Ramseys Sue Court TV

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/20/2001 at 11:46 AM EDT

John and Patsy Ramsey, parents of the late JonBenet Ramsey, are suing Court TV for $70 million, claiming that the cable network falsely named their son Burke, 12, as a prime suspect in still-unsolved 1996 murder case of their six-year-old daughter. The Ramseys took issue with the 1999 Court TV program, "Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey: Prime Suspects," and a related Web site. The Ramseys claim in their suit that Court TV's "exploiting a 12-year-old child for profit by placing him on trial on television for the brutal murder of his sister is reprehensible and unconscionable." Before her murder, JonBenet actively competed in beauty pageants at the encouragement of her mother. Court TV had no comment for the Associated Press about the lawsuit.