DNA

(Note: Public knowledge of the DNA testing is incomplete. Not all DNA testing documents have been released.)



Trace amounts of DNA were recovered from various items at the scene. The DNA overwhelmingly belonged to JonBenet Ramsey herself, however some mixed profiles contained unidentified components. Some argue that one or more of these identified profiles belongs to an intruder or intruders who were in the home on the night of JonBenet's death. This theory has been contested by Boulder Police and independent scientists consulted by the Boulder Daily Camera, however it has been supported by the Ramseys' lawyers and some investigators from the District Attorney's office.

Background
Early tests with CBI

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation lab discovered a semen stain after all on a blanket inside the suitcase that had been retrieved from the basement. DNA tests matched the specimen to John Andrew, and since we had cleared him, another trail ended where it started. Intruder theorists in the DA’s office would try to weave the semen stain, the blanket, and a Doctor Seuss book also found in the suitcase into a convoluted scenario in which JonBenét was lured from her bed with the book. The plan was then to stuff her in the suitcase and take it out through the window. When it was argued that the suitcase didn’t fit through the basement window, the theory simply changed to having her taken out through a door while the suitcase was used as a stairstep to the window. It was a convenient arrangement of these facts. We kept sending the CBI evidence to test, and they were moving us to the head of the line and doing solid work. The DA’s office decided that future DNA tests would be conducted by CellMark Diagnostic in Maryland, the largest independent testing lab in the country. In my opinion, the main reason was to placate Team Ramsey. The reason was painfully obvious. CBI director Carl Whiteside had banned Ramsey experts from observing the testing procedures, so they simply opened a new line of attack, and Trip DeMuth cleared the way for them. DeMuth gave CellMark orders not to begin testing without prior authorization from the Boulder County District Attorney’s office. “The reason for this restriction is that arrangements must be made to allow a representative from the Ramsey family to be present,” he wrote.

Lacy established herself as a strong supporter of the theory that an intruder killed JonBenét, dating back to her time as a chief deputy in the district attorney's office immediately following the murder. She had already issued one public "exoneration" of the Ramseys back in 2003.

As one example, then-DA's investigator Andy Horita wrote to the lab on March 12, 2008, that his bosses were "very excited" and "pleased" about the results that were being reported, and that "we're happy with what has been done and don't see the need for additional testing" unless strongly recommended by the lab.

An email one month earlier from Horita had alluded to the lab's assignment as an exercise "to validate the existing CODIS profile by eliminating point-of-manufacture controversies."

This, independent experts have said, runs contrary to the spirit of "double-blind" standards to which such testing should adhere.

Results Summary
Jonbenet Ramsey's DNA was found on: ...

Additional alleles :

Fingernails DNA:

Panties DNA: 7-1: mixed profile - between 1 and 2 markers identified (possibly) 7-2 (described as "from the edge of the cutting"): mixed profile - UM1 deduced from this (9 marker profile) - eventually became 10 marker profile. 7-3: no interpretable DNA recovered 7-4: matched Jonbenet Ramsey 7-5: no interpretable DNA recovered 7-6: no interpretable DNA recovered

Long johns DNA:

Garrote DNA:

Wrist-cord DNA:

Limitations of DNA Analysis
Impossible to determine biological origin of touch DNA.

Impossible to determine when a piece of DNA was deposited.

The analysts who conducted the DNA testing

Most agree that as long as the DNA remains unidentified, there is no way of knowing. Gregg Laberge, the analyst who actaully extracted the DNA profile in question, held this view.

"LaBerge indicated that it was his opinion that the male sample of DNA could have been deposited there by a perpetrator, or that there could have been some other explanation for its presence, totally unrelated to the crime. I would learn that many other scientists held the same opinion." [kolar foreign faction]

"Intruder" Explanation of the DNA
Proponents of this view concede that the majority of the unidentified DNA comes from transfer/contamination, but argue that one profile ("unidentified male 1") comes from an intruder.

Proponents of this theory believe the location of the DNA on the victim's underwear to be suspicious, and discount the possibility of a transfer before or after the crime.

