JonBenét Ramsey Netflix documentary hints at surprising new details about murder that shocked America

The brutal murder of six-year-old pageant princess JonBenét Ramsey in Colorado in 1996 has been called “one of the greatest cold cases” in American criminal history.

Now the case is being spotlighted in a three-part Netflix documentary, raising hopes that a killer who evaded justice for decades will finally be named.

The docuseriesCold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?, targets detectives for botching the investigation and the media with the girl’s family being presented as the main suspects.

It also urges Colorado police to “finally take the necessary actions” that will bring the killer to justice and “provide her family the peace they have long sought,” according to a statement from Netflix.

JonBenét was reported missing after her family found a ransom note demanding $118,000 for the child’s return to their Boulder home on December 26, 1996.

Her mother Patsy Ramsey called 911 to say her daughter was missing.

The child’s body was later found by her father John Ramsey in the basement of the family’s luxury home, brutally beaten and strangled.

Detectives believe she was sexually assaulted and killed the night before, on Christmas Day, by a blow to the head or strangulation with a garotte.

Her death was ruled a murder, but no one was ever prosecuted.

The details of the crime and JonBenét’s video footage of her beauty pageants turned the case into one of the most high-profile mysteries in the US.

She was crowned Little Miss Colorado, Little Miss Charlevoix, Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl and National Tiny Miss Beauty.

The mystery sparked a series of true crime books and television specials.

The prosecutor said at the time of JonBenét’s death that her parents were under “an umbrella of suspicion” from early on.

Theorists also wonder whether their son Burke, who was nine years old at the time of JonBenet’s death, accidentally killed his sister in a moment of anger, and whether his parents covered it up.

But 2008 tests on newly discovered DNA on her clothing indicated the involvement of an “unexplained third party” in her murder, and not her parents or Burke.

That prompted former prosecutor Mary Lacy to clear the Ramseys of any involvement two years after mother Patsy died of ovarian cancer in 2006, calling the couple “victims of this crime.”

Investigators had identified other suspects and developed a theory about an intruder, or multiple intruders, entering the house and killing the pageant princess.

Among the suspects was convicted pedophile Gary Oliva, who allegedly confessed to the murder.

Others included Ramsey’s housekeeper, as well as the man who portrayed Santa Claus at a holiday party the youngster attended.

Officials announced in 2006 that another suspect, John Mark Karr, had been arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.

He allegedly told an American investigator that he drugged JonBenét and sexually assaulted her before accidentally killing her.

But prosecutors dropped that investigation after DNA tests failed to link him to the crime scene.

Investigations are underway. Police and officials in Boulder said in December 2021 that they had processed 1,500 pieces of evidence and analyzed nearly 1,000 DNA samples in their hunt for the killer.

Detectives have digitized all samples of handwriting, fingerprints and shoe prints collected over the years and regularly check for DNA matches in hopes of solving the case.

But dad John wonders if they are doing their job properly. In May 2022, he called on an outside agency to take responsibility for DNA testing in the case.

The new series combines archive footage of JonBenét happily walking through the family home and the panicked recording of mother Patsy’s 911 call declaring that her “daughter is gone.”

The show, which airs from November 25, focuses on police mistakes, including the failure to secure the house and the possible disposal of evidence.

It includes an interview with Burke, who describes the Ramseys as “just an ordinary family” before the fateful Christmas.

The trailer shows dad John, 80, recalling how the ‘incredible’ tragedy unfolded.

It also includes a soundbite from a person involved in the case saying: “We excluded people for the wrong reasons.”

‘Everyone needs to get back to the table. You have to go deeper,” the person says.

The show also explores whether Patsy, a former beauty queen herself, made JonBenet a target for predators by encouraging her to dress up for her beauty pageants.

She was buried in Marietta, Georgia, next to her mother and her half-sister Elizabeth Ramsey, who died in a car accident in 1992.

Director Joe Berlinger says the series focuses on those who “played armchair detectives for three decades, often callously pointing the finger at the very people who suffered such unthinkable loss.”

He added: ‘Through unprecedented access and a comprehensive multi-year investigation, we reveal the deep flaws in the way the case was originally handled, resulting in a sea of ​​conspiracy theories that nearly destroyed the Ramsey family for a second time.’

Dionne Waugh, a spokeswoman for Boulder police, declined to comment on an “open and ongoing investigation.” Anyone with information about the killing should call the tip line at 303-441-1974, she said.

Shannon Carbone, a spokeswoman for Boulder’s district attorney’s office, said a recent review of the case had been “helpful” and that investigators “continued to make progress in this tragic case.”

“The overarching goal is to look at the facts and evidence with fresh eyes and an open mind, armed with the latest developments in forensic science,” Carbone told DailyMail.com.