Police hope to move investigation of 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey forward with new review

The Boulder Police Department announced Thursday it’s taking a new look at the unsolved 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey to see how the investigation may move forward, which may include using the latest DNA testing technology.

“DNA testing continues to be an investigative focal point. DNA testing was previously completed, but the science behind DNA testing continues to rapidly evolve,” the department said in a press release.

Six-year-old Ramsey was reported missing on Dec. 26, 1996, after her family reported finding a ransom note inside their Boulder, Colorado, home. The girl was later found dead inside the home, and her death was ruled a homicide.

In preparing for a review to move the investigation forward, The Colorado Cold Case Review Team spent the past year preparing. This included digitizing all the evidence to create a searchable database, which will contain 21,000 tips, over 1,000 interviews and samples from 200 different individuals, including handwriting, DNA, fingerprints and shoe prints.