opinion

There’s set to be a new development in the Jon Benét Ramsey case.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock with no WiFi or in the midst of a winter cold, there’s a good chance you’ve heard that a new JonBenét Ramsey documentary is set to hit our screens.

Having dropped its first trailer in August, CBS has promised that unlike the countless other documentaries that have been made about the slain beauty queen’s mysterious murder over the past 20 years, this one will be different.

And you know what? I completely believe them.

The JonBenét Ramsey documentary is set to shed new light on the case. Source: Facebook

As a true crime junkie, I couldn't help but squeal loudly when I first watched the trailer, as one crime-solving great after another appeared onscreen (an act that really scared my workmates).

And its because of these people that this world-famous case actually stands a chance of actually being solved. Or at the very least, have some new game-changing light shed on it two decades on.

So here's everything you need to know about the new documentary's main players:

Jim Clemente is a former New York City prosecutor turned FBI profiler. Now retired, Clemente spends his time working as a case consultant, writing for Criminal Minds and serving as one-third of the astoundingly popular Real Crime Profile podcast, in which some of the world's highest profile cases are re-assessed.

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In addition to discussing documentary and television adaptations of true crimes like Making a Murderer and The People Vs OJ on the podcast, Clemente also places the emphasis on the victims of the crimes and ensuring their voices are heard, rather than the criminals.

The Ramsey house. Source: Facebook.

The next addition to the JonBenet documentary is Laura Richards, a criminal behavioural analyst who began her career at New Scotland Yard, and the founder and director of Paladin - the U.K's only stalking and advocacy organisation.

Specialising in stalking and violent domestic crimes, Richards provided pivotal assistance and insight into the recent Lily Allen stalking case and created the DASH risk assessment model - a tool that UK police officers use to assess the safety of someone in a domestic dispute (the model has been found to save approximately 33 London women from domestic homicides every year).

Alongside Clemente, Richards is also a part of the Real Crime Profile podcast.

Next up is Dr Henry Lee, a man considered by many to be the world's leading forensic scientist. He has worked on some of the country's biggest cases, including the trial of OJ Simpson, the death of Clinton White House staffer Vincent Foster, the shooting of Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian and vice-president Annette Lu, and importantly, the JonBenét Ramsey case. What the new involvement will bring about, we're not yet sure.

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JonBenét Ramsey. Source: Facebook

Similar to Lee, Dr Werner Spitz is one of the world's leading forensic pathologists.

Spitz investigated the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr., and has testified in the high-profile trials of Phil Spector and Casey Anthony. Spitz has also previously consulted on the investigation of Ramsay's death. He has also worked and trained with a number of other experts involved in the documentary.

He has also worked and trained with a number of other experts involved in the documentary.

Currently, the only forensic linguist to have ever been employed by the FBI, Jim Fitzgerald has helped solve a number of major cases through the analysis of text alone and is set to offer incredible insight into the infamous JonBenét Ramsey ransom letter.

Fitzgerald also made a name for himself  by studying the letters and manifesto of the US's Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.

And based off of all of that, we can confidently say that unlike many of the previously overproduced and under-theorised documentaries made about the Colorado beauty queen, this one is set to be a thriller.

Here's why Rosie Waterland will be watching the documentary series.