Nineteen years after JonBenet Ramsey was murdered, the former police chief is finally acknowledging that mistakes were made in how the crime scene was handled. The case received a lot of publicity in 1996 when the six-year-old beauty queen was found dead in her own home.
On December 26, 1996, Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet’s mother, called 911 to report her daughter missing and said that a ransom note was also found. At some point that day, the body of the six year old girl was found in the basement. The murder captivated the news media because Ramsey was often in child beauty pageants and the family was wealthy.
Mark Beckner, former police chief of the Boulder Police Department who investigated the murder, was part of an ?Ask Me Anything? session on Reddit Saturday. Beckner stated Tuesday that he wasn’t aware his comments would be sent worldwide.
“I talked to the organizer, and my impression was that this was a members-only type group that talked about unsolved mysteries all around the world.”
Beckner explained the mistakes were made due to what he calls a ?perfect storm type scenario.?
“It was the Christmas holiday and we were short staffed, we faced a situation as I said earlier that no one in the country had ever seen before or since, and there was confusion at the scene as people were arriving before we had enough personnel on the scene.”
He admitted that police should of taken full statements from both of the parents separately. Beckner also said he only believes the Ramsey murder would be solved with a confession.
To this day, the case has never been solved. In 2013, court documents were released that revealed a grand jury recommended indictments against Patsy and John Ramsey. This was contrary to the long-held perception that the panel ended work in 1999 and decided to not charge anyone. The District Attorney at the time, Alex Hunter, did not file an indictment stating there was insufficient evidence to warrant charges. The parents have always maintained their innocence.
Patsy Ramsey passed away in 2006, and in 2008, former District Attorney Mary Lacy cleared both of the parents of any involvement in the death of their daughter. They were cleared based on DNA evidence which indicated involvement of a third party. The true killer of this beautiful little girl may never be known.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_KzQFEwBfA
