Grand Jury



The Boulder Grand Jury was convened in 1998 to determine if there was probable cause to charge John and Patsy Ramsey in relation to their daughter's death. In 1999 the Grand Jury voted that there was probable cause to charge John and Patsy Ramsey with child abuse resulting in death and accessory to first degree murder. However the District Attorney's office did not file the charges, and did not inform the public of the Grand Jury's decision.

The Grand Jury's decision was not made public until 2013, fourteen years after the jury dispersed.

Background
District Attorney Alex Hunter was criticized for refusing to convene a Grand Jury.

In 1998 Detective Thomas resigned from the Boulder Police Department, and wrote a resignation letter that was highly critical of the Boulder District Attorney's office.

Evidence Considered by the Grand Jury
The Grand Jury files remain under seal, so it is not publicly known what evidence and theories were considered.

Officials involved in the proceedings repeatedly described it as an "investigative Grand Jury", meaning that it did not confine its investigations to the theory presented to them by the prosecution.

Witnesses known to have testified include: Burke Ramsey, Ramseys' pilot Mike Archuleta, Ramseys' pediatrician Dr. Francesco Beuf, coroner John Meyer, Ramsey defense advocate John Douglas, DA's investigator Lou Smit, CBI forensics expert Debbie Chavez, CBI fingerprints expert George Herrera, Ramsey family friends John and Barbara Fernie, Pam Griffin, Fleet and Priscilla White, Ramseys' housekeeper Linda Hoffmann-Pugh and her husband Merv Pugh, Reverend Rol Hoverstock, Burke Ramsey's third-grade teacher Carol Piirto, handwriting expert Chet Ubowski, and police officers Linda Arndt, Michael Everett, Rick French, Ron Gosage, Jane Harmer, Larry Mason, Fred Patterson, Tom Trujillo, Barry Weiss and Tom Wickman.

Conclusions
The True Bills state:


 * "On or between December 25, and December 26, 1996, in Boulder County, Colorado, John Ramsey/Patsy Ramsey did unlawfully, knowingly recklessly and feloniously permit a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation which posed a threat to the child’s life or health, which resulted in the death of JonBenet Ramsey, a child under the age of sixteen."


 * "On or about December 25, and December 26, 1996 in Boulder County, Colorado, John Ramsey/Patsy Ramsey did unlawfully, knowingly, and feloniously render assistance to a person, with intent to hinder, delay and prevent the discovery, detention, apprehension, prosecution, conviction and punishment of such person for the commission of a crime, knowing the person being assisted has committed and was suspected of the crime of murder in the first degree and child abuse resulting in death."

Alex Hunter's veto
District Attorney Alex Hunter announced

Hunter had in fact discussed the decision not to file charges on several occasions before the Jury completed its deliberations.

Another feature that made the Grand Jury unusual was that the District Attorney allowed a witness for the defense, Lou Smit, to testify.

Commentary and Legal Interpretation
Lawyers have discussed the

The Ramseys' lawyer Lin Wood dismissed the True Bills as "nonsensical".

Stan Garnett

For a district attorney not to endorse a grand jury's charge is "exceptionally rare," said analyst Craig Silverman, who was chief deputy district attorney in Denver for 16 years. Silverman described the past prosecutors' decisions in the case as sometimes "bizarre" and "strange". "Why would a D.A. have a grand jury deliberate and vote if he is not going to pursue the charges that they bring back?" Silverman said.

Boulder Police Department issued a statement saying: "Investigators at the time were disappointed in the then district attorney’s decision not to issue indictments. Cases are rarely perfect and often contain conflicting evidence. As a result, the opportunity to present the entire case to a jury may be lost forever."

A "Third Party"?
Some have suggested that