Bill McReynolds was the man who played Santa Claus at JonBenét Ramsey’s family Christmas parties, including one held two days before the six-year-old was found dead in her Boulder home on December 26, 1996. A retired University of Colorado journalism professor, McReynolds became a figure of intense investigative interest because of a string of unsettling family coincidences, but DNA testing eventually excluded him. He was never charged, and he died of a heart attack in September 2002 at age 72.
Who Bill McReynolds Was
McReynolds taught in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado Boulder, where his history of journalism and public affairs reporting courses were remembered by former students as “legendary.”1University of Colorado Boulder. J-School Throwback His wife, Janet McReynolds, worked as a writer for a local newspaper, served as film critic for the Boulder Daily Camera, and was also a playwright.2ISOB. Volume 35 No 2
John and Patsy Ramsey hired McReynolds to play Santa at their annual holiday party. December 23, 1996, was his third year in the role, and Janet came along that night to help.3Daily Camera. Police Question Boulder Santa, Wife The year before, he had been given a tour of the family’s 6,866-square-foot house.
His relationship with JonBenét appeared warm. He reportedly called her his “special friend.” She gave him a vial of gold glitter at the 1995 party and another at the 1996 gathering, which he called “star dust” and carried for good luck through heart bypass surgery earlier that summer.4Denver Post. Ramsey Case Coverage He told his wife he wanted the glitter mixed into his ashes when he died.5Rolling Stone. Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey: 8 Possible Suspects
Why Investigators Suspected Him
Two nights before JonBenét was killed, McReynolds gave her a card that read, “You will receive a special gift after Christmas.” The card was later found in a trash bin at the Ramsey home. Trip DeMuth, an original prosecutor on the case, said the wording drew suspicion because McReynolds “was involved with her, had an interest in her, was seen with her, shortly before the murder.”6CNN. Did Santa Claus Kill JonBenet
Boulder police first interviewed Bill and Janet McReynolds on February 7, 1997, after the couple returned from a trip to Spain. Investigators re-interviewed them later that month and collected hair, handwriting, and eventually blood samples, saying the samples were requested “for the purpose of exclusion.”3Daily Camera. Police Question Boulder Santa, Wife
What kept investigators looking, though, were two family coincidences. On December 26, 1974, exactly 22 years to the day before JonBenét’s death, the McReynoldses’ nine-year-old daughter was abducted in Longmont, Colorado, along with a friend. The daughter witnessed the sexual molestation of her friend, and no suspects were ever arrested. Then, in 1976, Janet McReynolds wrote a play titled Hey Rube, a fictionalized account of the 1965 torture and murder of Indiana teenager Sylvia Likens. The play depicted the sexual assault, torture, and killing of a girl whose body is found in a basement.7Seattle Times. Santa Claus Is Probed in Slaying of JonBenet JonBenét’s body was also found in a basement. Hey Rube won a Western States Art Foundation regional prize and a $7,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts but was never published; a worldwide search by a Denver Public Library reference librarian failed to locate a copy.3Daily Camera. Police Question Boulder Santa, Wife
Police did not find these connections on their own. Newsweek journalist Dan Glick came across a tabloid item noting the 1974 kidnapping date and alerted authorities. Journalist Charles Brennan then uncovered the play. Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter acknowledged that his office had only recently learned of these links.2ISOB. Volume 35 No 2
The McReynoldses called the parallels coincidence. Bill told reporters, “In my heart, I know there’s no connection,” adding, “I always told my students to seek the truth. Now I’m on the other side of it. I’m probably naive and stupid.” He said his wife “could never be a suspect.” Janet said it “never occurred to me that there was a possible connection” between her play and the case, describing Hey Rube as “a ’70s play” and noting that in the play the assailants were a known group who were promptly caught. Of the 1974 abduction, she said it “makes you sensitive to the horror” of what happened to JonBenét.3Daily Camera. Police Question Boulder Santa, Wife
How He Was Cleared
Bill and Janet told investigators they went to bed at 8 p.m. on the night of December 25–26, 1996. Police also considered McReynolds’ recent heart bypass surgery, which they believed would have left him too physically weakened to carry out the crime.2ISOB. Volume 35 No 2
The decisive factor was forensic. DNA testing showed McReynolds’ DNA did not match the evidence recovered from the crime scene, and the couple was cleared on that basis.8ABC News. Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey6CNN. Did Santa Claus Kill JonBenet One detailed journalistic account noted that the McReynoldses were never formally labeled as suspects but were also never given an official public clearance; they simply dropped from active consideration.2ISOB. Volume 35 No 2
John Ramsey later acknowledged that McReynolds had been a suspect in his own mind, while Patsy Ramsey had suspected Janet McReynolds.
The Chris Wolf Thread
McReynolds turned up again through a former student, Chris Wolf, who had studied under him at CU and remained a friend afterward.2ISOB. Volume 35 No 2 Wolf became a suspect after his girlfriend told police he had stormed out of their house on Christmas night 1996 and returned the next morning with muddy clothes. He also owned a sweatshirt bearing the initials “S.B.T.C.,” the same letters used to sign the ransom note at the Ramsey home; in Wolf’s case the letters stood for the Santa Barbara Tennis Club.9The Guardian. JonBenet Ramsey Investigation
Wolf was never charged. He later sued John and Patsy Ramsey for $50 million in defamation after they named him as a suspect in their book Death of Innocence. Federal Judge Julie Carnes dismissed the case, noting that the evidence suggested an intruder was more likely to have committed the crime than Patsy Ramsey. No testimony about McReynolds emerged from that litigation.
What Happened to Him Afterward
McReynolds left Colorado after being publicly tied to the case and died of a heart attack in September 2002. He maintained his innocence until his death.10People. Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey: Possible Suspects Looking back at his role in the investigation, one commentator called the scrutiny of him a “sensationalized character assassination of a friendly old man” and described his possible involvement as “extremely unlikely.”5Rolling Stone. Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey: 8 Possible Suspects
The case itself remains open. As of 2025, Boulder police reported having followed up on more than 21,000 tips and interviewed over 1,000 people across 19 states, working with the FBI, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and outside forensic laboratories.11City of Boulder. JonBenet Ramsey Homicide