BOULDER, Colo.— JonBenét Ramsey's father, John Ramsey, told Denver7 he's feeling encouraged after meeting Boulder's new police chief, Stephen Redfearn, for the first time on Monday.
"It was a good meeting,” said John.
John, 81, said he spent close to two hours with Redfearn, the district attorney, and others from the department, discussing JonBenét’s 28-year-old unsolved case.
“I was impressed. They were not arrogant, cocky, big egos. They were eager to talk and get the case solved and are open to all options available,” said John.
John said he was there mainly to talk about using genetic genealogy to test and re-test DNA evidence.
"If we do that, I believe there's a pretty good chance we can identify the killer. I really do,” said John.
JonBenét was found brutally murdered in the Ramsey’s Boulder home in December 1996. The Boulder Police Department has been criticized for botching the initial handling of the investigation.
Denver7 asked John if Boulder police had given him any indication that they were planning to use genetic genealogy in the case.
"We don't know. They're also professionals in that they don't talk about everything they're doing,” John said. “I respect them for being cautious, but I believe they are open to this technology that's available now."
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Denver7 also asked John if Boulder PD gave him any details as to where the investigation stands.
“They said they've gotten a lot of leads because of the documentary that came out on Netflix, and we've got leads, as well, which I’ve given to them when we met,” said John.
John said he brought a DNA expert to the meeting in hopes that they could provide some needed insight.
“He said we can work with a few picograms of information of a DNA sample,” John shared. “The police, to their credit, and the DA said, 'Look, if we go with an outside lab, we have to go with the right choice.' And they're not just doing it because they want good advertising."
John said it's now a waiting game, and he's hopeful that if the technology is used, a killer will eventually be identified. He stressed that he would never give up the fight for JonBenét.
"You want your child, that loss, to make a difference,” said John. “How can we make the world a better place based on what we've learned?"
Denver7 reached out to Boulder PD for an update, and a spokesperson shared this statement, “We can confirm that Chief Redfearn and members of our Operations Division met with the family this week, as the department has previously shared updates on the case. Beyond that, we cannot answer specific questions because this is an active and ongoing homicide investigation.”
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