JonBenet Ramsey Would've Turned 22 This Week

JonBenet Ramsey—the little girl whose murder became national news and introduced the mainstream to the peculiar world of child beauty pageants—would have turned 22 years old on Monday, August 6. It’s been 16 years since her body was found in the basement of her parents’ home the day after Christmas 1996, but her murder remains unsolved, and her killer is still on the loose.

Interest has never waned in the Ramsey case. Boulder police say they still receive tips about the murder on a monthly basis. Though never formerly charged, her parents John and Patsy were considered prime suspects, by the police and court of public opinion alike. Due to DNA evidence found on JonBenet’s underwear, the entire Ramsey family was eliminated as suspects in 2008. Unfortunately, Patsy died in 2006 of ovarian cancer and never lived to see her name cleared.

In March, John Ramsey released a book, The Other Side of Suffering, about dealing with grief. He expressed regret at having entered JonBenet in child pageants.

Former lead investigator on the case, Jim Kolar, released a book of his own—Foreign Faction: Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet Ramsey?—in June. Though he doesn’t introduce any new evidence, he reevaluates what was already known, and based on his own conjecture, discounts the theory that the murder was committed by an intruder.

JonBenet Ramsey Would Have Turned 22 Years Old This Week; Murder Case Remains Unsolved [HuffPo]