Первый допрос Барка Рэмси (тело ДжонБенет ещё не было найдено)

Around 7:00 on the morning of December 26th, while police were still searching the house, John
Ramsey went into Burke's room and got him out of bed. Burke quickly left the house with Fleet
White and was driven to the Whites' house. He spent most of the day there. According to Burke's
later accounts, he didn't find out Jonbenet was dead until that evening when he was taken to the
Fernies' house, met his parents there, and his father informed him.
During that day, Police detective Fred Patterson arrived at the White's house and interviewed Burke.
The interview took place at 2:17 pm, in the presence of Alyson Schoeny, Priscilla White’s sister,
who identified herself as "Burke's grandma".
Brief Excerpts
A very small excerpt from the interview was shown in the A&E's paean to John Ramsey, The
Killing of JonBenet. The video can be found here at 25:59.
Transcription of what is shown in the documentary:
Police: Burke, can you state your name and spell your first and your last name for me, please
Burke: Ok my name is Burke Ramsey, first name B-U-R-K-E, second name R-A-M-S-E-Y
Police: Ok and Burke, how old are you
Burke: I’m 9 years old
Police: And when were you born?
Burke: January 27th, 1997 [sic]
Police: 1987?
Burke: 87, yeah.
Police: OK, and also present with you is
Alyson: Alyson A-L-Y-S-O-N, last name is Schoeny, S-C-H-O-E-N-Y, and I’m Burke’s grandma.
Police: Ok and Alyson this is your house we’re in, is that correct?
At this point the A&E documentary shows a blur of the first few pages of the document. It's difficult
to make out what they say, but it appears Patterson asked Burke to take him through the previous
day (Christmas Day - the last day Jonbenet was alive) from the very beginning.
Burke describes waking up ("I had a clock radio") waking Jonbenet up, waking his parents up
("...Dad said wait up here I’ve gotta go down and check if Santa’s left and so we went back up and
he said its ok to go down and so we all went down and opened presents..."). Patterson appears to
be asking quite detailed questions. Burke says "We went down the stairs which are right by the..."
so he is clearly being asked to describe things in detail. It looks like there are some questions about
breakfast.
The next clear page the A&E documentary presents us with is this:
Police: Ok
Burke: So
Police: How about your sister, does she ever argue with anybody
Burke: Um… sometimes me
Police: Sometimes you
Burke: So
Police: What would you fight with your sister about
Burke: Um … ah … about not wanting her to play video games …
Police: You don’t like to share with her
Burke: I - cause I just don’t like the music, it’s like de, de, da, de, de, de, so
Police: Did you fight with your sister yesterday about video games
Burke: Um no
Police: Where do you and your sister go in the house, what part of the house do you go to
Burke: Just … all around the first floor and all around the second floor
Police: Ok so the second floor is where your bedroom
Burke: Yeah
Police: And your sister's bedroom
Burke: Yeah
Police: And what are there a couple of guest bedrooms on that floor
Burke: Yeah a couple
Police: And then your parents are on the third floor
Burke Ramsey, Police Interview, June 10-12 1998

The purpose of this post is to collect all the fragments we have from Burke’s 1998 interview into
one place.
In June 1998 the Ramseys agreed to allow Burke to be interviewed by a detective representing the
Boulder District Attorney’s office. It was reported in 1998 that “Burke Ramsey was not treated as a
suspect, but rather as a potential witness. Although no guarantees were made by the district
attorney's office ... the child's parents said they hope the questioning will forestall a grand jury
subpoena for the 11-year-old.” Ultimately this did not happen, and Burke still had to testify before
the Grand Jury the following year.
Burke’s complete 1998 interview went for six hours (two hours a day over three days). It has never
been published in full. The excerpts in this post represent only part of that interview. They are
compiled from multiple sources: video from Radar online, the CBS documentary, the A&E
documentary, the Dr Phil show, and printed excerpts published in the National Enquirer, Oct. 3,
2016.
NOTE: the sources are unreliable. The CBS documentary edits and splices clips together, which
sometimes slightly changes the order of Burke’s statements. To further complicate things, the
National Enquirer also seems to freely alter the transcript, leaving out phrases, and occasionally
merging answers together haphazardly. The A&E documentary doesn’t cut things as much, but their
subtitles are often completely wrong. The most reliable source is Radar online, which was a short
unedited clip. I have tried wherever possible to ensure that things are complete and consistent.
Where I have reason to believe there was an omission I have written “[...]” Many of these could just
be pauses that were cut out.
We do not know the original order in which these excerpts occurred.
(Scroll down for two summaries of the 1998 interview, containing an overview of the topics
covered, and some information not included in the excerpts)
EXCERPTS FROM BURKE’S 1998 INTERVIEW
DS (Detective Dan Schuler): You know it’s been a long painful process for you, up to now, hasn’t it,
with your mom and dad?
BR (Burke Ramsey): Probably.
[...]
DS: Why do you think you’re here?
BR: You wanna find out… who killed my sister.
[...]
Burke on Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning
DS: Christmas Eve. Let's talk about Christmas Eve. Okay, you talked about how excited you were,
right? And that you tried to stay awake?
BR: Yeah, I think I might have tried to go to sleep one of the Christmases.
DS: Okay. Um, do you remember what JonBenet was doing that night - was she pretty excited?
BR: Yeah, I think she actually slept in my room. So that I would wake her up when I woke up,
'cause I would always wake up before her.
DS: When did you wake up the first time?
BR: Um, 5:00. 'Cause it was Christmas.
DS: And what did you do, did you wake JonBenet up?
BR: She looked like she was in a pretty deep sleep so I waited a few minutes before I woke her up.
DS: And then what did you do?
BR: And then we went to wake Mom and Dad. They slept in til (inaudible) and then we went down
and opened all the presents.
DS: So let me see if I have this straight.
BR: Wait, they said we could wake them up at a certain time and I had a little clock in my room. So
then I went and woke them up.
DS: So you and JonBenet were both up?
BR: Yeah.
DS: And you never went back to bed?
BR: Nope.
DS: Where would you guys wait til mom and dad got up? 'Cause it's pretty early, right?
BR: Yeah, we'd play in my room.
DS: Do you remember what you played or did?
BR: I think we played Nintendo 'cause I had a TV in my room.
[Burke must be referring to an earlier-model Nintendo console, because he got a Nintendo 64 for
Christmas later that day].
[...]
BR: … we opened presents.
[...]
DS: What do you remember about that morning and about the fun things that you had -- that you
were doing that day?
BR: I just remember first going on the bike and sitting on it, [inaudible] (mimes holding handlebars
of a bike)
[it’s also possible that he said “I just remember her first going on the bike and sitting on it”]
DS: Now, do your -- your family, are they -- do they take a lot of pictures, you know, when you’re
opening presents and stuff or do --
BR: Yeah, we just -- and then we take turns, opening them. And then, and then, towards the end we
just kind of go for it, you know?
