Police Hire Simpson Experts in Ramsey Case

Two key members of O.J. Simpson’s criminal defense team have been enlisted to help prosecutors in the JonBenet Ramsey murder mystery, officials said Thursday.

Henry Lee, a forensic scientist who heads the Connecticut State Police crime laboratory, and DNA expert Barry Scheck will help Boulder investigators on DNA, crime scene analysis and other matters, Dist. Atty. Alex Hunter said.

Lee gained fame during the Simpson criminal trial by declaring that there was “something wrong” with the way the crime scene was handled by Los Angeles police. He also was a key defense figure at the William Kennedy Smith rape trial. Scheck led the attack on the state’s DNA evidence against Simpson, who was acquitted of murder.

“We know where we’re headed. We know this case is going to be solved,” Hunter said at a rare news conference on the case.

JonBenet, a 6-year-old former Little Miss Colorado, was found strangled in the basement of her home Dec. 26 and authorities have released few details. Media reports said she had been sexually assaulted and her skull was fractured.

Venting his frustration at the still-unsolved slaying, Hunter looked into the TV cameras at one point during the news conference and angrily told the killer: “You have stripped us of any mercy.

“The list of suspects narrows. Soon there will be no one on the list but you,” he warned. “We will see that justice is served in this case and that you pay.”

Hunter cautioned residents it could take months to solve the slaying and said prosecutors have girded for a “David versus Goliath” legal battle.

He later said he wasn’t referring to the girl’s parents, John and Patricia Ramsey, who have hired a team of experts including handwriting analysts and a former FBI profiler.

Instead, he said he was addressing those who have accused investigators of making mistakes reminiscent of the O.J. Simpson case.