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Subscribe to RSSIn 1999, the district attorney in Boulder Colorado made the decision that there was not enough evidence to file charges against anyone in the death of JonBenet Ramsey, but members of the grand jury in the case are now revealing they voted to indict Ramsey's parents. NBC's Erica Hill reports.
A Colorado grand jury voted to indict the parents of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey more than 13 years ago, but prosecutors reportedly refused to go forward on the case, according to the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper.
The grand jury voted in 1999 to indict John and Patsy Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting in death, three years after their 6-year-old daughter was bludgeoned and strangled in the basement of her family's house on Christmas Day.
But former Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter declined to sign the indictment, believing he could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, the Daily Camera reported.
"I and my prosecution task force believe we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant the filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time," Hunter told reporters in October 1999.
June 24: Patsy Ramsey, the mother of murder victim JonBenet Ramsey died of cancer at 49. NBC's Mark Mullen looks back at Patsy Ramsey's life and her daughter's unsolved murder.
"Child abuse resulting in death" is a Class II felony punishable by up to 48 years in prison, according to the Daily Camera.
"We didn't know who did what," a juror told the Daily Camera on the condition of anonymity. "[B]ut we feel the adults in the house may have done something that they certainly could have prevented, or they could have helped her, and they didn't."
Hunter, who left his post in 2008 after 28 years as district attorney, declined to discuss the grand jury's decision, according to the Daily Camera.
But in a 2001 interview with NBC News, Hunter said he had no regrets about his decision not to charge anyone.
"I have enough people that I respect that have said to me, 'You know, you made a tough call, you made a call the public didn't like. But you were true to the law, you were a good prosecutor, and that's plenty for me.'"
Dec. 20: As the anniversary of JonBenet Ramsey's murder approaches, her father John Ramsey -- once considered a suspect -- tells TODAY's Katie Couric that the family is confident the killer will be caught.
Lin Wood, John Ramsey's attorney, backed up Hunter's decision in a statement to NBC News.
"The DNA tests performed after the time of the Boulder grand jury not only prove the Ramseys to be innocent and the grand jury wrong, they also make D.A. Alex Hunter a hero who wisely avoided the miscarriage of justice," Wood said.
Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer in 2006. The couple and their older son, Burke Ramsey, were exonerated in the case in July 2008, even though they were never formally charged in connection with JonBenet's death.
"To the extent that we may have contributed in any way to the public perception that you might have been involved in this crime, I am deeply sorry," former Boulder County District Attorney Marcy Lacy wrote in a letter to John Ramsey in 2008. "No innocent person should have to endure such an extensive trial in the court of public opinion."
Ramsey family via AP, file
This image made from an undated family video shows JonBenet Ramsey performing during a beauty pageant.
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For all of you who made such nasty statements indicating the parents and the older son got a way with murder because of their wealth, you are ignoring the facts in the case. They were completely exonerated of the crime because once the police finally decided to do their job they were able to link the DNA in the case to someone who, by the time a different team of investigators worked on the case several years later, was already in prison for another murder of a child. Unfortunately he died in prison before they had a chance to try him for this crime. The parents not only had to endure the horrible loss of a child but also the years of torture caused by being tried in the court of public opinion that was fueled by accusations by the prosecutor, the investigators, the media and scumbags like you who love to point the finger without the facts.
Oh Brett...you'd believe in Santa Clause if someone told you so....
Hey Brett.
Who the hell r u to call someone a scumbag?
well why the hell does the media fail to bring this to light...
Nobody else could have done it except for one or both of the parents. What world/fantasy land are you living in Brett? Are you one of those people that still belief Catholic priest around the world could NEVER have done those things/acts to children?
Bretts a troll of the worst kind.
One or both of the parents . . . or the brother.
"No innocent person should have to endure such an extensive trial in the court of public opinion."
You see, the court just cares about the living...tough sh1t about the dead girl.
And you only want to see someone hanged, even if they are innocent.
What part of "innocent" is unclear to you?
They were never declared innocent, just indicted and never tried.
