Nine months after child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family’s home, a girl who was in the same dance studio was raped by a masked home intruder.
That’s according to the girl’s father, who is going public to allege that policed botched investigations of both cases, neither of which has been solved, according to a new report in The Sun.
The dad, whose identity was not released, says that on September 14, 1997, a man clad in all black broke into his home in Boulder, Colorado.
The intruder allegedly found the father’s 12-year-old daughter, whom The Sun identified only as “Amy,” and then threatened and raped her.
Amy told her parents that when she awoke, someone was standing over her bed and referred to her by name.
“I know who you are,” the intruder allegedly said, adding, “I’ll knock you out. Shut up,” according to The Sun.
Hearing voices during the night, the girl’s mother went into the room and interrupted the man, at which point he fled the residence by jumping out a second-floor window, the newspaper reports.
The terrifying assault occurred at a home less than two miles away from JonBenét’s house and in both cases, Camel Blue cigarette butts were found outside the homes, the father told The Sun.
“There are so many similarities between the two cases that I think there’s a very good chance it was the same person,” the father told The Sun. “The only difference is my daughter survived.”
Amy’s father told the newspaper that he urged police to investigate potential links between the crimes but that his pleas were rebuffed.
“They were completely uninterested,” the father told The Sun of local police. “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.
A private detective hired by Amy’s family found the link involving the cigarette butts and other potential connections between the cases. Some possible suspects identified in Amy’s case had worked previously in JonBenét’s house, according to The Sun.
Despite those apparent links, Amy’s father said police were of no use.
“They didn’t care about my daughter’s case and they didn’t even really care about the Ramsey case either,” the father told The Sun.
Authorities recently said they would reinvestigate what happened to 6-year-old JonBenét, who was found dead on December 16, 1996.
Story reported by Jonathan Anderson, Journalist, Did JonBenét Ramsey Killer Strike Again? Father of Another Girl Speaks Out About Similarities of Daughter’s Case.
Boulder Police Department recently released a news report:
As we approach the 26th anniversary of JonBenet Ramsey’s homicide, the Boulder Police Department and @DABoulder20th wanted to provide another update about the ongoing homicide investigation. Read the news release:
As we approach the 26th anniversary of JonBenet Ramsey’s homicide, the Boulder Police Department and @DABoulder20th wanted to provide another update about the ongoing homicide investigation.
The News Release reads, JonBenet Ramsey Homicide Update:
BOULDER, Colo. – As we approach the 26th anniversary of JonBenet Ramsey’s homicide, the Boulder Police Department and Boulder County District Attorney’s Office wanted to provide another update about the ongoing homicide investigation.
Since JonBenet’s murder, detectives have investigated leads stemming from more than 21,000 tips, letters, and emails. We have traveled to 19 states to interview or speak with more than 1,000 individuals.
This investigation continues to receive assistance from federal, state, and local partners. Boulder Police work with multiple agencies, including the FBI, the District Attorney’s Office, Colorado’s Department of Public Safety, Colorado’s Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and several private DNA laboratories across the country.
The amount of DNA evidence available for analysis is extremely small and complex. The sample could, in whole or in part, be consumed by DNA testing. In collaboration with the CBI and the FBI, there have been several discussions with private DNA labs about the viability of continued testing of DNA recovered from the crime scene and genetic genealogy analysis. Those discussions will continue. Whenever there is a proven technology that can reliably test forensic samples consistent with the samples available in this case, additional analysis will be conducted.
As in any cold case homicide, the investigation can always benefit from the perspective of outside experts. So, in addition to talking with the private DNA labs, the Boulder Police Department will be consulting with the Colorado Cold Case Review Team in 2023. The Cold Case Review Team is comprised of professional investigative, analytical, and forensic experts from across the state. The Review Team is another tool to help further cold case homicide investigations, including making recommendations based on best practices in the investigative field.
“This crime has left a hole in the hearts of many, and we will never stop investigating until we find JonBenet’s killer,” Police Chief Maris Herold said. “That includes following up on every lead and working with our policing partners and DNA experts around the country to solve this tragic case. This investigation has always been and will continue to be a priority for the Boulder Police Department.”
District Attorney Michael Dougherty concurred, adding, “The murder of JonBenet Ramsey is a terrible tragedy and sparked years of unanswered questions and theories. Our office has successfully prosecuted other cold case homicides and many murder cases. In every one of those cases, it was the evidence that proved the defendant(s) guilty. Whether it is DNA or other evidence, more is needed to solve this murder. I appreciate the collaboration with CBI, the FBI, and the Boulder Police Department.”
Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact our tip line at 303-441-1974, BouldersMostWanted@bouldercolorado.gov or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
We are not conducting any media interviews at this time. Previous news releases on this case can be found on our website at https://bouldercolorado.gov/government/departments/police
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