After the new documentary series on the JonBenet Ramsey case landed on Netflix, a question is being asked once more: what happened to the family and suspects?
Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey has sparked renewed interest in the unsolved murder, which occurred nearly 30 years ago but remains a topic of debate and speculation.
In 1996, JonBenet, a six-year-old child beauty pageant queen, was found murdered in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado, home on December 26, 1996.
There have been numerous suspects, from the parents John and Patsy and her brother Burke to John Mark Karr, aka Daxis – but still no convictions have been made. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
Where is Burke Ramsey now?
JonBenet Ramsey’s brother Burke is living a normal life out of the spotlight. According to a 2012 interview with People, he works in software engineering and has a partner.
He remains close with his father John, who said at the time, “He’s certainly matured. He’s got a 401(k) plan and an IRA, and he did it all on his own.”
Burke was nine years old when his younger sister was murdered. He was one of numerous suspects over the years, with a leading theory being that he killed JonBenet after she stole a piece of pineapple from his plate, with John and Patsy covering it up.
When this theory was detailed in CBS’ 2016 documentary The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey, the Ramsey family slammed the allegations as “false.” Burke sued the network, producers, and hosts for $750 million, and the case was settled for an undisclosed sum.
That same year, Burke gave a rare interview on Dr. Phil, where he responded to various theories about the perpetrator and looked at evidence such as the notorious ransom note.
His smile throughout the interview raised concern among viewers, so much so that Dr. Phil addressed the many messages they received about the issue, suggesting Burke was just nervous and uncomfortable.
Burke turned down the opportunity to be interviewed for Netflix’s Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, citing his “treatment by the media and online web sleuths” as the reason why.
What happened to Patsy Ramsey?
JonBenet’s mother Patsy died of ovarian cancer on June 24, 2006, at age 49. She was first diagnosed in 1993 and went into remission after treatment for nine years until a recurrence in 2002.
She died at her father’s home in Atlanta with her husband John by her side, and is now buried next to JonBenet at the St. James Episcopal Cemetery in Georgia.
Following the murder of their daughter, Patsy and John relocated from Colorado to Georgia, before living in Michigan.
Friend Don Trimper told The Denver Post back in 2016, “This was their safe harbor. I remember John saying they couldn’t go back to Colorado, and Atlanta was a little overwhelming.”
Despite maintaining innocence throughout, Patsy has long been accused of being involved in the death of her daughter due to numerous factors, one of which being the ransom note.
Written with a pen and notepad from the house, the letter raised suspicions of being staged, and a Colorado Bureau of Investigation report suggested that there were indications the note could have been written by Patsy.
However, multiple handwriting experts later determined it was unlikely she authored the note.
As is explored in the Netflix documentary, critics, including some true crime analysts and segments of the public, have cited Patsy’s involvement in JonBenet’s pageantry and her “pageant mother” persona as reasons for suspicion.
These aspects of Patsy’s life were sensationalized in the media, creating a narrative that she might have been overly controlling, placed undue pressure on her daughter, and potentially put her at risk.
There’s also the fact that Patsy and her husband hired legal counsel shortly after the murder. This move, though not uncommon in cases like this, drew significant public and media scrutiny.
Just a few days after her daughter’s death, Patsy joined John for a 45-minute interview with CNN, despite telling Boulder police they were too distraught to speak with them.
Although officers said there was no active threat, Patsy announced in the interview, “There is a killer on the loose… if I lived in Boulder, I would advise my friends to keep their children close, as there’s someone out there.”
In April 1997, Patsy was interviewed by detectives for six-and-a-half hours. The following month, she and John addressed the public, sharing their frustration at the investigation.
As the investigation raged on, a digitally enhanced recording of Patsy’s 911 call to the police was alleged to feature Burke’s voice at the end, which contradicted their claim Burke was asleep until after the police showed up.
However, in 1999, Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter announced that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against anyone investigated in the crime, including Patsy.
In 2000, former detective Steve Thomas wrote a bestselling book accusing her of killing JonBenet. The Ramseys took legal action, suing Thomas and his publisher for $80 million.
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Much like Burke’s case, it was settled for an undisclosed sum. Patsy maintained her innocence right up until her death.
Where is John Ramsey now?
