JonBenet Ramsey’s dad bashes Colorado cops for refusing to use ‘modern technology
JonBenet Ramsey’s father slammed Colorado cops for refusing to use the most advanced DNA technology and failing to pursue suspects outside of the child’s family, according to a report Wednesday.
John Ramsey told NewsNation that the Boulder Police Department has turned down help from third parties who are more equipped to solve his daughter’s 1996 case — including with cutting-edge genetic databases and advanced DNA labs.
“We’re not asking the government to do anything that they shouldn’t be doing,” Ramsey said. “Just do your job, and do it as best it can be done. With today’s modern technology.”
Ramsey — who last week launched a petition demanding an independent investigation into his daughter’s strangling death — said the technology at the police department is outdated.
“You know, the police said, ‘Well, we have DNA people,’ [but] they don’t have the latest technology, they really do not,” he said. “There’s crime scene evidence that has never been tested, that should be tested [and] most likely was handled by the killer.”
Even the feds aren’t up to speed on the latest genetic technology, he said.
“We had a meeting with the FBI a couple of months ago, and they said, ‘You know, look, we don’t even have the latest technology in government,’” he said. “They said you have to go to an outside lab of which there’s probably less than three or four in the country that are very capable of doing this very sophisticated DNA analysis.”
Genetic database sleuthing has in recent years helped solve decades-old cold cases — leading to the arrest of Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. in 2018, for example — but many law enforcement departments are not yet well-versed in the technology.
In the NewsNation interview, Ramsey called the Boulder Police Department ill-equipped and “arrogant” for refusing help with the probe.
“They didn’t have a homicide detective when this happened. So they had no experience, and I don’t fault them for that. What I do fault them for is they turned down help from people that knew what they were doing. And they continue to do so today,” he said.
“That that type of arrogance and ego … is a real problem,” Ramsey said.
After JonBenet was found dead, he said cops simply “decided” a family member was guilty — then worked backward to prove it.
“They decided, I think, frankly, the first day that the family did it there in the house,” he said. “And then they went about: OK, now let’s put together some evidence to prove it.”
“And, you know, the same people are there today that work this manage this case, 25 years ago? They were young novices then, and I don’t know if they learned a whole lot more since,” he said.
JonBenet, a 6-year-old beauty pageant competitor, was found strangled to death in the basement of her parents’ home on Dec. 26, 1996.
The following years were rife with false investigative starts — including finger-pointing at her father, mother and brother — along with wild conspiracy theories but no resolution.
On Sunday, the Boulder Police Department responded to John Ramsey’s petition for an independent probe, saying, “Our investigation with federal, state and local partners has never stopped. That includes new ways to use DNA technology.”
The Boulder Police Department didn’t immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