The Ramseys' legal team has strongly endorsed this theory. District Attorney Mary Lacy claimed this was the only valid theory of the DNA and famously stated there was "no innocent explanation" for the DNA, though the Boulder Police Department and several scientists consulted by the Boudler Daily Camera disagreed with this conclusion.

Lin Wood: "DNA found on JonBenét’s underwear was from saliva, while the DNA found on her pajama bottoms was touch DNA". This is a simplification. Amylase testing ... initially inconclusive

Also, it cannot be proven that the DNA from the long johns was not also from saliva. the biological source of "touch dna"

Proponents of this theory: John and Patsy Ramsey, Ramsey lawyer Lin Wood, Ramsey private investigator John San Agustin, Lou Smit, District Attorney Mary Lacy, Ramsey defense expert Lawrence Kobilinsky

"Transfer/Contamination" Explanation of the DNA
Proponents of this view point to


 * the minuscule quantity of the unidentified DNA, which is consistent with the amounts of foreign DNA found on clothing even immediately after laundering.


 * the lax handling of evidence at the crime scene and during the post-mortem, for example the use of unsterilized nail clippers in the morgue, the handling of objects like the ransom note without gloves,

Generally two scenarios:


 * Before the crime


 * After the crime

Proponents of this theory:

Boulder Daily Camera "DNA in Doubt"

DA investigator Tom Bennett: "The DNA on the underwear may be from the killer, but it may not be," Bennett said."It`s minute DNA, like from a cough or sneeze.... You can`t just jump to conclusion it`s positive proof that will trace back to the killer." (2004)

Mike Kane: "There is always a possibility that it got there through human handling, ... You have to ask yourself the possible ways that it got there: whether it was in the manufacture, the packaging or the distribution, or whether it was someone in the retail store who took it out to look at them"

Anonymous law enforcement source November 2002: "Another investigator with expertise on forensic issues, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the theory that the underwear DNA might be the result of point-of-production contamination. And, wherever it came from, that investigator said, "We certainly don't think it is attributable to an assailant. That's our belief. When you take everything else in total, it doesn't make sense. I've always said this is not a DNA case. It's not hinging on DNA evidence."

James Kolar suggests that “Cloth to cloth” transfer could be responsible for [the transfer of genetic material from her underwear to the leggings.] (p. 427).

I believed, as did many of the other investigators working the case, that that there may have been a plausible explanation for the DNA found in the underwear and that its presence may have had nothing whatsoever to do with the death of JonBenét. The presence of this DNA is a question that remains to be resolved, but it continues to be my opinion that this single piece of DNA evidence has to be considered in light of all of the other physical, behavioral, and statement evidence that has been collected over the course of the investigation.

Dr Henry Lee also gave his support to this theory.

Nov 2002 according to rocky mountain news, "investigators obtained unopened "control" samples of identical underwear manufactured at the same plant in Southeast Asia, tested them - and found human DNA in some of those new, unused panties." However according to Kolar, Bennet and Laberge said the DA's office had done tests and determined much lower quantities of DNA. It is unclear if the Rocky Mountain News article is referring to experiments by the police or by the DA's office. (the DA's office took control of the case in December 2002).

1997 CBI Testing
January 15, 1997 - CBI - (DNA Typing—DQα (DQA1)/ Polymarker)

Available Excerpts: Excerpt 1, Excerpt 2, Excerpt 3

The unidentified profiles observed in these results were described as "very weak". Melissa Weber from Cellmark [...] The Boulder District Attorney's office nevertheless [...] Bill Wise, Ollie Gray and Alex Hunter both cited these results as the reason he did not believe the Ramseys were involved in the killing.

[according to a random timeline: May 13, 1997 - DNA results from samples sent to Cellmark reportedly are complete and in Boulder authorities hands.] (???)

1998
December 3, 1998 - "It’s learned that five Ramsey family members have been asked to provide DNA samples to authorities. The five are not considered suspects. Sources say authorities want the DNA to see if it can be linked to unmatched DNA found in the Ramsey home." - could this be the mitochondrial DNA testing of the axillary hair by the FBI?

1999 CBI Testing
January 5, 1999 - Photographs were taken of the underwear and the cutting taken from the crotch area of the underwear.

May 17, 1999 - CBI


 * Cuttings from panties (Marked 7-3 to 7-6) - 7-4 matched JonBenet Ramsey. No other interpretable profiles.


