JonBenét Ramsey's Dad Responds to Viral Conspiracy Alleging Jeffrey Epstein Knew His Daughter

A viral video that alleges a link between the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and JonBenét Ramsey, who was 6 when she was killed inside her family’s Boulder, Co. home in 1996, is “cruel,” says her father John Ramsey.

“People are sick and cruel,” he tells PEOPLE. “The internet will destroy us as a country if we don't get it under control because that's obviously made up. It's just scary. There's no truth to that at all, but the fact that people believe it is quite scary, actually.

“I keep waiting for somebody to accuse me of being an Epstein customer,” he says.

The viral video reportedly suggests that a framed picture found on Epstein’s wall is of JonBenét sitting on the shoulders of Epstein, according to TMZ.

TMZ reported that the photo is redacted in the Epstein files.

John, who now lives in Utah, says he is currently focused on a meeting he has in a few weeks with Boulder police about his daughter’s case.

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JonBenét was found in the basement of the family’s upscale home on the morning of Dec. 26, 1996.

Earlier that morning, JonBenét's mother Patsy called police after noticing JonBenét was missing. On the call, Patsy told police she'd found a ransom note handwritten on a pad with a black Sharpie that belonged to the family.  

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The note demanded $118,000 — the exact amount of a workplace bonus recently received by John — for the safe return of their daughter.

Since the murder, police have investigated multiple suspects: John and his late wife Patsy, and their son Burke, were considered suspects at first, and authorities have since apologized for casting suspicion on them.

John, who has been vocal about using cutting-edge labs to crack the cold case, is hoping that the police agency will be open to trying genetic genealogy, which has been "solving cold cases left and right."

“They don't tell us much,” he adds about the Boulder police. “We're going to press pretty hard for answers. Are you doing this or not? Just tell us. If you're doing it, great. We'll shut up. If we don't feel like you are doing it, then we're going to take other actions. But there's no reason not to.”

"I hope that [the Boulder Police Chief] will say, "Yes, we are employing that."