JonBenét Patricia Ramsey /ˌdʒɒnbəˈneɪ pəˈtrɪʃə ˈræmzi/; (August 6, 1990 – December 25, 1996) was an American girl who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado in 1996. The six-year-old's body was found about eight hours after she was reported missing, in the basement of the family home, during a police search of the home. She had been struck on the head and strangled. The case remains unsolved, even after several grand jury hearings, and continues to generate public and media interest.Colorado law enforcement agencies initially suspected Ramsey's parents and her older brother Burke. However, the family was partially exonerated in 2003 when DNA taken from the victim's clothes suggested they were not involved. Her parents were not completely cleared until July 2008. In February 2009, the Boulder Police Department took the case back from the district attorney to reopen the investigation.Media coverage of the case has often focused on Ramsey's participation in child beauty pageants, her parents' affluence and the unusual evidence in the case. Reports have also questioned the police's overall handling of the case. Several defamation suits have been filed against several media organizations by Ramsey family members and their friends over reporting of the murder.On October 25, 2013, previously sealed court documents were released, showing that a Colorado grand jury had voted in 1999 to indict John and Patricia Ramsey with the murder of six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting in death and being accessories to a crime. However, then-District Attorney Alex Hunter decided not to sign the indictment, saying the evidence was insufficient.
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