New docuseries on JonBenet Ramsey murder mystery set to premiere on Netflix

By 
 November 17, 2024

For nearly three decades, one of America's most intriguing unsolved crimes is the 1996 murder of 6-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey, who was found dead in her family's Boulder, Colorado home on the morning after Christmas.

Now a new docuseries set to premiere on Netflix seeks to answer the question of "Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?" by taking a fresh look at the cold case, according to the Daily Mail.

It also aims to answer the prayers of the slain girl's father, John Ramsey, himself once a prime suspect in the horrific crime, who has devoted the past few decades to finding his daughter's killer and bringing them to justice.

A fresh look at an old case

The new three-part Netflix docuseries titled "Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?" is a project from Academy Award-nominated producer and director Joe Berlinger and is set to premiere on the streaming service on November 25.

Per a press release, the series "scrutinizes the missteps of law enforcement and the media, highlighting the relatively straightforward measures that could potentially solve this haunting mystery."

It also probes the question of whether Colorado law enforcement authorities will "finally take the necessary actions to bring JonBenét Ramsey’s killer to justice and offer her family the peace they’ve long sought?"

In an October interview with Deadline, Berlinger said, "Many people think they know the JonBenét Ramsey story and have played armchair detective for three decades, often callously pointing a finger at the very people who suffered such an unthinkable loss."

"Through unprecedented access and a comprehensive multi-year investigation, we reveal the deep flaws in how the case was originally handled, resulting in a sea of conspiracy theories that nearly destroyed the Ramsey family for a second time," he added.

Parents initially viewed as the suspects

On the morning of Dec. 26, 1996, per the Daily Mail, John and Patsy Ramsey were frantic when their 6-year-old daughter JonBenet appeared to be missing and a ransom note was found in their home, but that worry turned to horror when her brutalized body was later found dead in the basement, with evidence suggesting she'd been sexually assaulted and strangled.

Initially, the Boulder Police looked sharply at John and Patsy, as well as their son Burke, who was 9 at the time, as the primary suspects in the murder case, and that narrative of their likely guilt was perpetuated for years by the police and the media.

However, in 2008, about two years after Patsy died from cancer, newly discovered DNA from an "unexplained third party" exonerated the family and led investigators to belatedly consider other possible suspects, including a few individuals who had confessed to killing the little girl.

The investigation continues

John Ramsey has long been highly critical of the Boulder Police and has insisted that they dropped the ball on DNA testing while he has also demanded that they continue to investigate the terrible crime that ended his daughter's life.

For their part, the police have countered that they've done everything they can but are continuing to probe the murder. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Boulder district attorney, Shannon Carbone, told the Daily Mail that a recent review of the cold case had proven "helpful" and sparked hope that investigators would "make progress on this tragic case."

Carbone added, "The overarching goal is to look at the facts and evidence with fresh eyes and an open mind, armed with the latest developments in forensic science."

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