JonBenet's siblings ruled out as suspects

March 6, 1997
Web posted at: 2:48 p.m. EST (1948 GMT)

BOULDER, Colorado (CNN) -- Two half-siblings of JonBenet Ramsey have been cleared as suspects in the slaying of the 6-year-old beauty queen, authorities said Thursday. Boulder spokesman Kelvin McNeill said he made the announcement "to relieve them of stress caused by inappropriate speculation." (204K/20 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

"Based on the information Boulder police have to date, police are now able to eliminate John Andrew and Melinda Ramsey as potential suspects," McNeill told a news conference.

The two siblings were JonBenet's older half-brother and half-sister, and are the children of John Ramsey by a previous marriage.

Pat Korten, a spokesman for the family, earlier this week had called on the police department to make a public announcement saying their alibis had been verified.

Authorities had said earlier the two siblings were with their mother in Roswell, Georgia, at the time of JonBenet's murder. Boulder detectives went to Roswell and gathered information that backed up the alibis, McNeill said.

Other developments:

McNeill said investigators obtained a third handwriting sample from Patsy Ramsey, Jon Benet's mother, because she had been on medication since December 26, the day of the murder.
McNeill refused to answer whether the medication had affected the writing samples. But he noted the two previous samples were "unsatisfactory."
John and Patsy Ramsey reportedly have asked to have a doctor standing by if they are interviewed by police. The Rocky Mountain News reported Wednesday that the parents want a doctor present in case one of them becomes ill during questioning.

McNeill maintained police would interview the two separately with only a lawyer present.

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JonBenet's siblings ruled out as suspects

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