Burke Ramsey has filed a $150 million defamation lawsuit against the forensic pathologist who accused him in the 1996 death of his sister, slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.
According to a court filing, Dr. Werner Spitz "falsely stated the Burke Ramsey killed his sister," causing permanent harm to the 29-year-old's reputation, Time magazine reported.
The lawsuit stems from a September interview Spitz gave to CBS Detroit, which appears to have been taken down from the website, Time noted.
Spitz was part of a panel of experts who participated in the September CBS docu-series "The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey" advancing the theory that Burke Ramsey, who was 9 at the time, killed his sister. The Ramsey family’s lawyer, L. Lin Wood, said at the time he planned to sue CBS for the "false and unprofessional television attack."
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Michigan, says "Spitz made this accusation without ever examining JonBenet’s body, without viewing the crime scene, and without consulting with the pathologist who performed the autopsy on JonBenet. Burke Ramsey has suffered, is suffering, and will continue to suffer harm.”
Spitz, the suit claims, "has a disturbing history of making false statements related to the brutal murder of young girls,” and he has “been found liable for malicious prosecution due to his false claims about the mutilation of a body,” Vanity Fair reported.
The lawsuit seeks $50 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages.
Burke Ramsey asserts that he is a private citizen, and the court's determination on that assertion could play a key role in the outcome of the case because proving defamation of a private citizen is easier than a public figure, Vanity Fair noted.
JonBenet's brother and parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, were cleared of charges in 2008.
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