John Ramsey

John Ramsey is the father of murder victim JonBenet Ramsey and husband of Patsy Ramsey, who died in 2006 of ovarian cancer. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Ramsey parlayed his military career into civilian work as a software engineer and successful businessman. At the time of his daughter's death, he was CEO of the Lockheed-Martin subsidiary Access Graphics.

On September 10, 2008, Ramsey will appear on the Oprah show.Oprah: John Ramsey on Oprah

According to testimony, on the day after Christmas, 1996, Patsy Ramsey discovered a ransom note purporting to be from a "small foreign faction" and demanding $118,000 for JonBenet's return.Tru TV Crime Library: Murder of JonBenet Ramsey Later in the day, John Ramsey found the body of his daughter in the basement. The autopsy report indicated strangulation and head trauma.

Though they were never named as official suspects, both John and Patricia Ramsey were investigated in the murder. Along with their son Burke—age 9 when the murder occurred—they were also subject to intense media scrutiny. In the days immediately after JonBenet's death, the family flew to Atlanta, Georgia, where they had lived until 1991, and limited police interviews. Other aspects of the case viewed as suspect were a discarded "practice" ransom note discovered at the scene and conflicting reports over Burke's status the morning of the incident.

The morning of July 9, 2008, Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy issued a letter officially exonerating the Ramsey family. New DNA evidence, gathered with a method called "touch" analysis, indicated that the perpetrator was a male unrelated to the Ramsey family.

Speaking with a Denver TV station, Ramsey expressed gratitude over the development, adding that "the most important thing is that we now have very, very solid evidence—and that's always been my hope, at least in the recent past—that would lead us to the killer eventually."MSNBC: Family cleared in JonBenet Ramsey's death (July 9, 2008)

• Chicagotribune.com: Father of Jonbenet Ramsey Says He Forgives... (September 10, 2008)

• MSNBC: Video: Parents Cleared in JonBenet Killing (Time: 15:05)

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