DS: Start ripping them open.
BR: Yeah.
Burke on the car-trip home from the Whites’ party / car-trips in general
DS: If you sat in the back seat would you and JonBenet get along...? Or do you remember bickering
with each other, or do you remember - you know, some kids bicker when they get in the car.
BR: Yeah we bickered a lot. Not, I don't think, that ride.
DS: Okay, you don't remember bickering that ride? What happens when you bicker in the car?
BR: We tickle each other and--
DS: What would Mom and Dad do?
BR: Say stop.
DS: Do they get upset with you guys?
BR: Uhhh, I don't remember.
DS: My kids bicker in the car, okay, so a lot of kids...remember what happens. So what typically
would happen?
BR: Um, they would just say like stop it, and it annoys dad driving.
[The National Inquirer then includes:]
DS: Have you heard Mom this way before?
BR: No.
DS: Have you ever seen Mom upset before?
BR: Not that I can recall.
[These last four lines don't really fit with the preceding section and it could be an error by the
National Enquirer.]
Burke on the last time he saw Jonbenet alive
DS: Let me ask, when was the last time that you saw Jonbenet alive?
BR: (Pause) Ummm… Probably… In the car? (pause) Tired, laying down.
DS: Okay.
BR: (mumbling) That’s what I remember.
Burke on his memories during the night
DS: Is there anything about that night -- if you can remember hearing anything during the night?
[...]
BR: I don’t remember hearing anything. Because I was sleeping, you know.
[...]
BR: I always sleep real deeply and can never hear anything.
[CBS groups these answers together but we don’t know if he actually said them all together]
Burke on the morning of December 26th
DS: Do you remember waking up that next morning, you know, ready to go to Charlevoix?
BR: Um, I just remember my mom rushing in my room, flipping the lights on, looking around and
rushing out [laugh]
DS: Okay, was mom upset?
BR: Yeah
[...]
DS: Had you ever seen mom like that before?
BR: No.
DS: Did it scare you?
BR: Yeah.
DS: What did you do then?
BR: I just like laid in bed with my eyes open like, you know, sort of, thinking of what might have
happened.
DS: Uh-huh. Did you hear mom and dad talking?
BR: I just heard mom like going psycho.
DS: Going psycho?
BR: Yeah. All like you know --
DS: (interrupting) Did you go down to see what was going on?
BR: No, just stayed in bed.
DS: Boy that must have been scary for you. That must have been real scary. What did you think?
BR: What just happened?
DS: And you didn't know?
BR: I didn't know, I just laid in bed freaked out.
[...]
DS: Why did it make you feel scared, when mom came rushing in there?
BR: I felt like something bad had happened. …
[...]
DS: Mom sounded really upset? She looked upset, what did she look like?
BR: When she was rushing in and rushing out, I was really worried.
DS: Was she breathing heavy?
BR: Yeah. She just looked upset.
DS: Was she talking loud or soft?
BR: Sort of like - oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
DS: How would you describe psycho?
BR: Like, like overreacting, cause I heard her downstairs, like oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my
gosh, you know, so my dad was like okay, calm down. She was just like overreacting.
DS: So you could hear mom and dad talk downstairs. Did mom and dad ever say anything to you?
Did you wonder what was going on and go down there and -
BR: My dad came up and got me and told me what happened.
DS: Now was this before the police came, do you think?
BR: I think they had called the police.
DS: Do you -
BR: It was after.
DS: Do you remember hearing your mom on the phone?
BR: No I don't think I could hear, cause I could just barely hear my parents downstairs from my
room.
DS: Okay, how was dad sounding?
BR: He was sounding like, yeah, he wasn't going to like freak out. He was just gonna do what
needed to be done. Like -
DS: So he was trying to be calm.
BR: Calm-ER, he was trying to be calm.
DS: Did you ever see mom like this before?
BR: No.
DS: Did it scare you?
BR: Yeah.
DS: I bet it did. What was going through your mind at the time?
BR: I was trying to think of what might have happened. So I thought maybe I'm wrong, or maybe
my dad's wallet or something credit cards. But then I thought it was a little overreacting for
something getting stolen.
DS: So you thought it was something more than -
BR: Something more than a possession.
DS: So what went through your mind then?
BR: Then I thought maybe JonBenet was missing, but that's not that likely, I mean- what are the
chances of that happening?
[...]
DS: Who is the next person you saw?
BR: The policeman going into my room. No. It was either my dad coming in and turning off the
lights, or a policeman coming into my room looking around... um. Wait, wait. It was my dad
coming into my room and turning off the lights. And then there was the policeman coming in and
looking around with a flashlight.
[...]
DS: Could you hear them talking?
BR: I just remember a small part when they were downstairs and my mom went downstairs, my
mom was really nervous and my dad was trying to calm her down. And my parents called the
police.
DS: Did you see that?
BR: No I just heard it downstairs.
DS: Did you ever peek downstairs to see what was going on?
BR: No.
DS: Did you ever leave your room...
BR: No.
DS: ...even for a little bit, just to see what was happening?
BR: No.
DS: (Pause) Why not?
BR: Cause I was so scared. Until my dad like came and tells me what to do. I'll just stay here.
DS: But you remember seeing your mom, do you remember seeing her rushing around downstairs?
BR: No.
DS: Okay. I interrupted you when you were saying what you had heard. And you were talking about
your dad telling your mom to call the police or something?
BR: He was like okay, calm down, like we can call the police; let's call the police.
DS: You could hear that quite clearly from your room?
BR: Pretty clearly. In the distance.
DS: Do you know where they were in the house at that time when they were saying that?
BR: It sounded like around the kitchen.
DS: Why was that?
BR: Cause it was kind of coming from down the wooden stairs, the spiral stairs. That's where the
kitchen is. I mean kinda where the kitchen is.
[...]
DS: What's the first time you can actually remember?
BR: When my dad came in, that I remember, knowing for sure what the problem was. And guessing
previous to that.
DS: And what were some of your guesses?
BR: That something valuable had gotten stolen. Um, that JonBenet was kidnapped was one of my
guesses.
DS: Really? Why did you guess that?
BR: Because I heard mom say ‘where's my baby?’
[...]
BR: I was kind of wondering if something bad happened -- Well, something bad happened, but
what? I was trying to think of what … might have happened.
DS: So you were curious.
BR: Yeah.
DS: When you’re curious about something, what do you normally do?
BR: Try to -- find out -- what the answer is?
DS: Did you do that after mom came into the room?
BR: No, I figured somebody would probably come in and tell me. Or I would find out later in the
day.
A fragment
DS: What did you do next?
