The father of slain child pageant queen JonBenét Ramsey has made a personal appeal to the Colorado governor in an effort to turn over evidence in his daughter’s case to an independent agency.
In a letter to Gov. Jared Polis dated Oct. 3 and published by Fox News Digital Wednesday, John Ramsey, 78, requested an in-person meeting to discuss the 26-year investigation into his daughter’s death, writing that “time for answers is running out.”
“The murder of my daughter can never be undone,” Ramsey continues. “There will never be peace or closure. But there can and should be justice. As a community, a state, and a nation, we should demand that from ourselves and our leaders.”
JonBenét Ramsey was six years old when she was reported missing by her mother, Patsy Ramsey, from the family’s home on the morning of Dec. 26, 1996. Hours later, John Ramsey found her body in the basement. An autopsy revealed she had been strangled and suffered a blow to the head.
John and then-wife Patsy Ramsey’s initial reluctance to cooperate with police, as well as evidence including a bizarre ransom note in Patsy’s handwriting found at the scene, invited scrutiny from both law enforcement and the media. The couple was officially cleared in 2008, when DNA from an unidentified third party was discovered on JonBenét’s pajama pants.
Despite numerous suspects and thousands of police hours, the case remains unsolved. John Ramsey has spent the last several months pressuring the Boulder Police Department (BPD) to surrender DNA evidence from the crime scene to an independent agency with more advanced testing capabilities than the state authorities.
“Whoever is responsible for this has lived the last 25 years in fear of being discovered; in fear that technology would one day evolve to the point that this homicide could be solved,” Ramsey wrote to Polis. “That day, and that technology, are here now.”
Included with the letter is a link to a Change.org petition titled “Justice for JonBenét Ramsey.” With over 29,000 signatures, the petition asks Polis to order the BPD “to move all DNA samples and crime scene evidence that may contain samples to an independent, outside agency of your choosing.”
In his letter, Ramsey reassured the governor that all outside testing would be paid for privately.
“Solving the murder of my daughter will not fill the void in my heart but it will identify and remove a demented and dangerous person from our midst and, in doing so, potentially protect the lives of other children,” he explained. “There is no higher responsibility of a governor than that. As an elected leader, but more importantly as a father, I respectfully ask you to do the right thing.”
Fox News Digital reported that Conor Cahill, Gov. Polis’s press secretary, confirmed the governor’s received the letter, but did not say whether he planned to meet with Ramsey.
Earlier this month, the BPD’s announced it was opening a new investigation alongside the Colorado Cold Case Review Team.
Ramsey is reportedly open to pursuing legal action against the state if significant developments in solving the case are not made soon.
Shortly after news broke about the contents of Ramsey’s letter, JonBenét’s older paternal half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey, called out both the BPD and Gov. Polis on Twitter.
“Not responding and trying to freeze us out is a losing strategy,” he wrote. “Communicating via press release is not productive. Take the meeting.”
John Andrew was 23 and celebrating Christmas in Atlanta when his half-sister was killed. Earlier this fall, he made headlines when he called out the BPD for refusing the aid of the “much more experienced” Denver Police Department in the case.
Going forward, the Ramseys also hope to find out more about “Amy’s father,” the Boulder parent who recent spoke to the U.S. Sun about the similarities between JonBenét’s murder and an assault on his daughter.
According to the interview, Amy was raped by an unknown intruder who broke into the family’s home on the night of Sept. 14, 1997. According to a private investigator, the girl allegedly attended the same dance school as JonBenét.
Amy’s father shares the Ramsey family’s frustrations with the BPD, telling the outlet that they police were “completely uninterested.”
“They didn’t care about this at all … they would just lie, telling us they’d look into this or that – but they hadn’t.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital, John Ramsey said that Amy’s story “needs to be highlighted” due to the similarities with JonBenét’s case.
The offices of Gov. Polis and the Boulder Police Department did not immediately return The Post’s request for a comment.