JonBenét Ramsey letter ‘naming killer’ could be ‘deflecting cops away from real suspect’ as Netflix director slams claim
THE letter addressed to JonBenét Ramsey’s father that claims to identify his daughter’s killer could be a means to deflect investigators from the real suspect, a retired police lieutenant told The U.S. Sun.
John Ramsey, 81, made headlines a week before the 28th anniversary of his 6-year-old daughter’s unsolved murder when he disclosed he had received a puzzling letter that is now being reviewed by a private investigator.
Ramsey said he has received dozens of fresh tips related to the case due in part to the release of the new Netflix docu-series, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey.
One letter in particular from an unknown woman claiming her ex-husband was behind the killing raised eyebrows.
The note, Ramsey told the Daily Mail, read, “My ex-husband’s the killer, and I’ve kept this inside for as long as I can – please, please call me.”
Ramsey said he called the number the woman provided, but she never responded.
Since then, he said he has shared the letter with a private investigator.
‘IT FEELS LIKE IT’S WITHIN REACH’
A retired lieutenant from the Loveland Police Department in Colorado questioned whether the letter arose because of the popularity of Netflix’s docu-series or Boulder police’s “optimistic” statement about the case heading into the New Year.
“I’m wondering if the letter recently received is the result of the Netflix documentary or if it’s generated in response to Boulder police saying that they feel that they think they might crack the case in 2025,” Bob Shaffer, the ex-commander of Loveland police’s criminal investigations unit, told The U.S. Sun.
Police sources in Colorado told the New York Post in early December that they are “optimistic” about JonBenét’s case heading into 2025.
“I’m not sure what it will take to bust it wide open,” one of the sources told the outlet.
“But it feels like it’s within reach. We’re hoping for 2025: this is our year.
“It hasn’t been as aggressive as anyone had hoped, but now there’s a lot of pressure to get this solved.”
A second source told the outlet that the new Boulder police chief, Steven Redfeam – who took over the force in early 2024 – has turned his attention to the case.
“He wants it solved and off the books, and he’s assigning officers and resources to solving the murder, which has been a black mark on the Boulder PD,” the source added.
“We f**ked the case up from the start, and now, with new blood, we can finally fit it.”
‘PREEMPTIVE STRIKE’
Shaffer believes the letter could have been a way to distract Boulder police from their investigation.
“From a law enforcement perspective, it seems a little too convenient that this letter shows up when Boulder PD said that they think they might crack the case in 2025,” the 37-year police veteran told The U.S. Sun.
“It’s my speculation that Boulder has some new DNA avenues to pursue that they think may reveal the killer or point them in that direction.
“If someone thought that those results might point towards them, the letter might be a ‘preemptive strike,’ so to speak, that would be creating an alibi or deflect away from the Boulder police investigation.”
Despite the perspectives from law enforcement officials, Joe Berlinger, the director of the latest Netflix docu-series, believes the supposed new lead was overblown.
“Mr. Ramsey did an interview and he just mentioned this in the context of ‘year, we’ve gotten some recent activity because of the documentary – for example I’ve got a letter on my desk right now,'” Berlinger told The U.S. Sun in an email.
“He didn’t mean it to be like it was a great lead.
“They just don’t know and not sure who is looking at it to verify it.
“They tried to call her, she left a number. The number didn’t go through.”
Berlinger added, “So, he’s told people that the family has gotten a lot of these now and this may be something maybe not.
“But it’s not to get excited about right now.”
WHO KILLED JONBENÉT RAMSEY?
On the morning of December 26, 1996, mom Patsy Ramsey let out a harrowing scream from the first floor of the family’s home in Boulder, Colorado, when she found a rambling two-and-a-half-page ransom note on the staircase toward the back of the house.
The note, addressed to John Ramsey, stated a group of individuals linked to a foreign faction had kidnapped their daughter and demanded $118,000 in exchange for the girl’s safe return.
“She was just screaming,” Ramsey previously told The U.S. Sun.
“She’d found this note on the stairway and then went and checked JonBenét’s room, and she wasn’t there.
