The JonBenét Ramsey Case Shows Why I Built CrimeOwl
The headlines about CrimeOwl and the JonBenét Ramsey case were surreal. As a technologist and a son who grew up in Colorado, I remember the original news stories all too well.
They became all too real when, years later, my own mother, Shaida Ghaemi, disappeared.
That is the moment this story truly begins.
This is not about headlines; it's about fixing a broken system that leaves thousands of families waiting for answers.
It’s about creating a new solution so no case ever goes cold again.
The Origin Story
Eighteen years ago, I did everything a son is told to do. I contacted the police, spoke to the media, and worked with advocates, but the movement never came. Weeks turned into months, and months turned into years.
My mother's case, like so many others across the country, eventually went cold and sat forgotten.
After years of waiting, my anger and frustration turned into a question: Was I really meant to just sit back?
No. I realized if no one was going to fix the system, I could.
A technologist at heart, I decided to apply the same first-principles framework used by companies like SpaceX to the problem of cold cases.
I asked myself: What is actually broken in how we investigate crime?
The Systemic Problem
When you remove all assumptions, the truth becomes painfully clear: the system is simply not built for long-term investigations.
I hear things like, "How these cases usually go is someone squeals," or "Eventually we’ll get a hit in a database." The investigative process is passive by nature. As cases drag on, they collect dust and are forgotten.
It's not a lack of intelligence or dedication from detectives. It’s a crisis of data, time, and resources:
Only 7% of police departments have a dedicated cold case unit.
Detectives are forced to juggle dozens of active cases at once.
Context-switching, not deep focus, is the norm.
Crucial evidence is still trapped in disconnected PDFs, boxes, and filing cabinets.
Even in the JonBenét Ramsey case, investigators spent decades buried under information.
The evidence archive included over 1 million pages. It wasn't until 2023 that the case was digitized into a searchable database, that's when real progress became possible.
How AI Changes the Game
CrimeOwl was built to do what no human and no spreadsheet can do alone. It does not replace investigators; it strengthens them.
It gives them back time, structure, and clarity. It's like the ultimate junior investigator, ready to surface information buried in paperwork.
CrimeOwl helps investigators:
Instantly Search: Sift through thousands of files in seconds, not years.
Uncover Hidden Links: Surface hidden correlations and patterns across interviews, reports, and tips.
Prioritize Leads: Identify and prioritize the most promising paths, eliminating noise.
Eliminate the "Cold Start" Problem: Accelerate re-familiarization with large, dormant cases in minutes or hours, not weeks or months.
Imagine being the lead detective on a multi-year case. Instead of sifting through boxes, you upload all files—PDFs, videos, and audio—into one central, secure folder.
CrimeOwl's dashboard instantly goes to work: automatically building a timeline, mapping key connections, and enabling an AI chat that can answer complex questions about the case's entire history.
This is the real breakthrough: accelerating investigations at the speed of AI.
The Bigger Picture
If we can help investigators reopen even one case that was once considered unsolvable, and if a family can get answers 18 months sooner instead of 18 years later, that is meaningful impact.
The JonBenét case may capture headlines, but behind it are hundreds of thousands of families still waiting.
The Unsolved Backlog is a Crisis
This is not just about technology; it is about hope, accountability, and the evolution of justice. The biggest tragedy is the lack of urgency in the investigations community to adopt new tools.
The unsolved murder backlog is already over 300,000 and increases by 6,000 every single year.
Closing Thought
Every time someone mentions CrimeOwl in connection to a major case, I am reminded why I built it: because no family should wait a lifetime for answers.
We cannot change what happened in the past. But with better tools, we can change how the future unfolds for those still searching for justice.