BR: Laid in bed, with my eyes closed, trying to get to sleep.
[Unclear if this is that night after he went to bed, or that morning after he woke up. The CBS
documentary presents it as the latter.]
The moment John finally came in and told him what was going on
BR: ...my dad coming in and seeing if I was awake--I was playing with my Micro Machine--and
telling me that Jonbenet was missing.
[...]
DS: What were some of your worries and your concerns?
BR: Um, I worried about how Jonbenet was, and … ahh (pause) you know, worried if they would
find her.
Burke on finding out Jonbenet was dead
DS: When did you really find out that Jonbenet was -- was dead?
BR: Mm, (inaudible) at the Fernies’ house…
[...]
BR: And I was-- I thought Jonbenet was gonna be there, I thought they had found her. So I came in,
got excited, and almost relieved...
DS: Uh huh.
BR: And I saw everyone was sad inside and my dad told me that Jonbenet was in heaven.
DS: What did you do?
BR: Started crying. Like, sobbing and - build up to a cry.
Burke on the baseball bat
DS: Is there anything strange about it being out there to you? I mean, do you find it odd that it’s out
there?
[Dr Phil show cuts before Burke’s answer]
[...]
DS: Remember anything more about the baseball bat?
BR: I think I might have had two bats. I don't remember coming back to the side of the house.
DS: Okay, so you don't remember one being back there on the ledge?
BR: No.
DS: Okay, did you take anything else outside like, uh, you know, I remember seeing some
photographs of some golf clubs, do you play golf or anything?
BR: Mm-hmm.
DS: Do you ever take anything like that outside?
BR: No.
DS: What would you take outside?
BR: Just a golf club and a little golf ball.
DS: Do you know which golf club, like if it was a driver, a kicker (?), a putter?
BR: No, just a club.
DS: Whose club was it?
BR: Mine.
DS: You have your own set of clubs?
BR: Yeah, they're cut off.
Burke on Jonbenet’s bedroom
DS: This bedroom?
BR: I would sometimes sleep on - I forget which bed. But I would sometimes sleep in there ‘cause
mine got cold.
DS: ‘Cause your room got cold. So whose bed was this?
BR: Um, JonBenet.
DS: Okay, so when it gets real cold in the winter, would you sleep over here? (presumably pointing
to the other bed in Jonbenet's room)
BR: Yeah. I would sleep in there 'cause my room's kind of an older part of the house, 'cause that's
the way it is.
DS: Yeah, some of the older parts are like that, without the insulation in them. Okay, how often
would you sleep over here sometimes?
BR: Usually like really cold nights.
Burke on his knives
BR: I have two.
DS: You have two knives?
BR: I have one that says my name on it - it has Switzerland on it.
DS: Uh-huh.
BR: That one has a big knife, small knife, saw, corkscrew, screwdriver, flat head screwdriver,
toothpick and tweezers. And I think that's it. And then I have another one that has a saw, scissors,
it's got this little hook thing that you tie knots better with. Um, I said saw? A cork opener.
DS: Both of those Swiss Army knives?
BR: One knife is smaller.
DS: Where do you normally keep those? In your scouting stuff?
BR: I think I like (inaudible) and I have a little place for them in my room.
DS: Did you take them both camping with you?
BR: I just took the ---
DS: The one with your name on it?
BR: No.
DS: Oh, okay. So somebody must have given you that one, for a special occasion?
BR: My mom.
Burke on the basement
DS: Would you ever go downstairs and-- downstairs in the basement and play?
BR: Yeah I had a train, electric train there.
DS: How about the last year you lived there, did you play there much?
BR: Um … sort of.
Burke on house-keys/being there when John broke the basement window
DS: Did you ever have any keys that maybe, if you got locked out, you could get somewhere? Some
people keep keys kind of hidden under something or out in the yard, or out in the yard or a secret
hiding place they can put a key if they get locked out.
BR: I don't remember. One time we did get locked out and there are - this is the basement but there
are two windows to the basement, and my dad had to break the window and then go around and
unlock the door. 'Cause I mean, when the doors are locked, you can open them from the inside, but
not the outside.
DS: Are you talking about the basement windows?
BR: Yeah. He, he -- Okay, he broke basement window, went through there (pointing to a floorplan
of the house) and came up around--
DS: And then let you in.
BR: Yeah, I think it was the front door.
DS: Were you with him when that happened? When he had to get in that way?
BR: Yeah I was with him, but I didn't actually go in that way. I just waited--
DS: You waited where?
BR: I don't know where, maybe the front door or this door?
DS: Okay, so he had to let you in that way?
BR: Yeah.
Burke on Snacks / Pineapple
DS: Um, now when you'd go to bed at night, what was your normal routine - would you get a snack
before you went to bed, would you play for a while?
BR: I'd usually get ready for bed and then play for a little bit and then, um, um, might get a snack,
not usually.
DS: If you got a snack what would you usually get? Or what would Mom let you have?
BR: Pudding.
DS: Was that your favorite snack?
BR: Pudding and yogurt.
DS: Pudding and yogurt? Some parents let kids have cookies and candy and cereal and fruit and
things like that.
BR: Yeah she would suggest like, fruit.
DS: So what kind of fruits would you typically have at home?
[BR: I wouldn't have fruit.
DS: You wouldn't?]
[...]
BR: Like pineapple maybe.
DS: Yeah, do you like that?
BR: Yeah.
DS: Okay. Is that your favorite fruit?
BR: Probably.
[The National Enquirer does not explain how Burke goes from saying “I wouldn’t have fruit” to
saying “Like pineapple maybe” - it’s possible that answer was included there as an error, or some
statements were omitted from this exchange.]
[...]
DS: What about Christmas Eve [note: not the night she was killed], when you’re going up there, did
you guys have a snack before you went to bed that night?
BR: I forget.
DS: What was Jonbenet’s favorite snack?
BR: I don’t think she had a snack … anytime before bed.
DS: Okay, would she ever like a particular thing to eat during the day you know for a snack?
BR: Just whatever mom had laid out, cause she had always laid out a snack for after school.
DS: Okay.
BR: Whatever she had ready. Could just be--
DS: What would a typical snack be?
BR: Pudding, or … I dunno… Like, leftover pizza, or something.
DS: So, would there ever be -- You know, sounds like your mom was pretty nutritional.
BR: She wasn’t that serious about it.
DS: Wasn’t she?
BR: (faintly) Gave us cookies, you know--
DS: Some moms cut up apples.
BR: Yeah.
DS: What else would she do, fruit-wise?
BR: (sigh) That’s all I know of. Maybe (mumbling) pineapple maybe.
DS: Pineapple?
BR: Yeah.
DS: You mentioned that once before. Is that kind of a favorite --
BR: Yeah.
DS: --thing?
