Colorado

Exclusive | Colorado cops are ‘optimistic’ they can solve the JonBenét Ramsey case in 2025: ‘This is our year’

Published

1 year ago

December 1, 2024

Exclusive | Colorado cops are ‘optimistic’ they can solve the JonBenét Ramsey case in 2025: ‘This is our year’

Cops in Colorado are following up on dozens of leads in the JonBenét murder case — and they are quietly hoping that they are close to finding a resolution, two investigative sources tell The Post.

“I’m not sure what it will take to bust it wide open,” an investigator said, “but it feels like it’s within reach. We’re hoping for 2025; this is our year.”

Momentum has stalled since 2023, when the previous Boulder police chief convened a multi-agency task force to investigate the case. According to the investigator, the group has only met once in person, but the investigators are regularly in contact with each other.

“It hasn’t been as aggressive as anyone had hoped,” said the investigator, “but now there’s a lot of pressure to get this solved.”

Another police source said that new Boulder police chief, Steve Redfearn — who took over in early 2024 — is now turning his attention to the case: “He wants it solved and off the books, and he’s assigning officers and resources to solving the murder, which has been a black mark on the Boulder PD.”

“We f–ked the case up from the start, and now with new blood, we can finally fix it.”

The Boulder Police Department released an annual update on the investigation into the murder last Tuesday — the day after Netflix put out a viral hit new documentary, “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey.”

Cops insist that they are doing everything they can to solve the baffling case that has plagued them since 1996.

“The killing of JonBenét was an unspeakable crime and this tragedy has never left our hearts,” Redfearn said. “We are committed to following up on every lead and we are continuing to work with DNA experts and our law enforcement partners around the country until this tragic case is solved. This investigation will always be a priority for the Boulder Police Department.”

Redfearn — who previously worked in the Denver suburb of Aurora — then took aim at the claims that his detectives have not investigated all tips.

“The assertion that there is viable evidence and leads we are not pursuing — to include DNA testing — is completely false,” Redfearn continued.

But Ramsey’s family has been critical of the Boulder Police Department, saying that detectives are in over their heads, and haven’t asked for the help they need.

While authorities sent several items for renewed DNA testing last year, they have still been frustratingly unable to crack the case.

“There have been horrible failures,” JonBenét’s father, John Ramsey, told “Today” last week. “But I believe it can be solved if police accept help from outside their system. That’s been their flaw.”

JonBenét’s murder has confounded authorities since the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 1996, when the 6-year-old beauty queen was reported missing from her sprawling Boulder, Colo., home.

Hours later, John Ramsey found the little girl’s body in the basement of the home. She had a garrote around her neck, and her skull was smashed from an apparent blow to the back of her head.

Police initially focused on JonBenét’s family: father John; mother Patsy; and brother Burke. But 15 days after the murder, a DNA report seemingly excluded them as suspects. They were formally exonerated in 2008 by the then-district attorney.

In the 28 years that have passed, no one has ever been held accountable for killing JonBenét.

But John Ramsey has publicly said that he’s “cautiously optimistic” that there will soon be movement in the case.

“They need to accept the help that’s offered to them,” Ramsey, 80, said. “There’s a new police chief brought in from the outside. I hope he accepts help, so this can be solved.”

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Colorado

Immigration officer charged after shoving protester to ground in Colorado

Published

2 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

Immigration officer charged after shoving protester to ground in Colorado

A Colorado district attorney on Tuesday announced criminal charges against a Customs and Border Protection officer who was recorded yanking a protester by her hair and pushing her to the ground last fall.

CBP Officer Nicholas Rice was charged with assault in the third degree and criminal mischief, District Attorney Sean Murray for Colorado’s 6th Judicial District, said in a news release. The charges are a misdemeanor and a petty offense, respectively.

Murray said he decided to file charges after “a thorough investigation conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.”

The incident took place in late October outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Durango, a small left-leaning town in southwestern Colorado, where hundreds of people gathered to protest the arrest of a Colombian father and his two children.

