The Boulder Police Department has responded to a recent push from the father of JonBenét Ramsey, John Ramsey, in his efforts to have an independent agency test DNA from the longtime unsolved case.
On Saturday, Ramsey announced that a petition had been started, asking Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to let the DNA in the cold case be tested by an independent agency instead of the Boulder Police Department.
"Given the lack of progress by the Boulder Police, we the undersigned petitioners ask you to move DNA decisions in this case away from the BPD to an independent agency so that JonBenét has a last chance at the justice she deserves," the petition says.
Ramsey made the announcement while speaking at CrimeCon 2022 in Las Vegas, where thousands of guests and dozens of speakers were gathered.
Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold released a statement on Sunday sharing the department's position on the case.
"We have a shared goal to bring justice — and hopefully some peace — to JonBenét's family and everyone who was impacted by her loss," Herold said. "Our investigation with federal, state and local partners has never stopped. That includes new ways to use DNA technology. We've always used state of the art technology as it has been at the forefront of this investigation. Every time the DNA technology changed, we worked to make sure the evidence could be tested."
Herold said that the investigation into JonBenét Ramsey's death has always been and continues to be a "priority" for his department.
The department said that it has followed more than 20,000 tips, letters, and emails, traveling to 19 states and interviewing more than a thousand people in connection to the murder.
On Dec. 26, 1996, JonBenet Ramsey's mother reported her missing to the police. The 6-year-old had disappeared, and her mother reported finding a ransom note asking for $118,000 in exchange for the girl.
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Later that same day, JonBenét Ramsey was found dead by John Ramsey in their basement. An autopsy on her body revealed she had died of strangulation and a blow to the head that left an 8 ½-inch fracture to her skull, the Boulder City Medical Examiner reported.
There have been no convictions in the case in the almost 26 years since her death, despite the police department's efforts. According to the department, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has continued to work on the case, updating more than 750 reference samples with DNA technology.
On Saturday, Ramsey criticized the department for its "arrogance," "pride," "ego," and inexperience after his daughter was killed.
"We can't let the murder of a child be left up to local police. They're just big enough that they think they know everything, and they don't," Ramsey said.
He continued his point by saying that when the murder of a child becomes a federal offense, it needs to be investigated differently.
The Boulder Police Department has worked with federal, state, and local agencies on the case, meeting with those officials as recently as March 2022.
The petition on Change.org has gained traction since Ramsey's speech. As of Monday afternoon, there were nearly 2,600 signatures.
The governor's office told CBS4 Denver that the state will "review the petition and look into how the state can assist in using new technology to further investigate this cold case and to identify JonBenet Ramsey's killer and bring him or her to justice."
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