John Ramsey opens up about coping with JonBenet's loss and its impact on Christmas celebrations
BOULDER, COLORADO: John Ramsey, the father of JonBenet Ramsey, the six-year-old beauty queen who was brutally murdered in her home in 1996, has opened up about how he copes with the loss of his daughter and how he celebrates Christmas with his family.
‘We didn’t celebrate Christmas for several years’
In an interview with Fox News, John Ramsey, 80, said that he and his late wife Patricia "Patsy" Ramsey, who died of ovarian cancer in 2006, struggled to celebrate Christmas after their daughter’s death.
“We didn’t celebrate Christmas for several years, and we thought, ‘Well, this isn’t fair to Burke.’… We really tried to give him a normal childhood,” he said, referring to his son, who was nine years old at the time of the murder.
He said that he now tries to enjoy the festive season with his grandchildren and his other children from his first and third marriages.
“Now, we have grandchildren, and we have to enjoy those in our life. We will be with my daughter and her children and [my son’s] children this Christmas. It’ll be a joyful Christmas. You’ve got to remember what Christmas is all about, and that helps solidify our view of life and what life’s all about,” he said.
‘The death of a child… you don’t get over’
John Ramsey also spoke about the lasting impact of losing his daughter, who was found strangled and bludgeoned in the basement of their Boulder, Colorado, home on December 26, 1996.
The case remains unsolved and there are no suspects.
“It impacts us, not just on Dec 26. It’s with us – I’ve told people, the death of a child… you don’t get over. You don’t move on. You’re a changed person. And I’m sure that’s the same for my other children. It’s a horrible thing for them to have to live with, but you move on, and you’ve got to move on and create new memories,” he stated.
He expressed his ongoing hope that the Boulder Police Department would utilize the latest technology and genealogy tools to conduct thorough testing and retesting of the evidence from the crime scene in order to identify the killer.
“We think there’s still hope for some movement and progress based on the new leadership and in the organization,” he said. “So we’re cautiously hopeful that some progress and effort is being made to do those things we’ve asked be done.”
The tragic case of JonBenet Ramsey and the shifting suspicions over the years
John was the person who discovered his daughter's beaten and battered body in the basement of the family home.
There was no clear evidence of rape, but police did not rule out sexual assault. A ransom note was also discovered demanding $118,000 from the family.
For years, suspicions of murder were directed toward JonBenet's parents and her nine-year-old brother, Burke.
In 2008, they were formally taken off the suspects list, two years after Patsy died of ovarian cancer.
Even as no one has been formally charged for the killing, there have been several suspects over the years.
JonBenet Ramsey's father on coping with doubters and media vilification
Reflecting on the situation, he told the publication that even if "the killer confessed, was arrested, convicted, and in prison," a small percentage would still "not believe it."
He said, "...There's always going to be doubters and skeptics," adding, "It's the same crowd that thinks Elvis lives in Boca Raton still, and there is no moon landing.… The Bible calls them fools."
He said his family was "being vilified in the media and by the police, people on the street were wonderful" to them. He felt "uplifted" by strangers at the time.
"All the horrible things that were said about us in the media and so forth, at that stage, it didn't matter. We'd lost our child. And couldn't hurt us any more than that," Ramsey said.
