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JonBenet Ramsey's father shares how loss of 2 children 'challenged' his faith 28 years after daughter's murder
EXCLUSIVE – John Ramsey, father of JonBenet Ramsey, says the loss of his two daughters within a four-year period in the 1990s “challenged” and eventually strengthened his faith.
Ramsey made the comments about faith while reflecting on 6-year-old JonBenet’s murder 28 years ago, when he found her dead in the basement of their Boulder, Colorado, home the day after Christmas in 1996.
“I don’t know of anything worse for a person than to lose a child. I’ve had several things that I’ve been through: a divorce, I’ve lost my job, I lost my life savings,” Ramsey told Fox News Digital. “But the loss of the child was overwhelmingly much, much more hurtful and much more of a loss to what life’s all about for a parent.”
He has been through that loss twice — once in 1992, when his oldest daughter Beth was killed in a car accident, and again in 1996, when JonBenet was killed.
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JonBenet Ramsey, left, and her father, John, right. (Netflix)
“When I lost my daughter Beth four years before we lost JonBenet, it just took me to my knees. I was just devastated. … I wasn’t prepared at all for that,” Ramsey recalled. “And it really challenged my faith as well. How could a loving God let this happen to an innocent child? But then, over the next few years, a lot of soul-searching and thinking and talking to friends helped me process that part of the loss, which was … potentially the loss of my faith as well.”
After Beth’s death, Ramsey began to reflect on whether there is “more to life than what we see and live here on Earth.” He described finding his faith as a several-year-long process.
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John and Patsy Ramsey, the parents of JonBenet Ramsey, meet with local Colorado media after four months of silence in Boulder, Colo., May 1, 1997. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
“And when I lost JonBenet, that was rock solid,” he said of his faith. “Faith is something that’s in your heart. I’m a left-brained person by nature, I guess. I was an engineer and educated that way. And you’re always looking for proof and facts. And so it’s not abnormal to fall back into, ‘Wait a minute. I’m not sure I believe.’ … But if the faith has gotten to your heart, and you’ve wrestled with the whys and what ifs … then it’s pretty solid.”
Ramsey said he believes both of his daughters are in heaven, even though he can’t personally conceptualize what that looks like.
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The JonBenet Ramsey murder case has gone unsolved for over two decades. (Ramsey family handout)
For years after her death, his family did not celebrate Christmas, but they decided that putting an end to the holiday festivities was not fair to her older brother, Burke, who was 9 years old at the time of her death.
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“It just was too hard. We didn’t have a Christmas tree. We didn’t decorate the house, and we just got through it. And we just said, ‘Well, that’s not fair to our youngest son, Burke,’ who was at the time a 9-year-old, little boy. So, we tried to do things that would put his life back to normal as best we could. And celebrating Christmas was one of those things that we — after, I think probably three years — we just said, ‘OK, that’s why we need to do that for Burke’s sake’ and just kind of eased into that celebration again.”
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JonBenet’s murder has not been solved despite police initially having a list of suspects they considered, including the Ramseys themselves. The Ramseys were cleared of wrongdoing in 2008.
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Police also arrested a suspect named John Mark Karr in Thailand in 2006 after he admitted to killing JonBenet, but prosecutors dropped charges against Karr because his DNA did not match DNA found at the crime scene.
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Ramsey wants police to retest certain evidence for traces of DNA, including external male DNA that federal officials disclosed in 1997, and test other items for the first time using modern genetic genealogy test labs, which have made significant advancements over the last decade. Numerous decades-old cold cases have been solved in recent years due to DNA testing.
John Ramsey is still searching for answers 28 years after his daughter’s murder. (Netflix)
There are more than 20 significant pieces of evidence in the JonBenet murder case that have never been tested.
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While it is unclear if officials will be able to find or identify any suspects in the case by partnering with an independent lab with access to private databases, Ramsey is hopeful that it is the next step for him in his pursuit of justice for his daughter, whether it yields results or not.
He previously told Fox News Digital he plans to meet with the Boulder Police Department in January to discuss DNA testing possibilities.
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On 18 March 1959, Hawaii was brought into the United States of America as the 50th state with the passing of the Hawaiian Admission act.
