Indictments against JonBenet Ramsey's parents to be unsealed

Releasing an indictment against the parents of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey should give a look of evidence available in 1998, a Denver lawyer said. The indictment is to be unsealed Friday over the objections of JonBenet's father, John Ramsey, who sought to block the release, saying it would defame him and his late wife, Patricia, who died of ovarian cancer in 2006, NBC News reported. Eighteen pages of grand jury documents will be released in the matter that has given birth to books, made-for-television movies and many theories about who killed the 6-year-old beauty queen found dead in the basement of her Boulder, Colo., home Dec. 26, 1996. Scott Robinson, a Denver defense lawyer who has followed the case, said the court papers probably include a statement of supporting facts that would "give us a sense of what the grand jury was thinking when they saw the evidence available at that time." Weak evidence could explain why prosecutors decided not to act on the indictment and charge the parents, which Robinson said was an "extraordinarily unusual" outcome. He said the grand jury's findings are a snapshot only of what was available in 1998 and didn't include evidence uncovered since. "It doesn't take a lot to get an indictment," Robinson told NBC News. "The old saying about indicting a ham sandwich may not be completely true but if it's a ham and cheese sandwich, it's easier." A newspaper reporter and a media rights organization fought to get the indictment unsealed. The Ramseys reported their daughter missing on Dec. 26 after finding a ransom note asking for $118,000. Later that day, John Ramsey found her blanket-covered body in the basement, her mouth taped shut and a cord around her neck.