JonBenét Ramsey’s dad has responded to claims she’s in the Epstein files.
Few unsolved murders have gripped the American public quite like the death of JonBenét Ramsey.
Nearly three decades on, the six-year-old beauty queen’s murder remains one of the most scrutinized, debated, and emotionally charged cold cases in US criminal history.
In early 2026, the case was thrust back into the spotlight, not because of a new lead or a fresh arrest, but because of a wave of internet speculation linking the murdered child to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
And now her father, John Ramsey, has responded.
The murder of JonBenét Ramsey
On the morning of December 26, 1996, the day after Christmas, JonBenét was reported missing from the family home in Boulder, Colorado.
Her mother, Patsy, had discovered a handwritten ransom note on the staircase, claiming JonBenét had been taken and demanding money in return.
Hours passed with no contact from any supposed kidnappers. Boulder police searched the home and the surrounding area, but it was John himself who eventually found his daughter’s body in the basement.
She had been strangled with a rope tied around her neck, at the end of which was a broken paintbrush. The six-year-old had also been assaulted and suffered blunt force trauma to the skull.
The case immediately became front-page news across the globe. The brutal nature of the crime, the ransom note, and the fact that JonBenét was found inside her own home turned an already devastating tragedy into a public obsession.
The investigation
In the years that followed, investigators pursued a long and winding trail of leads, suspects, and theories, but none have resulted in a single charge.
At the outset, suspicion fell heavily on the Ramsey family themselves. Police initially focused on JonBenét’s parents and her then-nine-year-old brother, Burke, with Boulder police believing Patsy may have written the ransom note.
However, the family was ultimately cleared after DNA evidence found under JonBenét’s fingernails, on her clothing, and in her underwear was linked to an unknown male – DNA that did not match John, Patsy, or Burke, per The Sun.
Over the decades, a string of other individuals were investigated. Convicted p****phile Gary Oliva reportedly confessed multiple times in letters to a friend that he had killed JonBenét, though he too was cleared by DNA evidence.
Former teacher John Mark Karr made a high-profile confession in 2006 after contacting a journalist, but his DNA did not match the crime scene samples either, and he was never charged.
Boulder Police have followed up on more than 21,000 tips, traveled to 19 states, and interviewed over 1,000 individuals.
Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in 2006, and the case has seen multiple detective shake-ups, grand jury proceedings, and DNA retests, all without a resolution.
Most recently, in December 2025, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn confirmed that new interviews had been conducted based on fresh tips and that evolving DNA technology was being used to retest evidence.
John Ramsey has publicly called for the department to partner with Othram Labs, a forensic laboratory specializing in investigative genealogy, saying he believes there is a ’70, 80 percent chance’ of finally getting an answer.
Theories and suspects
The sheer volume of theories surrounding JonBenét’s death is staggering. Some point to an intruder, someone who was already inside the Ramsey home when the family returned on Christmas night.
John Ramsey himself has long championed this theory, particularly after a masked man attacked a 12-year-old girl in Boulder just nine months after JonBenét’s murder. The victim lived only two miles away and attended the same dance studio as JonBenét.
Others have focused on individuals with known links to the Boulder area, including Gary Oliva and Michael Helgoth, a man who worked at a nearby auto salvage yard and owned boots matching prints found at the crime scene.
Helgoth died by s**cide in 1997, but his DNA did not match the evidence. John Brewer Eustace, who committed a horrific attack on a toddler in North Carolina, was also investigated but ruled out after a verified alibi placed him at work on the night of the murder.
Despite decades of investigation, the unknown male DNA remains the strongest piece of evidence, and the biggest unsolved puzzle.
The Epstein files
The renewed focus on JonBenét came alongside one of the most significant document releases in recent American criminal history.
On January 31, 2026, the US Department of Justice released millions of files connected to the late s** offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Among the enormous volume of material made public, one photograph in particular caught the attention of internet users. The image shows what appears to be a young girl sitting on Epstein’s shoulders.
Crucially, the girl’s face has been redacted – blurred out as part of the standard process for protecting the identities of minors in official documents.
Despite the redaction, a viral video circulated online claiming that the girl in the photograph was JonBenét Ramsey.
The clip also alleged that Epstein’s former associate Ghislaine Maxwell – who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for s** trafficking – had attended JonBenét’s sixth birthday party, just months before the child was murdered.
The claims spread rapidly across TikTok and other social media platforms, with users piecing together supposed evidence and drawing dramatic conclusions.
John Ramsey’s response
John Ramsey responded swiftly and firmly when the claims began circulating.
Speaking to TMZ, he dismissed the speculation in no uncertain terms.
“Absolutely no truth to it,” he said. “I haven’t seen this, but with AI, anything is possible.”
He went on to add: “I figured one of these days I would be accused of being an Epstein pal. Hasn’t happened yet. Internet people can be very cruel.”
The claims have been widely dismissed by credible sources as baseless internet rumor-mongering. No evidence has emerged to support any link between JonBenét Ramsey and Jeffrey Epstein, and the photograph in the Epstein files remains unidentified.
For John Ramsey, the episode is yet another painful chapter in a decades-long saga.
“Internet people can be very cruel,” he said. And in the case of JonBenét, that cruelty has rarely been in short supply.
