JonBenet Shocker! Chief Investigator In Beauty Queen's Murder Removed From Probe For Misconduct
Two top commanders involved in the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation were removed from the case after an internal audit shockingly found Boulder Police Department officers were slacking off instead of catching criminals, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The stunning announcement sent shockwaves through the hearts of the JonBenet family and the online sleuth community, who for years complained that the Boulder police were not doing enough to solve the murder of the 6-year-old found in the basement of her family’s home during Christmas on 1996.
“To me, this is an opportunity to reset,” JonBenet’s half-brother John Andrew Ramsey exclusively told RadarOnline.com. “This is what we’ve been asking and looking for. Investigators that haven’t been around for 26 years don't have their egos tied up in the case. Let’s get some smart people that want to do the right thing and go forward.”
Commander Thomas Trujillo, the head of the Investigations Unit in charge of the JonBenet probe, was transferred to another division and given a three-day suspension without pay, according to a Boulder press release announcing the disciplinary charges.
Another longtime JonBenet investigator, Cmdr. Barry Hartkopp was slapped with a “one-year letter of reprimand” and is receiving additional training.
“Cmdr. Tom Trujillo has been transferred from Investigations to Patrol and is no longer involved in any investigations, including the Ramsey case,” Boulder's Director of Communication and Engagement Sarah Huntley told RadarOnline.com. “Both commanders had oversight responsibilities for the detective who failed to follow up on some of the cases assigned to him."
The misconduct was uncovered when Police Chief Maris Herold ordered a department review of its case management system. They discovered detectives were not investigating or only partially probing cases since 2019.
Two sergeants and a police officer were also snagged in the dragnet. Two received suspensions without pay and another “retired by resignation.”
“Our department understands the tremendous responsibility it has to investigate reported crimes diligently and in a timely manner. This is a sacred trust our community has placed in us,” Herold said. “We take this responsibility seriously.”
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Huntley revealed to this outlet this misconduct is “completely unrelated” to the JonBenet case.
But John Andrew Ramsey told RadarOnline.com that he believes the misconduct may have had a detrimental impact on the case because the Investigations Unit was not doing its job.
In October, JonBenet's father, John Ramsey, 78, wrote a letter to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis asking him to step in and have the Boulder police release the DNA evidence to the outside lab that compares the evidence with a much larger population – usually used by commercial genealogy sites.
But that request to meet with the governor was ignored.
“There is a lot of information that has come forward since 2019, they (the police) could’ve gotten THE phone call and they didn’t follow up on it,” he told us.
“The DNA testing that we’ve been begging for—a lot of this occurred since 2019. We all know the mistakes that were made in 1996 but now we hear today that more mistakes were being made in current times.”
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