A long-troubled investigation
Rocky Mountain News
Published August 17, 2006 at midnight
Dec. 26: Patsy Ramsey calls police at 5:52 a.m. to say she had found a ransom note demanding $118,000 for the return of her 6-year-old daughter, JonBenet. Seven hours later, JonBenet's body is found in the basement of the family home by her father, John Ramsey.
Dec. 31: Ramsey family hires attorney, publicist and investigators as suspicion focuses on them.
• 1997
April 30: Detectives have first formal interview with John and Patsy Ramsey. May 1: John and Patsy Ramsey meet with a hand-picked panel of reporters from seven media outlets for about 30 minutes. They insist they didn't murder their daughter and vow to find her killer.
May 14: Two detectives, including the first to arrive at the Ramsey home, are removed from the case.
Aug. 14: The autopsy report is unsealed by the Boulder County coroner.
Sept. 3: The full text of the ransom note is published for the first time.
Oct. 10: Boulder Police Chief Tom Koby removes John Eller as lead detective on the case and puts Cmdr. Mark Beckner in charge.
Nov. 19: New York attorney Darnay Hoffman files a civil action in Boulder District Court to compel the district attorney's office to file criminal charges.
Dec. 20: Beckner says John and Patsy Ramsey are under an "umbrella of suspicion."
• 1998
June 23-25: The Ramseys are questioned again by police, their first interviews in more than a year. JonBenet's brother Burke, 9 at the time of her death, is interviewed for six hours.
Sept. 15: Grand jury convenes to investigate.
Sept. 28: Veteran investigator Lou Smit, hired by the Boulder DA as a special investigator, resigns. His letter, which states his belief in the Ramseys' innocence, is published in Newsweek.
• 1999
Oct. 13: Grand jury concludes its work and District Attorney Alex Hunter says no indictments will be issued, citing a lack of sufficient evidence. Members of the grand jury issue no statement and are not permitted to speak about their investigation.
• 2000
April 10: Time magazine reports that Boulder detectives bugged JonBenet's grave in hopes of getting the killer's confession.
• 2002
Dec. 20: Newly elected District Attorney Mary Keenan (now Mary Lacy) takes over the investigation from Boulder police and promises a fresh look at the case.
• 2003
March 31: A federal judge in Atlanta concludes that the weight of the evidence is more consistent with the intruder theory than with the theory that Patsy Ramsey killed JonBenet. Lacy later issues a statement agreeing with the judge.
• 2004
June 4: The Ramseys' attorney says DNA found in JonBenet's underwear did not match any samples in an FBI database of convicted violent offenders.
• 2006
June 24: Patsy Ramsey dies at age 49 following a long battle with ovarian cancer.
Aug. 16: Lacy says a suspect in JonBenet's slaying has been arrested in Thailand.
Sources: Rocky Mountain News Archives, The Associated Press
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.
