Netflix’s new series about child beauty queen murder could ‘lead to arrests’

Netflix’s latest true crime documentary about the killing of JonBenét Ramsey could help bring the murderer to justice, according to its director Joe Berlinger.

Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey examines the police investigation and media coverage of JonBenét’s murder in 1996. The beauty queen was found dead aged six on Boxing Day.

Her body was discovered in the basement of the family home in Boulder, Colorado and an autopsy later stated she had been killed by strangulation and a skull fracture.

No one has ever been charged with JonBenét’s murder; however, internet sleuths and outlets have put forward multiple theories, including claims her parents Patsy and John Ramsey were involved.

Two years after Patsy died of ovarian cancer at age 49 in 2006, she, John and their son Burke were officially cleared of any involvement in the murder due to DNA evidence.

JonBenét’s only brother Burke also settled a $750,000,000 (£595 million) defamation lawsuit in 2019 with CBS after a docuseries insinuated he was responsible for the murder.

But while officials appear to be no closer to finding JonBenét’s murder, Joe told Variety he believed his three-parter could lead to arrests.

He explained: ‘My series ultimately takes a very strong point of view that the Ramseys are innocent and that the police and the media completely abused them.

‘I want to do something when I have something to say, and I feel like I have a number of things to say here.

‘Most importantly, I think that this crime can actually be solved.’

Before JonBenét’s body was found, her mother Patsy had received a three-page handwritten ransom note demanding $118,000 (£93,000) for the little girl’s return.

She was discovered bludgeoned, strangled and hidden underneath a white blanket with a nylon cord around her neck, her wrists bound above her head and her mouth covered by duct tape.

Detectives believe she was murdered the night before, on Christmas Day, through either a blow to the head or strangulation with a garrotte.

The synopsis for Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey reads: ‘On December 26, 1996, John and Patsy Ramsey wake up the morning after a loving family Christmas to discover their youngest child, six-year-old JonBenét, is missing, a chilling ransom note left downstairs.

‘Later that day, John Ramsey discovers his daughter’s body in the basement, revealing the shocking truth that JonBenét had not been kidnapped, but was instead sexually assaulted and brutally murdered in their own home.

‘The Boulder, Colorado police, who had little practical experience in homicide investigations, quickly cast suspicion on JonBenét’s family as the most likely suspects, fanning the flames of media scrutiny and largely one-sided reporting, turning the case into a national obsession.

‘Twenty-eight years later, that obsession – and finger-pointing – hasn’t gone away, and the murder of JonBenét Ramsey remains unsolved.

‘From Academy Award-nominated director Joe Berlinger, this three-part docuseries investigates the mishandling of the case by law enforcement and the media.’

Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey is available to stream on Netflix.

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