JonBenét Ramsey’s dad speaks out on new fears over DNA evidence in daughter's case
John Ramsey has raised concerns about how DNA testing in his daughter's murder was handled, after a forensic analyst admitted to manipulating data.
Earlier this week, Yvonne 'Missy' Woods, a former forensic analyst with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, pleaded guilty to charges of cybercrime, perjury, attempting to influence a public servant, and forgery after being accused of manipulating DNA data over 18 years.
Woods' case has thrown the validity of hundreds of cases into doubt, after investigators said the 65-year-old intentionally left DNA samples out of tests or reports and would sometimes retest samples until she got the results she wanted.
Now, John Ramsey has said the trial has raised further questions about how his daughter's murder case was handled.
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Six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her home on 26 December, 1996. The family had initially reported her as missing after a ransom note was found on the stairs of their home.
Despite Woods working at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation in 1996, there is currently no evidence that she tampered with any of the evidence in the Ramsey case, as her known misconduct is linked to 58 investigations between 2008 and 2023.
However, the case has reignited concerns held by the Ramsey family, with John telling NewsNation that a number of items from the crime scene were not tested.
"We did know that a number of items from the crime scene were sent in for testing, and a number were not tested," he told the outlet.
"We always kind of wondered why. I mean, items that should have been sampled, but they weren’t, I don’t know whether it was a cost issue or they already found unidentified male DNA, so why go any further."
John then went on to reiterate his plea for forensic genetic genealogy (FGG), a type of testing which compares samples to genealogy databases, in his daughter's case.
"We’ve advocated for a year almost that we use forensic genetic genealogy, FGG, which is kind of the latest tool that’s out there," he said.
"You have to go to an outside lab, but it’s got to be one that knows how to do it."
Last year, John revealed that new testing was being done on evidence from the crime scene, hoping that it would finally identify his daughter's killer.
When asked for an update on the testing, John revealed that he's yet to hear any results.
"They won’t tell us what the results, if any, were of the latest testing done by somebody. So, yeah, that’s a concern. And it’s not using the latest technology," Ramsey said, adding that he was considering petitioning to have evidence sent to other labs.
Topics: Crime, True Crime, US News
Brenna Cooper