John Ramsey said new testing is being conducted on evidence in the 1996 murder of his daughter JonBenét and told a true-crime audience he is "more hopeful than ever" that the killer will be identified.
Ramsey, 81, spoke Saturday at CrimeCon in Colorado alongside Hal Haddon, the attorney who has represented him since the early days of the investigation. Both said investigators who came to the case last year are carrying out additional testing, but they did not make clear whether the knotted rope used to strangle the six‑year‑old is among the items being re-examined.
The case stems from the night of Dec. 25, 1996, when the Ramseys awoke to a ransom note and discovered their daughter missing. JonBenét's mutilated body was found hours later in the basement of the family home in Boulder; investigators determined she had suffered blunt force trauma and had been strangled with a garrote formed from a knotted rope tied to a piece of wood.
Haddon told the packed ballroom that he has pushed for DNA analysis of the knots in the garrote, saying the construction of the knots was "fairly sophisticated" and that whoever tied them "likely got their DNA in these knots." He added that the group's DNA experts consider such analysis potentially promising because "someone had to use their fingers" to tie the knots.
Neither Ramsey nor Haddon provided a timetable for the new testing or named the investigators conducting it. They emphasized that the team that took on the case last year is "competent," and portrayed the work as part of a renewed effort to resolve one of the most enduring unsolved crimes in recent American history.
The Ramsey case has generated widespread public attention and numerous theories over decades. Authorities in Boulder have previously conducted multiple rounds of forensic testing on evidence from the home, and the investigation has seen changing leads and personnel over the years. No one has been criminally charged in the killing, and the case remains officially unsolved.
Ramsey and Haddon spoke as the case approaches its 30th anniversary next year, a milestone the pair said adds urgency to efforts to obtain conclusive scientific results. They urged patience while testing proceeds and reiterated calls for any new forensic findings to be handled by investigators and analysts who can ensure chain-of-custody and methodological rigor.
The statements at CrimeCon marked the latest public remarks from the Ramsey family and their legal team about renewed testing. Observers and some forensic specialists say that advances in DNA technology have, in other cold cases, led to breakthroughs years after the crimes occurred, but neither Ramsey nor Haddon made definitive promises about when, or if, the case would be solved.