What happened to Patsy Ramsey? Subject of Netflix's Cold Case: JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Ramsey's mother does not feature in the new Netflix documentary.
The case of JonBenét Ramsey is being re-examined in a new Netflix documentary, which aims to investigate "the mishandling of the case by law enforcement and the media".
JonBenét Ramsey's murder currently remains unsolved after she was found dead in the basement of her home in December 1996.
The documentary synopsis from Netflix reads: "The Boulder, Colorado police, who had little practical experience in homicide investigations, quickly cast suspicion on JonBenét's family as the most likely suspects, fanning the flames of media scrutiny and largely one-sided reporting, turning the case into a national obsession.
"Twenty-eight years later, that obsession – and finger-pointing – hasn’t gone away, and the murder of JonBenét Ramsey remains unsolved..."
Directed by Joe Berlinger (Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile), the documentary maker believes the murder of JonBenét "can be solved" and is "firmly convinced that the Ramsey family is innocent" (per New York Post).
The three-part series features interviews from journalists, former detectives on the case and JonBenét's father, John. However, many will notice that JonBenét's mother Patsy is only featured through old interviews.
Read on as we explain who Patsy Ramsey was and what happened to her following the death of her daughter.
Who was Patsy Ramsey?
Patsy Ramsey was the mother JonBenét Ramsey.
Born in West Virginia, Patsy studied at the local university and graduated with a degree in journalism in 1978. Alongside her studies, Patsy also took part in and won the Miss West Virginia beauty title in 1977.
Patsy was 23 when she married John Ramsey. The pair welcomed two children together – Burke Ramsey in 1987 and JonBenét three years later.
They moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1991 and during this time Patsy entered JonBenét in children's beauty pageants and won titles in competitions.
What happened to Patsy Ramsey?
As discussed in the documentary, Patsy was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer, but managed to beat this and was in remission for nine years until 2002.
Sadly, Patsy died from ovarian cancer in 2006 at 49 years old.
Following her death, her lawyer L Lin Wood told MSNBC: “She was a unique, unique person who had the ability to look forward in her life and I think was able to deal with the tragedy in a fashion that most of us simply could not understand, much less could we ourselves be able to deal with the situation the way she did."
Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey is available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
