The rockstar prosecutor for Boulder County, Colorado, has revealed to news.com.au he hopes to go to trial so he can point the finger at JonBenet's killer.
If anyone can solve the infamous case, locals believe it is District Attorney Stan Garnett, who came to the job after a string of errors by his predecessors prevented justice being found for the murdered six-year-old beauty queen.
Asked if he knew who killed JonBenet, Mr Garnett replied, "I do." He added: "If we can ever file a case in open court, I'll tell the world." News.com.au asked him to reveal who he thought was responsible for the death, but he declined to say.
The DA last week announced he was retesting DNA evidence from the 20-year-old crime scene using the latest techniques, but warned he would need "several different pieces of evidence come together" to prosecute.
JonBenet was found dead in the basement of her family home on Boxing Day 1996, with a blow to her head and a homemade garotte around her neck. Her mother Patsy had reported JonBenet missing that morning and said she had discovered a ransom note, which many experts close to the case believe she wrote herself.
Mr Garnett told news.com.au there were "problems with the case from the start" - and DNA testing was one of the issues. This was highlighted in September's dramatic CBS special The Case of JonBenet Ramsey, whena team of top forensic experts revealed the genetic material found in the dead child's leggings and underwear came from two different unidentified sources, and not necessarily her murderer.
Previous Boulder DA Mary Lacy cited the DNA evidence as her reason for exonerating the little girl's parents Patsy and John Ramsey and brother Burke of her murder in 2008. Mr Garnett said her exoneration letter was an example of how "my predecessors wandered a bit" from what their role was supposed to be. He said the prosecutor's job was "to review the evidence and decide if evidence can be brought, and if it can, to go to court."
The DA at the time of JonBenet's murder, Alex Hunter, decided in 1999 to go against the vote of nine grand jury members and not indict Mr and Mrs Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting in death and accessory to a crime.
Even at the crime scene, there were many errors. Police failed to search the home after Mrs Ramsey reported JonBenet missing, with her body discovered by her father eight hours after the 911 call. Mr Ramsey was then allowed to carry his daughter up the stairs from the basement, contaminating the evidence.
The 1996 murder of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, seen here with her mother Patsy, made international headlines and captivated the nation. Photo / AP
The parents were not separated and questioned, and were not asked to attend police interviews for weeks after JonBenet's death. There was little co-operation between the Boulder Police Department and the DA's office.
"It's a frustrating case," said Mr Garnett, who revealed he studied the murder at length before taking on the job. "Everybody involved in the case at certain points made mistakes ... A lot of these we can't do anything about. It doesn't do much good to dwell on it.
"We'd love to solve the Ramsey case."
He said whether he could file a case would depend on "what the evidence turns into." A trial is not inconceivable. Mr Garnett has already solved a number of cold cases that his predecessors failed to prosecute, and his team regularly receives tip-offs.
There are two detectives still assigned to solving JonBenet's murder as the 20th anniversary approaches.
In the meantime, the prosecutor has implemented changes to how his office works to ensure no other victims like JonBenet face the further insult of being failed by the legal system.
"We have a really strong relationship with the police and people we send to crime scenes," he said. "We have an officer who goes to court a lot. Jury trial is a skill.
"One issue in the 90s was that the prosecutor hadn't been and was a little leery of going to trial. They didn't have lawyers who knew how to use a grand jury, they waited almost two years."
Forensic pathologist Werner Spitz, who appeared on The Case of JonBenet Ramsey, speculated the six-year-old's brother Burke, then nine, could have bludgeoned his sister to death.
Burke, now a 29-year-old software engineer, strongly denies the claims and in October filed a defamation lawsuit against Dr Spitz, who he claimed was a publicity seeker "with a history of interjecting himself in high profile cases". He sought a jury trial and at least $US150 million in damages.
A hearing on Dr Spitz's motion for summary disposition is scheduled for February 24, 2017.
Back in the affluent town of Boulder, at the base of the Rocky Mountains foothills, the wait is on for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to complete a new round of DNA testing. Then the final crucial pieces of this decades-old puzzle may fall into place.
