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The murder of six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey is one of the most infamous cold cases to date in the US. She was born to parents John and Patsy Ramsey in 1990 and had an older brother named Burke Ramsey, who was three years older than her.
JonBenét, who had been a part of several beauty pageants since she was a toddler, was reported missing by her family on the night of December 25, 1996. However, seven hours later, her dead body was found in the basement of her own house.
Over the years, multiple documentaries, podcasts, and TV series about the unsolved murder were released. The latest of which is Netflix's three-part docuseries, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, which brings a new perspective to the show. While the show has footage and interviews with a few of JonBenét's family members, her brother Burke Ramsey refused to be a part of the docuseries.
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Now 37 years old, Burke reportedly lives in Michigan and works as a software engineer. His father, John Ramsey, and half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey, are also part of the series. Burke and JonBenét's mother, Patsy Ramsey passed away due to ovarian cancer in 2006.
While the murder is still unsolved, in the initial years of the investigation, the police came up with two theories for who the murderer could be. However, neither of the theories had any solid evidence.
According to the first theory, JonBenét's Ramsey family members were responsible for her murder. Investigators believed that her family had killed JonBenét either intentionally or spontaneously and that they were all involved in the coverup. The media and tabloids heavily promoted this theory with many even trying to explore new avenues to try and prove it right.
The second theory was that there was an intruder in the house who assaulted JonBenét before killing her. This theory was supported by the three-page ransom letter found in the house, demanding $118,000 from John Ramsey.
However, neither of the theories has been proven right in the last 28 years, leaving the case unsolved to date. While the investigators found and tested a lot of evidence, there has been no conviction in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey.
What happened to Burke Ramsey after the death of his sister?
When JonBenét Ramsey was killed in 1996, her elder brother Burke was nine years old. Following her death, the Ramsey family moved away from Boulder, Colorado to Atlanta.
As the investigators looked into the case, they reportedly interviewed Burke three times. In 2008, Burke and his parents, John and Patsy Ramsey were cleared of any involvement in JonBenét's death by police and prosecutors.
The family was cleared after the investigators found that an unknown male's DNA on JonBenét's underwear, found in 1997, matched the DNA found on her clothing. Burke gave a statement to NBC following his clearance and said that apart from them being cleared as suspects, the important thing was they had "very, very solid evidence"
“But the most important thing is that we now have very, very solid evidence – and that’s always been my hope, at least in the recent past – that would lead us to the killer eventually," he said.
Burke graduated from Purdue University in Indiana in 2010 and reportedly works in the tech industry. He currently lives in Michigan, and very little is known about his personal life since he has maintained a low public profile for most of his life.
His only public interview was on The Dr. Phil Show in 2016, where he talked about his sister's death, and how it impacted the family. That same year, he sued CBS for $750 million over a documentary series, The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey that theorized he killed his sister in a dispute after she ate his snack. The case was later settled privately for an undisclosed amount.
Is Burke Ramsey a part of Netflix's Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?
Netflix released a three-part docuseries Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, on November 25, 2024, that highlighted the investigative missteps and sensationalism of the murder.
Although JonBenét’s father, John Ramsey, and Burke's half-brother John Andrew Ramsey are a part of the series, Burke was not involved in the production. The show is directed by Academy Award nominee Joe Berlinger, who commented on Burke's absence in an interview with TODAY.com.
“We tried to gain access through our relationship with John Ramsey and through (his) son, John Andrew Ramsey. But we didn’t want to pressure Burke and he didn’t want to talk to us, and he just didn’t want to participate. So we respected that," the director said.
While Burke wasn't directly a part of the series, he has been mentioned in it multiple times due to his past interviews. A card that appears at the end of the third and last episode, reads, that Burke Ramsey denied the production's request for an interview "citing his treatment by the media and online web sleuths."
Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey is now streaming on Netflix.
