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New DNA twist in JonBenét Ramsey case revealed in explosive report

DNA evidence in the killing of JonBenét Ramsey does not support a former prosecutor’s decision to clear the girl’s family in her death, an explosive new report has revealed.

Forensic experts found that the DNA samples recovered from JonBenét’s underpants and two spots on her long johns came from at least two people in addition to the six-year-old girl.

JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in her parents' Colorado basement in 1996. Photo: Supplied
JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in her parents' Colorado basement in 1996. Photo: Supplied
Burke Ramsay turned and smiled towards the camera on several occasions during his first interview with Dr Phil.
Burke Ramsay turned and smiled towards the camera on several occasions during his first interview with Dr Phil.

The existence of a third person’s genetic markers were never made public, according to documents obtained by the Boulder Daily Camera and news station KUSA-TV.

It was something Colorado District Attorney Mary Lacy’s office was told, the report revealed, but a fact that wasn't mentioned when clearing the Ramseys.

That conclusion is at apparent odds with statements made by former Boulder prosecutor Mary Lacy when she cited the report to clear the Ramsey family of involvement in the girl’s murder.

Lacy said in 2008 that the DNA belonged to a single male and there was “no innocent explanation” for its presence other than it belonged to an unidentified intruder who was the killer.

The beaten and strangled body of JonBenet Ramsey was found in the basement of her parent’s Boulder, Coloorado home on December 26. No one has been charged with her killing.

John and Patsy Ramsay hold up a flyer promising a $100,000 reward for information in 1997. Photo: Getty Images
John and Patsy Ramsay hold up a flyer promising a $100,000 reward for information in 1997. Photo: Getty Images


The latest disclosure adds another twist to the investigation of the case that has been plagued by missteps including a contaminated crime scene and in-fighting between police and prosecutors.

In 1999, a grand jury voted to indict the girl’s parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, for child abuse resulting in death, but then-district attorney Alex Hunter declined to prosecute, citing a lack of evidence.

It was unknown that the grand jury voted to indict until 2013, when the Boulder Daily Camera won a legal battle to have the document released.

Lacy did not respond to the Camera’s request for comment on the article, and could not be reached by Reuters on Friday.

Burke Ramsay's body language led many to speculate on what was going through his mind as he spoke to the TV pyschologist. Photo: Dr Phil
Burke Ramsay's body language led many to speculate on what was going through his mind as he spoke to the TV pyschologist. Photo: Dr Phil
Specialists claim Burke Ramsey killed his sister, JonBenét, after a fight over a midnight snack of pineapples. Photo: Dr Phil
Specialists claim Burke Ramsey killed his sister, JonBenét, after a fight over a midnight snack of pineapples. Photo: Dr Phil

However, she told ABC News that in clearing the family, she was trying to prevent “a horrible travesty of justice.”

“I was scared to death that despite the fact that there was no evidence, no psychopathy and no motive, the case was a train going down the track and the Ramseys were tied to that track," ABC quoted her as saying.

Reached by telephone, John Ramsey’s lawyer, L. Lin Wood, told Reuters that he has not seen the underlying documents, but said he supports Lacy’s conclusion that the Ramseys were not involved in the girl’s murder.

Bob Grant, a former district attorney who served as a consultant to Hunter during the grand jury probe, said the revelation adds “further bafflement” to the unsolved homicide.

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