BR: Yeah, it’s -- really -- favorite -- (mumbling) thing.
DS: Is that probably the most favorite?
BR: Um, apples or pineapple probably the two
[the Enquirer adds this:]
BR: ...Or watermelon.
DS: Really? What about things like grapes?
BR: Yeah.
DS: Would you always have a lot of grapes on hand? Bananas?
BR: I didn't like bananas but Jonbenet did.
DS: What other things did she like that you didn't like?
BR: That's about it? [sic]
DS: What about pineapple, did she like pineapple?
BR: Yeah, she liked pineapple.
DS: Who else liked it?
BR: My mom and my dad.
Burke’s reaction to the photo of the pineapple.
[This occurred on a different day to the other discussion about snacks - probably the third and last
day of interviews]
DS: Can you tell me what this picture is?
BR: That’s the dining room table.
DS: Can you describe that to me?
BR: It’s a bowl of … (pause) … oh. (laughs) Something.
DS: Okay.
BR: Looks like … glass with a tea bag in it.
DS: Okay. Does that look like cereal inside there?
BR: No…
DS: Or does it look like s-
BR: It looks a little big, one piece right there… for cereal.
DS: Uh huh.
BR: Maybe like, fruit, but there wouldn’t be a spoon in it, so (laughs) I dunno.
Burke on washing up the dishes
DS: Would you leave it there for a long period of time -- Like, I mean, would you, is there, are there
other times when maybe the dishes don’t get cleaned up right away?
[...]
DS: ...or do they typically get done?
[...]
BR: From what I remember is they typically did.
Burke on Pageants/Dance Lessons
DS: What about, you know, when you'd get stuck having to go to JonBenet's things? Those weren't
the most fun things. Those were pretty boring, huh?
BR: Yeah.
DS: Did you ever have to go to, when she had dance lessons and things like that?
BR: Yeah, I had to go to ballet and stuff.
DS: Did you? How did you like that?
BR: It didn't last that long but I was thankful. It was boring, the short time it lasted. It was really
bad, the short time it lasted.
DS: What else did you have to go to that was really boring? You know, with JonBenet, when she
had to do it.
BR: That's about it.
Burke on Bed-wetting
DS: What do you know about JonBenet wetting her pants? Or wetting her bed?
BR: I know that she did.
DS: How often would she do it?
BR: I forget how often but I know she did it a lot.
DS: Was that a lot? Was that a problem they were working on to help her with?
BR: Um. Yeah she was starting to, um, fix it.
DS: How would you fix it?
BR: Like, just like as you get older. Your body feels like it, that you need to do your business - it
wakes you up, it gets better as you get older.
DS: Did it concern your mom and dad that she did this?
BR: I don't think it did.
DS: Why not?
BR: Well actually it sort of did. I forget.
DS: What do you remember about that, about JonBenet wetting her bed? Or wetting her pants?
BR: I just remember she wet her bed, um, she did wet her bed and that's really all I remember. That
she was starting to get over it.
DS: What would happen when JonBenet would wet her bed? What would Mom or Dad do?
BR: Mom would change the sheets and all that stuff. And Dad wouldn't really do anything, he had
to go to work in the morning.
DS: Would they ever talk to her about that?
BR: No. They did a little bit, just like saying 'you need to learn.'
DS: How would they help her to learn to do that? Do you know?
BR: I don't know.
DS: Did you ever have friends that would do that?
BR: Not really ever, maybe Fleet [Fleet White Jr, son of family friends] when he was younger. But
he didn't do it very long.
DS: Sometimes it's hard to have sleepovers when that happens. Did that ever happen to anybody
else you know?
BR: No.
DS: Was that a real problem for JonBenet? Bed-wetting?
BR: Not a real big one.
DS: Okay.
BR: It was a noticeable one, though.
DS: Was that all she did? Did she ever have, up, other kinds of accidents as far as -
BR: No. As far as what?
DS: You know, doing a number two by accident?
BR: No. No.

Интервью доктору Филу (спустя 20 лет...)

Dr. Phil: The night that your sister JonBenet was killed, there were three people in that house that
we know the identity of and you're one of those three -- you, your mother, and your father -- but in
the 20 years that have gone by, you're the one that has never spoken, never talked about this
publicly, and you're decided to do so now. My question is, why now and why here?
Burke: For a long time the media basically made our lives crazy. I mean it's hard to miss the
cameras and news trucks in your front yard, and we'd go to the supermarket sometimes and there'd
be a tabloid, you know, with my picture, JonBenet's picture plastered on the front. They would
follow us around. Seeing that as a little kid is just kind of a chaotic nightmare. So I was pretty
skeptical of, like, any sort of media. Like, it just made me a very private person. As to why I'm
doing it now, it's the 20th anniversary and apparently there's still a lot of attention around it.
Dr. Phil: Well, my goal here is that you answer all the questions. You said I could ask you anything.
Nothing is off limits. You speak about this one time.
Some people have speculated that your parents weren't protecting you, they were hiding you, and
that for this last 20 years, that you've been hiding out instead of just choosing not to speak. What do
you say to that?
Burke: For the last 20 years I've wanted to grow up like a normal kid, which does not include, like,
going in front of TV cameras.
Dr. Phil: But if you'd answered the curiosity, might that have stopped it all?
Burke: To me it seems like it would rouse it all up again
Dr. Phil: When you look back, was Christmas like a really big deal at your house?
Burke: Yeah. Decorations in the yard, on the inside. My parents would throw a party every year.
[Plays clip of "A Colorado Christmas at the Ramsey's" video]
Dr. Phil: Now two days before JonBenet was murdered, that was when the party was at your house,
right?
Burke: Yeah.
Dr. Phil: And you had people tour the house?
Burke: I think there was like a Boulder home tour thing -- like we weren't the only people that did
it.
Dr. Phil: Right. They went from house to house..
Burke: Yeah
Dr. Phil: ...looked at all the decorations. So when do you guys open gifts, Christmas eve or
Christmas morning?
Burke: Christmas morning
Dr. Phil: Do you remember what you did that morning?
Burke: I remember peeking down and I remember seeing, like, an electric train and a bike and I
was super excited.
Dr. Phil: Was JonBenet with you?
Burke: Yeah...I think so...
Dr. Phil: Did she peek too?
Burke: Yeah. I think so, yeah.
Dr. Phil: Did you get what you'd ask for that year?
Burke: Nintendo 64.
Dr. Phil: And what did JonBenet get?
Burke: I think she got a big dollhouse? We both got bikes.
Dr. Phil: Do you remember the last time you saw JonBenet alive?
Burke: I wanna say it was in the car on the way back from the Whites.
Dr. Phil: I think this is the last picture that was ever taken of her alive (shows photo of JonBenet on
Christmas morning)
Burke: Huh, I don't remember the hair being that long, but...