 * Cuttings from long johns (Marked 6-B1, 6-B2 and 6C) - No interpretable profiles.

2001
In November 1998 the CBI purchased two new DNA testing kits manufactured by Perkins Elmer Biosytems (PE): the AmpFLSTR Profiler Plus™(Profiler Plus) and the AmpFLSTR Cofiler™ (Cofiler) kits. In 1999, in a case unrelated to the Ramsey case (the Shreck case), a court deemed that any results from the new kits were inadmissible as evidence, because the technology was new and not definitively known to be reliable. Between January 1999 and April 2001 the CBI suspended the use of the new testing kits. On April 23, 2001, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed the earlier court's decision, and the new DNA kits were allowed.

According to the Boulder Daily Camera, this resulted in a new round of DNA testing occurring in the Ramsey case in 2001. According to the newspaper, "JonBenet’s underwear is analyzed again resulting in between one and two markers out of 13 being defined".

2002
Some time prior to 2002 - FBI extracts mitochondrial DNA profile from axillary hair. Consistent with Patsy Ramsey or a member of her maternal line.

December 10, 2002 - Andy Horita first contacts CBI about what would be needed to submit a profile to CODIS. He is informed that Boulder Police submitted a profile (via the Denver Crime Lab) "quite a while ago" to the CBI for comparison within Colorado (though not with the entire national database). According to CBI's guidelines " profiles with fewer than 5 autosomal loci should not be entered into CODIS as they would never be able to return matches". It is unclear if or when a profile was developed of sufficient quality to submit to the state database.

2003 Denver Crime Lab Testing
Laberge Denver Crime Lab deduces Unidentified Male 1 (report has never been made public)

early STR testing of panties sample:


 * The male DNA sample, subsequently identified as Distal Stain 007-2[actually stain 7-2, not distal], only contained 9 genetic markers, and like the DNA collected from beneath JonBenét’s fingernails, was of insufficient strength to be entered into the state and national databases. Moreover, the sample was so small that technicians were not able to identify the biological origin of the exemplar.

Eventually a 10th marker was identified which then met the minimum standard for entry into CODIS:


 * DNA replication technology was utilized in the Denver Police Department’s crime lab, and the 10th marker was eventually strengthened to the point that the unidentified male sample discovered in JonBenét’s underwear was able to be entered into the state and national databases. This laboratory success didn’t take place until 2002.

The head of the Denver Crime Lab was Greg Laberge. He discussed his work on the case in Kolar's book:


 * I met with the man who had worked so diligently to enhance the DNA sample identified as Distal Stain 007-2. Denver Police Department crime lab supervisor Greg Laberge met me for lunch in early December 2005 and advised me that the forensic DNA sample collected from the underwear was microscopic, totally invisible to the naked eye. So small was it in quantity, consisting of only approximately 1/2 nanogram of genetic material, equivalent to about 100 – 150 cells, that it took him quite a bit of work to identify the 10th marker that eventually permitted its entry into the CODIS database.

After the arrest of John Mark Karr in August 2006, Karr's defense attorney Steve Jacobsen gained access to all the DNA testing documents up to that point. He discussed these briefly with the Boulder Daily Camera:


 * Jacobson, of Collins & Rafik, said the male DNA profile found mixed with JonBenet's blood in her underwear has between nine and 10 of the 13 markers used by most law enforcement authorities to compare profiles. The sample carries the probability that a randomly selected individual would match it is one in more than a billion, Jacobson said Monday.


 * That is much better than the DNA evidence gleaned from testing a second blood spot found in the underwear just after JonBenet's death, which has been disclosed by investigators as contaminated. The same spot was tested again in 2001 and resulted in between one and two markers being defined, Jacobson said. The probability of a random match for that low of a threshold is one to two out of a hundred.

2008 Bode Lab Testing
March 24, 2008 - Bode Laboratories

Touch DNA testing. Quantities much smaller.


 * Long Johns (top right exterior) (2S07-101-05A) - mixed profile including JonBenet and at least one male contributor. Unidentified male 1 was consistent but remaining component should not be considered single-source profile. Probability of randomly selecting an unrelated individual from the US population who would also be consistent: 1 in 6200.


