Director of JonBenet Ramsey Netflix doc no longer believes popular theory that family killed six-year-old
Warning: This article contains discussion of distressing topics.
The director of the new Netflix documentary about JonBenét Ramsey has said he's changed his mind about theories surrounding who killed the six-year-old.
On Boxing Day in 1996, JonBenét was found dead in her home after being strangled to death with a garotte tied around her neck, which came after she was sexually assaulted prior to her death, as per The Independent. A ransom note was also found prior to the discovery of her body in the basement.
To this day, the answer of who killed her is still shrouded in mystery.
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And recently, Joe Berlinger has made a new true crime doc about the tragic case, which has captivated people for decades.
In the new three part Netflix documentary series, the question of who killed JonBenét is asked, with the series called Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey.
Berlinger, who directed the series, has since admitted that in the late 90s when the case dominated the news cycle, he actually 'fell' for the theory that she was killed by her family, who were all at the house at the time of JonBenét's death.
It wasn't until he began to look further into the case, however, that he realised it was 'illogical'.
He told The Independent: “Back then I fell for it … and I’m embarrassed that I fell for it, because I had just finished Paradise Lost (a documentary Berlinger made about a wrongful murder conviction that saw him awarded an Oscar, and saw the convicted men walk free) which is all about wrongful conviction.
“But I had a two-year-old daughter at home, and I kind of bought into the media hype.
“I thought to myself, ‘Gee, my daughter, my two-year-old, is very cute, and I bet when she’s six, she’ll be really cute; I would never put her into a beauty pageant’ – and I had a bunch of judgment about that."
Berlinger said that he did a deep dive into the case, which resulted in the Netflix doc, adding: “Over time, as I became more familiar with the case, it became illogical.”
One particular focus of his work was detective Lou Smit, who came out of retirement to aid in the investigation.
When Smit decided that John, Patsy Ramsey and JonBenét's nine-year-old brother weren’t behind the killings, this apparently put him at odds with the local police force.
Berlinger said of uncovering Smit’s work: “That’s when I had this ‘a-ha!’ moment.”
The doc focuses in part on many of the points of Smit’s work, and one of the discoveries of Smit’s was that the Ramsey’s DNA was not shared with prosecutors for months, during which the parents were being disparaged in the media.
The pair were cleared in 2008, with the local DA issuing an apology to the pair, with Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy writing to John Ramsey: "To the extent that we may have contributed in any way to the public perception that you might have been involved in this crime, I am deeply sorry.
"No innocent person should have to endure such an extensive trial in the court of public opinion."
Talking more about the Ramsay family's innocence, Berlinger also previously told the New York Post: "I think a lot of the material that has been done in the past tries to have their cake and eat it, too.
"Or worse, it comes to the wrong conclusion.
"I am firmly convinced that the Ramsey family is innocent. And I am also firmly convinced that this case can be solved, if the Boulder Police Department finally does what it’s supposed to do."
Boulder Police Department previously told LADbible Group: "The killing of JonBenet was an unspeakable crime and this tragedy has never left our hearts.
"We are committed to following up on every lead and we are continuing to work with DNA experts and our law enforcement partners around the country until this tragic case is solved. This investigation will always be a priority for the Boulder Police Department.”
Topics: Netflix, True Crime, TV, TV and Film, Documentaries
Michael Slavin