She was killed on Christmas night, only hours from the time this photo was taken of her and her mother:
It all started with a call to 911 from Patsy Ramsey. They had found a ransom note in their daughter's room.
Soon after police arrived, JonBenet's father found her body in the basement. For years, the world was sure the parents had done it.
Years later, it came out that there had been evidence of a break-in. The couple was cleared in 2008, two years after JonBenet's mom died of ovarian cancer.
Some have said the son was guilty, with the parents covering it up. The parents insisted he'd slept through the whole thing, but the 911 recording showed he may have been awake earlier than his mom has always said.
In recent years, more information has come out. There were more than 100 burglaries in the neighborhood in the months preceding the murder. There was a pattern of someone breaking in late at night dressed in black, attempting a sexual assault, and fleeing. One break-in involved an attempted assault on a little girl who danced at the same studio as JonBenet. The intruder knew her name.
Police were so focused on the parents, they refused to listen.
In recent years, attention has turned to a man named Michael Helgoth, who committed suicide mere hours after a press conference where the district attorney said the suspects would be narrowed down until "soon there will be no one on the list but you." Who is Michael Helgoth?
Helgoth ran a car salvage business and was described to the police as having been "violent and bizarre." They said he enjoyed killing kittens. Police focused the investigation on him for a while, but stopped when he committed suicide.
In late November, he told a friend he was excited about a moneymaking opportunity. The two of them planned to make around $50,000 or $60,000 each. The ransom note demanded $118,000.
After Christmas, his friend said he was depressed...and the money he was expected to earn was nowhere to be found. The friend reported it to the police, but nothing happened.
In recent years, though, detectives have discovered he collected Barbie dolls and got a little too close to a girlfriend's daughter. She took out a restraining order to keep him away.
Among his collection of videos were violent films and a recording of news coverage of the murder of a little girl. They also found a stun gun among photos of his suicide scene. A stun gun was used on JonBenet Ramsey.
The JonBenet Ramsey murder remains a cold case, but it's possible with DNA advancements, the case may be resolved in our lifetime.
What do you think happened to little JonBenet Ramsey?
I'm guest posting on different blogs throughout the month of August to celebrate the release of my new series. Let me know if you want to help out!
