True crime fans watching “The Staircase” over the weekend might have noticed a familiar face examining the murder scene — Werner Spitz, the forensic pathologist whose cases have included JonBenet Ramsay and John F. Kennedy’s.
“The Staircase” is Netflix’s newest true crime documentary which looks at the death of novelist Mike Peterson’s wife, Kathleen. It investigates his involvement in her death, which he claims resulted from a fall down stairs in their home. Spitz worked on Peterson’s defense team alongside Dr. Henry Lee.
Spitz is one of the most renowned pathologists in the world, having testified in 1969 on behalf of Joseph and Gwen Kopechne, the parents of Mary Jo Kopechne, who died in a car accident while a passenger in a vehicle driven by Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Six years later, Spitz was asked to work as an advisor to the Rockefeller Commission and the House Select Committee on Assassinations,...
“The Staircase” is Netflix’s newest true crime documentary which looks at the death of novelist Mike Peterson’s wife, Kathleen. It investigates his involvement in her death, which he claims resulted from a fall down stairs in their home. Spitz worked on Peterson’s defense team alongside Dr. Henry Lee.
Spitz is one of the most renowned pathologists in the world, having testified in 1969 on behalf of Joseph and Gwen Kopechne, the parents of Mary Jo Kopechne, who died in a car accident while a passenger in a vehicle driven by Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Six years later, Spitz was asked to work as an advisor to the Rockefeller Commission and the House Select Committee on Assassinations,...
- 6/11/2018
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Netflix will stream Casting JonBenét, a film dealing with the unsolved murder of JonBenét Ramsey, as Entertainment Weekly reports. Last year, several series examined the crime leading up to the 20th anniversary of the six-year-old's murder in December 1996.
Casting JonBenét will make its world premiere during the Sundance Film Festival later this month. Netflix plans to stream it in the spring and it will also have a limited theatrical release. Netflix acquired the worldwide rights to the documentary.
The documentary is described as "a sly and stylized exploration of the world's most sensational child-murder case.
Casting JonBenét will make its world premiere during the Sundance Film Festival later this month. Netflix plans to stream it in the spring and it will also have a limited theatrical release. Netflix acquired the worldwide rights to the documentary.
The documentary is described as "a sly and stylized exploration of the world's most sensational child-murder case.
- 1/5/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Burke Ramsey has filed a second defamation lawsuit over a recent CBS docuseries that advanced the theory he killed his younger sister, JonBenét, more than two decades ago, People confirms.
After suing forensic pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz in October for $150 million in damages, lawyers for Burke on Wednesday filed another civil suit — this one, naming CBS as well as Critical Content LLC, the production company behind The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey, and seven experts and consultants featured in the special, which aired over two nights in mid-September.
People obtained a copy of the second suit, which seeks $250 million in compensatory...
After suing forensic pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz in October for $150 million in damages, lawyers for Burke on Wednesday filed another civil suit — this one, naming CBS as well as Critical Content LLC, the production company behind The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey, and seven experts and consultants featured in the special, which aired over two nights in mid-September.
People obtained a copy of the second suit, which seeks $250 million in compensatory...
- 12/29/2016
- by chrisharristimeinc
- PEOPLE.com
JonBenet Ramsey's older brother just followed through on his promise to sue CBS for insinuating he killed his sister ... and he's gunning for $750 million. Burke Ramsey just filed suit against the TV network for its special about JonBenet earlier this fall, where some experts openly theorized that Burke had taken a flashlight to his little sister's head. He's reportedly asking for $250 mil in compensatory damages and $500 mil in punitive damages. You'll recall ... Burke already sued...
- 12/28/2016
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Twenty years ago a 911 call reporting a missing and possibly kidnapped 6-year-old girl launched a murder mystery — one that continues to endure, fascinate and perplex.
In their Boulder, Colorado, home on the morning of Dec. 26, 1996, parents John and Patsy Ramsey found a ransom note handwritten on a pad with a black Sharpie that belonged to the family. It demanded $118,000 — the exact amount of a bonus recently received by John — for the return of JonBenét, the couple’s blonde, child-pageant princess daughter.
