Ramseys Writing Book on Death of JonBenet

The parents of JonBenet Ramsey said Friday they are writing a book on the unsolved slaying of their 6-year-old daughter.

The book, with the working title “The Death of Innocence,” is scheduled for release in March by Nashville-based Thomas Nelson Publishers, which specializes in books with religious themes. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We have patiently waited for the justice process to evolve in the matter of our daughter’s death,” John and Patsy Ramsey said in a news release from Thomas Nelson. “We have remained silent while baseless and slanderous accusations about our family were made by the frenzied media. With the grand jury’s recent decision [not to indict anyone], the time is appropriate to recount our experiences in this tragedy.”

JonBenet Ramsey’s body was found Dec. 26, 1996, in the basement of the family’s home in Boulder, Colo. She suffered a skull fracture, was strangled and beaten, and may have been sexually assaulted.

A grand jury investigated the slaying for 13 months but adjourned last month without indicting anyone. Colorado authorities have said her parents remain under an umbrella of suspicion, but they have not been charged.

Proceeds from book sales will help the Ramseys pay legal expenses and will go to the JonBenet Ramsey Children’s Foundation, the Ramseys said.

Rolf Zettersen of Thomas Nelson said the book “will address many of the myths and falsehoods surrounding the case.”

“It will also give the Ramseys an opportunity to write about JonBenet, whose life was so much more than junior beauty pageants. This will be a story of their faith in God and how it sustained them through the tragedy and the horrible accusations that ensued.”

The Ramseys--with some assistance--are writing the book themselves, said Eric Heyden, vice president and general counsel of Thomas Nelson.

The Ramseys now live in the Atlanta area.