University News
Dr. Henry C. Lee, one of the world's foremost forensic scientists, is part of a team reexamining the decades-old case.
August 17, 2016
Long considered one of the world's foremost and most famous forensic scientists, Dr. Henry C. Lee is known for finding the tiniest clues and cracking the coldest cases. He has been a prominent player in many of the most challenging investigations of the last 40 years, consulting on more than 8,000 cases across the country and around the globe.
One of those investigations centered on the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, a six-year old girl who was found murdered in her parents' Boulder, Colorado, home on December 26, 1996. He joined the investigation soon after the body was discovered, analyzing forensic evidence, and he was part of an expert task force assembled by the district attorney's office. Despite the efforts of Dr. Lee and his fellow law enforcement colleagues, the case remains unsolved.
The Case of JonBenet Ramsey
CBS, though, recently announced it was revisiting the case as part of The Case of JonBenet Ramsey, a docuseries that reunites the original investigators and teams them with new experts to reexamine the case. Dr. Lee will be a central figure in the four-hour series that will air on Sept. 18 and 25.
"This little girl's homicide to this date has been unresolved," said Jim Fitzgerald, a retired FBI special agent who will be part of the series."In my opinion I think we can change this right now."
In 1998, Dr. Lee described the case as extremely difficult."Unfortunately, we don't have the original crime scene," he told the Denver Post."Unfortunately, we don't have much information from the witnesses. Also, we don't have a major piece of physical evidence yet. Also, we don't have that much luck yet."
"But it's not hopeless," said Lee."I've never given up in my life on any case."
In 2000, three months after the grand jury investigation ended, Dr. Lee was in Boulder meeting with police and prosecutors discussing the results of news tests conducted on the evidence." From old evidence you can find new evidence," he said.
In 2013, it was revealed that the grand jury voted to indict the parents but the district attorney refused to prosecute.
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