Later that morning JonBenét’s body, beaten and strangled with a garrote around her neck and duct tape covering her mouth,...
In their Boulder, Colorado, home on the morning of Dec. 26, 1996, parents John and Patsy Ramsey found a ransom note handwritten on a pad with a black Sharpie that belonged to the family. It demanded $118,000 — the exact amount of a bonus recently received by John — for the return of JonBenét, the couple’s blonde, child-pageant princess daughter.
Later that morning JonBenét’s body, beaten and strangled with a garrote around her neck and duct tape covering her mouth,...
- 12/26/2016
- by jefftruesdelltimeinc
- PEOPLE.com
Since the strangled body of 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was found in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado, mansion nearly two decades ago, her family has tried to continue with their lives.
The mystery surrounding her death is the focus of the upcoming People Magazine Investigates episode “JonBenét: The Untold Truth,” which airs Monday night at 10 p.m. Et on Investigation Discovery.
• For more on the case of the JonBenét Ramsey case, watch “JonBenét: The Untold Truth” on our 10-part true crime show, People Magazine Investigates, airing Monday night at 10 p.m. Et on Investigation Discovery.
JonBenét’s parents,...
The mystery surrounding her death is the focus of the upcoming People Magazine Investigates episode “JonBenét: The Untold Truth,” which airs Monday night at 10 p.m. Et on Investigation Discovery.
• For more on the case of the JonBenét Ramsey case, watch “JonBenét: The Untold Truth” on our 10-part true crime show, People Magazine Investigates, airing Monday night at 10 p.m. Et on Investigation Discovery.
JonBenét’s parents,...
- 12/19/2016
- by elaine
- PEOPLE.com
Police in Boulder, Colorado, have discussed using new DNA testing in the infamous unsolved death of JonBenét Ramsey, according to a Wednesday news release.
“As part of the ongoing investigation into the death of JonBenét Ramsey, the Boulder Police Department continues to discuss and evaluate evidence with the Boulder District Attorney’s Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation,” the police department said.
“With the emergence of new DNA testing technology, the Boulder Police Department is working with the Colorado Bureau of Investigations to determine if this new technology could further this investigation.”
Officials won’t disclose any additional details...
“As part of the ongoing investigation into the death of JonBenét Ramsey, the Boulder Police Department continues to discuss and evaluate evidence with the Boulder District Attorney’s Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation,” the police department said.
“With the emergence of new DNA testing technology, the Boulder Police Department is working with the Colorado Bureau of Investigations to determine if this new technology could further this investigation.”
Officials won’t disclose any additional details...
- 12/15/2016
- by Lindsay Kimble
- PEOPLE.com
Dr. Werner Spitz—the investigator in JonBenét Ramsey's death who strongly suggested her brother Burke Ramsey had killed her—has responded to the $150 million defamation lawsuit filed by Burke earlier this year. The now 29-year-old claimed that Spitz made "unsupported, false, and sensational statements and accusations" about his involvement in his sister's 1996 death (when he was 9-years-old) during CBS' docu-series The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey as well as a radio interview with CBS Detroit. Now, E! News has obtained the documents in which Spitz filed a motion for the lawsuit to be dismissed with prejudice, defending his Constitutional right to...
- 12/3/2016
- E! Online
Dr. Werner Spitz has filed a response to Burke Ramsey‘s $150 million defamation lawsuit stemming from the two-part CBS documentary about the death of the latter’s sister, JonBenét Ramsey.
According to court documents obtained by People and filed in Michigan on Wednesday, Spitz is arguing that the suit should be dismissed with prejudice because his claims that Burke killed his younger sibling JonBenét in 1996 were merely “speculation.”
“This lawsuit arises from the public discussion about theories involving one of the major unsolved crimes of the 20th Century,” Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn Llp wrote on behalf of Spitz. “Because...
According to court documents obtained by People and filed in Michigan on Wednesday, Spitz is arguing that the suit should be dismissed with prejudice because his claims that Burke killed his younger sibling JonBenét in 1996 were merely “speculation.”
