The unsolved killing of a six-year-old beauty pageant queen is still a priority for investigators, police have insisted.
JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family home in Colorado in 1996, a case revisited in a three-part Netflix series.
Her killer has never been found, and the police department for the city of Boulder refused to answer questions on Monday about any tips they’re investigating.
“It’s obvious that the Boulder Police Department wants to solve this case and the only reason is to bring justice to the victim,” they told Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
The force instead referred to a video statement shared by police chief Steve Redfearn, in which he said officers “would love nothing more than to bring justice to her memory”.
Police outside the home in January 1997. Pic: AP
That statement was made on the day after Netflix released Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramset, which has renewed interest in the killing that made global headlines.
JonBenet was found on Boxing Day several hours after her mother Patsy called police about a ransom note that had been left behind.
The girl’s father John found her that afternoon and carried her upstairs, ruining the integrity of the crime scene and sparking criticism of the police force’s handling of the case.
Details of the crime and footage of JonBenet competing in pageants propelled the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the US.
John and Patsy Ramsey, the girl’s parents, pictured in 2000. Pic: AP
“There are a number of things that people have pointed to throughout the years that could have been done better, and we acknowledge that is true,” Mr Redfearn said last week.
“However, it is important to emphasise that while we cannot go back to that horrible day in 1996, our goal is to find JonBenet Ramsey’s killer.
“Our commitment to that has never wavered.”
While the girl’s family lived under a cloud of suspicion for years, prosecutors apologised to her parents and brother in 2008 and cleared them of any involvement.
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The Netflix series doesn’t point the finger at anyone, but does highlight her father’s hope new DNA testing might solve the case.
JonBenet’s mother died of cancer in 2006 aged 49.