“I read the note as quickly as I could, and Patsy was standing by the phone, so I told her to call the police.”
Several hours went by without any word from the supposed kidnappers or any sighting of JonBenét.
Boulder police conducted extensive search efforts in the area and thoroughly combed the Ramsey residence for clues.
A desperate Ramsey and a friend eventually searched the home themselves, going down to the basement and opening an unfinished wine cellar.
There, Ramsey found the body of his daughter with a rope tied tightly around her neck.
At the end of the rope was a broken paintbrush that investigators determined came from Patsy’s art set.
Evidence indicated that JonBenét had been sexually assaulted and tortured.
The coroner who performed JonBenét’s autopsy determined the little girl died from suffocation in conjunction with forcible trauma to her skull.
JonBenét had an 8.5-inch skull fracture and several markings on her neck and hands.
Suspects investigated in the JonBenét Ramsey case
Child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey, 6, was found dead in an unfinished wine cellar section in the basement of her family's Boulder, Colorado, home on December 26, 1996.
JonBenét’s parents reported her missing after mom Patsy found a handwritten ransom note on the staircase toward the back of the family’s home.
Hours passed without any sighting or word from JonBenét’s supposed kidnappers as Boulder police combed through the home and the surrounding area.
JonBenét’s body was eventually found by her father, John Ramsey, in the basement. A rope was tied tightly around her neck, and at the end of the rope was a broken paintbrush.
An autopsy determined the 6-year-old had been sexually assaulted and tortured.
In the decades since the unsolved murder, investigators have probed several potential suspects connected to JonBenét’s case.
List of suspects:
- John and Patsy Ramsey: At the start of the investigation, police focused on JonBenét’s parents and her then-9-year-old brother, Burke. Boulder police believed Patsy wrote the ransom note at the scene after she allegedly became enraged that JonBenét wet the bed. Police alleged Patsy viciously injured her daughter in a fit of rage, causing her death and setting up the crime as a kidnapping. The parents were cleared when the DNA evidence found under JonBenét’s fingernails, on her clothing, and her underwear was linked to an unknown male. The DNA did not match John, Patsy, or Burke Ramseys.
- John Mark Karr: In 2002, John Mark Karr, an elementary school teacher living in Thailand at the time, began communicating with an investigative journalist. Karr disclosed details about JonBenét’s murder that were not known to the public. With the help of journalist Michael Tracey, authorities arrested Karr in Bangkok and extradited him to Boulder. However, the case again hit a wall after Karr’s DNA did not match the samples taken from the crime scene. Karr’s estranged wife also provided an alibi, saying Karr was in North Carolina on the day that JonBenét was killed. Despite being cleared, Karr continued to claim he was with JonBenét when she died.
- Gray Oliva: The U.S. Sun extensively reported how convicted pedophile Gary Oliva confessed multiple times to killing JonBenét in letters to a high school friend. Oliva was released from prison in January 2024 after serving less than eight years of a 10-year sentence for child pornography charges. In letters to high school friend Michael Vail, Oliva confessed multiple times to killing JonBenét, claiming it was an accident. Oliva was living in the Boulder area on and off at the time of JonBenét’s murder, police said. Despite his obsession with JonBenét, Olivia was cleared by DNA evidence.
- Michael Helgoth: At the time of the 1996 murder, Michael Helgoth worked at a nearby auto salvage yard. Helgoth owned a pair of Hi-Tec boots that appeared to match a print left at the crime scene. He also owned a stun gun – a weapon investigators believe the murder suspect used on JonBenét. Private investigator Ollie Gray claimed Helgoth’s family owned a taped confession of guilt. Helgoth died by suicide in 1997. However, the DNA evidence found at the scene did not match that of Helgoth.
- John Brewer Eustace: Investigators for JonBenét’s case traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1997 after learning that John Brewer Eustace had broken into a home, kidnapped, and sexually assaulted a 2-year-old toddler. When police searched through Eustace’s belongings, they uncovered a notebook of clippings about JonBenét’s case. However, he was eventually ruled out as a suspect after a “rock solid” alibi confirmed Eustace had been working at a factory on the night JonBenét’s murder occurred.