JonBenet Ramsey is 6 years old when she is reported missing from her home in the 700 block of 15th Street on Dec. 26, 1996. Tragically, she is later found dead in that house, and an autopsy revealed the cause of her death as strangulation. 

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, Mitch Morrissey, the former District Attorney of Denver, about his experience working on the high-profile unsolved murder case of JonBenet Ramsey. They discuss the challenges of the case, DNA evidence, investigative techniques, and key players. Morrissey provides insights into the criminal justice system, advancements in forensic technology, and lessons learned from his career prosecuting over 6,000 felony cases.

Show Notes:

• [0:00] Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum. Sheryl gives a brief background of guest and former DA of Denver, Mitch Morrissey  
• [2:05] “The history of crime will tell the history of our country. It'll tell the history of your town, your state, and your city.”
• [2:10] Denver District Attorney's Office: A History of Crime in the Mile High City 
• [8:00] Stories of different crimes that occurred during each era of DAs that served Denver CO
• [13:00] Question: Can you tell us about the call you received on the JonBenet Ramsey case?
• [15:00] DNA evidence in the Ramsey case
• [17:37] Question: Is there any way to do ancestry on your DNA profile?
• [27:00] Question: What do you think about the line in the autopsy that says chronic vaginal injury?
• [29:28] Question: do you think you can explain for, you know, to everybody investigative genetic genealogy?
• [30:00] Use of genetic genealogy to solve cold cases
• [34:40] United Data Connect
• [35:30] Rose Andom Center
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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.  

You can connect and learn more about Sheryl’s work by visiting the CCIRI website https://coldcasecrimes.org

Social Links:

• Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
• Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum