The death of JonBenet Ramsey

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The death of JonBenet Ramsey

Dec. 26 is the anniversary of the day JonBenet Ramsey's body was found at her home in Colorado.

Seventeen years ago today, Dec. 26, 1996, the body of JonBenet Ramsey was found in the basement of her home in Boulder, Colo. The 6-year-old beauty queen had been reported missing by her mother, Patsy, and her body was discovered by her father. She had been hit on the head and strangled. To this day, the case remains unsolved.

JonBenet was born in Atlanta on Aug. 6, 1990, and moved to Colorado with her family when she was 9 months old. Her mother told police she found a ransom note in the house that demanded more than $100,000 for her return. Eight hours later, she was found dead.

JonBenet's body was found by her father and two friends, covered in her white blanket. She had a cord around her neck and duct tape covering her mouth.

Jon and Patricia Ramsey were initially considered possible suspects in their daughter's murder, but a 12-year-long investigation cleared them of any involvement.

Patsy Ramsey and her husband, John, look on during a news conference in Atlanta in May 2004 in which they discussed their lie-detector examinations in connection with the murder investigation. DNA evidence also indicated their innocence, but they were not finally cleared until 2008.

Patsy Ramsey speaks as her husband John Ramsey listens during a news conference in Atlanta in August 2000. Prosecutors said in 2008 -- two years after Patsy Ramsey died -- that DNA tests pointed to an "unexplained third party" and apologized to the family.

A Boulder police detective walks to the home of John and Patricia Ramsey in Boulder, Colo., on Jan. 3, 1997, as investigators sifted through evidence in the home where JonBenet was found dead. Critics have charged that police mishandled evidence in the case and failed to properly secure the crime scene.

JonBenet was returned to metro Atlanta for burial. She is buried at St. James Cemetery in Marietta.

A man visits the grave sites of JonBenet and Patsy Ramsey at St. James Cemetery in Marietta. Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in 2006, at the age of 49. She was buried next to her daughter.

A photo from a newspaper of JonBenet rests on a bench near her grave site at St. James Cemetery in Marietta. JonBenet would be 23 years old now.

A teddy bear sits on the gravesite of JonBenet Ramsey at the St. James Episcopal Cemetery in Marietta. Her father remarried in 2011 at age 67 and now lives in Michigan. He has written a book, "The Other Side of Suffering: The Father of JonBenet Ramsey Tells the Story of His Journey from Grief to Grace."

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Seventeen years ago today, Dec. 26, 1996, the body of JonBenet Ramsey was found in the basement of her home in Boulder, Colo. The 6-year-old beauty queen had been reported missing by her mother, Patsy, and her body was discovered by her father. She had been hit on the head and strangled. To this day, the case remains unsolved.

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