Almost three decades after JonBenét Ramsey was murdered, her brother Burke has broken years of public silence, highlighting one particular piece of evidence that he believes could help investigators identify his sister’s killer.
The case dates back to December 1996, when six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado. She had been beaten and restrained, and investigators discovered a ransom note nearby demanding $118,000 in exchange for her safe return.
A subsequent autopsy determined that JonBenét died from asphyxia caused by strangulation in connection with craniocerebral trauma. Her death was classified as a homicide.
Despite an extensive police investigation and decades of public scrutiny, no one has ever been charged in connection with JonBenét’s killing.
Burke was only 9 at the time and has spent much of his life under public scrutiny, with online speculation repeatedly pointing fingers at him and his parents, Ramsey and Patsy Ramsey.
Now, the 39-year-old has shared some of his own thoughts on the case in an interview with Daily Mail.
JonBenét Ramsey’s brother
Burke argues that investigators should move away from focusing on the family as suspects and instead use the latest forensic methods to examine the unidentified male DNA found beneath JonBenét’s fingernails and on her underwear.
“We need to find that match. It’s the best evidence we have,” Burke said, according to UNILAD. “It was underneath her fingernails, and it didn’t match any of us. It’s probably the person who did it, and it’s the best chance we have to solve this. And I want it solved.”
Burke urged police to use advanced genetic genealogy testing to help identify JonBenét’s killer.
“I don’t know much about the scientific nitty-gritty, and it’s hard to learn the details of the case because it is emotionally taxing,” he said. “But they need to send those samples to different labs again and keep testing. Find the match. That will go a long way to bringing justice. It’s been 30 years and enough is enough.”
In 2008, former Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy cleared Burke, John, and Patsy Ramsey.
“The DNA says we didn’t do it. I know none of my family did it. I didn’t do it,” Burke said firmly. “It’s like, stop. There was this energy looking at the family, but the DNA is sitting right there.”
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