Netflix's Cold Case: Who are JonBenét Ramsey’s brothers? Everything you need to know
Netflix's Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey is scheduled to be released on the platform on November 25, 2024. This three-part docu-series will shed light on the ongoing investigation that followed the killing of JonBenét Ramsey.
JonBenét Ramsey (August 6, 1990 – December 25, 1996), the subject of Netflix’s Cold Case, was an American child beauty queen. She was found dead in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado, on the night of December 25, 1996. Her family members became the primary suspects in the case.
John Andrew Ramsey and Burke Ramsey are her brothers. Both siblings have often spoken publicly about their late sister’s murder case, which still remains a cold case.
Netflix's Cold Case: John Andrew Ramsey was never a suspect in the case
The first marriage of John Ramsey, JonBenét Ramsey’s father, ended in divorce in 1978. John Andrew Ramsey is his son from the first marriage, making him JonBenét’s oldest brother. Born in 1973, John Andrew was 23 at the time of his step-sister’s murder.
Since he was spending his holidays in Atlanta at that time, he was never suspected of the murder. John Andrew has advocated for his late sister’s justice throughout his life since the tragic incident. It remains to be seen what statement he will make in Netflix’s Cold Case.
As Netflix's Cold Case will show, the Ramsey family has long been suspected of having murdered their own family member. Although such suspicions have proven baseless and authorities have apologized to the family, several media outlets vilified them for some time.
John Andrew spoke about this to The Sun on November 7, 2024, stating:
“We lost our sister and our daughter, a family member. We were victims, and the very people that we thought were gonna come in and protect us and help us were pointing the finger at us.”
Burke Ramsey was initially a suspect
The killing of JonBenét Ramsey, the subject of Netflix’s Cold Case, sparked national and international media interest, leading to theories that the girl was killed by one of her family members.
Like his parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, Burke was also suspected of murder, even though he was only 9 when the incident happened. However, Burke has always maintained that there was no history of abuse in his family.
On December 22, 2016, he addressed the conspiracy theories linking the Ramsey family to JonBenét’s murder in an interview with The Denver Post, stating:
“We didn’t get spanked, nothing of the sort, nothing close, nothing near laying a finger on us, let alone killing your child.”
Additionally, he has taken action against media houses and people who have allegedly spread misinformation about the family over the years. For instance, People reported on December 29, 2016, that Burke sued forensic pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz in October of that year for $150 million in damages.
He subsequently filed a second defamation lawsuit regarding the CBS docuseries titled The Case of JonBenét Ramsey. The series suggested that Burke killed his own sister in 1996.
Netflix’s Cold Series might provide him with a significant public platform to tell his own version of the story, especially since he has been exonerated in the case on multiple occasions.
Read More: Is Netflix's Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey based on a true story? Explained
Netflix's Cold Case: Subject and crew
As per an article published by Tudum on November 4, 2024, Netflix’s Cold Case will highlight the various “missteps of law enforcement and the media” in dealing with the case. Netflix's Cold Case will also feature interviews with several key people involved in the case.
Netflix’s Cold Case has been directed by Joe Berlinger. Its executive producers include Berlinger, Craig D'Entrone, Jon Kamen, and Jen Isaacson. The documentary is told in three parts and will be available to stream exclusively on the platform.
Netflix's Cold Case will be released on November 25, 2024.
