JonBenét Ramsey was a 6-year-old beauty queen who was brutally murdered in family home in Boulder, Colorado, in December 1996, but her killer was never found. Now a new Netflix documentary, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, dives into why the case inspired such a media frenzy and how her family – parents John and Patsy Ramsey and brother, Burke Ramsey, who was just 9 when his sister was killed – were treated.
In the search for answers, Ramsey's family were all put under a microscope by investigators at the time, and have faced intense scrutiny from the public since, including conspiracy theories about whether they had a part to play in her death. The Neflix docuseries examines why many were convinced that John, Patsy and Burke Ramsey were guilty of hurting her. The family have maintained their innocence.
Ramsey was found in her family's basement with a skull fracture and signs of being strangled, along with signs of being sexually assaulted.
Why people thought Burke was guilty
Burke Ramsey is JonBenét's older brother, along with a half brother, John Andrew.
He's noticeably absent from the new Netflix series, with producers citing his treatment by the media and 'online web sleuths' as the reason why.
While looking into her murder, investigators collected an unidentified person's DNA on JonBenét’s fingernails and her underwear that did not match her parents Patsy and John or her brother Burke.
But in the docuseries John shares: 'They were told in January by their lab, "We tested the DNA. There is unidentified male DNA, which excludes the parents and the son, Burke.
'They kept that secret from the media and from the district attorney for months ... because it conflicted with their conclusion that we were the killers.'
In a 1999 poll by Scripps Howard News Service, 5% of people thought Burke killed his sister. In contrast, 25% thought Patsy was guilty, and 6%, John.
In the series, John Andrew Ramsey, John Ramsey’s child from his first marriage, says: 'You look back at pictures of 9-year-old Burke' and 'it’s just absolutely absurd to think, "Oh yeah, he could’ve killed his sister and delivered this level of violence".'
Has Burke spoken about JonBenét?
Burke has said very little about his sister's murder.
In 2016 he made an extremely rare appearance on Dr Phil, and said that he was aware that some people suspected he or his parents of killing JonBenét. He denied hitting his sister over the head with a baseball bat or flashlight.
He also shared that when the police arrived at the family home he stayed in bed for hours and couldn't accept that she had died. He kept thinking she was hiding somewhere, he said.
'My dad told me JonBenét is in heaven now, and he started crying, then I started crying. I was kind of like, How is this possible?” Burke said. 'I started crying. I don’t think I said anything. I didn’t believe it at first.'
He said he thought a 'pedophile from the pageant circuit' had killed his sister.
He also responded to allegations against him, saying: 'It blows my mind. What more evidence do you need that we didn’t do it?
'You won’t find any evidence because that’s not what happened.'
When Dr. Phil asked why he chose to speak to him, after two decades of silence, he responded: 'I want to honor her memory by doing this interview. I don’t want anyone to forget.'
Public reception to the interview was not very positive, with media picking up on him smiling throughout the interview. Dr Phil McGraw defended Burke, saying he was clearly suffering with discomfort and extreme awkwardness during the interview.
Just weeks after the interview, CBS aired The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey, which further pushed out a theory that Burke had hit his sister with a flashlight and accidentally killed her. It suggested his parents helped him cover up the crime.
Later that year Burke sued experts featured in the TV special for $150m (£119m) and CBS for $750 (£597m) in a defamation suit. Burke and CBS settled the lawsuit in 2019 for an undisclosed amount.
Burke hasn't spoken out about his sister or the case since.
Where is Burke now?
Burke, now 37, is reportedly a software engineer and lives in Michigan. He has largely stayed out of the public since the case gained global attention.
Following his sister's murder, Buke went on to study computer technology at Purdue University and graduated in 2009. According to his father, Burke has gone on to live a "relatively quiet" life.
Unlike his father or half-brother, Burke hasn't commented on the new Netflix series or renewed attention into his sister's case.