Rice was recorded on video snatching a phone out of 57-year-old Franci Stagi’s hands and then grabbing her hair and shoving her down an embankment. Stagi told The Colorado Sun at the time that she had been recording the officer and asked him, “You’re a good Christian, aren’t you?” which she said set him off.

The Durango Herald reported that federal officers used physical force against protesters and deployed pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

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Colorado

Avalanche vs. Kings Game 2: Key takeaways as Colorado wins OT thriller, takes 2-0 series lead

Published

14 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

Avalanche vs. Kings Game 2: Key takeaways as Colorado wins OT thriller, takes 2-0 series lead

DENVER — When getting good looks but failing to finish against a locked-in goalie, it’s not easy to stick to a game plan. But instead of pressing, Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar’s group showed maturity, even after the Los Angeles Kings’ Artemi Panarin scored what could’ve been a back-breaking first goal of Game 2 late in the third period.

Captain Gabriel Landeskog buried a perfect pass from Martin Nečas three minutes after Panarin scored. Then Nicolas Roy scored the game-winner, giving Colorado a 2-1 win and 2-0 series lead.

“I liked our mentality again tonight,” Bednar said, adding that he was pleased with his team’s defensive effort. “That’s how we have to win. It’s good practice. It’s something we’ve been talking about all year, the importance of defending, and I’m happy with the commitment that we’re getting from our guys.”

The Avalanche led the league in goals scored this season, but they also were stingy defensively, allowing fewer goals than any other team. Through two games, they’ve shown a willingness to play tight-checking, low-scoring games and get the results they need.

“We have absolutely no problem playing this way,” said Landeskog, who scored from the slot after Nečas caught the previously-impenetrable Anton Forsberg out of position and set his captain up for an open look. “If you get a little impatient with it, you start forcing plays. And I thought tonight, we just kind of kept it going. Kept trusting our forecheck, and finally, we ended up getting rewarded for it.”

Colorado has controlled the series at five-on-five. The Kings’ only two goals have come on power plays, and Colorado had 79.05 percent of the expected goal share at five-on-five Tuesday, per Natural Stat Trick.

It was an odd night that included a broken glass delay, a choppy first period and a waved-off goal after a puck got lodged in the side of the net. Let’s dig into all of it.

Roy plays hero

With goalie Patrick Roy and forward Peter Forsberg’s retired numbers hanging in the Ball Arena rafters, it was probably a bit disorienting seeing a Roy score on a Forsberg in overtime. But that’s what happened when trade deadline addition Nic Roy backhanded a loose puck past Anton Forsberg’s left pad, punched the air and jumped into the glass in celebration.

The goal was Roy’s second overtime goal in his career. He scored the Game 4 winner for the Vegas Golden Knights in their 2021 conference final series against Montreal. That goal also came at the net-front.

“I like to be in (that) area, and a lot of those (overtime) goals are scored there,” Roy said. “So I try to be there as much as I can.”

“He’s a really smart player,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “It might not be everyone’s first pick (to score), but it takes a full team to win in the playoffs.”

Josh Manson fired a shot from the point to create chaos around the net ahead of Roy’s goal, and Bednar also credited Nazem Kadri with making a slick play to get the puck to his defenseman.

Physicality and a penalty parade define the first

D.J. Smith didn’t quite get his exact wish of his players hitting Colorado’s defensemen more in the first half of the first period, but he did get big hits. Shortly after Colorado’s Josh Manson laid a massive body check on Scott Laughton, Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson hit Martin Nečas in the neutral zone, seemingly catching him in the head.

Nečas went down, bloodied, and chaos ensued. Brett Kulak went after Anderson. Scrums broke out next to the Kings net. Sam Malinski brought down Quinton Byfield, and Mathieu Joseph did the same to Artturi Lehkonen. Anderson did not get a penalty for the hit, though he and Kulak were handed matching roughing minors. Kulak got an extra penalty for a cross check. (Nečas briefly left the game, presumably because he was pulled by a concussion spotter, but returned.)

“There were big hits,” Bednar said. “We gave some. We took some too, but it’s all right. That’s what’s going to happen this time of the year. You’re playing a big, strong, physical team, and sometimes I like it. Can wake some guys up if they’re not going, and you can ramp up your competitive spirit.”

