The JonBenét Ramsey case is one of the most chilling and heartbreaking mysteries in modern American history, a tragedy that continues to captivate the world nearly three decades after it occurred.

JonBenét Ramsey was a six year old beauty queen who was killed in her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado on Christmas night in 1996. Hours before she had been reported dead, her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, had found a ransom note stating that the supposed kidnappers would bring her back once they gave them $118,000. It was an oddly specific amount considering that John Ramsey had just gotten almost that amount for his bonus. The authorities believe the note was staged. Just hours later after she was reported missing, they found the child dead in the family’s basement, strangled with a homemade garrote and suffering blunt force trauma.

This all was simply weird, and it raised many suspicions leading the public and media into the case. Was JonBenét’s death a tragic accident that the family covered up, or was it the work of an unknown intruder? Many theories were made, some accusing her own family. Even her nine year old brother, Burke was brought into it. Could Burke have accidentally killed her and the family covered it up? There have been eyewitnesses from neighbors saying that around the night time their house lights were on dim and later hearing a child’s scream. There was pineapple found on the kitchen counter which JonBenét had eaten hours before her death. Both of her parents said they did not remember feeding her that. Patsy Ramsey’s fingerprints were later found on the bowl.

Soon after, DNA evidence that excluded the Ramseys and pointed to an unknown male, no one was ever charged, leaving a tangled web of theories and suspicions with no closure. The authorities still continue to work on this case with new DNA being found. But with no clear answers and no justice for JonBenét, the mystery of who killed JonBenét Ramsey endures, leaving behind a haunting question that seems destined to remain one of the most unsettling and enduring unsolved crimes in American history.

Written By

anna mckinney