JonBenet's 'Socially Awkward' Brother Breaks His Silence

Burke Ramsey gives first-ever interview to Dr. Phil McGraw
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 12, 2016 5:08 PM CDT
Updated Sep 13, 2016 12:21 AM CDT

JonBenet Ramsey's brother, Burke, has given his first-ever interview to Dr. Phil McGraw; the first segment aired Monday, and it will continue airing Tuesday and next Monday. Burke, 29 and now a computer security analyst, was 9 when his 6-year-old sister was murdered in 1996, and he says his life became a "chaotic nightmare" after the still-unsolved crime, with the media making his and his parents' lives "crazy." That's why, he explains, he hasn't done any interviews until now. CBS notes that "many people still speculate" Burke or his parents could have been involved in JonBenet's death, even though they've been cleared by DNA evidence. McGraw, meanwhile, spoke to Today about interviewing Burke. "This is a very socially awkward young man," he says.

"He is smiling," he adds. "People are going to see this throughout the entire interview, [a] really unusual affect, either smiling or laughing," even while discussing disturbing topics. One of those topics: Burke remembers waking up in the wee hours of the morning his sister went missing, and says, "The first thing I remember is my mom bursting in my room, really frantic ... running around my room looking for JonBenet." He didn't leave his room despite the hubbub, People reports, and he explained to McGraw that he "felt safer there." JonBenet's father, John, also spoke to McGraw, and he says that when he first saw his little girl lying in the basement, he didn't realize she was dead. "I had this rush of thank God I found her," he says. (In an old police interview, Burke recounted the day of JonBenet's murder.)

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