Romer Won’t Name Special Prosecutor in Ramsey Investigation

Despite allegations that the JonBenet Ramsey investigation has been bungled, Gov. Roy Romer said Wednesday he will not appoint a special prosecutor because it would further hold up the nearly 20-month-old inquiry.

Romer called a news conference after prosecutors met Wednesday with Boulder Dist. Atty. Alex Hunter. Romer said he believes Hunter will impanel a grand jury to investigate the slaying.

The governor asked the four Denver-area prosecutors, who have consulted with Hunter before, to review the case after a detective’s scathing eight-page resignation letter was made public last week.

The Aug. 6 resignation letter from Det. Steve Thomas, a 13-year veteran who was one of a handful of detectives assigned to the case from the beginning, said the district attorney’s office crippled the investigation by ignoring evidence collected by investigators, refusing to subpoena key records and improperly sharing information with attorneys for the Ramsey family.

Last week, Hunter’s staff called the letter false and misleading.

There have been no arrests since JonBenet, a 6-year-old beauty queen, was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s home Dec. 26, 1996.