‘s death — and ongoing murder investigation — has been difficult on her brother, , who has preferred not to discuss her or the case.
“Burke doesn’t talk about the case. Ever. He doesn’t talk about JonBenét at all. It’s not a topic of conversation among the family, and he never volunteers anything about her,” a Ramsey family source exclusively told Us Weekly before the release of Netflix’s Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey on Monday, November 24.
The insider recalled Burke being affected by any mention of JonBenét, adding, “When he was younger, even her name would make him upset, because it was really painful and he didn’t know what to do with it. And then when he was in high school, he knew all the whispers.”
As the search for JonBenét’s killer continues decades later, Burke has chosen to step away.
“He doesn’t read anything about the case, doesn’t watch anything about it. If he sees a show about it, he changes the channel. He’s not the least bit interested in watching any of the documentaries,” the source continued. “He’s not going to watch [the Netflix] one. Absolutely not. It’s triggering to him, and there’s no benefit for him.”
Burke was 9 years old when his 6-year-old sister was found dead in the basement of their Colorado house. She had sustained a broken skull and a garrote was tied around her neck. JonBenét’s official cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma, and her death was ruled a homicide.
The Boulder PD looked into many suspects over the years. JonBenét and Burke’s parents, and , were even named as persons of interest in the case, with a grand jury voting to indict the pair in 1999. The indictment was never signed by the Boulder district attorney, however, because there was a lack of evidence. The couple were exonerated in 2008 when testing helped investigators determine that the DNA found on JonBenét’s body was from an unrelated male.
Three years after JonBenét’s death, the police and Boulder district attorney publicly stated that Burke was not a suspect, but online sleuths have continued to spread unsubstantiated theories about him.
“Burke had a very painful and very lonely upbringing,” the insider told Us. “The family tried very hard to shield him, but you can’t shield a kid from the fact that his sister was murdered and everyone thinks that his family did it. Or that he did it.”
Burke and his family were also not thrilled with how long it took the police to publicly confirm his innocence.
“He spent his formative years under investigation and, all the while, the cops knew the DNA wasn’t his, but wouldn’t release that,” the family member noted about the evidence found on JonBenét’s body. “What the Boulder police department did to [John and Patsy] was reprehensible, but what they did to Burke is unforgivable. They took part in destroying a vulnerable little boy’s life.”
Burke spoke out once in a tell-all interview with in 2016. That same year, he sued CBS for $750 million after their The Case Of docuseries accused him of killing his sister. The defamation lawsuit was settled in 2019 and Burke hasn’t spoken out publicly since, but he did release a statement for Netflix’s newest doc.
“Citing his treatment by the media and online websleuths, Burke Ramsey denied our request for an interview,” read a message featured at the end of Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey.
According to the family source, Burke has continued to have a relationship with his loved ones.
“He gets together with [his dad John] sometimes, and they talk about things,” the insider shared, noting that JonBenét is the only topic Burke won’t speak on. “That’s not on the table. If we were to bring it up, he’d just shut down. He doesn’t want to talk about that. Ever.”
