Will DNA bring JonBenet’s killer to light?

Photo Courtesy: Flickr

Photo Courtesy: Flickr

Phoebe Durst

   The 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey was a whirlwind throughout the news. 

   The Colorado murder happened over 26 years ago and although there were many suspects, including the young girl’s father, mother, and brother, the killer was never caught. 

   This case has grown in popularity over the years since the murder took place and people want answers for the six-year-old starlet. Recently in Boulder, the city where the murder took place, police have reopened the investigation and plan to use DNA to assist in solving this case. 

   Since 1996 forensic technology and knowledge to test DNA have come a long way. When this crime was committed, the use of the DNA test had only been around for 11 years. It was early in the strategy and the public had little knowledge of it, which resulted in little trust. Today, studies show that when a crime is committed and investigators use a DNA test, it has a probability of 99 percent accuracy. 

   These new steps forward for DNA in crime have brought this very public murder of Jon Benet back to center stage. According to Fox News, John Ramsey has stepped out and asked Colorado Police to hand the investigation over to a private agency. 

   “I am 78 now and realize that time for answers is running out,” Ramsey said.

    The private agency that the case may be handed to has much more advanced equipment to test DNA, which has the ability to solve the case once and for all. 

   However the question is, will this acceleration in the case backfire on the Ramsey family, and potentially put one of their own behind bars?