BOULDER, Colo. – A Netflix docuseries is spurring a renewed interest in the JonBenét Ramsey Case, gaining attention from new generations and those who have long been haunted by the disturbing and complicated cold case.
The docuseries largely centers around JonBenét’s father, John Bennet Ramsey, who for decades has been at the center of public scrutiny, along with his late wife, Patsy Ramsey.
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“ Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey ” emerged on the streaming platform on Nov. 25, 2014, generating a spike in search engine traffic about the 1996 slaying of the 6-year-old found in the basement of her Boulder, Co. home.
JonBenét Ramsey was initially classified as a missing person following a frantic 5 a.m. 911 phone call placed by her mother after discovering a 3-page ransom note demanding $118,000 for her safe release.
She was later found in the family home’s basement with a cord wrapped around her neck and blows to her head. The official autopsy stated she died by strangulation. There was also evidence that she had been sexually assaulted with a paintbrush handle.
The manner in which the home — considered the crime scene — was handled by investigators is at the center of decades-long controversy. Friends of the couple were allowed to visit and move around the home before her body was discovered, roughly eight hours after the 911 call was made, in the basement.
The 6-year-old beauty pageant participant was discovered by her father after investigators told him and his friend, Fleet White, to search the home.
The Netflix documentary, which largely features John Ramsey, provides what viewers are referring to as his side of the story, painting a compelling case that he, his wife and his son, Burke Ramsey, have been the victims of both JonBenét’s death and the media, who John Ramsey claims unfairly painted them as the perpetrators.
The docuseries also focuses on former Boulder Police Department Detective Steve Thomas. who hypothesized that Patsy Ramsey killed her daughter in a fit of rage after the 6-year-old wet the bed. In a 2000 Larry King Interview, both John and Patsy Ramsey confronted the former detective, calling the allegations preposterous.
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No charges have been filed in the JonBenét Ramsey case. John, along with the Netflix docuseries creator director and executive producer Joe Berlinger, are calling on the Boulder Police Department to re-examine DNA collected at the scene. At the time of the autopsy, DNA — not belonging to family members — was detected.
“Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey” is available to stream now on Netflix.
The Trust Project