It was the most dramatic stretch of a rugged first period that included seven minor penalties. The string of infractions slowed some of the momentum Colorado gathered from a furious start. The Avalanche led 9-0 in shots through the first 6:04. The period ended with Colorado leading 14-6 in shots.

After Anderson’s hit, scrums broke out after seemingly every whistle. At one point Jeff Malott caught Cale Makar with an elbow. Nečas also took a chance to hit Anderson toward the end of the period.

“There were a bunch of melees on the ice today,” Bednar said. “It felt like playoff hockey, which is the way you want it to feel. It tests your team, and it’s why it’s the most fun time of the year to play in the playoffs.”

In total, the period took around 45 minutes. The Kings got big saves from Anton Forsberg, allowing them to stay in the game and shift it into a rugged style that favored them, at least temporarily. It wasn’t enough in the end.

“To a man, this team’s playing hard,” Kings coach D.J. Smith added. “We have to find a way to win, though.”

Goalies continue strong start to the series

Darcy Kuemper started the year as Kings starter, but Anton Forsberg became their go-to goalie during their late-season playoff push. He has continued his strong play into the first round. In Game 1, he made 30 saves on 32 shots. He was sharp again Tuesday, helping the Kings withstand Colorado’s early onslaught of shots. Colorado gave him a tough look early in the second. Kadri fed Landeskog on the slot, and Forsberg managed to parry it away. Late in the second, he got in front of turnaround shots from both Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche eventually beat him in the third when he overcommitted to Nečas, who instead passed to Landeskog in the slot.

He finished the night with 34 saves. He wasn’t quite able to make a 35th, giving up the game-winner to Roy.

“We’re right there, playing well,” Forsberg said. “We’re fighting hard. We just have to stick with it and turn this around.”

Across the ice, Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves. Panarin beat him with a dangerous shot from the slot for the lone goal he allowed in regulation, but overall he continued to give Colorado the dependable goaltending expected of him. His highlight came when he stopped Quinton Byfield on a penalty shot. He robbed Byfield again in overtime, making a glove save on a shot off the rush.

A penalty, a penalty shot and a long wait

Jeff Malott took an ill-advised boarding penalty on Artturi Lehkonen in one of many instances of the Kings’ fourth line toeing the line of too much physicality. The Avalanche were in position to gain the lead — or at least some momentum — but Cale Makar mishandled a puck at the blue line, leading to a Quinton Byfield breakaway. Makar got called for a hook as he raced back to catch the forward, and the referees awarded a penalty shot.

Byfield tried to beat Wedgewood glove side, but the goalie made the save. The crowd erupted in excitement, but that came with an unexpected drawback. Fans banged on the glass behind the Kings’ bench, and a pane of it shattered. Kings coach D.J. Smith got smothered with shards. It caused a 19-minute stoppage for clean up.

If the Wedgewood save was going to serve as momentum for the Avalanche power play, the delay stopped that. Nathan MacKinnon got called for interference on Alex Laferriere shortly after play resumed.

“I think the flow would kind of come and go a little bit,” MacKinnon said. “Not ideal with the glass, but it was the same for both teams.”

“They just handled it better coming out of that,” Bednar added.

MacKinnon and Bednar both felt the Avalanche were able to push the pace more in the second half of the second period.

Another waved-off goal

Sam Malinski fired a shot toward the net to start the third period. It got caught in the side of the net, but not on the inside. Malinski thought he scored, and the goal horn went off. After review, though, it was clear the puck was lodged on the side of the cage.

It was the second Avalanche goal waved off in as many games. Logan O’Connor had a goal waved off for goaltender interference last game.

Panarin shows why Kings traded for him

The Kings acquired Artemi Panarin from the Rangers to bring a gamebreaking offensive talent into a lineup that lacked it. He validated their trust late in the third period. He played his normal shift with the top power-play unit, then stayed on with the second grouping. Trevor Moore found him with a pass in the slot, and he buried it.

Colorado’s top skilled players had more chances than Los Angeles’, but Panarin came through when he got his best look of the night. He also scored the Kings’ only goal of Game 1.

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