Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about the infamous murder of JonBenet Ramsey, Netflix has just dropped another docuseries that sheds a whole new light on the case that gripped the world.
Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey dropped on Netflix on November 25 and features everything you need to know about the crime, the mishandling of the case, and the media circus that has followed the family for three decades.
What happened to JonBenet Ramsey?
JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado home the morning after Christmas in 1996.
Her body was found seven hours after she had been reported missing, when her mother found a long, handwritten ransom note.
Her cause of death was found to be “asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma”, and was officially ruled a homicide.
As of November 2024, no one has been charged with the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.
Who is involved in the documentary?
Unlike many other documentaries on the murder, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey features interviews with those closest to the case, including her father John Ramsey (her mother Patsy Ramsey died in 2006).
Lawyers and journalists who covered the case when it first happened were also interviewed for the docuseries.
Crucially, the docuseries also features recordings made by the late Colorado Springs homicide detective Lou Smit. At the time of the investigation, Smit came out of retirement to assist Boulder Police with the case, but he eventually left after just 18 months due to frustration with the police force and their handling of the case.
“No one really has looked at the work of Lou Smit, who I think was a pioneering genius in this space,” Oscar-nominated director Joe Berlinger said of the detective. “My series ultimately takes a very strong point of view that the Ramsey’s are innocent and that the police and the media completely abused them.”
Berlinger’s previous documentary Paradise Lost not only earned an Oscar nomination, but also helped to correct historical injustices in the case of the West Memphis Three — which resulted in the men convicted of the crime walking free.
JonBenet’s brother Burke did not participate
JonBenet’s brother Burke Ramsey declined to participate in the docuseries. According to producers, the reason for his absence was due to his treatment by the media and “online web sleuths” in the years since the murder.
For context: in 2019, Burke received an undisclosed settlement from a defamation suit relating to a 2016 CBS special that pinned JonBenet’s murder on him.
The director believes the JonBenet Ramsey case can be solved
Speaking about the documentary’s release, Berlinger noted that while there are countless other documentaries about the cold case on streaming services, he wanted to make this one because he had something to say.
“I want to do something when I have something to say, and I feel like I have a number of things to say here,” he said. “Most importantly, I think that this crime can actually be solved.”
How have the police responded to the docuseries?
In a statement provided to USA Today, Boulder Police are committed to following up on “every lead” regarding the JonBenet Ramsey case.
“The killing of JonBenét was an unspeakable crime, and this tragedy has never left our hearts,” Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said in a statement. “We are committed to following up on every lead and we are continuing to work with DNA experts and our law enforcement partners around the country until this tragic case is solved.”
The docuseries focuses heavily on the treatment of the Ramsey family
While Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey is far from the first documentary to dive into the case, it takes a different turn than most.
Unlike many documentaries, which focus on the crime itself — and often point the finger at the Ramsey family — Cold Case focuses on how the investigation, and the media frenzy that followed, may have unfairly cast blame on the Ramseys.
In the docuseries, John’s son from his first marriage questioned how anyone could think Burke — then nine — could do such a heinous thing.
“You look back at pictures of nine-year-old Burke,” says John Andrew Ramsey, John Ramsey’s child from his first marriage.
“It’s just absolutely absurd to think, ‘Oh yeah, he could’ve killed his sister and delivered this level of violence.'”
Police kept DNA results a “secret”
DNA collected from under JonBenet’s fingernails and on her underwear was determined not to be a match for John, Patsy, or Burke Ramsey — but John claims police intentionally kept these results to themselves.
“They were told in January by their lab, ‘We tested the DNA. There is unidentified male DNA, which excludes the parents and the son, Burke,’” Ramsey says. “They kept that secret from the media and from the district attorney for months … because it conflicted with their conclusion that we were the killers.”
Police “twisted” facts before giving them to the media
According to journalist Paula Woodward, police involved in the investigation “took these little bits of information, twisted them around, and then gave it to these few media reporters who said, ‘Hey, I’ll go with it.’”
For example, one news article that has been cited countless times in the decades since the murder cites the “absence of tracks” in the snow being an indication that it could have been one of the family members who committed the murder.
However, people who have been interviewed as part of the case claim there was no snow on the ground that would’ve preserved any footprints.
According to Smit, there was “clearly there’s evidence of an intruder” at the Ramsey house.
“I say this over and over and over again. Nobody wants to listen,” he said.
How to watch Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey
You can stream all three episodes of Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey on Netflix now.
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