John Ramsey; JonBenét Ramsey; Geraldo Rivera.Photo:Donna Svennevik/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; ABL Studio/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock; Kevin Mazur/Getty
Donna Svennevik/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; ABL Studio/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock; Kevin Mazur/Getty
On Monday, Dec. 2, onNewsNation’sCuomo, Rivera apologized to John Ramsey for the mock trial he held about the case on his daytime talk show,The Geraldo Rivera Show,in 1997, saying, “I deeply apologize to you for what you and your family have suffered.”
Rivera’s “jury” found the parents liable for their daughter’s death,according to NewsNation.
He added, “No one deserves to go through what you went through. That’s my bottom line. And when I walk around and it is with stories like yours in my head over the last 54 years of my career, I, it is a burden to me. It’s a soulful burden. And again, man to man, to you, I apologize, and I am sorry for everything you have gone through, John.”
John responded, “Geraldo, I accept your apology and thank you.”
John, along with his wife Patsy, who has since died, quickly became persons of interest, after their daughter wasfound beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled to deathon Dec. 26, 1996. Earlier that morning, Patsy found a ransom note demanding $118,000 in exchange for JonBenét’s safe return.
Nobody in the Ramsey family has ever been charged and while several people fell under suspicion, no arrests have been made in connection with the case.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
The infamous cold case has made its way back into the spotlight following the November release of the Netflix three-part docuseriesCold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?.
Ahead of its release, John spoke with PEOPLE about what he believes needs to happen in order to make progress in finding his daughter’s killer.
JonBenét Ramsey and John Ramsey; PEOPLE’s Dec. 9, 2024 cover story.
“We’re begging the police to engage,” hetold PEOPLElast month. “There are cutting-edge DNA labs that want to help and who believe they can move the case forward.”
However, the Boulder Police Department recently disputed any characterization that they were not pursuing all leads and said progress is being made in the investigation.
“The assertion that there is viable evidence and leads we are not pursuing — to include DNA testing — is completely false,” the department said in a Nov. 26post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Additionally, it was the Boulder Police Department — not the Colorado Bureau of Investigation — who convened the Cold Case Review Panel in December 2023 as part of its investigation efforts,” the post added.
Boulder Police Public Information Officer Dionne Waugh told PEOPLE in a statement on Monday, Dec. 2, “It’s obvious that the Boulder Police Department wants to solve this case and the only reason is to bring justice to the victim JonBenét Ramsey.”
source: people.com
