JonBenét Ramsey’s parents discuss ransom note in Barbara Walters’ dug-up clip

On the morning of December 26, 1996, John and Patsy Ramsey woke up to find their 6-year-old daughter, JonBenét Ramsey, missing from her bedroom.

Soon after, they found a handwritten ransom note asking for exactly $118,000—the amount of John’s bonus that year—on the kitchen stairs.

The alleged kidnapper demanded the huge sum of money in exchange for JonBenét’s safe return. John was ordered to pay the ransom in cash and wait for a call between 8 and 10 that day.

Police later learned that the letter was written from a notepad found in the Ramsey home.

Next episode of ABC News 20/20which is sent at 9/8c Friday, December 13, features a never-before-seen clip of the late legendary newswoman Barbara Walters interviewing the Ramseys about the now-infamous ransom note the couple found in their home when their young daughter was murdered.

“The ransom note asked for an odd number — $118,000,” Walters says in the clip. “It was a bonus you had received.”

John responds by saying, “Well, that was one of the theories I came up with that it was close to the net amount I had received that year as a bonus.”

He theorizes that “$118,000 means something to the killer, we know that. We believe it. Whether it’s tied to my bonus or something else, we don’t know. Only the killer knows.”

Walters turns to Patsy and asks her if she knew her husband was “getting this kind of bonus?”

“Not at that time, no,” replies Patsy.

The episode delves into the sensational case and describes how John and Patsy quickly became suspects in the murder of JonBenét, who died of strangulation and a blow to the skull after being sexually assaulted.

Their son, Burke, who was 9 at the time of his sister’s murder, also came under suspicion at the time.

The episode shows how the family was finally cleared in 2008 – and examines whether there is hope that the case will ever be solved, especially in light of new questions raised about the investigation in the Netflix docu-series Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?, which began streaming on Monday, November 25.

The three-part docu-series delves into what John considers to be mistakes made by the authorities as he investigates JonBenét’s murder amid an international media circus.

John says he wants cutting-edge labs that use genetic genealogy and other advanced DNA technology to crack the cold case by examining seven items from the crime scene. These objects, he says, have never been tested or were investigated using outdated methods.

“Of the items that were sent to labs in the beginning, six or seven of them were returned untested,” he claimed to PEOPLE in November 2024. “We don’t know why they weren’t tested, but they weren’t tested. The garrote used to to choke JonBenét, and a number of items were just sent back.”

On November 26, 2024, Boulder became the police department issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) disputes “the claim that there is viable evidence and leads we are not pursuing,” including DNA testing.

The 20/20 episode airs at 9/8c Friday, December 13 on ABC.