JonBenet Ramsey grand jury voted to indict parents in 1999, but DA refused to prosecute

Legal expert: Alex Hunter may have been legally obligated to sign indictment

John Ramsey looks on as his wife, Patsy, holds an advertisement promising a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer of their 6-year-old daughter, JonBenet, during an interview with reporters on May 1, 1997, in Boulder. Thirteen years after the conclusion of the grand jury investigation into JonBenet s death, sources have confirmed to the Daily Camera that the jurors voted to indict the Ramseys on charges of child abuse resulting in death but then-District Attorney Alex Hunter refused to prosecute the case. (Camera file photo)

On a brilliantly clear autumn day more than 13 years ago, Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter stepped to the podium before an anxious media horde to announce that the grand jury investigation into the death of JonBenet Ramsey had come to an end.

"I and my prosecution task force believe we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant a filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time," Hunter told the reporters assembled outside the Boulder County Justice Center on Oct. 13, 1999.

Yet multiple sources, including members of the grand jury, have now confirmed to the Daily Camera what Hunter did not say that day: The grand jury voted to indict both John and Patsy Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting

Camera file photo

SECRETS OF THE JONBENET RAMSEY GRAND JURY

The Daily Camera has confirmed that the grand jury investigating the death of JonBenet Ramsey voted to indict John and Patsy Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting in death but then-District Attorney Alex Hunter refused to sign the indictment and prosecute the case.

Legal expert: Vote on abuse charge possibly a 'compromise'

JonBenet's death a tragic, bizarre case from start

JonBenet Ramsey case timeline, 1996-2012

Video interview: Bill Wise, ex-Boulder prosecutor

Video interview: Dan Recht, Denver legal analyst

in death in connection with the events of Christmas night 1996 -- but Hunter refused to sign the indictment, believing he could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

One legal expert, however, believes Colorado law may have obligated Hunter to at least sign the indictment, even if he elected not to prosecute the case.

"We didn't know who did what," one juror told the Camera, "but we felt the adults in the house may have done something that they certainly could have prevented, or they could have helped her, and they didn't."

Boulder attorney Bryan Morgan, who represented John Ramsey through the conclusion of the grand jury process, said Saturday, "If what you report actually happened, then there were some very professional and brave people in Alex's office and perhaps elsewhere whose discipline and training prevented a gross miscarriage of justice."

Former Boulder First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wise was among those confirming the jury's vote.

"It names both of them, John and Patsy Ramsey," said Wise, who was Hunter's top assistant for 28 years but did not participate in the grand jury process.

Child abuse resulting in death, when charged as "knowingly or recklessly," is a Class II felony that carries a potential sentence of four to 48 years in prison. The statute of limitations on that charge in Colorado is three years from the date of the crime.

Legal experts are unsure whether Hunter's decision not to sign the indictment agrees with Colorado grand jury law.

In an email, University of Colorado Law School professor Mimi Wesson, who has followed the Ramsey case over the years, wrote, "The Colorado statute governing grand jury practice says ... that '(e)very indictment shall be signed' by the foreman of the grand jury and the prosecuting attorney."

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