New DNA Technology Clears the Family of JonBenet Ramsey

[dkf]

By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: July 10, 2008

DENVER — A persistent thread among conspiracy theorists and true-crime bloggers who for years have pondered the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, the child beauty queen found strangled in her family’s home in nearby Boulder more than 11 years ago, is that the police and prosecutors inadequately investigated whether her killer was a member of the family.

On Wednesday, the Boulder County district attorney, Mary T. Lacy, said definitively that the whispers about prosecutorial plots and favoritism were fantasy. A new technique of analysis, Ms. Lacy said in a letter to JonBenet’s father, John Ramsey, has found DNA traces, unobtainable by earlier methods, of an unidentified male on the long johns JonBenet wore the night she died.

The DNA is not from a member of the Ramsey family and is almost definitely that of the killer, who would have presumably removed or otherwise handled the long johns, Ms. Lacy said.

The genetic material matches that from a drop of blood found on JonBenet’s underwear early in the investigation. The authorities determined then that the blood was not from a member of the Ramsey family but could not say whether it came from the killer, Ms. Lacy said.

The letter to Mr. Ramsey said the new evidence “has vindicated your family,” adding, “No innocent person should have to endure such an extensive trial in the court of public opinion.” It said specifically that neither Mr. Ramsey nor his wife, Patsy, who died of cancer in 2006, nor their son, Burke, was “under any suspicion in the commission of this crime.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/us/10ramsey.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

[rpannier]

1. I wonder if Mr Ramsey will get a letter of apology from geraldo

God knows how many shows he ran saying they killed their daughter.
Hell, he ran a show where they did a courtroom scenario and found them guilty.


I left out: Another in a long line of poorly handled stories by the media -- Richard Jewell ring a bell???

Next time someone tells you how the internet has coarsened and cheapened news just mention those two names -- they were pre-blog internet.

[dkf]

2. I can't imagine how many apologies they are owed.

Poor Patsy Ramsey.

[rpannier]

3. I forgot to add

Thanks for posting

This story came up on the DU a couple of years ago and there were several people here who were sure they did it as well.

It is always a good thing to post the truth about someone whose life was made miserable by cheap innuendo and about public officials who see the opportunity to benefit themselves regardless of the cost -- no matter how old the story is.

[Smith_3]

4. All people who falsely claimed that they were guilty in public should be put behind bars.

There needs to be high penalties for false accusations IMO.