annual Christmas bonus. 

The police thought that this meant one family member or someone who knew them well, could have been responsible for the murder. 

JonBenét’s autopsy revealed what was believed to be pineapple in the six-year-old’s stomach and her older brother Burke’s fingerprints were on a bowl of pineapple in the kitchen. 

His parents claimed that he had been asleep in his bed all night, though, and there was no physical evidence to dispute this. 

Burke sued CBS after one of their documentaries appeared to imply that he was the killer, but the case was settled and amicably resolved to the satisfaction of all parties in 2019. 

Both John and Patsy were publicly exonerated by Mary Lacy, the Boulder County District attorney, and Burke was cleared of suspicion. 

Gary Howard Oliva

The other line of inquiry suggested that an intruder might have assaulted and murdered JonBenet. 

Gary Howard Oliva, a convicted pedophile, was publicly named as a suspect in 2002.

He was found to have made a phone call on the night of JonBenét’s death in which he said “I just hurt a little girl” and was found to have been near the Ramsey home when she died. 

When he was arrested in 2016 for two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one count of sexual exploitation of a child, he was found to have several pictures of JonBenet. 

Some of these photos included her autopsy pictures. 

Oliva’s DNA was found not to match traces on JonBenét’s body, but his handwriting showed a striking similarity to the writing on the ransom note found in the Ramsey home. 

John Mark Karr

On August 15, 2006, John Mark Karr confessed to the murder and sexual assault of JonBenét.

The school teacher was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, after claiming to have drugged the six-year-old before murdering her. 

However, his confession fell apart under scrutiny since he was only able to provide basic details about the case. 

Also, JonBenét’s autopsy had not indicated the presence of any drugs in her body and there was no evidence to suggest the teacher was even in Boulder County at the time of her death. 

Karr’s DNA did not match the traces found on JonBenét’s body either. 

A Netflix Documentary 

The  Netflix documentary Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey will try to solve the mystery of the young girl’s death.

The three-part series will also focus on the extensive investigation into the Ramsey family and the effect this had on them.

The show will land on the streaming platform on November 25, 2024.