John Ramsey appears in Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey to give extensive interviews about the case. He now lives in Charlevoix, Michigan, with his new wife and fashion designer Jan Rousseaux, who he married in 2011.
Much like Patsy, John raised suspicion for hiring a well-known criminal lawyer just days after JonBenet’s death, and for avoiding police interviews. “I think there was a sense that, perhaps, there was a reason why they were doing that,” says investigative reporter Julie Hayden.
But in the Netflix docu-series, he criticizes the accusations that he was involved in his daughter’s murder, giving alternate explanations for each point of contention. He also places blame on the investigation and the media for raising suspicion.
“We could have the killer arrested, convicted, in prison, and there’d still be five to 10% of the population that thinks we’re guilty,” he says. “And that’s not surprising based on what they were told.”
John also opens up about another of his daughters who died. Elizabeth Ramsey was the half-sister of JonBenet and one of John’s three children from his first marriage to Lucinda Lou Pasch, alongside Melinda and John Andrew.
In 1992, Elizabeth, known by the family as Beth, died in a car accident. Following Patsy’s death, it was reported that John started dating Beth Holloway, the mother of missing teen Natalee Holloway, but he denied their relationship was romantic.
What happened to “Daxis” John Mark Karr?
In 2006, John Mark Karr, also known as Alexis Reich or Daxis online, made a false confession to the murder of JonBenet. As of 2023, it’s reported he’s living in a high-rise condo in Europe.
Karr is a former school teacher and suspected child predator. Years after the case first unfolded, he contacted journalist Michael Tracey and claimed he was in love with JonBenet, confessing to killing her and that it was an “accident.”
What transpires in the docu-series is that Karr was given the opportunity to describe in great detail what he claimed to have happened, living out his fantasy while speaking with Tracey.
Eventually, the authorities tracked him down to Thailand and extradited him to the US, where he was arrested on suspicion of killing JonBenet.
However, Karr’s family said they had been with him during the period of the murder, while DNA analysis showed he wasn’t a match to the DNA found in JonBenet’s underwear.
In 2023, he gave an interview with The Messenger. The then 58-year-old said, “Everyone was so quick to say that I was a liar or delusional. Did it ever occur to someone that I might have been trying to protect someone else?”
But he refused to elaborate on what this meant. He also wouldn’t provide the country where he’s currently residing, stating, “I’ve been investigated by the FBI for many more crimes. I’m living out of the country for my own safety.”
Karr told the outlet that he’s unemployed. “It’s hard to find a job with my background,” he continued. “A lot has been said about me that is untrue.”
The Messenger asked an FBI source who worked on the case whether they thought Karr was guilty, to which they replied, “There were enough questions that made me raise my eyebrows.
“He was cagey and smart, and he knew a lot. Did that add up to murder? Or involvement on some level? I don’t know. But I wanted to learn more.” However, there was not enough evidence to keep Karr in custody.
Where is Gary Oliva now?
As of March 2024, Gary Oliva, a former suspect in the murder, is living in Denver after being released from Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in Ordway in January.
Boulder police received information about Oliva early on in the investigation due to his criminal history. He had sexually assaulted one of his neighbor’s daughters while living in Oregon before fleeing.
A former friend of his told detectives that he had received a call from Oliva on the night of JonBenet’s murder saying he had just “hurt a little girl.” But he wasn’t arrested until 2000 when officers found him in possession of photos of JonBenet.
However, he wasn’t a match for the DNA found on JonBenet’s clothing, ruling him out as a suspect. In 2019, while serving a prison sentence on child pornography charges, Oliva allegedly confessed to the crime in prison letters to an old friend.
The authorities shared a statement that they had received similar claims in the past which were later disproven, and with no physical evidence linking him to the murder, he was dropped as a suspect long before this.
In Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, former Colorado Springs police commander Kurt Pillard says, “He later confessed basically indicating that he would take credit for the JonBenet Ramsey homicide if the police would just guarantee that he could have three square meals a day and a roof over his head.”
Oliva ended up serving eight of his ten-year prison sentence for the CP charges, having been released on parole at the end of January 2024. He was last spotted by the US Sun in February living in a halfway house on the east side of Denver.
Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey is streaming on Netflix now. For more true crime news, read about the upcoming series Apple Cider Vinegar, how to watch the McKamey Manor documentary, and a rundown of the Zodiac killer suspects.
