JonBenét Ramsey Docs to Watch After Netflix’ ‘Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey’

On November 28, 2024By Littum

Netflix’s Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey has brought the tragic murder of the 6-year-old party star back to the fore, almost 30 years after the events took place in December 1996.

Over the past three decades, JonBenét Ramsey’s parents, Patsy and John, have been dragged through the mud of public opinion, with countless people holding them responsible for the death of their daughter, who was found strangled in the basement of their home.

This was told by documentary director Joe Berlinger The Hollywood Reporter that he feels that true-crime shows and movies often try to play both sides of a story, but that his three-part documentary does not. Instead, it points the finger at the Boulder Police Department as the reason the case remains unsolved 28 years after JonBenét’s murder.

When asked why he wanted to take on the case, the Oscar-nominated and prolific true-come filmmaker said he felt he could actually move the needle with new information that would hopefully put pressure on Boulder police to drive DNA found at the crime scene with the advanced technology they have today helps clear the Ramsey family name.

“I think we can solve the case. I want to give that family some measure of justice,” he said. “There are some basic things the Boulder Police Department needs to do. For some reason, despite a new police chief, despite the fact that most of the old players were gone, some of whom were reprimanded, there was still some institutional intransigence to really do the right thing.”

While Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey is the latest project to tackle the tragic case, there are numerous docuseries and films that have been made over the years, each trying to bring a new perspective to the story. And that includes the upcoming Paramount+ limited series starring Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen as her parents, Patsy and John Ramsey.

‘Get Away With Murder: The JonBenét Ramsey Mystery’

Image credit: Franklin Media/Courtesy Everett Collection

Published four years after JonBenét’s death, Get Away With Murder: The JonBenet Ramsey Mystery sees a reporter travel to Boulder, Colorado, to write a story about the murder. While there, she gets conflicting stories about who killed the 6-year-old party star, as some detectives suspect the parents and others suspect one of three men who had a connection to the family. The one-hour Foc documentary was produced by the American television production company Rocket Science Laboratories and directed by Edward Lucas.

Get Away With Murder: The JonBenet Ramsey Mystery is no longer available on TV, but it can be watched YouTube.
‘Perfect Murder, Perfect City: JonBenét and the City of Boulder’

Image credit: TVM Prod./Courtesy Everett Collection

Perfect murder, perfect city was also released in 2000. The CBS miniseries, based on director Lawrence Schiller’s book of the same name, features historical news and talk show footage covering in detail what was seen as a botched investigation into the party star’s murder. The show, which aired from 2000 to 2001, sheds light on how the hysterical media coverage of JonBenét’s murder made the investigation even more difficult. Kris Kristofferson, Marg Helgenberger, Ronny Cox and Dyanne Iandoli participated in the project.

Keep an eye out YouTube.
‘True Crime with Aphrodite Jones’

Image credit: Discovery Channel/Courtesy Everett Collection

True Crime with Aphrodite Jones delved into JonBenét’s case in the first episode of season two, “JonBenét Ramsey: The Innocent.” The 2011 docuseries episode saw the host dig for answers to the case that raised a lot of questions when it happened. In each of her episodes, the host brought new information to the case, be it through interviews with people who have never spoken before or evidence or photos that shed light on the cases.

True Crime with Aphrodite Jones is available to stream on Discovery of investigation and Discovery+among other things.
‘The case of: JonBenét Ramsey’

CBS was one of the many networks that aired a docuseries or film about JonBenét in 2016, marking the 20th anniversary of the 6-year-old’s death. Throughout the six-part series, the investigative team reviewed the cast, the 911 call, the ransom note and other aspects of the cast in rooms they recreated from the Ramsey house. The docuseries primarily pointed to Burke, JonBenét’s then 8-year-old brother, as the person who killed her because she ate part of his snack. He sued CBS for $750 million for defamation, and the case was settled years later for an undisclosed amount.

Look at Amazon.
“Who killed JonBenét?”

Image credit: Dean Buscher/Lifetime/Courtesy Everett Collection

Lifetime took its own spin on the story of JonBenét’s murder with an original film that recounted the tragedy and details that captured the nation’s attention at the time. The film gives an insight into what happened on December 26, 1996, when the party star was found beaten and strangled in his family’s basement. Who killed JonBenét? took a fresh look at the events and the competing theories about what happened that day.

Look at Amazon.
‘The Killing of JonBenét: The Truth Uncovered’

A&E released the first docuseries in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of JonBenét’s tragic death in 2016. The network’s documentary featured five major revelations in the cold case. First, someone could have entered the Ramseys’ house through a basement window. Second, several “scoops” leaked during the case were likely false. Third, the Boulder Police Department allegedly withheld DNA that could have ruled out JonBenét’s parents as suspects. Fourth, Burke Ramsey, her brother, heard everything that happened in the house that night. Fifth, there were marks on the star star’s face and back that suggested possible interaction with a stun gun.

Watch for free on Amazon.
‘Casting JonBenet’

Image credit: Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

In 2017, Netflix jumped on the JonBenét bandwagon with a documentary featuring local actors from the Colorado area offering multiple perspectives on the 1996 murder as they vie to play roles in a dramatized version of the case, according to the streamer. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year. Unlike other projects on the case, this one focuses on how the events became a pop culture obsession and conspiracy.

Keep an eye out Netflix.
‘JonBenét Ramsey’

Image credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Michael Tullberg/Getty

Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen are set to lead Paramount+’s upcoming limited series, currently titled JonBenét Ramsey. The Oscar nominees will portray the 6-year-old’s parents, Patsy and John Ramsey. The project will follow the family before and after the tragic murder, “as they go through the painful loss of a child while facing intense public scrutiny caused by a media frenzy that caused this case to captivate an entire nation,” reads the series’ synopsis description. “At the heart of the series is the story of Patsy and John Ramsey, exploring the unbreakable partnership between these two complex people – as husband and wife, as mother and father – who had committed themselves and their children to building the narrative of a perfect , privileged life only to have it destroyed one Christmas night in 1996.”

A release date has yet to be announced, but the show will stream on Paramount+.