JonBenet Ramsey's brother plans to sue CBS for 'false and heinous' TV series, lawyer says
Burke Ramsey's attorney says he's going to sue CBS over the findings from its recently aired true crime series, "The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey."
In a statement shared with Business Insider on Wednesday, Ramsey's lawyer, L. Lin Wood, accused CBS of alleged "lies, misrepresentations, distortions, and omissions" in the series, which tasked investigators across different fields to re-examine the 20-year-old case's evidence and deliver their theory on who killed the six-year-old beauty pageant girl at her family's Boulder, Colorado home.
"In its desire to match or surpass the ratings and profits achieved by other networks in recent true crime series, CBS juxtaposed lies, misrepresentations, distortions and omissions with very few grains of truth to falsely accuse Burke Ramsey of killing his sister, JonBenét, in its docuseries 'The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey," Ramsey's lawyer alleged.
According to CBS, the special's investigators used new technology and forensics techniques that weren't available during the first investigation, recreated the crime scene by building full-scale replicas of key rooms from the Ramsey house, and conducted extensive interviews.
In the end, the investigators landed on the theory that nine-year-old Burke Ramsey allegedly killed his younger sister by accident in a fit of anger. According to their theory, his parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, then allegedly created the scenario of an intruder who killed their daughter in order to protect their son.
"No fair-minded person can condone this false and heinous television attack by CBS on a young man for ratings and profits," Lee said. "Burke Ramsey shall seek redress against CBS for its outrageous accusations in a court of law..."
In response, a network representative told Business Insider, "CBS stands by the broadcast and will do so in court."
Read Wood's full statement below:
"In its desire to match or surpass the ratings and profits achieved by other networks in recent true crime series, CBS juxtaposed lies, misrepresentations, distortions and omissions with very few grains of truth to falsely accuse Burke Ramsey of killing his sister, JonBenét, in its docuseries The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey. In doing so, CBS perpetrated a fraud on its viewers - there was no new investigation by the phony TV "experts." CBS intentionally avoided and ignored the truth of the mass of evidence that (1) led the Boulder District Attorney and Boulder Police Department to publicly and officially confirm in May of 1999 that Burke Ramsey was not a suspect or even a possible suspect; (2) supported the 2003 finding by Georgia Federal Judge Julie Carnes that "abundant evidence" supported assertions by JonBenét's parents, "that an intruder entered their home at some point during the night of Dec. 25, 1996, and killed their daughter"; and (3) led the Boulder District Attorney to publicly exonerate the Ramsey Family in 2008 based on conclusive DNA evidence.
The accusations of the CBS so-called "experts" lack substantial evidentiary support and contradict the factual conclusions reached by legitimate law enforcement authorities and experts familiar with the actual evidence developed in the case. CBS' false and unprofessional attacks on this young man are disgusting and revolting.
No fair-minded person can condone this false and heinous television attack by CBS on a young man for ratings and profits. Burke Ramsey shall seek redress against CBS for its outrageous accusations in a court of law where he successfully acquitted himself over 15 years ago in libel actions filed against the tabloid Star Magazine, the New York Post and Court TV for publishing similar false accusations. CBS shall be held accountable for the damage it has unlawfully inflicted on this young man's reputation."