The father of the pint-sized beauty queen JonBenet Ramsay, who was murdered in her Colorado home almost 20 years ago, has agreed to a televised interview with Barbara Walters.
The New York Post reports that John Ramsay will address ongoing rumours that either his wife or their young son, Burke, killed six-year-old JonBenet, and tried to cover up the murder by claiming an intruder broke into their house.
The crime has never been solved, and the Ramsay family continues to battle rumours that they must have been involved, despite never having been charged with any crime.
Ms Walters, 84, told The Post she conducted the interview with John Ramsay for her new show, Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals, to be aired in the US on Monday.
“For the first time ever, John attempts to put to rest the rumours that his son, Burke, was somehow tied to the crime scene,” the show’s website says.
John Ramsey, 70, was left widowed when JonBenet’s mother, Patricia, known as Patsy, died in 2006.
He has since re-married.
“For many years, local police supported the hypothesis that Patsy … killed (Jon-Benet),” the report says.
Patsy maintained her innocence, saying she called 911 after discovering a ransom note on the staircase stating that JonBenet had been kidnapped.
The three-page note demanded $US118,000 from John Ramsey.
A 1997 report by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation concluded: “There are indications that the author of the ransom note is Patricia Ramsey” but investigators were unable to prove it and DNA found on JonBenet’s clothes point to an unknown intruder.
The aim of Ms Walter’s new show is to revisit those crimes that linger in the memory. Besides John Ramsay, she has interviewed Gloria Chapman, who is married to Mark Chapman, who shot John Lennon.
“I was surprised that she’s still married to him. They have sex twice a year during conjugal visits, but she says the sex is overrated — most of the time they just sit and talk,” Ms Walters told The Post, “She says she stayed married to him because she loves him — and because he’s found religion and has asked God for forgiveness.”
