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In the early hours of Dec. 26, 1996, after a festive family Christmas, Patsy Ramsey walked down the stairs in her Boulder, Colorado, home to discover a terrifying ransom note telling her that her 6-year-old daughter JonBenét Ramsey had been kidnapped.

She immediately called 911 and the Boulder Police Department responded to the scene in three minutes.

Courtesy of John Andrew Ramsey - PHOTO: JonBenét Ramsey was 6 years old when she was found dead in her home in Boulder, Co. on Dec. 26, 1996.

The taunting two-and-a-half-page ransom note was addressed to JonBenét's father, John Ramsey, and demanded $118,000 for the safe return of his daughter.

"You stand a 99% chance of killing your daughter if you try to out smart [sic] us," the letter said. There was no sign of JonBenét or further communication from the would-be kidnappers.

A new "20/20" episode, "JonBenét Ramsey: Race Against Time, Who is 'Unknown Male 1?' -- A New Diane Sawyer Investigation" airing Friday, Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, re-examines the case.

You can get more behind the scenes of each week's episode by listening to "20/20: The After Show" weekly series right on your 20/20 podcast feed on Mondays, hosted by "20/20" co-anchor Deborah Roberts.

Hours later, a police officer asked John Ramsey and a friend to look through the house to see if anything seemed out of place. John Ramsey discovered his daughter’s lifeless body in the basement of their home.

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An autopsy report determined that JonBenét had been sexually assaulted and killed by blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation, which was carried out with a makeshift corded torture device called a garrote.

With 19 new interviews, ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer and chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky take a fresh look at this cold case, talking with investigators, forensic scientists, genealogy experts, the Boulder Police chief and JonBenét's brothers Burke Ramsey and John Andrew Ramsey, among others.

Courtesy of John Andrew Ramsey - PHOTO: JonBenét Ramsey with her mother, Patsy Ramsey, both of whom competed in pageants.

In the weeks and months after the murder, members of the Ramsey family came under intense scrutiny by both the Boulder police and the general public. Skeptics of the family pointed to several details of the case, including the ransom note, which some close to the investigation believed was staged by a family member to cover up JonBenét's death.

The note was written on Patsy Ramsey’s notepad but after numerous handwriting comparisons, only one indicated that the samples showed any similarities to Patsy’s writing. The Ramsey family vehemently denied any claims they were involved in their daughter's death.

In 2008, DNA was detected on the outside of JonBenét's pajama bottoms using a new testing method called touch DNA analysis. It matched the DNA found inside JonBenét's underwear and traced to the same unknown male, and not to any member of the Ramsey family.

ABC News - PHOTO: ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer and chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky reinvestigated JonBenét Ramsey's case with new interviews.Nancy Guthrie abduction: FBI analyzing DNA recovered from her home, sources say

With this development, then-Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy wrote a letter to John Ramsey. 

"This new scientific evidence convinces us that it is appropriate, given the circumstances of this case, to state that we do not consider your immediate family, including you, your wife, Patsy, and your son, Burke, to be under any suspicion in the commission of this crime," Lacy wrote. "I wish we could have done so before Mrs. Ramsey died."

Patsy Ramsey died from ovarian cancer in 2006, two years before Mary Lacy’s letter to the family.

Later, some Boulder officials said Lacy's letter was inappropriate for a prosecutor, and she should not have cleared the Ramseys while the investigation was ongoing.

In recent years, a new technology called single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has made it possible to solve cold murder cases nationwide. The advanced testing can retrieve DNA from miniscule samples. Combined with genetic genealogy, it allows officials to identify suspects by matching DNA to that of distant family members in law enforcement databases, using online genetic databases.

Courtesy of John Andrew Ramsey - PHOTO: The Ramsey family has searched for JonBenét Ramsey's murderer for 30 years.How a man murdered his estranged wife and fled state with teen girlfriend

Even with this promising new development, challenges remain for investigators. Some DNA samples obtained from the body and crime scene are very small and complex, as multiple DNA strands are mixed together, making it difficult to verifiably match with a single individual.

The current Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn had never before done an interview about the Ramsey case. He sat down with ABC News' Sawyer, telling her that his department is in talks with labs that might be able to test the DNA using forensic genetic genealogy.

JonBenét Ramsey's father says advances in DNA technology can help police solve daughter's 1996 murder

He said they are hesitant to send any sample until they have full confidence that the technology is advanced enough to get results that help progress the case. In some cases, if the sample is very small, it can be consumed by the testing.

"We might get lucky because we may only, in some circumstances, with what we have, have one shot at getting it tested," Redfearn said.

Redfearn said they are re-interviewing suspects, testing new evidence and pursuing every lead.

"I would love nothing more than 30 years since this little girl was murdered in her own home, someone finally decides to get something off their chest," he said.

JonBenét Ramsey case gets renewed attentionABC News - PHOTO: Burke Ramsey, JonBenét's brother, gave an exclusive interview after largely staying out of the public eye since his sister's murder.

Burke Ramsey, who has largely stayed out of the public eye since his sister's death, praised his parents for how strong they were in the aftermath of the tragedy.

"This awful thing happened to this family, and the world turns against you. And it's cruel," he said.

ABC News - PHOTO: John Andrew Ramsey, JonBenét Ramsey's half brother, has sought justice for his half sister's murder for three decades.

JonBenét’s older half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey, said investigators must have courage and act aggressively to get the case solved as soon as possible.

