Gary Oliva was identified as a person of interest by 48 Hours Investigates in August 2002. It was discovered that he may have been near the Ramsey home on the night of JonBenét’s murder and was seen at a candlelight vigil for her on the one-year anniversary of the crime. The show reported that Oliva had called a close friend and confessed to doing “something horrible” after JonBenét’s death.
In an interview from jail that was featured on the show, Oliva denied any involvement in the crime. He claimed that JonBenét’s spirit had appeared to him after her death and expressed his desire for a memorial to be created in her honor.
In June 2016, Oliva was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography. Boulder city spokeswoman Sarah Huntley informed the Daily Camera that the police department was familiar with Oliva due to their investigation of the Ramsey case as well as his criminal history and status as a registered sex offender.
Huntley stated, “The police department conducted a thorough investigation into the current allegations and found probable cause to support the arrest. However, we are unable to exclude or include anyone as a suspect in the Ramsey case at this time.”
Oliva was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison for the child pornography charges, with a parole hearing scheduled for September. In response to reports that Oliva had confessed to accidentally killing JonBenét in a letter, the Boulder police released a statement in 2019 affirming that his potential involvement in the case had already been thoroughly investigated alongside several previous confessions. They emphasized that they still receive information related to the case but did not provide any updates.
Ollie Gray, an investigator hired by the Ramseys, conducted his own investigation into the case and became convinced that Michael Helgoth was the perpetrator. At the time, Helgoth’s family owned a scrap yard on the outskirts of Boulder. A coworker of Helgoth, John Kenady, claimed in April 2016 that he had heard Helgoth confess to killing JonBenét on a tape. Kenady stated that he reached out to the police multiple times but received minimal response.
Gray expressed his criticism of the investigation, stating on the Today show in May 2016, “You have to actively search for leads in order to make progress, and unfortunately, the police agency in charge was inexperienced. There are still three or four people that should have been investigated earlier and need to be looked into. Michael Helgoth is the latest development in this case, in my opinion. He was known for causing trouble.”