JonBenet Ramsey: No Justice for Tragic Little Beauty Queen (FPD CASE VAULT)
JonBenet Ramsey, a beauty queen in the Little Miss beauty pageant circuits, was found dead and sexually assaulted in her parents home the day after Christmas 1996.
Nov. 24 2023, Published 9:03 a.m. ET
The brutal slaying of adorable six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey gripped America as few crimes have ever done.
On the day after Christmas 1996, holiday cheer turned to horrified despair after the tot's father, millionaire executive John Ramsey, discovered her lifeless body in the basement of the family's mansion in Boulder, Colo.
The young beauty had been beaten and strangled. A nylon cord was wrapped around her neck and duct tape covered her mouth. Her wrists were tied together.
RANSOM NOTE
Grief-stricken parents John and Patsy Ramsey offered a $100,000 reward (left) for the capture of their darling daughter's killer, who left a rambling ransom note (right) demanding $118,000. The monster was never caught.
A chilling ransom note demanding $118,000 was found on the stairs inside the house.
John and his wife, Patsy, who died in 2006 from ovarian cancer, were shattered by the horrifying crime. And the nation awaited justice for JonBenet.
During the hunt for clues, an open window (left) was found in the basement, leading to theories it was used by the killer.; JonBenet's abused body was found lying on the floor in a basement room (right).
But to this day, her murder remains unsolved.
The case appeared to be broken wide open in 2006 when twisted teacher John Mark Karr confessed to killing the child. He was later discredited.
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Bizarre John Mark Karr confessed to the murder while he was in Thailand. After being brought back to the U.S. for trial, he was exposed as a twisted fake.
But there remains hope.
In 2003, forensic experts managed to draw a DNA sample from a tiny, badly degraded bloodstain on JonBenet's panties.
The DNA is compared on a weekly basis to the biological samples taken from newly arrested men which have entered into the FBI's database. Investigators are hoping one day they will find a match.
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