Editing Killing of JonBenét Ramsey (section)

===Family-member theory===
Boulder police initially concentrated almost exclusively upon JonBenét's parents.<ref name="CBS DNA Rules">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonbenet-dna-rules-out-parents/#comments |title=JonBenet: DNA Rules Out Parents |date=December 16, 2004 |website=CBSNews.com |access-date=November 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115025353/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonbenet-dna-rules-out-parents/ |archive-date=January 15, 2016}}</ref><ref name="NYT Bungled">{{cite news |author=Brooke |first=James |date=December 5, 1997 |title=Bungled JonBenét Case Bursts a City's Majesty |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/05/us/bungled-jonbenet-case-bursts-a-city-s-majesty.html?_r=0 |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308143949/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/05/us/bungled-jonbenet-case-bursts-a-city-s-majesty.html?_r=0 |archive-date=March 8, 2021}}</ref> According to [[Gregg McCrary]], a retired FBI profiler, "statistically, it is a 12-to-1 probability that it's a family member or a care giver" who is involved in the homicide of a child.<ref name="NYT Bungled" /> The police saw no evidence of a forced entry, but they did see evidence of staging of the scene, such as the ransom note. They did not find the Ramseys cooperative in helping solve the case.<ref name="NYT Bungled" />{{efn|name=Decline|James Brooke of ''The New York Times'' reported, "The Ramseys have consistently maintained their innocence. But for four months after the murder, they declined to talk to the police. Instead, they mounted a defense team that sounds like a defense lawyer's Christmas carol: eight lawyers, four publicists, three private investigators, two handwriting analysts and one retired F.B.I. profiler."<ref name="NYT Bungled" />}} The Ramseys had said that their reluctance was due to their fear that there would not be a full investigation for intruders, and that they would be hastily selected as the key suspects in the case, according to the ''Daily Camera''.<ref name="DC Tragic case" />

[[John E. Douglas|John Edward Douglas]], a former FBI special agent and a criminal profiler, contends that John and Patsy Ramsey did not kill their daughter. He was critical of the way the media and the public viewed the case: "Many crimes are tried in the court of public opinion long before they reach a court of law. But I know of no other case in which the majority of people have decided the solution based on statistics. I know of no other case in which the public substantially believes what has been reported in the tabloids. I know of no other case in which the mainline media have let the tabloids take the lead and then reported on their reporting. And I know of no other case in which largely respectable television programs have so tried to outdo each other in sensationalism."<ref> {{cite magazine |last=Brown |first=Jeremy |date=September 22, 2016 |title=Why the JonBenét Ramsey Murder Case Matters |url=https://www.newsweek.com/why-jonbenet-ramsey-murder-matters-501733 |magazine=Newsweek |url-status=live |archive-date=February 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206155541/https://www.newsweek.com/why-jonbenet-ramsey-murder-matters-501733}}</ref>

One theory is that Patsy struck JonBenét in a fit of rage after a bedwetting episode, and strangled her to cover up what had happened after mistakenly thinking she was already dead.<ref name="DC Tragic case"/><ref name="BC Dr Phil" /> However, Patsy did not have a known history of uncontrolled anger.<ref name="BC Dr Phil" /> JonBenét's brother Burke Ramsey later said, "We didn't get spanked, nothing of the sort, nothing close, nothing near laying a finger on us, let alone killing your child."<ref name="BC Dr Phil" />