“This lawsuit arises from the public discussion about theories involving one of the major unsolved crimes of the 20th Century,” Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn Llp wrote on behalf of Spitz. “Because...
- 12/2/2016
- by Lindsay Kimble
- PEOPLE.com
The famed investigator who strongly suggested JonBenet Ramsey was killed by her older brother ... insists he has every right to say so thanks to the Constitution. Dr. Werner Spitz filed a response Friday to Burke Ramsey's defamation suit, saying the First Amendment allows him to hypothesize who her killer might have been ... because he's not claiming it's Fact, just his theory. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Spitz says defamation claims must be based on...
- 12/2/2016
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Burke Ramsey has filed a $150 million defamation lawsuit against forensic pathologist Werner Spitz. Burke Ramsey Lawsuit Ramsey has filed the multimillion dollar lawsuit against Spitz for the claims he made on the CBS special The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey and elsewhere. In the four-part documentary series, Spitz suggested that Burke Ramsey, who was 9-years-old at the […]
The post Burke Ramsey Files $150M Lawsuit Against Werner Spitz, Forensic Pathologist From ‘The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey’ appeared first on uInterview.
The post Burke Ramsey Files $150M Lawsuit Against Werner Spitz, Forensic Pathologist From ‘The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey’ appeared first on uInterview.
- 10/7/2016
- by Chelsea Regan
- Uinterview
The brother of murdered JonBenet Ramsey is firing back at one of the investigators who took part in a recent TV special re-investigating the still-unsolved murder, slapping him with a $150-million lawsuit in which he alleges character defamation for Dr. Werner Spitz’s allegation that Burke Ramsey is his sister’s murderer. The lawsuit, however, isn’t about anything said on […]...
- 10/7/2016
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
JonBenet Ramsey’s brother has filed a $150 million lawsuit against a pathologist who claimed that he killed his sister. In the suit, Burke Ramsey claims that Werner U. Spitz has “a disturbing history of making false statements related to the brutal murder of young girls.” “On or about September 19, 2016, Werner Spitz … provided an interview to CBS Detroit for, inter alia, a radio broadcast to the public in general (the “Interview”), in which he explicitly and falsely stated that Burke Ramsey killed his sister, JonBenet Ramsey,” the lawsuit, filed in circuit court in Michigan, reads. Also Read: Watch JonBenet Ramsey's...
- 10/7/2016
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
Less than one month after CBS aired The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey, Burke Ramsey has filed a lawsuit for defamation against Dr. Werner Spitz, one of the leading investigators on the program, for $150 million. Business Insider has obtained the court papers which were filed earlier today in the third circuit court for Wayne County in Michigan. And while Spitz's involvement in the highly publicized docu-series garnered plenty of attention, the lawsuit is aimed at the forensic pathologist's radio interview with CBS Detroit. The paperwork calls Spitz a "publicity seeker" who "once again interjected himself into a high-profile case to make unsupported, false, and sensational statements and...
- 10/6/2016
- E! Online
JonBenet Ramsey's brother Burke isn't taking renewed speculation that he murdered his little sister lightly — in fact, on Thursday, he filed a $150 million defamation suit against a forensic pathologist who said as much to the media. Ramsey claims Werner Spitz has a "disturbing history of making false statements related to the brutal murder of young girls," according to the complaint filed by attorney John Lesko in Michigan state court. Spitz is one of several investigators consulted for the recent CBS special The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey who pointed the finger at Burke. CBS has not yet been
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- 10/6/2016
- by Ashley Cullins
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
JonBenet Ramsey's brother is suing one of the forensic experts featured in the CBS documentary which theorized he killed his kid sister nearly 20 years ago. Burke Ramsey filed the suit against Dr. Werner Spitz, but not for his comments on the CBS special, "The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey." Instead, Burke is going after the doctor for a radio interview he did with CBS Detroit ... in which Spitz said, "It's the boy who did it [killed JonBenet], whether he was jealous,...