Rex Indictments are a dime a dozen in fact MOST Indictments are thrown out or unused due to new evidence directing the state to another suspect.
DNA has proven none of her families DNA was on her body, but a Foreign DNA was.. in the form of a pubic hair. So what your saying they cleverly put a unknown males pubic hair into her panties to mislead the cops? Where did they get that hair on such short notice?
Two laws in this country. One is for the wealthy, a different law for the Peons. American justice at it's finest. I remember when I read the story of the murder the article said John Ramsey said he searched the house for his daughter but he didn't search the basement where his daughter was found. What? You search the whole house but not the basement? Are you kidding me? And this didn't make the police suspicious? Great police work.
I believe the expression is: "You're as innocent as your money can buy."
True...and after the policewoman arrived to investigate what allegedly up to that point was a kidnapping, John then went downstairs and "discovered" her body...and then carried her upstairs and laid her body on the floor.
hmmm. daddy playing with the daughter, mommy in a jealous rage, kills her? needless to say, I always thought they were guilty as sin.
Did you even read the article?
It stated they where Indicted sure, but it also states they where CLEARED of all guilt in 2008 via DNA, this included her mother Patsy.
So you know for future reference, Indictment is not the same as Conviction.
Old News. How 'bout them Lakers?
The sicko parents who enter their kids in these beauty contest need to have their children taken away. They are exploided them! Who knows who did this to this poor child , her picture was posted everywhere! That is whats wrong with parents today, they need to let children be children! Not little porn queens.
The mothers are living out their fantasies through their little daughters and the fathers who don't put a stop to it are just as bad. It's sick.
I think the mother did it!
Old News! The point is? Find some new news to write about.
It is new news, the fact that they were indicted never was revealed until now.
But its pointless news, the indictment is Moot as we now KNOW from DNA they where CLEARED. This is a pointless new article.
The Ramseys were the number one suspects in the people's
opinions. But the people are not procecutors or investigators.
Americans have always had a lynch mob mentality wanting
someone to pay for a crime as quick as possible. That mentality
is why a few people in prison are innocent. I am in favor of
capitol punishment so don't think I am lenient on crime. I just
think in this case the public wanted blood too quickly. If these
people were innocent they went through hell with all the accusations.
I saw an interview years ago with the Ramseys and I don't believe they are guilty. They just didn't come across as liars like Van Der Sloot and others have. I've also never seen convincing evidence against them, just circumstantial stuff that was really a stretch. I'm for one, am glad this witch hunt never resulted in a hanging.
We'll probably never know for sure.
Smeado thats the way it's supposed to work. No convincing evidence = no conviction. But some in here "know" they're guilty.
I bet you think OJ and Casey Anthony are innocent also.
No. I think both Simpson and Anthony are most-likely liars and got away with murder. The evidence and the way they acted are too compelling. But I don't feel the same way about the Ramseys for the reasons I've already stated.
I am in agreement Smeado. I think Anthony and Simpson did commit or at least had a big hand in the crime. I do not feel that way about the Ramseys, most people expect them to still be completely broken over the death of their child and to break down every time someone looks at them or their guilty. They had another child (9) who just lost his baby sister and needed them more. So most of these people are saying their guilty because they acted like Parents and held it together for their other kid.
The point is being missed by the majority of commentators here. The prosecutor is wrong. It was he who took the case to the grand jury in the first place. It was he who produced the evidence. Based on that presentation the grand jury returned a true bill. Then for whatever personal reason he had the prosector decided to sweep the whole matter under the rug.
Remember the saying "you can indict a ham sandwich"? It's not a very high bar to get an indictment. It's nowhere near a reasonable doubt standard.
Federal indictment panels require one year of service. Most people who spend a year on those panels see why the saying 'you can indict a ham sandwich came about. It is because the majority have never learned what it means to think critically - and skeptically.
A trial would have been helpful to the general public just to sort out all of the rumors and half truths. The investigations always find some things that the public doesn't get. But of course, that's not the intent of a trial. Based on what I remember they definitely didn't have enough evidence to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. The alternative to someone in the family seemed like a far fetched possibility but weird things happen.