Dr. Phil: It's hard to believe that a short time later she would be dead.
Burke: Yeah..
Dr. Phil: Where was your bedroom in relation to hers?
Burke: So it was like kind of around the corner, through the playroom, down the hall.
Dr. Phil: This is your room? (shows photo of Burke's bedroom)
Burke: Yup.
Dr. Phil: After you went to bed, did you hear anything out of the ordinary at all during the night?
Burke: No
Dr. Phil: Don't recall waking up and hearing anything in retrospect?
Burke: No
Dr. Phil: Do you remember waking up that morning?
Burke: Yep. The first thing I remember is my mom bursting into my room really frantic saying,
like, "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh." Running around my room looking for JonBenet. At
that point I was awake.
[Shows clip from Schuler interview]
Schuler: Why did you feel scared, you know, when, when Mom came rushing in?
11 y.o. Burke: See, I felt like something bad happened.
[clip ends]
Burke: She left and could kind of hear her freaking out.
[clip of Schuler interview resumes]
11 y.o. Burke: I just heard mom, like, going psycho.
Schuler: Did you go down and see what was going on?
11 y.o. Burke: No, I just stayed in bed.
[clip ends]
Burke: And the next thing I remember is a police officer coming in my room and shining a
flashlight.
Dr. Phil: It was still dark when this happened.
Burke: Yeah I was just laying there.
Dr. Phil: What time did she come in?
Burke: Early -- I don't remember.
Dr. Phil: Had to be -- it was still dark so it had to be pretty early. Did she turn on the light when she
came in?
Burke: I don't remember if she did or not.
Dr. Phil: How long after she came in before the police officer came in?
Burke: Tsh...under an hour.
Dr. Phil: So she comes in, and -- were you asleep when she came in? Did she wake you up?
Burke: She woke me up.
Dr. Phil: And she's running around your room saying "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh." What
else did she say? Did you know she was looking for JonBenet?
Burke: Uh I remember her saying "Where's my baby? Where's my baby?"
Dr. Phil: So after she left, what did you do?
Burke: I just laid there, didn't really know what else to do.
Dr. Phil: It seems really odd to me that you're 9 years old and your mother comes in the room in
seemingly the middle of the night, 'cause it's dark, and says "Where's my baby? Where's my baby?"
and then runs out of the room and you just lay there, as opposed to getting up and saying "What's
going on?" And then a police officer comes in your room, which I assume is the first time in your
entire life that a police officer is coming into your room, with a flashlight, looking around, and you
still just stay in bed.
Burke: To be fair I didn't know it was a police officer. It was just kind of..
Dr. Phil: Somebody comes in your room with a flashlight and you never get up and say "What is
going on here?"
Burke: I guess I kind of like to avoid conflict or...I'm, I don't know, I guess I just felt safer there?
Dr. Phil: Were you curious?
Burke: I'm not the worried type. I guess part of me doesn't want to know what's going on (nervous
laugh).
Dr. Phil: Critics would say you weren't curious because you already knew. You didn't have to get up
and go check because you knew exactly what had happened.
Burke: I was scared, I think. I mean I didn't know if there was some bad guy downstairs that my
dad was chasing off with a gun or, you know..I had no idea.
Dr. Phil: You eventually do go downstairs. Describe that scene for me.
Burke: I just remember, like, I have an image in my head of the kitchen and it was kind of really
early morning and there were a few people around that I didn't really know. There might have been
a police car, I think. I don't know, I just remember kind of walking slowly downstairs and
everybody just being like 'Hey we're going to take you to Fleet's.'
Dr. Phil: Somebody eventually told you JonBenet's been kidnapped, right?
Burke: They didn't say kidnapped, they said she's missing.
Dr. Phil: And who told you that?
Burke: I remember a detective or something coming in and interviewing me. He told me.
Dr. Phil: Were you scared for JonBenet yet?
Burke: I think I was trying to be positive.
Dr. Phil: Do you remember them asking you if you knew what happened to your sister?
Burke: I told the guy, I was like, uh, you know, 'she's probably hiding somewhere. Did you check
the whole house?' Or, 'maybe she's outside' or..
Dr. Phil: When was the last time you saw your parents?
Burke: The next thing I remember is going to another one of our friend's houses. Everyone was
really sad over there and my dad came and told me JonBenet's in heaven now, and he started crying,
and then I started crying.
[Clip of Schuler interview]
11 y.o. Burke: And I saw everyone was sad inside and my dad told me that JonBenet was in
heaven.
[clip ends]
Dr. Phil: So you go from thinking she's missing to she's been found -- she's actually dead, she's in
heaven. Your dad tells you.
Burke: My dad just said she's in heaven now and I was kind of like 'how is that possible?' Like...
Dr. Phil: And what did you say?
Burke: Started crying. I don't think I said anything. I didn't believe it at first.
Dr. Phil: You must have realized this has gone way bad.

Dr. Phil: Did you go to JonBenet's funeral?

Burke: (thinking) Yeah...yep.
[Clip of JonBenet's funeral]
Burke: Yeah, I remember the viewing. I remember the casket was small and her eyes were closed. I
think one of her eyes was a little bit, like, droopy or something. I thought that was weird.
Dr. Phil: How did you feel seeing her?
Burke: A lot of sadness. I don't think I really fully grasped, like, after this I won't see her again. I
remember my parents being really upset. I remember my dad leaning down and giving her a kiss.
Dr. Phil: Did you have anything to say to her when you saw her in her casket?
Burke: Uh, I just kind of stood there, I guess, in kind of disbelief. I don't remember if I put
anything in it?
Dr. Phil: Was it traumatizing to see her?
Burke: That was weird. That was traumatizing. A little bit. I don't, like...had I ever been to a funeral
before, period? I'm not sure.
Dr. Phil: Who was with you when you were standing and viewing her?
Burke: Me and my mom and my dad
Dr. Phil: How were they behaving?
Burke: Could tell my dad loved my sister a lot. And they were both crying, saying goodbye, I
guess.
Dr. Phil: In the days after the funeral, as a 9 year old watching your parents go through this, were
you concerned about your mother?
Burke: I don't think I was thinking about it that in depth. I think I was just wanting people to be not
sad. But she would cry and cry and I think she would, like, maybe fall asleep or something and then
she'd start crying again. They told me to come upstairs and comfort her.
Dr. Phil: Are you aware of these different theories that are out there? Theories that you killed your
sister, theories that your mother killed JonBenet, and theories that an intruder killed JonBenet.
Those seem to be the three camps that people talk about.
Burke: Yeah, I mean..I know that we were suspects. I didn't know there were "camps", I guess.
Dr. Phil: And these are people that post online. The shorthand is RDI, Ramsey Did It, IDI, the
intruder did it, or BDI, Burke Did It. Do you know the theories that they set forth in saying that
your mom killed JonBenet?
