**Judge Rejects Defense Request to Use JonBenét Ramsey Investigation Records in Boulder Murder Retrial**
*Boulder, Colo.* — A judge on Tuesday denied a request by the defense team of Michael Clark, who is being retried for a 1994 Boulder murder, to introduce documents from the JonBenét Ramsey investigation as evidence.
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**Background: The JonBenét Ramsey Case**
JonBenét Ramsey was only 6 years old when she was found bludgeoned and strangled in the basement of her family’s Boulder home in 1996. Despite decades of theories and investigations, no one has been convicted in her murder.
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**The Marty Grisham Murder Case**
Two years prior to Ramsey’s murder, in 1994, Marty Grisham was shot four times in the head and chest after answering a knock at his Boulder home. He died instantly. Nearly 20 years later, in 2012, Michael Clark was arrested and subsequently convicted of first-degree murder in connection with Grisham’s death.
During his trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Clark had been given a key to watch a cat at Grisham’s apartment roughly a month before the murder. He was also accused of stealing a book of checks from Grisham’s home and cashing them with forged signatures. Ballistics evidence linked Clark to the type of ammunition used in the shooting, despite the murder weapon never being found. A container of Carmex lip balm, argued as proof of Clark’s presence at the scene, was discovered under the stairwell near Grisham’s apartment.
Clark spent over a decade in prison before his conviction was vacated in April. This decision came after a review of “new evidence” by an independent lab revealed DNA results that differed from those presented at his 2012 trial.
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**Controversy Over Forensic Evidence**
Clark’s conviction was the first to be overturned following an investigation into former Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods. Woods, accused of mishandling DNA evidence, provided testimony that helped place Clark at the crime scene during the original trial.
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**Upcoming Retrial**
The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office announced plans to retry Clark’s case, with the retrial scheduled for May 2026.
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**Defense Seeks Records from JonBenét Ramsey Investigation**
Clark’s attorney, Adam Frank, has filed multiple subpoenas as part of the defense—one of which requested records related to the first 48 hours of the JonBenét Ramsey investigation. Specifically, the defense sought documents addressing Boulder Police Department (BPD) officers’ decisions on whether to secure and search the Ramsey home, as well as critiques of the department’s handling of the early investigation.
The defense argued that the BPD exhibited “woeful incompetence” in the 1990s, claiming that similar failures in the Ramsey case contributed to BPD’s inability to solve the murder of Marty Grisham. Frank asserted that pursuing Clark’s prosecution under such circumstances would be unjust.
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**Family Reaction and Police Department Response**
John Ramsey, JonBenét’s father, described the police department’s actions at that time as “incompetent.” He said, “In our case, the police had no experience, and their leadership was poor. The main flaw they let happen was refusing help.”
However, John Ramsey disputed the defense’s claim that the family was not initially suspected in the Ramsey case. “They decided immediately it was the family. They just didn’t think we acted right that morning,” he said. Still, Ramsey acknowledged that the police failed to secure the crime scene properly: “There’s no question. They didn’t secure the scene at all.”
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**Court’s Decision**
On Tuesday, Judge Nancy Salomone ruled against Clark’s defense team, stating that comparing the two cases could “open an enormous worm can” and risk prejudicing the jury in the upcoming retrial.
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**Ongoing JonBenét Ramsey Investigation**
A spokesperson for the Boulder Police Department declined to comment due to the Ramsey case still being active. The department typically releases annual updates each December. Last year’s update came a month early following renewed public interest sparked by a Netflix documentary.
In that update, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn expressed commitment to achieving justice in the Ramsey case. “While I was not at Boulder police 28 years ago, I have worked in policing for more than 20 years, and I want to assure you that our agency is committed to doing everything we can to bring justice to JonBenét and hold her killer responsible,” the chief said.
Acknowledging past shortcomings, Redfearn noted that there were “a number of things” police could have done better during the initial investigation.
Earlier this year, John Ramsey shared with Denver7 that he felt encouraged after a meeting with Chief Redfearn.
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**For a detailed timeline of the JonBenét Ramsey case, [click here].**
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*This ongoing saga highlights the complexities and challenges of criminal investigations and the pursuit of justice in cases spanning decades.*
https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/boulder/enormous-bag-of-worms-judge-denies-request-to-use-jonbenet-ramsey-records-as-evidence-in-other-boulder-case
