1 of 3 | Murdered 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey.
(UPI) -- Sealed since 1999, a Colorado judge ordered the release of the indictments of John and Patsy Ramsey in the investigation into the death of their daughter, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey in 1996.
Back in 1999, the grand jury on the case was convinced John and Patsy Ramsey bore at least some blame in their daughter's death. They voted to indict both parents, but when prosecutors decided they did not have the evidence to pursue murder charges, the indictments were sealed and kept secret.
Only in January of this year did a report from the Boulder Daily Camera reveal their existence. And while new forensic analysis in 2008 exonerated the Ramseys, the silenced grand jury remained problematic for the long-cold case.
Earlier this week, a judge finally ordered the indictments unsealed, confirming that -- at least at the time -- the jurors were convinced John and Patsy were involved in JonBenét's death.
In separate documents, both Jon and Patsy Ramsey were indicted on charges of child abuse resulting in death and accessory to a crime.
JonBenét was found the day after Christmas in the basement of her parents' home, bludgeoned and strangled. A drop of blood found in her underwear and DNA found on her body belonged to an unknown male.
The charges for child abuse against John Ramsey read:
"On or about December 25, and December 26, 1996 in Boulder County, Colorado, John Bennett Ramsey did unlawfully, knowingly, recklessly and feloniously permit a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation which posed a threat of injury to the child's life or health, which resulted in the death of JonBenet Ramsey, a child under the age of sixteen.
The charges for accessory to a crime against John Ramsey read:
On or about December 25, and December 26, 1996 in Boulder County, Colorado, John Bennett Ramsey did unlawfully, knowingly, recklessly and feloniously render assistance to a person, with intent to hinder, delay and prevent the discovery, detention, apprehension, prosecution, conviction and punishment of such person for the commission of a crime, knowing the person being assisted has committed and was suspected of the crime of Murder in the First Degree and Child Abuse Resulting in Death."
The indictments against Patsy Ramsey were identical, aside from the change in name.
John and Patsy Ramsey Indictments by United Press International
