Unsolved cases

Jonbenet Ramsey

Jonbenet Ramsey was an  American child beauty queen who was killed at the age of 6 in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. She was the daughter of John and Patsey Ramsey and sister of Burke Ramsey.

On December 25, 1996, Christmas, Ramsey was found missing that morning by her parents.
On the stairs, there was a random note written:

"Mr. Ramsey,

Listen carefully! We are a group of individuals that represent a small foreign faction. We respect your business but not the country that it serves. 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. You will withdraw $118,000.00 from your account, $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills. Make sure that you bring an adequate size attaché to the bank.
When you get home you will put the money in a brown paper bag. I will call you between 8 and 10 am tomorrow to instruct you on delivery. The delivery will be exhausting so I advise you to be rested. If we monitor you getting the money early, we might call you early to arrange an earlier delivery of the money and hence an earlier pick-up of your daughter.
Any deviation of my instructions will result in the immediate execution of your daughter. You will also be denied her remains for proper burial. The two gentlemen watching over your daughter do not particularly like you so I advise you not to provoke them. Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as Police, F.B.I., etc.. will result in your daughter being beheaded.
If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. If you alert bank authorities, she dies. If the money is in any way marked or tampered with, she dies. You will be scanned for electronic devices and if any are found, she dies. You can try to deceive us but be warned that we are familiar with Law enforcement countermeasures and tactics. You stand a 99% chance of killing your daughter if you try to outsmart us. Follow our instructions and you stand a 100% chance of getting her back. You and your family are under constant scrutiny as well as the authorities. Don't try to grow a brain, John. You are not the only Fat Cat around so don't think that killing will be difficult. 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.

The parents quickly call the police to report her missing.
When the police got there, the parents were upset.

The officers searched the house but did not find any sign of forced entry.

Officer Rick French went to the basement to a door that was secured by a wooden latch. He paused in front of the door but walked away without opening it.

John made arrangements to pay the ransom money.

At 1 pm, Detective Arndt asked John Ramsey and Fleet White, a family friend, to search the house to see if "anything seemed amiss."
They started their search in the basement. John opened the latched door which Officer French had overlooked and found his daughter's body in one of the rooms.

JonBenét's mouth was covered with duct tape, a nylon cord was found around her wrists and neck, and her torso was covered by a white blanket. John Ramsey picked up the child's body and took it upstairs.
When JonBenét was moved, the crime scene was further contaminated, and critical forensic evidence was disturbed for the returning forensics team.

Each of the Ramseys provided handwriting, blood, and hair samples to the police. John and Patsy participated in a preliminary interview for more than two hours, and Burke was also interviewed within the first couple of weeks following JonBenét's death.

Experts, media commentators, and the Ramseys have identified potential suspects in the case. Boulder police initially focused almost exclusively upon John and Patsy, but by October 1997 had over 1,600 people in their index of persons of interest for the case.
Errors that were made in the initial investigation complicated the resolution of the investigation and applicable theory. Those errors included loss and contamination of evidence, lack of experienced and technical staff on the investigation, evidence shared with the Ramseys, and delayed informal interviews with the parents.