Decade Of Mystery: John Ramsey Speaks

JonBenet's Father Breaks His Silence Since His Wife's Passing, The Karr Arrest

(CBS) 
But John Ramsey may be relieved to hear this: agent Gary Phillips says the investigation is not over. "John Mark Karr is not off the hook by any stretch of the imagination," he says.

48 Hours has learned that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is still investigating Karr.

"He’s said all along that he didn’t act alone. So even though he may not have been physically there, he may have orchestrated something with another person," Phillips says.

The idea that more than one person could have been involved in JonBenet’s death has been raised before. Remember that ransom note? It says “We have your daughter." And a careful examination of the basement reveals something eerie: two sets of unidentified footprints, where JonBenet’s body was found.

Also, there could yet be additional clues: there is evidence remaining from the crime scene that has never been tested.

"In the bedroom close to JonBenet’s, there was a rope left in that room that does not belong to the Ramseys," says Smit. "I know that for a fact. And that this rope has never been tested."

"The case will remain open until evidence shows that he is not part of the conspiracy or the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. We’re going to keep an eye on him," says Phillips.

When 48 Hours visited John Ramsey in Michigan last month, we found him the way we’ve always found him: reflective in the face of incredible loss. JonBenet is not the only child the Ramseys lost: Beth, John’s 22-year-old daughter from an earlier marriage, was killed in a car accident in 1992.

"John, a lot of couples after losing a child can’t stay together. They split up," Moriarty says. "Did you ever come close to that with Patsy?"

"No, not in the least. But I think a lot of what we had going on you know, was kind of Patsy and I against the world for a number of years," he says. "And you know we were kind of back to back fighting off the rest of the world."

And while the family was "under an umbrella of suspicion," John Ramsey says they were trying to protect their family. "We didn’t have time to wallow in our grief," he says.

Not publicly maybe, but we know that behind closed doors, there was grief, so apparent in the video of Patsy playing the piece on the piano her daughter had once mastered.

Asked how he wants Patsy to be remembered, John Ramsey says, "She was a wonderful mother. She was an incredibly wonderful mother. She was a very kind person, very caring. Never heard her say anything negative about anybody. Even through this whole chaotic mess that was in our lives. And she used to say, 'This isn’t what I imagined our life was going to be.'"

Patsy’s own words from an interview in 1998 describe how they coped during the decade of scrutiny, mystery, and enormous grief.

"You have no choice you have to get up and try to continue through this life for whatever purpose or the remaining portion of your life will entail, until it’s over," she said. "And then, God willing, we will all be together again. And it will be wonderful. And we may know why we had to go through these horrible times of our lives."