Burke: I don't know the details but I know the ransom note, they think the handwriting matched.
Dr. Phil: Have you seen it? Have you read it?
Burke: I don't think I've read the whole thing. I've definitely seen pictures of it though.
Dr. Phil: (holds up copy of ransom note) Did the handwriting look familiar to you at all? Had you
seen it ever before?
Burke: No. I feel like the "Listen carefully!" is very distinct and I've never really seen that. I don't
know, I've never really looked at it closely 'cause it's...see it and kind of get taken aback and it's not
something I really want to look at, you know, a lot, you know?
Dr. Phil: Right. Does that look like her handwriting? (holds up note)
Burke: Ha. Honestly looking at that, she would always bug me about having good handwriting and
she would, like, make me rewrite stuff to try to get me to have good handwriting and I think it's too
sloppy (nervous laugh).

Dr. Phil: Have you heard that theory?

Burke: I've heard the coverup part. I haven't heard the wet the bed, the rage thing.
[clip of Schuler interview plays]
Schuler: What do you remember about that, about JonBenet wetting the bed or wetting her pants?
11 y.o. Burke: I just remember she wet her bed.
Schuler: What would happen when JonBenet would wet her bed? What would mom or dad do?
11 y.o. Burke: Mom would change the sheets and all that stuff. And dad wouldn't really do anything
cause he had to go to work in the morning.
[clip ends]
Dr. Phil: Did JonBenet wet the bed?
Burke: I mean, you know, did she wet the bed at 6? I don't remember. Maybe. I definitely
remember, like, her and me, like, wetting the bed maybe a couple of times a week, 2-3 times a
week. I mean, it's, you know, and I think every kid does that. You just have to be, like, you know,
it'd be kind of embarrassing but parents would just clean it up.
Dr. Phil: You cannot recall a time in your life that you ever saw your mother fly into a rage?
Burke: No
Dr. Phil: Did you ever see her throw anything?
Burke: No
Dr. Phil: Did you ever see her break anything in a fit of anger, smash anything down? Dishes?
Lamps?
Burke: No. Nope.
Dr. Phil: Throw anything at your father?
Burke: No.
Dr. Phil: She wasn't into corporal punishment, she didn't spank y'all, she didn't touch you..?
Burke: No, no. We never got, yeah, we didn't get spanked. Just nothing of the sort, not even close.
Obviously she got upset but nothing near, like, laying a finger on us, you know, let alone killing her
child.
Dr. Phil: Did you go to the pageants very much?
Burke: Yeah. I mean I remember, like, at one of the pageant things or something, she just like go
out and, just like, you know, like, flaunt whatever on stage and..she wasn't shy, I guess.
Dr. Phil: Right. Did you feel left out of that or was that OK with you?
Burke: No, it was totally fine. I mean, I spent a lot of time with my mom too.
Dr. Phil: Did your mother have fun with this or was she a stage mom?
Burke: I think she had fun with it. I mean she did pageants, she was like Miss West Virginia so I
think it was kind of a fun thing
Dr. Phil: Was she a pushy type or did she go with the flow?
Burke: I don't remember her being pushy at all.
Dr. Phil: Little girls sometimes get lots of attention. Did you ever feel like she got all the attention?
Burke: No, it was never an issue. I mean, it's just normal to me.
Dr. Phil: Have you ever heard that 911 call?
Burke: Oh, it's been brought up a bunch of times because they think I'm on it or something.
Dr. Phil: Where were you when that phone call was made?
Burke: In my bed.
Dr. Phil: How do you know?
Burke: I don't remember getting up until my dad came in there.
[Schuler clip plays]
11 y.o. Burke: I was, like, laying in bed with my eyes open, like, you know. And, so I was thinking
of what might have happened.
Schuler: Did you hear mom and dad talking?
11 y.o. Burke: I just heard mom like going psycho.
Schuler: Going psycho?
11 y.o. Burke: Yeah, going like, you know
Schuler: Did you go down and see what was going on?
11 y.o. Burke: No, I just stayed in bed.
[Clip ends]
Dr. Phil: Former police investigators for the Boulder Police Department, Detective Steve Thomas,
Chief of Police Mark Beckner, both say there was a voice at the end of the 911 call and that your
voice was heard saying "What did you find?" Did you speak those words?
Burke: No
Dr. Phil: Were you there when that call was made?
Burke: No.
Dr. Phil: So you were not there and you did not speak those words?
Burke: That's correct.
Dr. Phil: It's also been speculated that your father can be heard yelling "we're not speaking to you."
Burke: Definitely don't remember that. I don't know, unless someone erased my memory or
something (laughs), like..
Dr. Phil: Well, a 911 call with your mother hysterical about your sister being kidnapped would
seem to me to be a standout experience in one's life. I wouldn't think that would fade into the
background.
Burke: Oh yeah, no, absolutely not. I mean, that's something pretty big that I would remember. So I
just -- I wasn't there.
Dr. Phil: So you can say with absolutely certainty that that is not your voice on that 911 tape?
Burke: Absolutely not.
Dr. Phil: You went to see a child psychologist. Do you recall that?
Burke: Yeah.
Dr. Phil: You supposedly were asked to draw a picture of your family. Said you drew a picture of
yourself and your mom and your dad but you didn't draw JonBenet. Do you remember that?
Burke: Vaguely?
[Dr. Phil and Burke have switched to a different room with a video screen]
Dr. Phil: We came here because we wanted to look at some tape and kind of get your reactions to
some of these things. This was 13 days after JonBenet's murder. Nobody in the world has seen this
before.
[Clip of Bernhard interview plays -- Burke drawing family portrait]
Dr. Phil: This is the first time you've seen it, right?
Burke: Yeah
Dr. Phil: When you see that, do you remember it?
Burke: Yeah. I remember the room. I think I didn't know it was a psychologist.
Dr. Phil: So at the time you're 9 and the observations that were leaked to the press was that it was
unusual that you felt safe, that you showed little warmth toward your family, that you displayed an
enormous lack of emotion and almost an indifference. And you had difficulty opening up about the
family similar to children who feel that there are things they shouldn't say. You drew a mother, a
father, yourself, but JonBenet was not in the picture at all. And you said that you were, quote,
getting on with life. Do you remember saying that?
Burke: I don't remember saying that
Dr. Phil: What do you think about those observations?
Burke: Watching the video I think I look like a normal kid? I think maybe that's just my
personality, that I'm a little, like, reserved.
[Clip of Bernhard interview]
Dr. Phil: Did you consciously not draw JonBenet?
Burke: I don't really rememeber what was going t hrough my head, but she was gone so I didn't
draw her (mouth shrug)
Dr. Phil: There's a second clip and you're gonna talk about, actually, JonBenet's death to this
psychologist
[Clip of Bernhard interview -- "I know what happened"]
Dr. Phil: What do you think you're saying there?
