'I Killed JonBenét': Hitman's Startling Call to Boulder Police Chief 'Who Couldn't Believe His Ears' – Then Called Ramsey Family’s Pastor
John Ramsey said a hitman confessed to killing his daughter JonBenet.
Dec. 16 2024, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
A professional killer confessed to the murder of little pageant princess JonBenet Ramsey, telling cops, a pastor and the girl’s father, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The man, who called himself David Cooper, claimed he was hired by one of John Ramsey’s disgruntled ex-employees to commit the horrific Christmas Day, 1996, killing of the child.
John's daughter, JonBenet, was killed over Christmas in 1996.
Cooper stunned Boulder, Colo., police chief Mark Beckner with his stark declaration in a phone call during which he admitted: "I killed JonBenet Ramsey."
An insider recalled: "Beckner couldn't believe his ears when the calm voice explained that he was responsible for the most notorious murder in recent times."
The so-called hitman for hire first contacted Rev. Rol Hoverstock, then the pastor of St John’s Episcopal church — the Ramseys’ place of worship.
He told the minister he wanted to unburden his soul directly to the Rasmeys, a source close to the case told RadarOnline.com
The Ramsey's home became an immediate crime scene.
Then, Cooper blazingly called JonBenet's father, bragging about his dirty deed.
In the recent Netflix documentary Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, John recalled that Cooper told him he snuck into his home on December 25, 1996, through an unlocked side door and hid in the basement closet until the family went to sleep. Then he crept upstairs to JonBenet's bedroom.
Speaking before his death, the Ramseys' late private investigator Ollie Gray said: "He says he killed JonBenét and wrote the infamous ransom note and the unmatched DNA evidence found on JonBenét's body will match him."
JonBenet's body was discovered in her family's basement.
When Cooper made the confessions to John in two "lengthy" telephone chats, he boasted how he was hired by a former employee who felt "screwed over" when John sold his computer company Access Graphics to Lockheed Martin for $1billion.
Gray said Cooper gave precise details about John's home few others would even know about.
He explained: "Cooper added that after the murder, he exited through a basement window, telling John that he stepped on a suitcase to reach the window. Police found a suitcase under the basement window the next day."
The confessed killer went on to admit that "David Cooper" was not his real name and then asked for $3,000 to fly to Boulder to turn himself in.
However, when John refused to come up with the cash, he never heard from Cooper again.
Visits to her grave have increased as the anniversary of her death nears.
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John said at the time police seemed indifferent to the claim, while a private investigator hired by his attorney determined Cooper was not credible.
He added: "I was thinking this guy is legit, and I called the police but they weren’t interested in following up on it. I don’t know why they concluded that."
Insiders in Colorado said cops had several reasons to doubt the confession.
One insider stated: "If an enemy of John was going to hire a hitman, it would be to kill him — not his first-grade daughter. And it's just as unlikely that a real hitman would have a crisis of conscience and want to confess to the family of a victim."
JonBenet was also the focus of a new Netflix documentary.
