Melissa McCarthy Shares Her Theory on JonBenét Ramsey Case Ahead of Netflix Drama

Melissa McCarthy, who portrays JonBenét Ramsey‘s mother, Patsy Ramsey, in an upcoming Netflix drama series, has shared her thoughts on the tragic case that has remained unsolved for 30 years.

The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey premieres on December 10 and stars McCarthy and Clive Owen as the parents of six-year-old JonBenét, who was found dead in the basement of her family home in December 1996. The unsolved death, which was ruled a homicide, has been the subject of speculation and conspiracies for decades.

Speaking to Variety, McCarthy revealed her take on the case, saying, “My heart says no one in the family could have done that. I don’t have the ability, or probably the right, to say that, but that’s what my gut says. Which I probably am not supposed to say.”

While filming the drama, the Bridesmaids star said she “had to pick” a side. “I had to have that for myself, if nothing else,” she explained.

McCarthy also made it clear that the new series isn’t a “whodunit,” but rather a character exploration. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, there’s a big reveal!’ This is a character study of everyone who was caught in the undertow, and a look at all of us — as a civilization, really,” she stated. “Seeing that happen to a child, I think breaks everybody.”

However, the show does touch on the “different theories” because, as McCarthy noted, “They were all real working theories.”

She added, “Showing the chaos of it is something that we’ve not seen. It’s a new telling of it, because you’re like, ‘My God, is this really what was happening?'”

At the time of the murder, Patsy and her husband John Ramsey were treated as suspects, though neither were ever charged. In 2008, then-District Attorney Mary Lacy publicly apologized to the family, noting that evidence had cleared John and Patsy and JonBenét’s brother Burke (who was 9 at the time of the murder). Patsy died in 2006 from ovarian cancer.

McCarthy told Variety that she’d be open to speaking with members of the Ramsey family. “Again, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this: I’ve written John many letters that I haven’t sent. I wrote before we did it,” she shared. “I wrote, during the thing, to him and Burke — many letters — to be like, ‘I’m doing my best by her. I’m really trying to show who I felt she was.'”