District Attorney's office

The Boulder District Attorney is the elected chief prosecutor for the 20th Judicial District of Colorado, Boulder County.

The Boulder DA's office was heavily involved in the Ramsey case from the earliest days of the investigation, until 2009.

The DA's office has drawn both criticism and praise for its outspoken support of the Ramseys since day two of the investigation, and its commitment to treating them as witnesses, rather than as suspects.

Before the Case

Relationship with the Boulder Police Department

Prior to the Ramsey case, the District Attorney's office had a fractured relationship with the Boulder Police Department.

Relationship with Ramsey Lawyers

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Alex Hunter (1996-2001)

Under Alex Hunter, the two prosecutors in charge of the Ramsey case were Peter Hofstrom and Trip DeMuth. Hunter's deputy Bill Wise also had some involvement as a media liaison.

In 1998, after a public outcry and and intervention by the governor, Hofstrom and DeMuth were removed from the case - a move sharply criticized by the Ramseys' lawyers - and a prosecutor from outside the office, Mike Kane, was brought in. For the next year, Kane conducted a Grand Jury investigation.

After the Grand Jury's decision was vetoed by Hunter, Kane moved back to Pennsylvania.

"Trust-Building" with the Ramseys' Defense Team

On May 10, Alex Hunter discussed aspects of the case with Bryan Morgan at a children's soccer game. According to Lawrence Schiller the two men had "bumped into" one another.

Re-investigation (1997)

Lou Smit

Mary Lacy (2001-2009)

2002: Ramseys' Attorneys Call for Case to be Taken from Boulder Police

May 10, 2001 - letter from Ramsey lawyer Lin Wood to Mary Lacy: , urging his office to have the JonBenét Ramsey murder investigated by experienced, unbiased homicide investigators. [...] the Boulder Police Department is not capable of solving this case. [...] on behalf of my clients, I request that you, as the local district attorney, request the assistance of Attorney General Salazar so that the resources of his office can be utilized in an objective, competent search for JonBenét’s killer. [...] If the investigation is transferred from the Boulder Police Department to experienced, unbiased homicide investigators, my clients pledge their full cooperation.

At this point the Ramseys were refusing to cooperate with police at all. but were meeting with the DA's investigators, which were Relied exclusively on Lou Smit's casefile http://jonbenetramsey.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/134026152/20031021-Bennett4monthSummary.pdf

Meetings with Ramseys' representatives, e.g. July 2 2003 - ramseys paid investigators introduced many piece of "intruder evidnece" (all of which subsequently led nowhere) http://jonbenetramsey.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/130877781/20030702-DAMtgLawyersPI.pdf

October 28: Lin Wood goes public: "we’re never going to solve this murder unless we get this case out of the hands of the Boulder Police Department and into the hands of experienced and competent and fair homicide investigators.”

Oct 29, 2002: "John and Patsy Ramsey have asked the Boulder County district attorney to find another police agency to investigate fresh leads into their daughter JonBenet's Christmas 1996 slaying." "If that doesn't happen, the Ramseys may sue to force the Boulder Police Department to turn its case over to another agency, L. Lin Wood, the family's attorney, said Monday."

Repeated his threat on Nov 20, 2002, saying he would file the civil lawsuit "by the end of the year" "seeking to transfer the investigation to another law enforcement agency".

Dec 20, 2002 - a meeting attending by Lin Wood, Mary Lacy, and Chief Beckner.

Dec 20, 2002 - Letter from Mary Lacy to Lin Wood: I met with you and Chief Beckner to discuss your request. Strongly implies that she believes the investigation of the Ramseys has already been exhausted: "the Boulder Police Department has done an exhaustive and thorough investigation of the Ramseys as potential suspects." "a violent child murderer at large"

Dec 20, 2002 BPD Press Release: Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner today announced that the JonBenet Ramsey investigation will be taking a new direction. Boulder County District Attorney Mary Keenan and Chief Beckner have agreed that the District Attorney will follow-up on new leads and information in the case.

Beckner made it clear the decision was made so that the Ramseys would no longer have an excuse for refusing to cooperate: "It is our hope that by changing the dynamics of the investigation, information maintained by the Ramseys will be forwarded to the DA’s Office for follow-up," stated Chief Beckner. "Obviously, it is impossible to investigate information you do not have access to." "We don’t care how or who solves this case, and if this helps, then it is the right thing to do," added Beckner."

Dec 23 2002. Lin Wood: "It's a dramatic development, Katie. And it's important because for the first time since the death of JonBenet Ramsey, literally almost six years ago, we're going to have an unbiased investigation, "One of the main goals in (potentially) filing that lawsuit was to try to bring the case out of the hands of the Boulder Police Department and into the hands of an objective set of investigators," Wood said. "That goal has been accomplished."

2003: First Public Statement of Support for Ramseys

Mary LAcy says she aggres with carnes - April 7, 2003 I have carefully reviewed the Order of United States District Court Judge Julie Carnes in the civil case of Wolf v. John Ramsey and Patricia Ramsey. I agree with the Court's conclusion that "the weight of the evidence is more consistent with a theory that an intruder murdered JonBenet than it is with a theory that Mrs. Ramsey did so."

Although issued in the context of a civil case, the Court's ruling is a thoughtful and well-reasoned decision based on the evidence that was presented by the parties in that case. It should be read in its entirety.

John and Patricia Ramsey have been the focus of an exhaustive investigation with regard to the murder of their daughter, JonBenet, for more than six years. People charged with a crime are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court. Since Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey have not even been charged, much less convicted, they must be presumed innocent and must be treated accordingly.

For several months, my office has been investigating new and other unpursued leads, most of which involve the possibility that an intruder committed this crime. We are proceeding with the full cooperation of the Ramseys, Detective Lou Smit and the Boulder Police Department. We are all focused on the apprehension and successful prosecution of the killer of JonBenet."

2005: Arrest of John Mark Karr

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2008: Public "Exoneration Letter"

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Stan Garnett (2009-2017)

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