Timeline of the Ramsey case

1996

Dec. 26: Patsy Ramsey calls police at 5:52 a.m. to say she had found a ransom note demanding $118,000 for the return of her 6-year-old daughter, JonBenet. Seven hours later, JonBenet's body is found in the basement of the family home by her father, John Ramsey.

Dec. 31: Ramsey family hires attorney, publicist and investigators as suspicion focuses on them.

1997

April 30: Detectives have first formal interview with John and Patsy Ramsey.

May 1: John and Patsy Ramsey meet with a hand-picked panel of reporters from seven media outlets for about 30 minutes. They insist they didn't murder their daughter and vow to find her killer.

Aug. 14: The autopsy report is unsealed by the Boulder County coroner.

Sept. 3: The full text of the ransom note is published for the first time.

Oct. 10: Boulder Police Chief Tom Koby removes John Eller as lead detective on the case and puts Cmdr. Mark Beckner in charge.

Dec. 20: Beckner says John and Patsy Ramsey are under an "umbrella of suspicion."

1998

June 23-25: The Ramseys are questioned again by police, their first interviews in more than a year. JonBenet's brother Burke, 9 at the time of her death, is interviewed for six hours.

Sept. 15: Grand jury convenes to investigate.

Sept. 28: Veteran investigator Lou Smit, hired by the Boulder DA as a special investigator, resigns. His letter, which states his belief in the Ramseys' innocence, is published in Newsweek.

1999

Oct. 13: Grand jury concludes its work and District Attorney Alex Hunter says no indictments will be issued, citing a lack of sufficient evidence.

2000

April 10: Time magazine reports that Boulder detectives bugged JonBenet's grave in hopes of getting the killer's confession.

2002

Dec. 20: Newly elected District Attorney Mary Keenan (now Mary Lacy) takes over the investigation from Boulder police and promises a fresh look at the case.

2003

March 31: A federal judge in Atlanta concludes that the weight of the evidence is more consistent with the intruder theory than with the theory that Patsy Ramsey killed JonBenet. Lacy later issues a statement agreeing with the judge.

2004

June 4: The Ramseys' attorney says DNA found in JonBenet's underwear did not match any samples in an FBI database of convicted violent offenders.

2006

June 24: Patsy Ramsey dies at age 49 following a long battle with ovarian cancer.

Aug. 16: John Mark Karr, a suspect in JonBenet's slaying, is arrested in Thailand.

Aug. 28: Lacy drops case against Karr after DNA tests don't match.

2008

July 9: New DNA evidence from tests on JonBenet's clothing doesn't match any of the Ramseys.

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