DNA Disaster! Officials Mishandled Crucial Evidence In JonBenét Ramsey Murder Case
Sept. 13 2016, Published 5:53 p.m. ET
JonBenét: An American Murder Mystery, the shocking new documentary set to begin airing tonight on Investigation Discovery, is delving deep into the unsolved murder of 6-year-old pageant princess, JonBenét Ramsey, including taking a fresh look at DNA evidence and other mysteries surrounding the brutal crime.
Gordon Coombes, a former investigator for the Boulder County district attorney's office, reveals in an interview that he was told to toe the line when it came to what theories the DA at the time, Mary Lacy, was pushing.
"I was told when I went to the DA's office, 'Don't voice against the intruder theory because you may be forced out if you don't fall in line. If you don't believe in it, just keep your mouth shut,'" Coombes, who worked under the D.A. between 2008 and 2011, told the New York Post. "It just seemed weird the whole premise of … this attempt to influence the entire agency."
When DNA tests were complete, the results indicated that John and Patsy Ramsey's profiles did not match evidence found on their daughter's long johns the night of the murder. Lacy then issued an apology to the family and exonerated the couple of any wrongdoing.
However, according to Coombes, the investigators may have mishandled the testing for DNA.
"They had deviated and dropped down to four markers as opposed to the standard 13" usually used in forensic analysis," noted Coombes.
"We all shed DNA all the time within our skin cells. It can be deposited anywhere at any time for various reasons, reasons that are benign," he explained. "To clear somebody just on the premise of touch DNA, especially when you have a situation where the crime scene wasn't secure at the beginning . . . really is a stretch."
Coombes doesn't believe the heartbreaking case, now almost twenty years old, will ever be solved.
"There are so many mistakes that happened early on and so many things that have happened over the years to cast doubt," he said. "that even if it was charged, it would be hard to prove in court."
To learn more shocking details in the case, tune into JonBenét: An American Murder Mystery, as parts two and three air tonight and tomorrow at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.
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