U.S.

JonBenet Parents Sue Tabloid

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

November 30, 1999 / 9:59 AM EST / CBS

A suit filed Tuesday in federal court in Atlanta seeks $25 million from The Star, because of reports about JonBenet Ramsey's death.

John and Patsy Ramsey say The Star had two reports that their son - Burke - killed his six-year-old sister.

They say the stories were false and defamatory - and that they subjected Burke Ramsey to "public hatred, contempt and ridicule."

The Star later retracted the stories.

Lin Wood, the civil attorney for John and Patsy Ramsey said the Ramseys want "to make clear that they will not tolerate that kind of conduct and The Star will be held accountable for lies it published about their son."

Wood told CBS Radio News that The Star is "only one of several members of the media that ultimately will be targeted."

CBS News Legal Consultant Andrew Cohen suspects that other tabloids are likely to be the next possible targets, since the mainstream media have been careful, for the most part, not to cross the line between reportage and accusation.

AP
JonBenet Ramsey

The most likely scenario, Cohen surmises, is a settlement of the case before it goes to trial. "I can't imagine that The Star is going to want to take its chances before a jury with these sets of facts, and I also don't believe that the paper is going to want to fight through years and years of appeals," said Cohen.

If Richard Jewell could gain a settlement with media organizations based on what was reported about him, Cohen believes the Ramseys would have similar luck based on what was reported about their son, Burke.

JonBenet Ramsey's body was found December 26th, 1996, in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.

The family has since moved back to Atlanta, where they lived until 1991 before moving to Boulder.