Burke: Well, I think..I mean she's asking me what happened to my sister. Like, well, she was killed.
And she keeps kind of going deeper, she's like, well, like, what do you think happened? And I'm
like, you know what happened, she was killed. She asked me what do I think and so I guess
theorizing what might've happened. I think I felt a little awkward talking about it, and I think it was
just something that I thought everyone knew. And so it's like, why are you asking me about this
again?
Dr. Phil: Right

Dr. Phil: Well, about 18 months later was June 1998. You were interviewed by the police.
[Clip of Schuler interview plays]
Schuler: What was JonBenet's favorite snack?
11 y.o. Burke: I don't think she had a snack anytime before bed.
Schuler: Some moms cut up apples. What else would she get for you?
11 y.o. Burke: That's all I know of. Maybe pineapple.
Schuler: Pineapple? ...Do you remember drinking any iced tea around Christmas time?
11 y.o. Burke: Maybe at a Christmas party.
Schuler: And how long does food usually sit out on your table?
11 y.o. Burke: Not very long.
Schuler: Would you leave it there for a long period of time? Like, I mean, would you -- is there
other times when maybe the dishes don't get cleaned up right away? Or do they typically get done?
11 y.o. Burke: From what I remember is they typically did.
[clip ends]
Dr. Phil: Did you and she eat pineapple together at any time during the day?
Burke: Maybe? Like, I don't remember specifically eating pineapple but very well could have.
Like, would you remember eating pineapple 20 years ago, you know?
Dr. Phil: There was a flashlight and a baseball bat found at the house and the investigators thought
one of those could have caused JonBenet's head [wound]. Did they show you either of those items?
Burke: They showed me a picture of the baseball bat, like, on the side of the house or something.
[Clip of Schuler interview plays]
Schuler: Is there anything strange about it being out there to you? I mean, do you find it odd that
it's out there?
[clip ends]
Burke: I mean, that was my baseball bat. I would normally, like, leave it out on the patio.
Dr. Phil: So an intruder could have picked that up on the way in.
Burke: Yeah...
Dr. Phil: And I think your dad had said he used the flashlight that night to put you to bed and then
you snuck downstairs to play?
Burke: Yeah, I had some toy that I wanted to put together. I remember being downstairs after
everyone was kinda in bed and wanting to get this thing out.
Dr. Phil: Did you use the flashlight so you wouldn't be seen?
Burke: I don't remember. I just remember being downstairs, I remember this toy.
Dr. Phil: Did you hit your sister over the head with a baseball bat or a flashlight?
Burke: Absolutely not.
Dr. Phil: If someone in your house did, do you think you would've heard it?
Burke: Probably. Yeah..
Dr. Phil: There was a book written by the lead investigator in this case that set forth some of his
theories. He says one of the reasons that he believes that you are the culprit here is that on the day
of your sister's murder you never ask about her welfare.
Burke: Well, it was pretty much just, 'Hey, we can't find your sister. What do you think happened?'
and I was like 'Well, she's probably just hiding somewhere. Like, you guys looked around the
house?' The next time I talk to somebody was 'She's dead.'
[Clip of Schuler interview plays]
Schuler: When did you really found out that JonBenet was, was dead?
11 y.o. Burke: Mm, I know that, at Fernie's house, and I saw everyone was sad inside. And my dad
telling me that JonBenet was in heaven.
Schuler: What did you do?
11 y.o. Burke: Started crying.
[clip ends]
Dr. Phil: I think people are reacting to the fact that you seem to be unbothered by all of this.
Burke: Yeah, well, I can tell you I was very emotional at the Fernie's and I would just randomly cry
out of nowhere. I guess it's a combination of sitting in there with this weird guy that I'd never talked
to before, asking me all these personal questions. It's a combination of that and just, kind of, at
some point you have to move on. I'm not saying I moved on then. It might've been kind of the other
end as I didn't really get it, but you gotta stop crying at some point, I guess.
Dr. Phil: So, the lead investigator thinks you're the culprit because you had previously been violent
with JonBenet. Had you ever violently attacked your sister?
Burke: No.
Dr. Phil: Did you hit your sister with a golf club?
Burke: (smile, nervous laugh) Not on purpose. She was standing behind me and I (imitates a golf
swing) went like that.
Dr. Phil: So you accidentally clipped her in the cheek, I believe it was?
Burke: Something like that, yeah.
Dr. Phil: On your back swing?
Burke: Yeah.
Dr. Phil: OK. Was that on purpose?
Burke: No, absolutely not.
Dr. Phil: Did you intentionally hit JonBenet in the head with a golf club?
Burke: No.
Dr. Phil: There was some theory that someone had used a stun gun on her...
Burke: Yeah.
Dr. Phil: ..and then an alternate theory was that the spread of the marks that they were alleging
might be a stun gun were actually the ends of train tracks that might have been poked into her. You
had a train set at home, right?
Burke: Yup.
Dr. Phil: Did you ever hit her with it? Did you ever hit her with the train tracks?
Burke: No. I --
Dr. Phil: Did you ever poke her with the train tracks?
Burke: The moment you said that, I was like 'How would I even do that?' Like, I never did
anything like that.
Dr. Phil: The autopsy did not identify that your sister was sexually abused, but experts that have
analyzed it said that it was possible. Did you ever have any knowledge or suspicion that JonBenet
had been sexually abused or molested in any way?
Burke: No.
Dr. Phil: This wasn't anything you'd ever heard, thought of, suspected? She never said anything to
you? You never saw anything that...
Burke: Absolutely nothing that would lead me to believe that anybody was sexually abusing her, in
any way.
Dr. Phil: Let me ask you, just straight up: Did you ever sexually abuse JonBenet?
Burke: No. Absolutely not.

Dr. Phil: There was a footprint in the mold on the ground of the basement (holds up photo of Hi tec
print in wine cellar) and the investigators thought that it was from a hiking boot.
Burke: Yeah.
Dr. Phil: Did you own any hiking boots that you might have worn in the basement at some time?
Burke: Yeah, I did. I don't remember the brand but I remember that it had a little compass on the
shoelace.
Dr. Phil: And the investigators point to that footprint as evidence against you. What's your response
to that?
Burke: It's my house. I went and played in the basement all the time with the trainset, so if they
determined that to be my foot print, that doesn't really prove anything.
Dr. Phil: There still are people that believe that you killed your sister.
Burke: Yeah.
Dr. Phil: What do you say about that?
Burke: Look at the evidence, or the lack thereof.