The problem is you cannot try someone for murder twice. So if they took it to court and the jury came back with Not Guilty and then they found an Iron Clad piece of evidence next year then they cannot use it.
I believe it was the Ramsy's son that actually performed the murder of his sister..it was the Ramsy's that did everything they could to protect him..he had a lenghty phsylogical history prior to her death that included cruilty to small animals and household pet's...this is all due to the neglet he felt from his mother who's only concern and obsseion for him or poor little Joan Bennet was to parade her around in clothing and makeup way beyond her years in some vain attemtp to win beaty pagents for 3 year olds.....ONLY THE WEALTHY DO THIS TO PROTECT THERE PROGINY, A POOR PERSON WOULD HAVE DONE THE RIGHT THING OR BEEN IN JAIL THAT NIGHT AND HAD TO PROVE THERE INNOCENCE.... doesnt bring her back but I see this empowered attitued from the wealthy in this country far too often,,,many times someone dies and no one ever goes to jail...or not till many years and millions stashed later...ie the kennedy kid in jail for murder of his then teenage neighbor
Yeah right... only rich people protect their own and poor toss family members under the bus.
None of what you are saying is true. Burke did NOT have any psychological problems whatsoever. Please stop spreading rumors.
it's true and he did it......just because the rich and influential can pay and influence the outcome make them no less guilty of the crime....even the way the poor child died is obvious it was him look at the cause of the death. he was the only other person in the house the mothers letters were smoke and mirrors,,,I understand some get mad at this but the facts speak volumes just what happened and yes
less wealthy people would have to throw there other child under the bus to prevent themsleves from going to jail that night !! or take the fall for it....it is just that simple and the truth would have come out in no time ahd the paarents been locked up and sepreated that night...end of story except this wont be the last little child lost like this with no one going to jail.
He had no history of what you claim Tim, and I believe you were one of the ones who were convinced that Casey Anthony's father killed Caylee. Prove what you say about Burke, or be consider a LIAR!
They absolutely knew who assaulted and murdered that poor little girl. I hope she comes back someday and gets even with the monster who took her life!! Hear no evil see no evil??? Garbage!!!!
Don't think it was the parents, think it was either a competitor's parent, or a pedophile.
And your proof would consist of what? There was no break in of the house.
There was a hand print found at the scene that was never identified.
footprints at the basement door also
The window in the basement was not broken from the inside. If it had been, glass would have been found in the window well. It wasn't. Glass was found on the suitcase sitting on the floor beneath the window.
Spider webs were not found in the broken glass. A web was found in the window frame.
If you think the parents are responsible, please offer a scenario for your opinion.
The ransom note was not in Patsy's handwriting. Her handwriting had some characteristics of the note but also many, many differences. Expert handwriting examiners count inconsistencies as much, if not more, than consistencies. Patsy's handwriting was not considered a match.
So why would a stranger write a practice ransom note?
why would a stranger molest and murder a 6 year old? Insane people do insane things. Hell I throw out whole page notes if I think I messed up my hand writing too much.
Former FBI agents have said that the mother did it, but never arrested because of other "powers". Indicated the reason by mother was to teach daughter a lesson. The daughter had been getting less agreeable and mindful of the mother's requests and misbehaving.
Former FBI agents were presented with the "evidence" by the Boulder Police Dept. and only presented the evidence they chose to indicate the guilt of the Ramseys. An independent retired FBI agent (behavioral science analyst) did not--and still does not--believe the Ramseys were guilty and his opinion is based on the evidence, both physical and psychological.
JonBenet was not being disagreeable or misbehaving, therefore, Patsy had no reason to "teach her a lesson."
She was wetting her bed and defecating. This was not acceptable behavior for a person like Patsy who lived vicariously through her daughter and wanted her to be perfect
Sorry, but she was not defecating in her underwear. She was six-years-old and not yet adept at wiping herself. What has been discussed in all the books and case files is "skid marks." All of John Ramsey's children wet the bed until a late age. This was also discussed in police interviews with the Ramsey', including the older children.
