The Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey is Netflix’s latest true crime docuseries.
The series, focusing on one of America’s most significant cold cases, the death of JonBenét Ramsey, promises to “investigate the mishandling of the case.”
There have been several theories but few solutions after almost 30 years of research.
On Dec. 26, 1996, John and Patsy Ramsey found their youngest child, 6-year-old JonBenét, missing when they woke up the morning after a family Christmas.
That morning, Patsy hastily called the police to report that she had found a scary ransom note demanding $118,000 in exchange for JonBenét’s safe return.
When John found his daughter dead in the basement later that day, it became clear that JonBenét had been strangled in their Colorado home rather than abducted.
A garrote was wrapped over the young beauty pageant queen’s neck, and duct tape was placed over her lips.
After her death was declared a homicide, shockwaves swiftly swept across the country from Boulder, Colorado.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Academy Award-nominated director Joe Berlinger said the series: “investigates the mishandling of the case by law enforcement and the media, ultimately revealing the relatively simple steps that can be taken to finally solve perhaps the most infamous cold case of all time.”
From the beginning, the Ramsey family was the subject of intense investigation.
The media speculated that because of the unusual circumstances of the crime, someone close to JonBenet—possibly a family member—was involved.
The Ramseys have long denied any role in their daughter’s murder and the rumours that the now-deceased Patsy wrote the ransom note.
No one in the family has ever been charged.
A possible invader named Michael Helgoth, who possessed a pair of boots that seemed to match a print discovered at the scene, was the subject of another theory.
Police originally examined Helgoth, but after his suicide in 1997, investigators turned their attention elsewhere.
A possible suspect then admitted to the murder in 2006, but detectives eventually determined that the statement was untrue.
Days before the murder, another possible invader had visited the Ramsey residence while working as Santa Claus.
Decades prior, the man’s daughter had been kidnapped, but he was never officially regarded as a suspect.
Archival footage from the inquiry and interviews with significant players in the case, including JonBenét’s father, John, is shown in the trailer.
The three-part Netflix documentary series Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey will debut on Netflix on November 25.
