A New District Attorney Will Inherit JonBenet Case

Four years after JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled, a new district attorney is expected to take a fresh look at the unsolved killing.

Mary Keenan, 50, who has worked on the JonBenet slaying as chief deputy district attorney, will be sworn in as Boulder County district attorney on Jan. 9, succeeding Alex Hunter, who was criticized for not filing charges in the slaying of the 6-year-old beauty queen. Hunter did not seek reelection.

Police and JonBenet’s parents said they hope Keenan will improve communication between police and prosecutors, whose relationship has been strained over the case.

JonBenet was found slain on Dec. 26, 1996, in her family’s home. Police have said her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, remain under suspicion. A grand jury investigated the crime for 13 months without indicting anyone.

The Ramseys, who now live near Atlanta, deny any involvement in the death and contend that an intruder killed their daughter.

During the investigation, police and prosecutors were at odds over the best way to proceed. Two investigators resigned, one of them accusing Hunter of trying to protect the Ramseys.

Keenan, who declined to discuss her role in the case up until now, said she plans to bring the agencies closer with several measures, including a weekly review of major cases. She said she wants to rebuild the reputation of the district attorney’s office.

“I’m not going to make any decisions in this office--minor or major--because I want to be reelected,” she said. “If I do a good job, I’ll get reelected, and if I don’t, I don’t deserve to be reelected.”

Keenan, a Democrat, earned her law degree at the University of Iowa and joined Hunter’s office in 1985. A single mother of two grown children, Keenan was head of Hunter’s sex assault unit. She defeated lawyer David Sanderson in November to win the top job.

“She has a reputation that I think is deserved for being tough and, I also feel, thoughtful in her handling of sex assault cases. It is a very difficult area, and one of the tributes I think she deserves has been a willingness to tackle tough cases,” Hunter said.

L. Lin Wood, the Ramseys’ lawyer, said he wants Keenan to “move this case forward.” He added: “I hope she is also a courageous prosecutor and can resist any pressure from the Boulder Police Department to file charges against my clients.”

Wood said the only way to solve the case is to bring in new investigators, perhaps an independent panel of experts, or hand the case over to the Boulder County sheriff’s office.

Police Chief Mark Beckner said he is looking forward to working with Keenan to improve relations between police and prosecutors: “Anything that increases communication between the agencies is a positive.”