JonBenét Ramsey’s loved ones are still looking for answers nearly 30 years after she was murdered in her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado, in December 1996. As the case still remains unsolved, Ramsey’s father, John Ramsey, weighed in on DNA testing in light of former Colorado DNA analyst Yvonne “Missy” Woods pleading guilty to manipulating data in hundreds of cases over the past 18 years.
“Well, we heard about this initially. It was sort of rumored that there were problems in the CBI DNA lab, and we looked into it at that time. It was probably a year ago, and it appeared that Ms. Woods was not involved in our case, so we kind of just dropped it,” John, 82, said about the situation while appearing on NewsNation’s Jesse Weber Live on Thursday, June 25.
John added that the “DNA initially in our case was the crime scene evidence,” which was “sent to an outside lab, not to CBI.”
“They found unidentified male DNA in JonBenét’s panties and some other areas. That was a big problem for the police because they started including everything. I’m not sure which one, but now they’ve got unidentified male DNA to explain away,” he continued. “So the DNA, whoever did the DNA then, did us a great service by finding them. And then, of course, more was found in 2006 when it was tested using other crime scene evidence, tested using the latest technology at that point.”
John then said that he doesn’t believe his family “suffered from misconduct,” adding that they “know that a number of items from the crime scene were sent in for testing, a number were not tested.”
“We always kind of wondered why, seeing items that should have been sampled,” he said. “I don’t know if it was a cost issue or they already found unidentified male DNA, so why go any further?”
John reflected on the use of DNA testing in his daughter’s case just two days after Woods entered guilty pleas to committing a cybercrime, perjury, attempting to influence a public servant and forgery on Tuesday, June 23, according to CNN. As part of her plea deal, dozens of other counts she was facing were dismissed.
She entered her plea after authorities accused her of altering data to conceal tampering, as well as deleting data that showed she failed to troubleshoot issues within the testing process. Woods was also accused of not thoroughly documenting tests that were performed in case records.
DNA testing has played a major part in JonBenét’s case, and Boulder police confirmed that the former pageant queen’s death “remains a top priority” in December 2025.
“Techniques and technology constantly evolve,” Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn previously said in a video statement. “This is especially true with technology related to DNA testing.”
John also previously told Fox News that he believes the ongoing advances in forensic genetic genealogy could help solve the case.
“I am absolutely convinced that’s the gold standard today,” he told the outlet in September 2025. “So I’ve been pushing that pretty hard in terms of what I think ought to happen, and I don’t know that they’re doing it. I know they listen, but I don’t know where they are mentally, in terms of making that happen.”
