October 27, 1999
Web posted at: 3:49 p.m. EDT (1949 GMT)

DENVER (CNN) -- Colorado Gov. Bill Owens announced Wednesday that he would not appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the death of JonBenet Ramsey.

At a press conference in Denver, Owens praised District Attorney Alex Hunter for "turning the case around," and said he felt the case was now in the hands of the right people and was finally "targeting the right suspects."

But Owens acknowledged the initial handling of the investigation was "far from perfect" and said that would make the case harder to prove in court.

He also had a message for what he referred to several times as the "murderers": "You only think you have gotten away with murder."

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JonBenet Ramsey

Owens formed a task force to explore the possibility of a special prosecutor after a Boulder County grand jury investigating her death failed to indict anyone earlier this month for the killing.

Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her parents' Boulder, Colorado, home on December 26, 1996.