JonBenet Ramsey’s brother sues CBS for US$750m over TV series that accused him of murder

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Burke Ramsey arrives for the burial service of his mother Patsy Ramsey in Marietta, Georgia on June 29, 2006. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:52pm, 29 Dec 2016Updated: 10:21pm, 29 Dec 2016

The older brother of JonBenet Ramsey is suing CBS and others for US$750 million, saying his reputation was ruined after a television series that concluded he killed his six-year-old sister two decades ago.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, Burke Ramsey claims that the network, its production company and the experts interviewed in the series on the unsolved murder conspired to defame him for publicity and profit. The series, called The Case of JonBenet Ramsey, aired in September ahead of the 20th anniversary of JonBenet’s death.

Six-year-old JonBenet Ramsay, who was found beaten and strangled to death in the family's Boulder, Colorado home on December 26, 1996, is shown in this undated photograph. Photo: Reuters

The child beauty pageant star was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado, the day after Christmas in 1996. A prosecutor cleared her parents and brother in 2008 based on DNA evidence. But the district attorney currently overseeing the case has said it was premature to exonerate the Ramseys and ordered additional tests using new DNA testing technology that authorities hope will further the investigation.

Police have collected and studied thousands of pieces of evidence and say the case remains open.

CBS spokesman Dustin Smith declined to comment on the lawsuit, which is the second Burke Ramsey has filed over the television series.

In this June 29, 2006, file photo, John Ramsey hugs his son, Burke, facing camera, at the graves of his wife, Patsy, and daughter JonBenet, during services for his wife at the St James Episcopal Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia. Photo: AP

In October, Ramsey, 29, sued a forensic pathologist featured on the show who said he bludgeoned his sister to death. The pathologist is also named in the latest lawsuit, which was filed in Michigan, where Burke Ramsey lives.