JonBenét's Brother, Burke Ramsey, Settles Defamation Lawsuit Against CBS

The CBS documentary aired interviews with forensic pathologists who claimed that Burke, who was nine years old at the time of his sister’s death, could have accidentally killed JonBenét.

January 07, 2019
Burke Ramsey [Dr. Phil (screenshot)]

Burke Ramsey [Dr. Phil (screenshot)]

Burke Ramsey [Dr. Phil (screenshot)]

By: Catherine Townsend

Related To:

WAYNE COUNTY, MI — JonBenét Ramsey’s brother, Burke Ramsey, has reportedly reached a settlement with CBS following a $750 million lawsuit against the network.

Two years ago, Ramsey sued CBS and other parties who participated in making the docuseries The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey over allegations in the program that suggested he may have bludgeoned his six-year-old sister to death.

Terms of Ramsey’s settlement are undisclosed.

JonBenét’s body was found on December 26, 1996, at her home in Boulder, Colorado, hours after her parents John and Patsy Ramsey reported her missing. The case of the child beauty queen made national headlines, but JonBenét’s killer has never been found.

The CBS documentary aired interviews with forensic pathologists who claimed that Burke, who was nine years old at the time of his sister’s death, could have accidentally killed JonBenét. The program also theorized that his parents could have helped him cover up the crime.

A representative for producers of The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey confirmed that “the parties have reached an amicable resolution of their differences.”

“The 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 JonBenét Ramsey,” lawyers for Ramsey stated in a 2016 filing.

Ramsey’s lawyer, Lin Wood, tweeted: "After handling many defamation cases for them over the past twenty years, hopefully this is my last defamation case for this fine family."

He later tweeted “Mission accomplished” along with a link to news reports of the settlement.

Next Up

Inside The 27-Year Investigation Of JonBenét Ramsey’s Murder

On Dec. 26, 1996, the pageant princess was found strangled to death in her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado.

In February 2001, Steven Kraft, Jr. Took His Dogs Outside And Disappeared

Over two decades ago, a 12-year-old boy went missing from outside his home in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The two dogs he was playing with have since been found but he remains missing.

Police Continue Search For Relisha Rudd, Who Was 8 When She Vanished In 2014

‘I have days when I think she's alive. I have days when I think she's no longer with us,’ says Henderson Long of D.C.’s Missing Voices.

Who Lured Trusting 10-Year-Old Amy Mihaljevic To Her Death In 1989?

The baffling murder mystery continues to haunt friends, family and police to this day.

5 Things You Need To Know About Susan Powell

In 2009, mother-of-two Susan Powell disappeared without a trace in West Valley City, Utah. Then in 2012, her husband Josh killed himself and their two sons after custody of the children was granted to Susan's parents.

Detroit Man Charged With Murder Of Missing Cousin Zion Foster

The Michigan teen was reported missing on Jan. 4, 2022, but it took several weeks before the tragic truth came out.

The Twists And Turns Of The Infamous Susan Smith Case

On October 25, 1994, the 23-year-old South Carolina mother drowned her two young children.

Quebec Prisoner With 89 Convictions Charged In Young Girl’s 1994 Murder

Nearly 30 years after the body of 10-year-old Marie-Chantale Desjardins was found behind a shopping center, 61-year-old Réal Courtemanche has been charged with her murder.

Texas Father On Run For Over 12 Years Found Guilty Of Killing His Two Teen Daughters

“You are a murderer and the devil,” victims Amina and Sarah Said’s mother told her ex-husband, Yaser Said, in court after his conviction.

5 Curious Details About The Missing Sodder Children

While they were first declared dead in a Christmas Eve house fire, some believe that five children were kidnapped just before their family home burned to the ground.