BOULDER, Colo. — It has been almost 20 years since JonBenét Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in her parents’ home in Boulder.
Now her brother, Burke, is speaking publicly for the first time about the unsolved death. Burke, 29, will speak with Dr. Phil in an exclusive three-part interview, the show’s producers announced Monday.
The interview will reveal “shocking, never-before-heard details about one of America’s most talked about cold cases,” according to the website.
“After 20 years, it’s finally time for answers,” the website said.
The three-part season premiere airs Sept. 12, 13 and 19. JonBenét ‘s parents reported her missing on Christmas Day 1996 after finding a note demanding a ransom of $118,000.
The 6-year-old beauty queen was found about eight hours by her father, John, in the basement of the home. An autopsy revealed she had been beaten and strangled.
Her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, consistently maintained they had nothing to do with the death. Though the Ramseys were never named as suspects, they were the focus of a grand jury, which first convened in September 1998.
Thirteen months later, the grand jury revealed it would not indict anyone in the death. They swore not to talk about the case in which they heard from dozens of witnesses and considered 30,000 pieces of evidence.
It was later revealed the grand jury decided to indict JonBenét ‘s parents, but then-Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter did not sign the indictment. It was sealed for years.
Hunter said there was not enough evidence to file charges against Ramseys and it would be unethical to pursue a court case against the couple if prosecutors did not believe they could win the case.
Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer in 2006.
In 2008, then-Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy wrote a letter to John Ramsey, saying new DNA evidence had cleared him, his wife and son. She formally apologized for the cloud of suspicion the Ramseys lived under for years.
“We believe at this point it is unlikely there will ever be a prosecution,” Boulder police said in 2008.