- 10/6/2016
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Burke Ramsey is not taking CBS' accusations lightly. On the heels of the finale episode of the network's docuseries, The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey, the 29-year-old's attorney, L. Lin Wood, has announced plans to sue CBS and one of the show's experts, Dr. Werner Spitz, on behalf of his longtime client. "CBS doesn't have enough money to compensate this man for the permanent damage they have caused this man's reputation that he has to live with for the rest of his life," he told E! News. "When I am done with CBS, the verdict from the Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker case is going to look like peanuts." During Monday night's airing, the series concluded...
- 9/21/2016
- E! Online
After going through the evidence and conducting interviews with some of the those involved in the case, a panel of law enforcement specialists all agreed on the theory that Burke Ramsey killed his sister, JonBenet, during Christmas 1996. Retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente and former Scotland Yard criminal behavior expert Laura Richards worked with specialists for the CBS two-part special, The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey. The series premiered Sunday night. The panel of investigators included forensic linguistics expert James Fitzgerald, famed criminologist Werner Spitz, former Boulder Country District Attorney's Office investigator James Kolar, statement analyst Stan Burke and forensic scientist Dr. Henry
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- 9/20/2016
- by Ryan Parker
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CBS has introduced a new true-crime TV show called The Case Of. The program calls on expert investigators to try to finally solve a high-profile unsolved case. Will they be successful? Will the show be a ratings success so that the network will want to make a second season? Stay tuned.The first season of The Case Of examines the 1996 unsolved murder of JonBenét Ramsey. A six-year-old child and beauty queen, she was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado. The original investigators reunite and partner with new experts to re-examine the tragic case. They include Jim Clemente, Dr. Henry Lee, James Kolar, Dr. Werner Spitz, James Fitzgerald, Laura Richards and Stan Burke. The team re-examines crucial evidence using advanced technology and forensics, meticulously recreates the crime scene by rebuilding full-scale replicas of key rooms from the Ramsey house, conducts extensive interviews, and introduces new theories.
- 9/19/2016
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
The first new trailer for CBS' forthcoming docu-series The Case of JonBenét Ramsey launches immediately into the true-life events. It opens with real audio from the frantic 911 call placed by JonBenet's mother Patsy, alerting the operator that her six-year-old pageant participant daughter was missing.
It's a compelling way to draw the audience into the clip, mirroring how many were transfixed by the horrifying story while it unfolded in real time back in December 1996, when JonBenét was reported missing and kidnapped. Hours later, her father John reported finding his daughter beaten...
It's a compelling way to draw the audience into the clip, mirroring how many were transfixed by the horrifying story while it unfolded in real time back in December 1996, when JonBenét was reported missing and kidnapped. Hours later, her father John reported finding his daughter beaten...
- 8/18/2016
- Rollingstone.com
In the first trailer for CBS' new anthology docu-series, The Case of JonBenét Ramsey, investigators revisit the nearly 20-year-old murder, focusing on the frantic 911 call from the girl's mother Patsy. The operator, who took the call, says she's never been questioned by the authorities. "Twenty years, nobody asked me," the operator tearfully explains in the clip, which debuted Tuesday. "I think it would have really turned the case around." In the new clip, investigators say they plan to further analyze Patsy's call, stripping the audio and using noise reduction to find a conversation that happened when the Ramseys thought the line was disconnected.
- 8/17/2016
- by Lindsay Kimble, @lekimble
- PEOPLE.com
In the first trailer for CBS' new anthology docu-series, The Case of JonBenét Ramsey, investigators revisit the nearly 20-year-old murder, focusing on the frantic 911 call from the girl's mother Patsy. The operator, who took the call, says she's never been questioned by the authorities. "Twenty years, nobody asked me," the operator tearfully explains in the clip, which debuted Tuesday. "I think it would have really turned the case around." In the new clip, investigators say they plan to further analyze Patsy's call, stripping the audio and using noise reduction to find a conversation that happened when the Ramseys thought the line was disconnected.
- 8/17/2016
- by Lindsay Kimble, @lekimble
- PEOPLE.com
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