JonBenet Ramsey Parents Indicted by Grand Jury but Never Prosecuted
JonBenet Ramsey's parents were indicted by prosecutors but never officially prosecuted by the district attorney, new reports state. A grand jury voted to indict the Ramseys on charges of child abuse, but the district attorney did not believe he could win the case, and they were never tried.
"I and my prosecution task force believe we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant a filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time," Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter said in a 1999 press conference.
The news came as a bit of a shock due to the fact that a grand jury had voted to indict John and Patsy Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting in death, The Boulder Daily Camera newspaper reported. If convicted, the Ramseys would have faced up to 48 years in prison.
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"We didn't know who did what," a juror who chose to remain anonymous told The Camera. "But we felt the adults in the house may have done something that they certainly could have prevented, or they could have helped her and they didn't."
JonBenet disappeared from her home before being found dead eight hours later. Reports stated that she had been strangled and suffered a blow to the head. Her body was found in the basement of her home, and her parents became the first suspects in the case, which still remains unsolved.
"If what you report actually happened, then there were some very professional and brave people in Alex's office and perhaps elsewhere whose discipline and training prevented a gross miscarriage of justice," Bryan Morgan, an attorney representing John Ramsey, told The Camera.
Both Ramseys denied any involvement in their daughter's death, and Patsy died in 2006 after a battle with ovarian cancer. She maintained her innocence until the very end. John Ramsey has since spoken out and said he regretted putting his daughter in the public eye so often.
"My advice to a parent is just recognize that, regardless of where you live, there could be evil around you … and don't be naïve about it, and keep your kids protected," Ramsey told ABC News.