"I know we're going to find this person," he said. "This is a case that can be solved. There's a mountain of evidence out there. We've got the DNA testing that's in our favor. It's not a question of if, but when."

This article originally appeared on ABC News at https://abcnews.com/US/new-dna-tech-solve-jonbent-ramseys-murder-case/story?id=137603999

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Democrats have taken control of Congress in a sweeping blue wave. Our reporters answer your questions about the results of the midterm elections

• Live results from the US midterm elections

Bgdxc1 asks in the comments: How will this election impact the implementation of NPVIC? How plausible is it that the bills would impact 2028?

Sam Levine, voting rights reporter: The mid-term results give the The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) a serious chance of going into effect. For anyone unfamiliar, the (NPVIC) is an agreement among states in which they agree to award their electoral college votes to the winner of the national popular vote. It would only go into effect if states with at least 270 electoral college votes - enough to win the presidency) agree. Currently, states with 222 electoral votes have agreed to the pact. Democrats won trifectas on Tuesday in states that have 61 electoral votes. Enough states would have to agree to the compact by July 20, 2028 in order for it to go into effect for the next presidential election. Even though Democrats now have enough legislatures to enact the pact, it doesn’t mean it will necessarily go into effect. For one, the states where Democrats have new majorities are the presidential battlegrounds Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Those states may not be interested in giving up the attention and focus they get in presidential election years and the federal resources that come with it. There are likely to be a slew of legal challenges to the agreement should enough states join and I would expect the US supreme court to have final say on whether such an agreement is constitutional.

Will Craft, data editor: Before I dig into my answer, I want to flag that all the numbers on turnout and vote shifts are estimates right now. Unfortunately we aren’t going to know exactly how different groups voted with a high degree of specificity for a few weeks or months, because as votes are counted and all the election data nerd’s models shift to get more precise. So bear in mind that we don’t know exactly how different groups voted, but we have a decently idea on how they voted. Some places like certain New York city based large news organizations have extremely detailed statistical models telling them how people in different demographics voted, but here at the Guardian we used census data to group counties together based on how many young people there are in the county. Now, not all the young people voted in those counties, but its a decent proxy. What I found was that counties where more than a quarter of the population is under the age of 30, there was a 16 point swing to the Dems.

But this wasn’t your question! You asked how important the youth turnout was. Here’s my honest answer. There isn’t a single demographic that did not shift to the Dems, and every single one of those demographics shifting is important. The election wasn’t a blue tsunami (bluenami?) because the youth voted Democrat. Or because Hispanic voters went for the Democrats. Or because black voters swung even further to the Democrats. The important factor in this election is that there was a societal wide, top to bottom swing away from the GOP at all levels of government.

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3. Opinion | The Midterms Were Spectacular. Here’s What They Showed.  The New York Times
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President Donald Trump has named Stephen Miller his new White House chief of staff, calling him one of his "most trusted advisors."

Miller will ascend to the role on Monday, officially replacing Susie Wiles, who Trump said will be moving to his political operation.

"I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!" Trump wrote.

Moments after Trump's announcement, Wiles issued a statement of her own. 

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"Today is my last day as White House Chief of Staff," Wiles said.

"Serving President Trump in the White House has been the honor of a lifetime. I’m so proud to have been a part of what we’ve accomplished together from securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America First," she added. "More than anything, I’m grateful for the extraordinary people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside. While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will."

The announcement came after Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate in the midterm elections, dealing a major blow to President Donald Trump after the war with Iran and persistent affordability concerns loomed large over elections, as voters weighed the economic toll of the conflict.

A current White House official told Fox News Digital the decision was "very amicable" and Wiles handed her resignation in Thursday night. 

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Wiles worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, making history as the first woman to serve as chief of staff. She is a longtime Trump ally, first throwing her support behind him in 2015 when she became the Trump campaign's co-chairwoman in Florida.

"As a card-carrying member of the G.O.P. establishment, many thought my full-throated endorsement of the Trump candidacy was ill-advised — even crazy," Wiles told the New York Times in a rare public statement back in 2016.

Wiles has served in her role for 21 months, making her Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff across both of his terms. Trump cycled through four chiefs of staff during his first term, with John Kelly serving the longest—about 17 months.

She has been dubbed the "Ice Maiden" by Trump, which he noted in his 2024 victory speech, for hard-nosed approach to handling business.

Wiles was seen as Trump’s behind-the-scenes, sitting in on high-level meetings and standing by his side at events, but Wiles rarely spoke directly to the public.

In March, Wiles announced she had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer upon early detection and received a strong prognosis. Six months later in September, she shared she was cancer free.

"With grit, determination, faith and the support of extraordinary people, it is possible to fight this disease while continuing to embrace the work, relationships and sense of purpose that make you who you are," Wile wrote in a USA Today op-ed in September. "For me, that means serving my president and my country. I will always be grateful to President Donald Trump for the kindness and compassion while I was undergoing treatment."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Ian Winter KC told Rosamund Urwin of the Sunday Times, whose investigation led to Brand’s victims coming forward: ‘I hope you are pleased with yourself’

Russell Brand’s barrister has reported himself to his professional regulator after being accused of launching a tirade at a journalist shortly after the former comedian had been found guilty of rape.

Ian Winter KC “confronted” the Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, whose investigation led to Brand’s victims coming forward, telling her: “I hope you are pleased with yourself.”

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