Theoretically, the strangulation could have been a [[red herring]] to conceal other elements of the assault and killing.<ref name="KoJB" /><ref name="BC Dr Phil">{{cite news |url=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_30359976/burke-ramsey-interview-dr-phil-jonbenet-boulder |title=Burke Ramsey responds to conspiracy theories, accusations about JonBenét's murder |author=<!-- Denver Post staff --> |newspaper=Daily Camera |date=September 14, 2016 | access-date=September 26, 2016 | archive-date=October 2, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002165803/http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_30359976/burke-ramsey-interview-dr-phil-jonbenet-boulder | url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Burke, who was nine years old at the time of JonBenét's death, was interviewed by investigators at least three times.<ref name="DC Burke attny in town" /> The interviews did not raise any concerns. A review by a child psychologist stated that it appeared that the Ramseys had "healthy, caring family relationships".<ref name="KoJB" /> In 1998, Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said during an interview with a news reporter that Burke was not involved in the killing of his sister. In May 1999, the Boulder County District Attorney's office reiterated that Burke was not a suspect.<ref name="DC Not Burke">{{cite news |url=http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1999/21arams.html |title=Burke Ramsey not suspect in killing, DA's office says |first=Christopher |last=Anderson |newspaper=Daily Camera |date=May 1999 | access-date=October 1, 2016 | archive-date=January 17, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117062906/http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1999/21arams.html | url-status=live}}</ref> The investigators had never considered him a suspect.<ref name="DC Burke gj">{{cite news |url=http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1999/52699crams.html |title=Grand Jury heard from JonBenét's brother |author=<!-- Camera staff and wire services --> |date=May 26, 1999 | access-date=October 1, 2016 | archive-date=November 11, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111203245/http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1999/52699crams.html | url-status=live}}</ref>

The Ramseys offered a $100,000 reward in a newspaper ad dated April 27, 1997.<ref name="HP Timeline" /> Three days later, more than four months after the body of their daughter was found, they submitted for the first time to separate formal interviews at the Boulder County Justice Center.<ref name="HP Timeline" />

In 1999, Colorado Governor [[Bill Owens (Colorado politician)|Bill Owens]] spoke out, telling the Ramsey couple to "quit hiding behind their attorneys, quit hiding behind their [[public relations|PR]] firm".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5260914.stm |title=Warning on JonBenét speculation |work=BBC News |date=August 17, 2006 |access-date=June 22, 2011 |archive-date=March 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305133057/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5260914.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|name=Decline}}

A Colorado [[grand jury]] voted in 1999 to indict the parents.<ref name=Martinez />{{efn|Burke testified at a 1999 grand jury hearing.<ref name="DC Burke gj" /> Burke's attorney, Jim Jenkins, sought to prevent his testifying at the grand jury and to eliminate him as a suspect,<ref name="DC Burke attny in town">{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Christopher |last2=Sebastian |first2=Matt |url=http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1999/20crmsy.html |title=Burke Ramsey's attorney in town: Brother of slain girl could be asked to give grand jury more information |newspaper=Daily Camera |date=May 20, 1999 |access-date=September 29, 2016 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308165001/http://web.dailycamera.com/extra/ramsey/1999/20crmsy.html |url-status=live}}</ref> but the DA's office said that Burke was not and never had been a suspect.<ref name="DC Not Burke" /><ref name="DC Burke gj" />}} The indictment cited "two counts each of child abuse" and said the parents "did unlawfully, knowingly, recklessly and feloniously permit a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation that posed a threat of injury to the child's life or health, which resulted in the death of JonBenét Ramsey, a child under the age of sixteen."<ref name="DP Indictment">{{cite news |url=http://www.denverpost.com/2013/10/25/jonbent-ramsey-grand-jury-indictment-accused-parents-of-child-abuse-resulting-in-death/ |title=JonBenét Ramsey grand jury indictment accused parents of child abuse resulting in death |newspaper=[[Denver Post]] |date=October 25, 2013 | access-date=September 26, 2016 | archive-date=February 24, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224221311/http://www.denverpost.com/2013/10/25/jonbent-ramsey-grand-jury-indictment-accused-parents-of-child-abuse-resulting-in-death/ | url-status=live}}</ref>

