JonBenét Ramsey Murder Investigators Expect New DNA Tests Will Prove Killer Is ‘Someone Completely Unrelated’ to Her

JonBenét Ramsey Murder Investigators Expect New DNA Tests Will Prove Killer Is ‘Someone Completely Unrelated’ to Her

Investigators looking to crack the unsolved JonBenét Ramsey murder case hope new DNA technology will help them unravel one of the country's most enduring mysteries — but they don't expect to learn that the 6-year-old beauty queen's killer was a member of her family.

Authorities in Boulder, Colo., have sent several previously untested pieces of evidence to a laboratory for DNA testing as part of a renewed push to solve the 27-year-old cold case, The Messenger has learned.

After a DNA profile is generated from the unexamined evidence, the results will be compared to public databases, including those from genetic testing services like Ancestry.com and 23andMe.

A successful familial DNA search could identify the killer or potential relatives of whoever is responsible for JonBenét's brutal 1996 murder. Investigators hope the process will help them narrow their focus in their decades-long search for a suspect.

The girl's family — especially John, his wife Patsy and 9-year-old son Burke — were under an "umbrella of suspicion" for years. They weren't formally cleared as suspects until 2008.

Boulder police detectives believe that the DNA will belong to an intruder, not to anyone in JonBenét's family.

"We know there's evidence that was taken from the crime scene that was never tested for DNA. There are a few cutting edge labs that have the latest technology. That's where this testing ought to be done," he said.

"And then use the public genealogy database with whatever information we get to research and basically do a backwards family tree, which has been wildly successful in solving some very old cases."

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