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Father Of JonBenet Ramsey To Appear On Barbara Walters’ Show, Says He Protected Another Family Member

By Angela Woods
Published on: 10:09 PST, Nov 7, 2015

John Ramsey, father of JonBenet Ramsey, is scheduled to appear on a Barbara Walters special to explain his actions in protecting his son Burke from the knowledge that murder allegations had been made against him during the criminal investigation that proceeded after the child beauty queen’s death.

The nation was left in shock in Dec. 1996 when 6-year-old JonBenet’s body was found hidden in her home on the day after Christmas. Liftbump reports that she was discovered approximately eight hours after she had been reported missing. Evidence at the scene indicated that she had been sexually assaulted prior to being bludgeoned and strangled. Her brother, Burke Ramsey, was 9 at the time.

To this date, the crime remains unsolved, and no perpetrators have been clearly identified. Experts have long speculated that the crime scene was staged to hide what actually occurred, and JonBenet’s parents were suspected of staging the scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl5Ll3sLFs8

The media, especially the tabloids, presented Burke as the primary suspect in headlines, and John and his wife Patsy Ramsey did everything that they could to shield him from that. Ramsey told Barbara Walters that friends were concerned and wanted to do all that they could to assist the family in shielding Burke.

“Friends would ask us, ‘What can we do to help?’ We said, ‘Next time you go in the supermarket, call the manager over when you see our child’s photo on the front cover, and ask him to remove it.’ A lot of them did that.”

Burke was present in the home when JonBenet disappeared, but he was cleared of the crime by DNA evidence two years later.

Ramsey told Walters that he believes that JonBenet’s killer will still be identified one day despite the length of time that has elapsed since her death. JonBenet would have been 25 this year had she lived.

Despite all of his and his wife’s best efforts, Ramsey said that Burke did eventually see an accusation against him on the cover of a major magazine. The Daily Mail reports that the Ramseys were firm in their assertion that Burke was sound asleep at the time of the murder and did not wake up until after the police arrived.

Expressing his hope that JonBenet’s killer will still be found, Ramsey said that he believes that it will happen in one of two ways: either DNA evidence will bring the perpetrator to light or someone will expose him out of anger or bitterness.

It was widely reported by the media that an inexperienced Colorado police force made a number of procedural errors while collecting evidence that impeded making a definitive identification of JonBenet’s killer possible.

John, who has since remarried, shared that he feels that he has lost everything. He found it difficult to obtain a job after relocating from Boulder to Atlanta due to the stigma of the crime, which cost him millions in savings and investments over the years. His first wife and JonBenet’s mother, Patsy, died in 2006 due to ovarian cancer. An older daughter from a previous marriage was killed in a car accident in 1992 at the age of 22.

When questioned by Walters on what advice he would give others impacted by a tragedy, Ramsey shared insightful thoughts.

“When something really tragic happens in your life, put your life in park. Give your checkbook to a trusted friend. Avoid making any big decisions. Because you’re just not capable of making good decisions.”

Investigators found male DNA on JonBenet’s underwear when her body was discovered but have not yet been able to match it to a suspect. Testing though has confirmed that it did not belong to any member of the Ramsey family.

[Photo by Barry Williams / Getty Images]

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