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Burke Ramsey has been “exposed to public hatred, contempt and
ridicule” over the four-hour show that was broadcast in
September in two parts, according to the complaint filed in a
state court in Michigan, where he lives. The program aired amid
a flurry of media accounts ahead of the 20th anniversary of the
girl’s death.
The bludgeoned and strangled body of 6-year-old JonBenet was
found in the basement of her parents’ Boulder, Colorado, home on
Dec. 26, 1996.
No one has ever been charged for the murder, but in 1999 a grand
jury seated to examine the case voted to indict the parents for
child abuse resulting in death.
The district attorney at the time, Alex Hunter, declined to move
forward with a prosecution, citing a lack of evidence.
A spokesman for CBS declined to comment on the lawsuit. At the
time of the broadcast, the network said it stood by the program
and "will do so in court" if sued by Ramsey.
At the conclusion of the CBS show, a panel of experts said it
was its opinion that Burke Ramsey, who was 9 at the time of the
killing, struck JonBenet in the head with a heavy object.
The parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, then staged the crime scene
to make it appear an intruder was the culprit, the group opined.
The lawsuit asks for $250 million in compensatory damages $500
million in punitive damages against CBS, the production company
that produced the show, and the experts who re-examined the
case.
In an interview on the “Dr. Phil” talk show that aired before
the CBS documentary, Burke Ramsey denied harming his sister and
said he suspected a pedophile who stalked beauty pageants killed
her.
"Defendants’ accusation that Burke Ramsey killed his sister was
based on a compilation of lies, half-truths, manufactured
information, and the intentional omission and avoidance of
truthful information about the murder of JonBenet Ramsey," the
lawsuit said.
Investigators announced this month that they will submit
evidence to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s forensics
laboratory for advanced DNA testing that was unavailable when
earlier samples were screened.
(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Writing by Dan Whitcomb
in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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