JonBenet Ramsey's murder: All the key suspects and why they were on the list

The tragic murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey on December 26, 1996, remains to date one of the most infamous unsolved crimes in history. She was discovered dead in the basement of her family's Boulder, Colorado home, strangled to death, with signs of s*xual assault and a severe skull fracture.

Despite decades of investigation, the haunting question remains: Who killed JonBenet Ramsey? The Netflix series, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey, looks into some of the evidence again to discover key suspects and the missteps that impeded the investigation.

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JonBenet Ramsey's parents: John and Patsy Ramsey

Since day one, John and Patsy Ramsey were under extreme scrutiny. Inexperienced with homicide investigations, Boulder police placed the couple under an "umbrella of suspicion." They focused attention on the ransom note claiming $118,000 – a sum suspiciously close to John Ramsey's work bonus.

The strange wording of the ransom note and the amount of $118,000—identical to the amount John Ramsey had received in his recent bonus check—led investigators to believe that the note was staged. Based on various reports, there were theories of a family cover-up.

One theory was that Patsy Ramsey might have, in a fit of frustration, accidentally killed JonBenét, which she consistently denied—additionally, the absence of clear signs of forced entry raised suspicions of an inside job.

Their son, Burke Ramsey, also became a suspect in the public's eyes. Some believe that he might have caused JonBenet Ramsey's death by accident and that the family covered it up. This was further fueled when a 2016 CBS documentary revealed Burke as the killer. He filed a defamation lawsuit claiming that law enforcement had cleared him multiple times, which was settled in 2019.

It was in 2008 when DNA evidence found at the scene exonerated the Ramsey family, which showed the DNA belonged to an unknown male. Still, it was years of accusation and public scrutiny that they would endure.

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John Mark Karr: The false confessor

In 2006, John Mark Karr claimed he accidentally killed JonBenet Ramsey, but his story was full of inconsistencies. An alibi later confirmed he wasn't in Boulder at the time of the murder.

Besides, Karr's DNA was not a match to the DNA collected at the scene. His strange interest in the case, nonetheless brought out the sensational elements of JonBenét's murder and how far others could go for attention. The false confession by Karr made things even more complicated for the messy investigation that already was.

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Michael Helgoth: A local with a troubled past

Michael Helgoth, a local with a history of criminal activity, became a suspect after he died in 1997. He was connected to a burglary ring operating near the Ramsey home, and investigators were intrigued by his reported connection to footwear matching prints found at the crime scene.

Helgoth's suicide note raised suspicions, but no concrete evidence linked him to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. His name appears in the long list of suspects, but investigators could not establish a direct connection with him.

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Gary Howard Oliva: The convicted p*dophile

Gary Howard Oliva, another s*x offender, was another suspect because police found he had a picture of JonBenet Ramsey. His past violent crimes and proximity to the Ramsey home made his case even more suspicious.

Even though Oliva has a terrible past, DNA evidence eliminated him as a suspect in the murder of JonBenét. Indeed, people with questionable pasts often come up as suspects in highly publicized cases, yet they have no connection to the crime.

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The mystery of JonBenet Ramsey's murder still prevails, with no ultimate answer to who killed her. With years passing, various suspects were investigated and therefore were a layer of complexity to that particular case. While DNA was used to rule some, others were suspected based on behavior or proximity to the scene.