Seventeen years after the death of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, previously sealed court documents have been released showing the grand jury had prepared an indictment of John and Patrica Ramsey in 1999, the child beauty queen’s parents.
The then-District Attorney, Alex Hunter, declined to prosecute the Ramseys for two counts - child abuse resulting in death and acting as an accessory to a crime - on account of a lack of evidence.
According to CNN, Senior District Judge J. Robert Lowenbach ruled on Wednesday that 18 previously sealed court records be released, stating the document that was signed by the grand jury foreman constituted an official action.
The Ramseys have always maintained their innocence in the 1996 death of their daughter the day after Christmas. Her body was found in their Boulder, Colorado home after they called police to report they found a ransom note asking for $118,000 for her return. They were never named suspects but were the focus of the grand jury.
Daily News notes DNA was taken from JonBenet’s underwear but the results have never been released – until now. The findings, that JonBenet was sexually abused, have been shrouded by secrecy for 14 years.
The release of the documents are in response to a lawsuit brought on by a reporter with Boulder’s Daily Camera and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Last week, John Ramsey’s lawyer asked District Attorney Stan Garnett not to release the documents. "Public release of the allegations of an unprosecuted indictment only serves to further defame (John Ramsey) and his late wife," attorney Harold Haddon wrote.
image: Wikimedia Commons
