Former police chief: JonBenet Ramsey case mishandled

William M. Welch | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Ex-chief: Police 'screwed up' JonBenet Ramsey case The former chief of the Boulder Police Department opened up about the JonBenet Ramsey murder case on Reddit.com. The child beauty queen was found dead in her basement in 1996. No one has ever been charged in the case.

The former Colorado police chief who led the investigation into the sensational 1996 death of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey has acknowledged that his officers mishandled the probe.

He also complained that the involvement of the local district attorney's office in the case at the time "was inappropriate'' and "interfered in the investigation.''

Mark Beckner, former chief of the Boulder Police Department, made the remarks online Saturday in an "Ask Me Anything" session on the online social network site Reddit.

In a follow-up interview published Wednesday by the Daily Camera newspaper of Boulder, Beckner voiced regret about the online session, saying he didn't realize his remarks would be widely quoted.

"I talked to the organizer, and my impression was that this was a members-only type group that talked about unsolved mysteries all around the world," the retired chief said.

JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family's home on Dec. 26, 1996. She was 6. Her mother, Patsy Ramsey, called 911 to say her daughter was missing and a ransom note had been found. No one was ever prosecuted in the case, which drew attention around the world.

In the online discussion, Beckner said police should have separated the child's parents and obtained full statements from both Patsy and John Ramsey that day.

He said case was initially mishandled due to a confusion and staff shortage on the police force.

"It was the Christmas holiday and we were short staffed, we faced a situation as I said earlier that no one in the country had ever seen before or since, and there was confusion at the scene as people were arriving before we had enough personnel on the scene," he wrote online.

Court documents released in 2013 show a grand jury recommended indictments against the Ramseys. District Attorney Alex Hunter said in 1999 that there wasn't enough evidence to warrant charges. Both maintained their innocence.

In 2008, two years after Patsy died, former District Attorney Mary Lacy cleared the Ramseys of any role in their daughter's death, based on DNA evidence that pointed to a possible third party.

In the online interview, Beckner voiced regrets at the handling of the crime investigation.

"I wish we would have done a better job of securing and controlling the crime scene on day one,'' he said. "We also should have separated John and Patsy and gotten full statements from them that day. Letting them go was a big mistake, as they soon lawyered up and we did not get to formally interview them again until May of 1997, five months after their daughter was murdered.''

He said state investigators believed the small amount of third-party DNA found "was either sweat or saliva.''

He said it was unknown how an intruder could have entered the home: "Most investigators do not believe there was a legitimate point of entry. It is unknown how an intruder may have gotten in.''

He said that the child's parents "rarely interacted and this did not seem normal given the circumstances.'' He added: "Lots of speculation as to why.''

The Daily Camera reported in 2013 that Hunter, the prosecutor, had feuded with police and refused to sign indictments voted by the grand jury. The newspaper reported in October 2013 that the unsigned indictments named each parent for felony child abuse resulting in death and accessory to first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.

In excerpts from the Reddit interview published by the Daily Camera, Beckner said the district attorney office's "involvement in this case was inappropriate. They interfered in the investigation by being roadblocks to getting things done. They did not want to do a grand jury until forced to. We never allowed the DA to get that involved in a case again.''

Asked if there was anything he wished to clarify, Beckner told the Boulder newspaper that what he called "the unknown DNA'' found on the child's clothing "is very important.''

"I'm not involved any more, but that has got to be the focus of the investigation,'' he told the newspaper. "In my opinion, at this point, that's your suspect.''

Contributing: Associated Press