Dr. Phil: Part of their rationale, these people, say you were the only one that your parents would go
to the lengths that they went to cover up everything that happened. They're talking about fabricating
this ransom note (holds up copy of ransom note), they're talking about if she was strangled then
causing the head injury. All of this cover up was all done to protect you because they didn't want to
lose two children. That's their theory.
Burke: I don't know what to say to that because I know that's not what happened. There's been a
few people that said that's not even physically possible for a 9 year old to do that. Like, you won't
find any evidence 'cause that's not what happened. I know I didn't do it.
Dr. Phil: And I know what you're talking about. I mean they're saying the force of the blow, the
actual act of the strangulation for a child that weighed 60 lbs. at the time, just -- physically, it
doesn't work.
Burke: Yeah.
Dr. Phil: Let's clear this up once and for all. Did you do anything to harm your sister JonBenet?
Burke: No
Dr. Phil: Did you murder your sister JonBenet?
Burke: No.

Dr. Phil: How would they have broken into the house, do you think?
Burke: You know, I've heard the basement window. I remember for a long time I think I unlocked
the front door during Christmas Day. I always felt bad about doing that. Not that a locked door
would stop somebody, if they wanted to do something like that.
Dr. Phil: Do you have any knowledge of who did murder your sister JonBenet?
Burke: I've kind of always thought it was, like, a pedophile who saw her at one of the pageants and
snuck in and...you know, who knows. But..
Dr. Phil: Could they have toured your home during these Christmas tours or something?
Burke: It's possible. I never really thought about that.
Dr. Phil: Your best guess is that it might have been through a pageant?
Burke: Yeah. It's probably some pedophile in the pageant audience.
Dr. Phil: Did you witness anything that night that over the last 20 years you have kept a secret?
Burke: No. I don't know anything more than what everybody else already knows.
Dr. Phil: They took DNA samples from you, right?
Burke: Yeah, I think so.
Dr. Phil: How'd they do it? What'd they do?
Burke: I remember taking fingerprints. I don't remember how they did the DNA. Maybe my swa-
(gestures to mouth), I think they swabbed something.
Dr. Phil: Are you surprised that people continue to treat you as a suspect?
Burke: It blows my mind. What more evidence do you need that we didn't do it?
Dr. Phil: This DNA evidence that you gave, it not only says it wasn't you, it says it was an unknown
male's DNA was present. Touch DNA and then also in her underwear. So it completely scientifically
excludes anyone from the Ramsey family.
Burke: I don't know what else one would need to convince them that we didn't do it. What more do
you need to stop looking at us and to start looking for the person that actually did it?
Dr. Phil: Has there ever been a part of you that resents JonBenet for everything this has caused in
your life?
Burke: I resent the person that did it. Whoever killed her threw a wrench in my life and my family's
life.

Burke: I was questioned in front of a grand jury, which, at the time I didn't really know what that
was.
Dr. Phil: When there were no charges filed, did they tell you?
Burke: They said they knew I didn't have anything to do with it. And to me it was just, kind of like
'well, duh.'
Dr. Phil: You were 19 when your mom passed away?
Burke: Yeah.
Dr. Phil: When death was imminent, did she have this case and JonBenet on her mind?
Burke: Maybe? Probably? I think she just more had family on her mind and I think she was kind of
sad that she wouldn't get to see me go through college and finish growing up.
Dr. Phil: Do you think all of this stress and pressure contributed to her demise?
Burke: I think it didn't help, you know.
Dr. Phil: There's just such a body of evidence that exonerates you, your parents, the whole family
here. A lot of that came to real light after your mother had passed. How do you feel about that?
Burke: We all knew it. And our, you know, our friends knew it. We all know in our hearts that we
didn't do anything. It's kind of something we knew all along.
Dr. Phil: Did JonBenet ever say anything about Santa coming to see her after that party?
Burke: Not that I remember.
Dr. Phil: You don't remember anything about that?
Burke: No.
Dr. Phil: OK. She didn't ever say she saw Santa again?
Burke: No. I don't remember her saying anything about that.
Dr. Phil: You know there's some theory about a guy named Michael Helgoth who killed himself
shortly after this murder. And they're seeming to think that police never questioned him but he died
two months after her death and apparently confessed to a coworker.

Dr. Phil: You talked about the media over these 20 years. What are the most hurtful things that
you've seen these people say about you and your family that you want to set the record straight on?
Burke: I mean the obvious one is that I killed my sister, that my parents killed my sister. And
people still can't get that in their head that we didn't do it. [...] They tend to blow stuff out of
proportion all the time. Like when the Boulder Police came and basically showed up by surprise at
my door and asked to do an interview, and it was exam week so I just said 'uh, it's exam week, I
don't have time this week, sorry.' A few months later it blew up into this huge news story.
Dr. Phil: So why do you suppose, after more than a decade later, they're knocking on your door
wanting to talk to you again?
Burke: I don't know. I think if they'd really thought they could get a lot of value out of talking to
me they would have done it the right way. You know, they would have set something up, and --
Dr. Phil: Did they come back after that?
Burke: No, I never heard back.
Dr. Phil: Do you feel like JonBenet is watching over you now?
Burke: Yeah. And my mom. And my grandma.
Dr. Phil: Do you think your mom and JonBenet are together again?
Burke: Yeah. Sometimes I would talk to her.
Dr. Phil: When you'd talk to her, what would you say?
Burke: Oh, just like if there's some important thing I was doing, like 'hey, thanks for looking out for
me' or 'hope you're looking out for me.' Or, you know, 'hope you're having fun up there because I'm
taking some test', or, you know, like 'I wish I was up there right now', you know.
Dr. Phil: Do you ever think how your life would be if she was alive?
Burke: Yeah, sometimes if I'm at the beach or something, or in the car, I'll think if she was right
there next to me.
Dr. Phil: Do you think this crime will be solved in your lifetime?
Burke: You have to keep the hope alive that it will. I don't know, but you gotta never give up.
Dr. Phil: How did the two of you get along?
Burke: I remember we teased a lot in the car, on road trips and stuff. Sometimes I'd be like 'Stop it!'
but, you know, overall it was fun, and I think it was pretty normal brother-sister thing.
John Ramsey: They were great together. You know, JonBenet would knock over his LEGO project
sometimes and Burke would just put it back together.
Burke: We used to fight over, like, who would push the button on the elevator. I still think about,
you know, everytime I go to an elevator, I still think about that.
Dr. Phil: Has there ever been a time in this 20 year period where you said 'I'm going to devote
myself to finding out who did this to my sister'?
Burke: I've often thought about doing that. I think it's more like, as long as I know somebody is
still working on it.
Dr. Phil: You don't want her to be forgotten.
Burke: No, I don't want anybody to stop working on the case. I want them to focus on finding the
real killer, and not keep making up bogus theories about me and my parents. I want to honor her
memory by doing this and make it all about remembering her.