Among the experts who testified in the case were DNA specialist [[Barry Scheck]] and forensic expert [[Henry Lee (forensic scientist)|Henry Lee]].<ref name="HP Timeline" /> On October 13, 1999, district attorney Alex Hunter refused to sign the indictment, saying that the evidence was insufficient for prosecution.<ref name="HP Timeline" /><ref name="Martinez">{{cite news |last1=Martinez |first1=Michael |last2=Karimi |first2=Faith |date=October 25, 2013 |title=Papers: Grand jury in 1999 sought to indict JonBenét Ramsey's parents |work=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/25/justice/jonbenet-ramsey-documents/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228005022/http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/25/justice/jonbenet-ramsey-documents/ |archive-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref> The public thought that the grand jury investigation had been inconclusive.<ref>{{cite web |title=JonBenét Ramsey grand jury voted to indict parents in 1999, but the District Attorney refused to prosecute |first=Charlie |last=Brennan |date=January 27, 2013 |url=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_22446410/boulder-grand-jury-voted-indict-ramseys |website=Daily Camera| access-date= January 28, 2013| archive-date= January 28, 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130128222202/http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_22446410/boulder-grand-jury-voted-indict-ramseys| url-status= dead}}</ref> In 2002, the statute of limitations on the grand jury's charges expired.<ref name="DP Indictment" />

The grand jury's vote to indict was not revealed publicly until October 25, 2013, when previously sealed court documents were released.{{efn|In September 2013, ''[[Daily Camera]]'' reporter Charlie Brennan and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a lawsuit to press DA Stan Garnett to release the grand jury's indictment.<ref>{{cite news |last=Byars |first=Mitchell |title=Camera reporter sues Boulder DA seeking release of Ramsey indictment |url=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_24124759/camera-reporter-sues-boulder-da-seeking-release-ramsey |newspaper=Daily Camera |date=September 18, 2013|access-date=October 18, 2013|archive-date=October 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024084646/http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_24124759/camera-reporter-sues-boulder-da-seeking-release-ramsey|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The police sought to interview Burke Ramsey again in September 2010, according to [[L. Lin Wood]], a high-profile [[libel]] (defamation) attorney whom the Ramsey family hired in 1999.<ref name="NW No Justice"/><ref name="HP Timeline" /> In 2012, the book ''Foreign Faction – Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet?'' by A. James Kolar, a former investigator under Boulder County District Attorney Lacy, was published. The book discounts the intruder theory and proposes scenarios of Ramsey family involvement in JonBenét's death.<ref name="HP Timeline" />

In mid-October 2013, a judge ruled that the DA must show why the indictment should remain sealed.<ref>{{cite web |last=Byars |first=Mitchell |title=Judge orders Boulder DA to show why Ramsey indictment should remain secret |url=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_24331072/judge-orders-boulder-da-show-why-ramsey-indictment |website=Daily Camera|access-date=October 18, 2013|archive-date=October 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017193708/http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_24331072/judge-orders-boulder-da-show-why-ramsey-indictment|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''[[The Denver Post]]'' (a sister paper of the ''Daily Camera'') published an editorial calling for the indictment to be unsealed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Editorial: Time to unseal indictment in JonBenét Ramsey case |url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_24354220/editorial-time-unseal-indictment-jonben-t-ramsey-case |newspaper=Denver Post |date=October 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061640/http://www.denverpost.com/ci_24354220/editorial-time-unseal-indictment-jonben-t-ramsey-case |archive-date=October 23, 2013}}</ref>}}

''[[The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey]]'', a show broadcast on [[CBS]] on September 18 and 19, 2016, used a group of experts to evaluate the evidence. The group theorized that Burke hit his sister in the head with a heavy object (possibly a flashlight) after she stole a piece of pineapple from his bowl, perhaps not intending to kill her. They suggested that the ransom letter was an attempt to cover up the circumstances of JonBenét's death.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-case-of-jonbenet-ramsey/ |title=The Case of JonBenét Ramsey |publisher=CBS|access-date=September 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928102130/http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-case-of-jonbenet-ramsey/|archive-date=September 28, 2016}}</ref> On behalf of Burke Ramsey, his counsel filed defamation lawsuits against CBS, the producers of the program, and several of its participants, based on many of its claims.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Chris |title=JonBenét Ramsey's Brother Sues CBS for 'Extraordinary' $750 Million Over Docuseries |url=https://people.com/crime/burke-ramsey-jonbenet-cbs-series-lawsuit/ |access-date=December 22, 2020 |work=People |date=December 29, 2016 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125010925/https://people.com/crime/burke-ramsey-jonbenet-cbs-series-lawsuit/ |url-status=live}}</ref>