I have believed very strongly since that day of her tragic death that the parents had something to do with it ..and never for one minute bought the B S story of some guy they say broke into the house..so I guess then her murder goes unsolved and the parents just get to walk away..shows you why more and more people do not like the justice system..it needs a good overhaul as right now and for ten or more years has not worked. just look at that creep who planned and gunned down those people at the theater..that creep should not be breathing anymore,,but the courts,judges,lawyers,and all the powers that be know they can make money off all of these trials by prolonging things and we all know a lot of things revolve around ..how much money can we make..even tho this slime ball is so totally guilty
If things had gone just a little bit differently, Dennis Rader would never have been discovered as the BTK serial killer. One of his first murders was of the Otero family. He spent hours inside their house torturing them before he finally killed them. He left very little evidence behind. Because the Wichita police were more professional than the Boulder police, the two surviving members of the Otero family were not considered suspects even though they were the people who discovered their family members dead.
Then we have Polly Klaas, kidnapped in front of several friends with her mother in the next room by a despicable man who, at his trial for murder, accused Polly's father of molesting her.
Tommy Lynn Sells killed an entire family but left a witness, a little girl whom he attacked and thought he'd killed but who, not only survived, but walked a mile down the road to a neighbor's house all the while bleeding from her slashed throat.
Another little girl, in Canada, kidnapped from her second story bedroom--right next to her parents' room--was later found dismembered.
And of course, there is also the little girl in Boulder who was attacked in her bedroom not long after JonBenet's murder. Her father was not at home, but her mother was and managed to scare the intruder away. Her attacker was never caught.
Horrible people do horrible things even when others are in the house. Just because there are survivors doesn't necessarily mean they are the guilty party.
In other words, intruders happen. What they choose to do inside other people's homes is only limited by their fantasies.
I do not believe the Ramseys' got to "walk away" from JonBenet's death. John had already suffered the loss of one daughter. Losing the second had to have been devastating. And for Patsy, I think it broke her heart, especially coupled with the media accusations.
Old news. Nothing new to gain from this. It will not bring justice. Just stir up a community for the sake of a newspaper. Shame on the media once again.
No limitations on EVIL. A little stirring up never did any harm. Up the community's butt.
I had an insider tell me little Burke did it, but he was so young, they protected him
No you didn't, he wasn't big or strong enough to do it
And this insider is... sounds like if their blaming a 9 year old.. maybe they did it there is as much evidence.
DA did not indict because he may have known who did it and may have not wanted to pursue????? The loyalty oaths and all that. Some in this country are real scum who would kill a little girl because someone told them to.
No footprints in...
No footprints out...
A strange ransom note written in Patsys handwriting.
A detective who knew John Ramsey had committed this crime.
Sad Sad Sad
An unidentified Handprint found at the scene
A foreign pubic hair found INSIDE the girls panties
DNA confirming said pubic hair was not a match to ANY of the Ramsey family.
who writes a letter when they break in...
Several drafts no less.
Moreover the discovery of DNA from a third party doesn't exonerate the Ramsey's.
All it says to me is they hired someone to do it.
Including a practice note...then goes into a cupboard and gets one of Patsy's paint brushes to fashion a garrote.
If the D.A. wasn't going to prosecute, then why take the case before the grand jury at all? Isn't the D.A. the one who makes that call in the first place?
the media makes me sick theres a ton of issues going on right now in are tyranical goverment many at the water gate level at least.but how media thinks that a 12yr old settled case is more important than doing some real work .no disrespect to the little girl but this fed run media making me sick.sigh
It's not settled...the Ramsey's were never prosecuted.
Rex I must point this out, following your logic to its conclusion you believe that if your ever, even for a moment suspected of a crime you should be punished as the criminal even if years later it is very clear you did not commit said crime.
Sir your an idiot and a danger to the public welfare of this nation, please do something about that.