For those of you too young to remember, JonBenet Ramsey was a six-year-old beauty queen who, on Christmas Day in 1996, was found murdered in the basement of the house that she shared with her mum, dad and older brother Burke.
The case became one of the most high profile cases ever covered by the media. Initially JonBenet's family were suspected of murdering her but, over time, the cases against them were dismissed. The case remains unsolved.
Now, in this era of true crime obsession, a true crime documentary series is being commissioned on the subject and, according to recent reports, could be out as early as this year. According Variety, 'the series will reunite the case’s original investigators along with new experts to study the case.'
So, what do you need to know before the series airs? Let's take a look at the facts and theories about the tragedy.
Where did JonBenet Ramsey live?
JonBenet was born in August of 1990 to Patsy Ramsey, a former beauty queen, and John Bennett Ramsey (understand JonBenet's name now?). When JonBenet was one, the family moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Boulder, Colorado due to John's job as president of a computer business called Access Graphics. The family were very well off with John piloting his own corporate jets for travel and the family enjoying both their gigantic home in Colorado and a second summer home in Michigan.
In Colorado, Patsy started entering her daughter in beauty pageants. She was successful and won several - including a Little Miss Colorado title. During the case, JonBenet's participation in the competitions as such a young age would provoke much controversy. District Attorney Karen Steinhauser said 'It's impossible to look at these photos and not see a terribly exploited little girl.'
Are Jonbenet Ramsey's parents alive?
Her dad is, her mum Patsy sadly died in 2006 from ovarian cancer. As mentioned earlier, the Ramseys were initially the prime suspects for the case. According to the family's attorney Lin Wood, in the months after the murder, ‘You couldn't go to buy groceries for your family without passing headlines that said that John Ramsey had molested his first daughter. Absolutely false. Headlines that John and Patsy were pornographers. Absolutely false. Headlines that they were devil worshipers. Absolutely false.’
Is JonBenet Ramsey really dead?
On December 26th, 1996, Patsy awoke to find her daughter missing and a nearly three page long ransom letter calling for $118,000 for the return of her six year old daughter. In it, the perpetrator said, 'You and your family are under constant scrutiny as well as the authorities. Don't try to grow a brain John. You are not the only fat cat around so don't think that killing will be difficult. Don't underestimate us John. Use that good southern common sense of yours. It is up to you now John!' It was finished with the initials 'SBTC' which is widely believed to stand for 'Subic Bay Training Centre' - a naval centre in the Phillipines where John was stationed through 1968-69. This, coupled with the oddly specific $118,000 ransom (John's exact bonus from that year) counted as evidence that the perpetrator had inside knowledge of the Ramseys.
The police were called, friends came over and the house became a crime scene. Police searched the house and determined that there hadn't been a break in. Fleet White, the couples' best friend also looked around the basement and was unable to find anything. Later in the day, Linda Arndt, the presiding police officer, encouraged John himself to go and search the house despite it being a crime scene. It was then John that found his daughter's body in the basement. She had been strangled, hit over the head and, according to some reports, had been sexually assaulted.
Has the JonBenet Ramsey case been solved?
In a word: no. As mentioned above. The parents were initially the main suspects although later JonBenet's older brother Burke was also looked at.
In terms of John and Patsy being under suspicion; the Boulder District Attorney said that they were the 'focus' of the investigation. The couple were never charged but according to John they were, 'Tried, convicted and, probably in some people's minds, executed in the public court.' An overriding theory was that Patsy accidentally killed JonBenet whilst chastising her for wetting the bed and then staged the murder scene.
When JonBenet was autopsied, she was found to have eaten pineapple a few hours before she died. A bowl in the kitchen contained pineapple and had Burke's fingerprints on it.
An analysis of the ransom letter pointed to Patsy Ramsey as the author although this is unproven.
In 1999 a grand jury had voted to indict the Ramseys on their daughter's death. The indictment however, was blocked by the DA.
In 2008, new DNA evidence was said to have proved that the Ramseys weren't involved.
Is JonBenet Ramsey actually Katy Perry?
Absolutely not. This wildly popular rumour was started by a guy called Dave Johnson whose ENTIRE YouTube channel is him trying to prove that celebrities and world leaders are actually other celebrities. He thinks Katy Perry's parents are the same people as JBR's parents (he's shaved his head, she's lost weight) and that they staged their daughter's death so one day she could become a star.
According to Dave (who likes to say 'that's a fact' a lot and doesn't have very good editing skills) we're all false witnesses of death.
What.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.