Who are the primary suspects in JonBenet Ramsey's murder, the current theme of the 20/20 documentary on ABC? The list of suspects includes family members and outsiders like John Mark Karr and Gary Oliva. Despite decades of investigation, no one has been formally charged.
The crime scene: A messy investigation
Right after Patsy Ramsey's panicked 911 call, the Ramsey family house became a chaotic mess that destroyed any chance of a good investigation. Friends kept coming and going, trying to comfort the family, but they ended up ruining possible important evidence that was probably lost forever.
Hours later, John Ramsey found his daughter's body in the basement, wrapped in a white blanket, with her hands tied above her head and tape over her mouth. The criminal had used a garrote made from a paintbrush handle that belonged to JonBenet Ramsey's mother to kill the little girl. John was shocked, and the police looked bad: How did they miss the body during their first search?
JonBenet Ramsey's family becomes suspect
Investigators didn't trust JonBenét's parents from the very beginning. The ransom note, written with the family's paper and pen, looked fake. The exact amount — $118,000 — matched John's Christmas bonus. Suspicious, right?
In later interviews, John and Patsy were angry about being suspected.
"We were a normal family," John said.
Some people thought maybe JonBenet Ramsey died in an accident, and the note was a way to hide the truth. However, in 2008, DNA tests cleared the family. Lou Smit, a famous detective, said their actions showed they were innocent.
A new theory: An intruder
Looking at the evidence months later, Lou Smit found signs that someone from outside might have broken in. The basement window was open, and, even though it was covered in spider webs, he managed to prove that someone could climb through without breaking them.
There was a boot print near the little girl's body that didn't match any shoes in the family. Some marks suggested the use of a stun gun—a device the Ramseys didn't own.
"Could someone get through this window without disturbing the spider webs?" Smit asked in his video notes.
Many people didn't believe him, but he was sure that JonBenet Ramsey's killer was an outsider.
Suspects come and go
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Many people were investigated over the years—but no one was proven guilty. In 2006, John Mark Karr confessed; his DNA, however, didn't match. Gary Oliva, a local criminal, and Michael Helgoth, who owned similar boots, were also ruled out.
Now, people hope new technology will help. Modern DNA tests found unknown male DNA on JonBenet Ramsey's clothes and fingernails. The Ramsey family keeps pushing to test the remaining evidence. Three decades later, her story still challenges people to solve the mystery.
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