The death of Alex Hunter, the former Boulder District Attorney who oversaw the earliest phase of the JonBenét Ramsey investigation, has revived long-standing questions surrounding the 1996 murder case and intensified concerns about the shrinking pool of surviving witnesses. JonBenét's father, John Ramsey, publicly responded for the first time, telling the National Enquirer that "the district attorney's office had a very competent staff which was a credit to Alex Hunter's leadership," and adding that prosecutors "continually challenged a dysfunctional police department to do the same."
Hunter, who died at age 89 after suffering a heart attack, served nearly three decades as Boulder County's district attorney and became one of the most scrutinized figures in the investigation. He faced intense criticism in 1999 for refusing to sign a true bill grand jury indictment against John and Patsy Ramsey. At the time, he said publicly, "The grand jury has done their work extraordinarily well," but added, "we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant the filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time." The decision drew the ire of Boulder Police detectives who believed the parents were responsible for the killing.
The tensions between prosecutors and police, long documented in the aftermath of the murder, have resurfaced as additional figures tied to the case pass away. Investigators cited by the National Enquirer note that the deaths of witnesses and persons of interest-including JonBenét's mother, Patsy Ramsey, and several detectives-could complicate any future prosecution should new evidence ever identify a suspect.
Supporters of Hunter, including members of his former staff, say his approach allowed evidence of a possible intruder to be presented fully to the grand jury-particularly through the work of the late independent investigator Lou Smit. Hunter's decision "standing up" to the pressure, JonBenét's half-brother John Andrew Ramsey told the National Enquirer, ensured Smit was able to make the case for an intruder theory. "Doing the right thing shouldn't be a high bar, but in Boulder in 1996 it was in very short supply," he said.
The roster of deceased individuals connected to the case continues to grow. Among the most prominent are Patsy Ramsey, who died of ovarian cancer in 2006; detective Tom Haney Jr., who died in August at 77; and Bill Reynolds, a family friend and person of interest who died in 2002. The Enquirer also reported that a neighbor who heard what was described as JonBenét's "bloodcurdling death scream" died last year at 77.
An investigator close to the case, speaking to the National Enquirer, said Hunter deserved credit for rejecting what the source described as flawed police work. "I give Alex Hunter kudos because he knew that the key witness in the grand jury had not only been tainted but discredited," the investigator said. "That's why he rightfully refused to prosecute the Ramseys." The same source lamented the dwindling number of surviving figures tied to the case, saying, "another one bites the dust and justice for JonBenet may never be seen."
The renewed scrutiny comes nearly three decades after JonBenét, a 6-year-old beauty pageant contestant, was found murdered in the basement of her Boulder home on Christmas Day 1996.