Five months later, on 21 August it was officially proclaimed the 50th state by President Eisenhower.
Former governor of Hawaii, John Waihe’e, tells Jen Dale his memories of statehood and why Hawaii’s history with America means it has become a divisive issue.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: President Eisenhower signs the proclamation admitting Hawaii as the 50th state. Credit: Getty/Bettmann)
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho State Board of Education unanimously voted Wednesday to appoint Dr. David W. Hahn as the eighth president of Boise State University, officially ending a prolonged national search for the university’s top leader.
Hahn’s appointment follows his selection as sole finalist on June 16 and the completion of the 10-business-day waiting period required under Idaho law before a final vote could be taken. His appointment is effective July 1.
He will begin transitioning into the role immediately, performing presidential duties remotely as he prepares to relocate to Idaho. Under the terms of his contract, Hahn is expected to be on campus no later than Aug. 10, ahead of the start of the fall semester.
“This vote reflects the confidence of the full Board in the process we undertook and in the leader we have selected,” Idaho State Board of Education President Kurt Liebich said. “Today’s vote is the culmination of a rigorous process, and I have every confidence that Boise State and the state of Idaho are well served by this appointment. Dr. Hahn is the right person to lead Boise State into its next chapter.”
Hahn most recently served as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona. He will succeed interim president Jeremiah Shinn, who led Boise State after former President Marlene Tromp departed in 2025 to take the presidency at the University of Vermont.
The search for Boise State’s next president has been closely watched across Idaho and within higher education circles, stretching more than a year and drawing attention for its shifting timeline and changes in state law governing how public university presidents are selected.
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Initially launched as a national search, the process was paused in 2025 as the Idaho State Board of Education reviewed search procedures and lawmakers debated revisions to Idaho’s presidential search law. During that period, no finalists were publicly announced, and the university continued operating under interim leadership.
The Idaho Legislature later approved changes to the process that significantly limited public disclosure of candidates, requiring only a single finalist to be named before a final appointment vote. Supporters of the change said it would help attract stronger candidates by protecting confidentiality during recruitment. Critics argued it reduced transparency for leadership decisions at Idaho’s public universities.
Following the adoption of the new rules, the search resumed in 2026. According to the State Board, dozens of candidates applied for the position, and semifinal interviews were conducted before Hahn emerged as the final selection.
Boise State has continued to navigate major institutional priorities during the leadership transition, including its move into the Pac-12 conference, ongoing research expansion, and campus development projects.
With Wednesday’s vote, the State Board said the search process has concluded and leadership stability has been restored at one of Idaho’s largest public universities.
Hahn will now assume responsibility for guiding Boise State into its next academic and athletic chapter, overseeing academic programs, university operations, fundraising, and strategic planning as he prepares to formally take the helm on campus in August.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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MISSOULA, Mont. — Amid recent flooding and ahead of wildfire season, Montana State Auditor James Brown is urging homeowners to make sure their homes are properly insured.
Brown said flooding is the leading cause of insurance peril in the nation and can happen year-round in Montana.
He said homeowners should not wait until flooding is imminent to seek coverage because there is typically a 30-day waiting period before flood insurance takes effect.
“Number one, by far the number one source of confusion related to flood insurance is the basic homeowners policy doesn’t cover flood damage, most Montanans may not know that,” said Brown.
Brown said some private flood insurance options exist, but the National Flood Insurance Program remains the main way Montanans can get covered.
He also said wildfire coverage is becoming less common in standard homeowners insurance policies and increasingly expensive.
Brown encouraged homeowners to be careful when shopping for the lowest-cost policy, because cheaper plans may offer less coverage or come with higher deductibles.
“That may not be enough to cover the loss if their house were to burn down, so one of the things we encourage as well is to talk to your agent about what the level of coverage that you have for your home to make sure that it’s fully insured so if you do have a fire or flood or some sort of peril, you’re able to replace your home,” said Brown.
Lower-cost policies may leave homeowners responsible for the first several thousand dollars in losses before insurance coverage begins.
Brown said homeowners should speak with their insurance agents to make sure their policies covers damages if a disaster occurs.
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