The 1996 murder of six-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey shocked the nation.

Ramsey's parents were nearly indicted for her murder. (Panoramio, Wikimedia Commons)

But the strangling death of the little girl, who would have been 23 this year, is a mystery that has never been solved, leaving plenty of room for public speculation.

Much of that speculation has focused on the Ramsey parents, who according to newly released court documents were nearly charged with the crime in 1999, CNN reports.

Previously sealed court papers released Friday reveal that a grand jury voted to indict Ramsey's parents in 1999 for child abuse resulting in death.

The district attorney, however, chose not to pursue charges and, in 2008, new DNA evidence apprently cleared both the parents and their son.

Read the full story at CNN.

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