Updated September 23, 1999, 1:15 p.m. ET
New witnesses expected as Ramsey grand jury reconvenes
BOULDER (Court TV) Despite speculation that their work was nearly done, the grand jurors in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case will reportedly interview new witnesses Thursday.
The witnesses won't be John and Patsy Ramsey, an unnamed source told the Rocky Mountain News. They Ramseys have been the primary suspects since the 6-year-old pageant queen was murdered three Christmases ago. But JonBenet's parents have not been subpoenaed to testify, the source said.
The panel of eight men and four women has less than a month to share its findings with state prosecutors, but it is unclear exactly what they have found nor what witnesses have been called to testify. According to the News, everyone from Burke Ramsey, the Ramsey's 12-year-old son, to Linda Arndt, a former Boulder police detective and first investigator on the scene, were among those witnesses.
The meeting follows a forensic scientist's statement that more forensic testing should be done, according to the Denver Post. Dr. Henry Lee met in Denver Tuesday night with Boulder district attorney Alex Hunter and Michael Kane, who is in charge of the grand jury investigation, the Post reported.
Lee appeared in an interview aired on the Fox network Wednesday, but specified neither what tasks lie ahead nor whether the October 20 deadline would be enough time to do an adequate analysis. By law, the jurors are sworn to secrecy.
"This is a very difficult case," Lee said during his TV interview. "You just have so many problems from the beginning."
Since JonBenet's beaten body was discovered almost three years ago, police detectives have been pointing fingers at the Ramseys, but so far no one has been able to prove it. And with still no indictments issued, it has become increasingly doubtful whether anyone will be arrested at all.
"I think the crime scene was compromised early on and there is just not any specific evidence to link any individual to the killing of this child," said criminal defense attorney Jeralyn Merritt.
Still, if he so chooses, Hunter could continue the investigation indefinitely. Police departments typically don't close the book on unsolved murders, according to Scott Robinson, a Denver attorney who has kept an eye on the case since its beginning.
"That absolutely doesn't mean that charges couldn't be brought in the future," Robinson said. "Any information the grand jury has collected as a result of its subpoena power can be used by the prosecution (at a later time," Robinson said.
The jurors reportedly interviewed Burke Ramsey the last time they met on May 25. Suzanne Laurion, Hunter's spokeswoman on the Ramsey case, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Valerie Q. Carino
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