Boulder officials emphasize finding justice for JonBenét Ramsey nearly 30 years after her murder

The Boulder police chief and the Boulder district attorney met with reporters on Tuesday to discuss the investigation into the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, a case that has spanned nearly 30 years since her death.

On Dec. 26, 1996, the 6-year-old was reported missing before she was found dead in the basement of the family's home in Boulder. JonBenét Ramsey was described by her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, as an outgoing child who performed in local beauty pageants. She had been bludgeoned and strangled.  

Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfern said police are still regularly working on this case and have fielded hundreds of thousands of tips over the years. 

When asked about current DNA evidence, officials said they could not share specifics of  what evidence they have, but Redfern said that they are waiting on advanced technology and only have "one shot." Redfern emphasized that the department is regularly researching and engaging with DNA labs to see if the technology is up to the task.

"It really depends on the quantity, the quality, and the location of the DNA. Those three things. And if it were easy to solve this case, we would not be sitting here today. It would have been solved 30 years ago or 20 years ago," said District Attorney Michael Dougherty. "So when you think about quality, quantity, and location in any homicide case where there's DNA, those are the key factors to me, to us that we continue to look at. I can't emphasize enough: we want this case solved. We want justice for JonBenét Ramsey."    

In a message to CBS Colorado on Tuesday, John Ramsey pushed for BPD to use private labs that claim to have the technology to successfully test small samples of DNA. Ramsey said in that message in part, "…That's who Boulder Police should turn to now."

District Attorney Michael Dougherty also addressed a question about ruling out the Ramsey family as potential suspects. Dougherty said that despite officials previously ruling out anyone in the Ramsey family, he, as a practice never rules anyone out during active investigations.

Both officials mentioned their regular contact with the Ramsey family and willingness to work with them.

Officials also emphasized in the conference the importance of finding justice for JonBenét as they continue to look at every aspect of the case.

"To bring justice to JonBenét, everything we do is being done incredibly thoughtfully, with consistent conversation with experts," said Redfern.