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JonBenét Ramsey’s tragic death has remained unsolved since the 6-year-old pageant star was found murdered in her family’s basement during the 1996 holiday season. Despite the case being ruled a homicide, authorities still haven’t identified her killer.
Over the years, JonBenét’s parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, as well as her brother Burke Ramsey, have all been placed under intense scrutiny by both investigators and the public in the search for answers about her tragic death.
To find out where the Ramseys are today, keep reading.
Where Is JonBenet’s Brother Burke Today?
Burke Ramsey, now 37 years old, reportedly attended Purdue University and works as a software engineer. In addition to Burke, JonBenét had another older half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey, who is now 51.
In the years following JonBenét’s tragic death, Burke has spoken publicly about the intense media scrutiny and public attention he faced from adolescence into adulthood. He opened up during a 2016 interview with Dr. Phil, addressing various theories about his involvement. Burke firmly denied any involvement in striking his sister with a weapon. When asked why he was downstairs at the time of her death, he explained that he was simply playing with a toy. Burke was 9 years old at the time.
“Yeah, I had some toy that I wanted to put together. I remember being downstairs after everyone was in bed, wanting to get this thing out,” he explained, adding that he didn’t remember anything else. “I just remember being downstairs with this toy.”
28 years later, a source close to the Ramsey family revealed to Us Weekly ahead of the release of Netflix’s Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey on November 24, that Burke rarely discusses the case.
“Burke doesn’t talk about it. Ever,” the source said. “When he was younger, even her name would make him upset, because it was really painful and he didn’t know what to do with it. And then when he was in high school, he knew all the whispers.”
“Burke had a very painful and very lonely upbringing,” the source continued. “The family tried very hard to shield him, but you can’t shield a kid from the fact that his sister was murdered and everyone thinks that his family did it. Or that he did it.”
Where Are JonBenet’s Parents?
Patsy passed away from ovarian cancer in 2006, after battling the disease for several years. She had been in remission for nearly a decade after her initial diagnosis in 1993, but the cancer returned in 2002. Patsy, who was also a former pageant star, is buried next to her daughter.
As for John, he has largely stayed out of the public eye following the intense media scrutiny and public criticism surrounding the case. In 2004, he briefly entered politics, running for a seat in Michigan’s House of Representatives.
After Patsy’s death, John reportedly dated Natalee Holloway‘s mother, Beth Holloway, though he insisted that they were just friends. In 2011, John remarried, tying the knot with Jan Rousseaux, and relocated to Michigan.
Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?
The mystery surrounding the young pageant queen’s death remains unsolved. On December 26, 1996, Patsy discovered that her 6-year-old daughter was missing from their home in Boulder, Colorado. She found a ransom note demanding $118,000 for JonBenét’s safe return.
The note read in part: “At this time, we have your daughter in our possession. She is safe and unharmed, and if you want her to see 1997, you must follow our instructions to the letter. … Don’t underestimate us John. Use that good southern common sense of yours. It is up to you now, John! Victory! S.B.T.C.”
Despite the note’s warning not to call the police, Patsy immediately contacted authorities, as well as friends and family. However, no signs of forced entry were found at the home. Later that day, John discovered JonBenét’s body in the basement of their home. In an attempt to move her, he inadvertently contaminated the crime scene. The cause of death was ruled as strangulation and a skull fracture.
During the autopsy, investigators found pineapple in JonBenét’s system, while crime scene photos revealed a bowl of pineapple on the kitchen table from that evening. Patsy and John Ramsey, however, insisted they had not given their daughter the fruit. Burke’s fingerprints were found on the bowl, but the implications of this have never been fully explained.
Additionally, authorities discovered an unidentified male’s DNA on JonBenét’s underwear.
In 2006, a man named John Mark Karr, who later changed his name to Alexis Val Reich, falsely confessed to the murder of JonBenét. Karr claimed he was responsible for her death, but DNA tests revealed that his genetic profile did not match the DNA found on JonBenét’s underwear.
Authorities initially detained Karr and waited two weeks before transporting him to California to face child pornography possession charges. He is also a man who married two teenagers—one at 13 and another at 16—both of whom later claimed they had been coerced.