In 2008, the Boulder Country District Attorney, Mary Lacy, made the decision to exonerate the Ramseys for any involvement in the murder of JonBenet.
But, in a joint investigation with Daily Camera/9NEWS, DNA evidence has emerged that contradicts Lacy’s letter of exoneration stating the DNA found on JonBenet’s clothing necessarily belonged to a single male killer.
However while testing the underwear and clothes of the dead six-year-old girl, forensic experts found that there were three samples of DNA present. One was from JonBenet herself, but there were two other unidentified persons.
According to the news organisations, this is is something Lacy’s office was told but was not mentioned when the Ramseys were cleared.
At the time, the Ramsey family were able to be cleared of any wrongdoing because their DNA didn't match those on the evidence. But, questions are now raised because the DNA belongs to three different people and not just one individual.
"It's a rather obvious point," Troy Eid, a former U.S. Attorney for Colorado said. "....if you're looking for someone that doesn't exist, because actually it's several people, it's a problem."
Two of three samples of the evidence have been cleared from the Ramseys, but the third one, named Unknown Male 1, is causing the most contention.
Listen to the Mamamia team debrief the JonBenet Ramsey case. (Post continues after audio.)
The possibility Unknown Male 1 belongs to a Ramsey family member has not be ruled out but it so far has not yet be traced to any individual, which has caused some experts even go as far to suggest this sample could belong to a brand new group of people. If this was the case, the evidence could be almost worthless.
Despite the question marks now arising about the Ramseys exoneration, even if the DNA on the materials matched with theirs, it wouldn't immediately make them responsible for causing her death.
The samples could have been transferred onto JonBenet through daily contact.