 * (2S07-101-05B) - mixture including JonBenet and at least one male contributor. Unidentified male 1 "cannot be included or excluded".


 * (2S07-101-05C) - mixture including JonBenet and at least one other contributor. Minor contributor is "low level, contains allelic dropout and therefore is not suitable for comparison".


 * (2S07-101-05D) - mixture including JonBenet and at least two other contributors including one male. "Due to the complexity of this mixture it was deemed unsuitable for any further comparison purposes".


 * The cutting from the panties (2S07-101-06A, -06B, and -06C) - partial profile consistent with JonBenet.


 * Nightgown (bottom front) (2S07-101-07A) - mixture including JonBenet and at least one male contributor. Burke Ramsey and Patsy Ramsey cannot be excluded. Probability of randomly selecting an unrelated individual from the US population who would also be consistent: 1 in 50,000.


 * Nightgown (left shoulder, front and back) (2S07-101-07B) - mixture including JonBenet and at least one other contributor. Burke Ramsey and Patsy Ramsey cannot be included or excluded.


 * (2S07-101-07C) - mixture including JonBenet and at least one male contributor. Burke Ramsey and Patsy Ramsey cannot be included or excluded.


 * (2S07-101-07D) - mixture including JonBenet and at least one male contributor. Burke Ramsey cannot be included or excluded.
 * Other evidence received by Bode but "not processed at this time": ligature from neck, broken paintbrush handle, ligature from wrist, Wednesday panties,

2008 CBI Testing
June 26, 2008 - CBI - http://jonbenetramsey.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/130877820/20080626-CBIrpt.pdf


 * Fingernails (14L and 14M) - could not be analyzed due to insufficient sample remaining.

(Miscellaneous items from suspects were also tested)

2009 CBI Testing
January 13, 2009 - CBI - http://jonbenetramsey.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/130877823/20090113-CBIrpt.pdf


 * Neck ligature (Item 8) mixed profile, major component JonBenet. Unidentified minor component ("unidentified male 1" was excluded). According to Kolar this was a 7-marker male profile.


 * Wrist ligature (Item 166) mixed profile, JonBenet was consistent. Unidentified minor component ("unidentified male 1" was excluded). According to Kolar this was a 6-marker male profile.

(Miscellaneous items from suspects were also tested)

2018 CBI Testing
June 29, 2018 - Boulder Daily Camera reports "a new wave of DNA testing" has been completed, "although investigators are not talking about what was learned".

"We did meet with CBI and the district attorney's office, and we had a general discussion about evidence in the Ramsey case, including new technology and DNA testing," Testa said. "And we are going to take a look at the new technology, and see how they may help us further this investigation."

The testing would be conducted with new, more sensitive "kits" required of crime labs by the FBI - In 2017, the CODIS lab began requiring more sophisticated DNA tests that identify at least 20 individual points of comparison — as opposed to the standard of 13 required since 1997. All accredited DNA labs, including the one operated by the CBI, are required to use the new testing kits.

Common Questions about the DNA

 * What is "Touch DNA"?

text


 * Can Genealogical DNA Be used like with the Golden State Killer?

Unlikely.


 * If the DNA could be useless, why has it been used to clear people?

Police have repeatedly stated that no one has been cleared on the basis of DNA alone. Chief Mark Beckner specifically said: "Exonerating anyone based on a small piece of evidence that has not yet been proven to even be connected to the crime is absurd in my opinion. You must look at any case in the totality of all the evidence, circumstances, statements, etc. in coming to conclusions."


 * Does the submission of the DNA to CODIS prove that it is from the perpetrator?

No.


 * Is "Unidentified Male 1" one person or a mixture of multiple people?

Experts consulted in 2016 raised the possibility that "unidentified male 1" could be a mixture of multiple contributors' DNA. The reports from the 2003 testing that resulted in the creation of "unidentified male 1" have never been made public.

It is important not to confuse the long johns samples with the underwear samples. Bode Labs explicitly stated that the long johns samples should not be considered single source profiles. Bode did not comment on the original underwear sample from which UM1 was taken.


 * Was the unidentified male's DNA "comingled" with Jonbenet's blood?