JonBenet Ramsey’s brother Burke Ramsey has filed suit against CBS over the September two-part docuseries “The Case Of,” which featured a panel of experts concluding that he was the one who killed his sister in 1996.
In addition to CBS, the lawsuit also names the show’s production company, Critical Content, and the seven investigators featured on the series, according court papers obtained by TheWrap. CBS had no comment.
Ramsey is asking for $750 million, which includes $250 mil in compensatory damages and $500 mil in punitive damages.
The seven individuals named on the lawsuit include Jim Kolar, a former Boulder District Attorney’s investigator; Jim Clemente, a former New York prosecutor; Laura Richards, a former behavioral analyst with New Scotland Yard; James R. Fitzgerald, a retired FBI agent; Stanley B. Burke, a retired FBI agent; Dr. Werner Spitz, a forensic pathologist; and Dr. Henry Lee, a forensic scientist.
“As far back as 1998, law enforcement authorities responsible for the JonBenét Ramsey murder investigation have repeatedly, publicly and unequivocally cleared Burke Ramsey of any involvement in the death of his sister,” Ramsey’s team wrote in the court papers.
Back in October, Ramsey filed a separate, $150 million lawsuit against Spitz over a 2016 radio interview ” in which he explicitly and falsely stated that Burke Ramsey killed his sister, JonBenet Ramsey.”
“The Case Of’s” expert panel concluded that Burke Ramsey, then 9 years old, accidentally killed his sister in a fit of rage over either a toy or a pineapple. The theory was that Burke was eating the pineapple when his sister swiped some, and then he struck her with a flashlight in a fit of rage, accidentally killing her.
The investigators also revealed that Burke had hit JonBenet with a golf club a year earlier after “losing his temper.”
The six-year-old was found dead her family’s Boulder, Colorado, home in 1996. The case has seen increased media attention this year upon the 20th anniversary of her death. In addition to CBS’s two-part, four-hour special in September, Lifetime also aired the scripted movie “Who Killed JonBenet?” last month.
6 Times Hollywood Shook Up Criminal Justice Before 'Making a Murderer'
"Making a Murderer" subject Brendan Dassey had his conviction overturned by a federal judge on August 12. But it's not the first time a film or documentary has been a factor in a major legal reversal of fortune.
"Gimme Shelter" (1970)
A documentary directed by the Maysles brothers, "Gimme Shelter" started out as a simple concert film about The Rolling Stones, but turned out to be essential documentation of the fights and violence that erupted at the Altamont Free Concert.
Cinema 5
"The Thin Blue Line" (1988)
Errol Morris' documentary depicted Randall Dale Adams, a man serving life in prison for a murder he did not commit. Adams was exonerated and released from prison a year after the movie's release.
Miramax
"Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills" (2003-11)
In a series of three documentaries, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky chronicled the arrest, conviction and imprisonment of the West Memphis Three, a trio of teenagers wrongfully accused of murdering three children with Satanic overtones. By the time the final installment aired on HBO, the case had generated enough publicity to with the trio's release from prison.
HBO
"The Invisible War" (2012)
The Oscar-nominated "The Invisible War" documented the culture of widespread sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military, and led to new legislation changing the way those cases are handled.
Cinedigm
"Serial" (2014)
The first season of Sarah Koenig's podcast re-investigated the case of Adnan Syed, who was convicted of murdering his high school girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999. Thanks in part to the attention from "Serial," Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Martin P. Welch on June 30 2016, officially vacated Syed’s conviction and life sentence, and ordered a new trial.
The night before the high-profile and highly incriminating series finale aired, real estate heir Robert Durst was arrested in New Orleans and charged with murder. In February, he pleaded guilty to gun charges but still awaits trial in L.A. for the killing of his friend, Susan Berman.
“What the hell did I do?” Durst asked himself while still mic-ed in the final episode. “Killed ’em all, of course.”
The overturning of Brandon Dassey’s murder conviction isn’t the first time a documentary has helped right a legal wrong
"Making a Murderer" subject Brendan Dassey had his conviction overturned by a federal judge on August 12. But it's not the first time a film or documentary has been a factor in a major legal reversal of fortune.