NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- It is one of the most notorious cold cases in recent memory . A 6-year-old girl , a child of beauty and privilege , was found dead in the basement of her home in Boulder , Colorado , on the day after Christmas 1996 . The strangulation of JonBenet Ramsey is also among the coldest of cases . Twelve years have passed , and again it is Christmastime , the season of JonBenet 's death . The investigation has taken many heartbreaking twists and turns , including a false confession and baseless suspicions cast for a time on the child 's parents . After years of false starts , there are no solid leads . For many , the images of this tragic story are indelible : A doll-like child smiling flirtatiously at the camera in flamboyant costumes , heavy makeup and grown-up hairstyles parading on a beauty pageant stage . A tiny , lifeless body , dressed in long johns , found on the basement floor by her father . Watch how this case touched nearly everyone » . Just this past July , John and Patsy Ramsey were exonerated by police of having any role in their daughter 's death . Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in June 2006 . FBI lab results confirmed that a man , yet to be identified , touched JonBenet 's long underwear . This so-called touch DNA also was found in JonBenet 's underpants , mixed with the child 's blood . Police believe the DNA belongs to the killer . They just do n't know who he is . They are waiting for a match . From the beginning , police focused their attention on Patsy Ramsey , placing the entire family under what authorities later would admit was a cloud of suspicion . The investigators ' working theory was that JonBenet 's mother may have struck her in anger as punishment for bed-wetting , causing the little girl 's death on Christmas night . Investigators theorized that a strangulation was then staged to direct suspicion toward an intruder or sexual predator . Patsy Ramsey told police she awoke early December 26 and found a two-page , handwritten ransom note on a back staircase . It said JonBenet had been kidnapped by a `` small foreign faction '' and that she 'd be executed if the Ramseys did not pay a $ 118,000 ransom . The Ramseys checked JonBenet 's room , discovered she was missing and immediately called 911 . When police arrived , they suggested that John Ramsey and a family friend , Fleet White , search the house . Shortly afterward , Ramsey and White found JonBenet 's body in a wine cellar in the basement . The child 's body was wrapped in a blanket , with duct tape across her mouth and white cord wrapped around her neck and wrists . An autopsy showed the child had eaten pineapple shortly before she died . She 'd been sexually assaulted , strangled by the cord and struck on the head . Crime scene photos show two small burn-type injuries on JonBenet 's head . Private investigators Ollie Gray and John San Augustin , working as consultants on the case , said the burns are consistent with marks made with a `` stun gun . '' Investigators also concluded that the paper the ransom note was written on came from a notepad in the Ramsey home , as did the broken paintbrush handle used to form the garrote . However , the sources for the cord and duct tape were not found anywhere in the home . Other nagging clues include an open basement window near where the child 's body was found . A suitcase stood directly below the window , and appeared to have been used as a step . There was a scuff mark on the wall beneath the window . A footprint of a Hi-Tec hiking boot was found in the dust in the wine cellar and can not be connected to anyone in the Ramsey family or their friends . Police say they were initially suspicious of the Ramseys because there were no footprints in the snow outside the house . Lou Smits , a lead police investigator on the case , resigned because , he said , the investigation `` was misdirected and had developed tunnel vision , only focusing on the Ramseys as suspects and not following alternative leads . '' The contradictory facts have caused problems in the case . Many experts have said they believe Boulder police botched the investigation by failing to preserve the crime scene properly . When , for example , police arrived and directed John Ramsey to search his own home , Ramsey not only found his dead daughter but also picked her up and brought her upstairs , disturbing the crime scene . Police investigators , friends and family were allowed to walk in and out of the house freely , again contaminating evidence that could have been gathered . The District Attorney 's Office has taken over the investigation , said spokeswoman Caroline French . `` This case is still an open and active investigation , '' French said . Prosecutors seek tips and ask anyone with information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for JonBenet Ramsey 's death to call 303-441-1636 .
False suspicions , unsecured crime scene plague investigation from start . Ramsey family spends years under `` cloud of suspicion '' New touch DNA test cleared all family members earlier this year . Anyone with information is asked to call 303-441-1636 .