Whoever killed JonBenet Ramsey got away with murder.

Decades later, the mystery still circles the same two possibilities: a family member or an intruder so invisible that he left not even a shadow behind. In the landscape of American true crime, her murder stands as one of the most infamous cases of the 20th century-a criminal investigation that grew more tangled the longer it went.

When Boulder police zeroed in on the parents, John Ramsey countered by hiring one of the most formidable criminal defense firms in the country-Haddon, Morgan and Forman. From that moment, the investigation shifted. Evidence that should have anchored the case-like the three page ransom note many experts linked to Patsy Ramsey-was pushed to the margins.

The Ramsey’s legal team transformed the murder investigation into a full blown circus. Detectives stumbled like clowns, attorneys roared like lions, and John and Patsy hovered above the chaos like trapeze artists who never missed a beat. The press, wary of lawsuits, kept their reporting safe and sanitized, placing a quiet thumb on the scales of justice.

Now, after years of missteps, media fog, and legal maneuvering, the so-called Holy Grail of this true crime saga has been reduced to a single spec of unidentified DNA.

Find out why.