The half-brother of a six-year-old beauty pageant queen murdered 25 years ago has slammed police investigating her killing for "mistakes".
The tiny, broken body of JonBenét Ramsey was discovered in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado, on Boxing Day in 1996 in a mystery horror which rocked America and generated headlines across the globe.
But to this day nobody has ever been convicted of her murder, despite DNA being found at the scene which didn't belong to anyone in the family.
Her half-brother John Andrew Ramsey has launched a petition to change the lead investigative agency of the chilling cold case from Boulder police to an outside law enforcement agency, which he says will be able to use the latest DNA technology to bring her killer to justice.
Boulder police have been in charge of the investigation from the start - apart from a brief period when the district attorney of the town led the case.
More than 6,400 people have signed the petition which calls on the state's governor, Jared Polis, to put the investigation "in the hands of a new agency that's free from Boulder’s significant history with the case".
John Andrew told The Sun : "This case garners a lot of emotion. And there's value to having an unbiased, outside investigator with fresh eyes and fresh perspective and no baggage to come in and look at this case.
"The lead investigator is someone who was at the house in 1996. That's not a positive for this case."
He continued: "The focus is making sure the same mistakes that were made in '96 won't be made today."
John Andrew claims that at an early stage of the investigation Boulder police did not accept assistance from colleagues in Denver and the FBI.
His petition claims that new arrests in cold cases are happening across the US "at an unprecedented rate" thanks to advances in DNA since JonBenét's death in 1996 but that police in Boulder are dragging their feet.
It reads: "Boulder Police are working hard to placate the public by telling the media that they hope DNA will solve this case while, at the same time, doing very little to make that happen.
"And it makes sense: the same two key investigators from 1996 still have control of the case. Isn’t it time for new perspectives and ideas?
"In short, justice for JonBenét has seemingly given way to politics and the massaging of egos. She deserves better.
"Everyone, from the police to the family, should have a vested interest in finding the truth. The fact that those with the ability to do that are not doing it should tell us everything we need to know."
The Boulder Police Department said in a statement that the investigation "has always been and will continue to be a priority" and that it had met in March "with DNA experts from around the country".
It read: "The Boulder Police Department is aware of the recent request involving the homicide investigation of JonBenet Ramsey and wants the community to know that it has never wavered in its pursuit to bring justice to everyone affected by the murder of this little girl."
Governor Polis' office told The Sun that they will review the petition and "look into how the state can assist in using new technology to further investigate this cold case and to identify JonBenet Ramsey's killer and bring him or her to justice".
