The tragic 1996 murder of young beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey has transfixed the public for the past two decades. Unfortunately, there has been little progress on her case for quite some time, and it seems unlikely that the killer will ever be caught without new evidence. Now, her brother has come out for the first time to share his memories of what happened when he lost his sister all those years ago. Burke Ramsey had this to say about the initial discovery of JonBenet's disappearance:
The first thing I remember is my mom bursting into my room really frantic saying: 'Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,' looking for JonBenet. I remember her saying: 'Where's my baby? Where's my baby?'
It's a chilling account of the horror that preceded the media frenzy through which most of us learned the details of the case. It can be easy to forget the impact that JonBenet's disappearance and death had on her family, especially considering that they were prime suspects for her murder for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey were only exonerated of murdering their daughter in 2003 when DNA evidence surfaced, and not even Burke's youth in 1996 was enough to spare him scrutiny for possibly having a hand in his sister's death. At the age of 9, he was believed by some to have killed his baby sister. On the whole, it's hard to blame Burke Ramsey for keeping his silence for as long as he has.
Burke Ramsey finally broke his silence about the circumstances surrounding JonBenet's disappearance in a chat on Dr. Phil (via Inside Edition) that will air in three parts. The first is scheduled to debut on September 12, with the second to air on September 13 and the third on September 19. His point-of-view account could change the way the public at large views the case.
The murder and investigation will be in the spotlight once again on its 20th anniversary thanks to more than just Burke Ramsey's interview with Dr. Phil. CBS is producing a limited event docuseries called The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey that will look back at the original investigations into JonBenet's death and use new technologies to examine old evidence. The infamous ransom note will be revisited during the course of the series. Experiments and interviews will also be used to try to create a new perspective on the murder.
As well, Lifetime will debut a project based on JonBenet Ramsey, the original TV movie called Who Killed JonBenet?, that is set to present the events immediately following the discovery of JonBenet in the basement of her family home. Combined with Burke Ramsey's interview and The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey, we can bet that the tragedy of JonBenet will get more attention than it's had in years.
Be sure to tune in to Dr. Phil on September 12, 13, and 19 to learn the rest of what Burke Ramsey has to say about his sister and her tragic death. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what else you'll be able to watch in the near future.
