John Ramsey wants Colorado to adopt version of the federal Homicide Victim’s Families’ Rights Act

FIRST ON FOX: DENVER, Colo. — John Ramsey, the father of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, whose 1996 Christmastime murder remains one of America’s most haunting unsolved cases, announced a new petition asking Colorado lawmakers to enshrine the rights of families who believe law enforcement has not done enough to bring justice for their loved ones.

While on stage at CrimeCon’s 2025 convention in Denver on Saturday, Ramsey asked the Colorado Legislature to bring state law into alignment with the federal Homicide Victim’s Families’ Rights Act, which ensures victims have the right to request a cold case review in federally handled investigations that haven’t found answers.

“Fairness over favoritism,” the petition states. “Families shouldn’t need media attention to get a second look.”

The federal law does not apply to state or local investigations. Ramsey is proposing Colorado adopt its own version to give the right to a review to families after a case has gone unsolved for more than three years.

The work would be conducted by one or more investigators who were not part of the original probe.

The new team would be required to evaluate whether state-of-the-art DNA tools could help.

The review would have transparency requirements, accountability and a deadline. If the case remains unsolved, the family would have the right to request a new review after another five years — unless new evidence emerges sooner.

Ramsey made the announcement on stage with investigative journalist Paula Woodward, author of “We Have Your Daughter,” a book about the case.

Both have long questioned the Boulder Police Department’s handling of JonBenet’s murder, for which no one has been convicted after almost 30 years.

“It’s been enacted in six states and at the federal level,” Ramsey told a packed auditorium. “It needs to be enacted in every state.”

The petition was launched by Lura Vernon, a former aerospace engineer on the airplane side of NASA.

“I’ve followed the case since the beginning and have daughters who are JonBenet’s age,” Vernon told Fox News Digital in a statement. “I heard John Ramsey at CrimeCon in Nashville talk about the Federal Homicide Victim’s Act, and I thought this should have been the headline of every story. … I asked myself what I could do. This petition was the answer.”

Ramsey has been a regular fixture at the events for years. At an earlier CrimeCon in Las Vegas, he announced the start of a petition asking Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to allow an independent agency to conduct modern DNA testing in the case rather than the Boulder Police Department.

JonBenet’s mother reported her missing on the morning of Dec. 26, 1996, after finding a lengthy ransom note demanding $118,000. John Ramsey found her body later that same day in the basement of their home in Boulder.

An autopsy revealed that JonBenet died of strangulation and a blow to the head. The Boulder City Medical Examiner reported an 8½-inch fracture in her skull.

Ramsey has long criticized the department for its “arrogance,” “pride,” “ego” and inexperience at the time his daughter was killed. More recently, he told Fox News Digital he has renewed “hope” after meeting with the department’s new leadership.

“I’ve been extremely critical of Boulder police,” he told Fox News Digital in October 2023, adding that his criticism is “unfair” to new brass who “inherited this mess” over the years.

“Until I’m proven wrong, I have hope that the new leadership within the police department, who I was impressed with, will make good on their promise to use outside help to solve this case,” he said.

Authorities are asking anyone with information related to the JonBenet investigation to contact 303-441-1974, [email protected] or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).