JonBenet Ramsay was a six year old girl who went missing in Boulder, Colorado on Christmas 1996. Her mother came downstairs to find a long ransom note requesting 118,000 (weirdly, the same amount that the father had gotten as a bonus check from work). JonBenet was reported missing. Police came to the house and "searched" it, yet her body was found in the basement that had had "searched" about seven hours after she was reported missing. She had a broken skull, and was strangled. DNA evidence was recovered from the body. (The parents were excluded.) The police handling of the case left a lot to be desired, in my opinion. The police said that the parents were uncooperative. The mother was so distraught she couldn't even walk (as I am sure I would be if my daughter was murdered and dead in my house), and they would have gotten absolutely zero useful information out of her if they had drug her down to the police station five seconds after carting the body out of the home. They also retained counsel, as anyone facing any type of investigation should. Average people are not law experts or experts on their rights, and parents are always treated poorly as they are immediately the suspects. (A lot of the time, it is a parent or caregiver.) Another theory is that the brother did it and the parents covered up for him. I think that is quite ridiculous. (I know there are cases of kids killing kids, but I do not believe this to be the case here.) There was other evidence found that pointed to someone outside the home as the killer, and I personally believe it was a friend of the family or coworker, but I can do nothing other than speculate like everyone else.

The media and internet was not as largely popular during 1996, but the amount of coverage this case had in the news and mainstream media was astronomical. The family and their coworkers and friends were essentially stalked by the media. People made up all kinds of things. Imagine going to get groceries anywhere in the country and seeing your dead child and weird headlines all over those supermarket tabloids. It is really disgusting. I cannot imagine having to endure that from 1996 to 2022, as I write this. Not long ago, I was in the store and saw JonBenet's photo on the cover of one of those magazines. The fact of the matter is, her mother has died never knowing what happened to her daughter. Her brother has had speculation and nonsense to deal with since her murder, in addition to losing his sibling. The father is still actively trying to find out how to have the DNA evidence further tested, because the police won't send it to an outside lab. I found this book at the local library, so I picked it up to read during the summer reading program. I was recommended this book by someone who also told me that John Ramsay was releasing a new book soon about his continued efforts to seek justice for JonBenet, who has absolutely not been given any justice AT ALL. All the advances in technology and forensics that could be used on this case should be applied. The book itself was interesting to read, as it offered the perspectives of both parents shortly after the murders. It is pretty out of date, as there have been other issues pertaining to this case that have come about over the years, but it gave her parents a voice at the time. I would recommend it if you are interested in this case.