Dr. Phil: JonBenet Ramsey’s Brother Burke Smiles During Interview, Talks About Death [Video]

Dr. Phil McGraw has noted that the following portion of his interview with Burke Ramsey, brother of JonBenet Ramsey, shows Burke and his social awkwardness. Throughout much of Dr. Phil’s interview, Burke smiles, even when speaking about serious topics like the death of his 6-year-old sister when Burke was only 9 years old. It will be 20 years on December 26, the anniversary of the day JonBenet was found dead in the basement of the Ramsey Family house in Colorado.

As images of the young Ramsey spread decades ago, with JonBenet all dolled up as a beauty queen, wearing lipstick and clothing much older than her years, suspicion and focus fell on the Ramsey Family. JonBenet’s brother Burke has finally spoken to Dr. Phil about that time, as seen in the following video.

As reported by Today, Dr. Phil asked Burke tough questions about the death of JonBenet, such as whether or not Burke hit his sister over the head with a baseball bat. Burke was an older brother to the girl who captivated a nation that wondered aloud who killed JonBenet.

Alternate theories blamed JonBenet’s brother, mother and father for JonBenet’s death, although no one in the Ramsey Family was ever charged with JonBenet’s death. There was an arrest at one point of a suspect in the infamous murder, reports the Palm Beach Post. Ten years ago, authorities arrested John Mark Karr, a schoolteacher, in Thailand.

Karr had confessed to the murder and claimed to be present when JonBenet was killed, but cops said DNA did not confirm those findings. Karr eventually changed his name and underwent sex reassignment surgery. The confusion about the case continues on, 20 years later.

The in-depth interview of Burke by Dr. Phil will air on Monday, September 12, on the Dr. Phil Show.

However, Dr. Phil Show viewers might find it eerie just how much Burke smiles throughout his interview with Dr. Phil — a fact that Dr. Phil chalks up to the awkwardness of Burke.

Dr. Phil noted that the suspicion surrounding Burke and his family all these years likely plays into that social awkwardness.

“For 20 years he has been off the grid. And my impression is he’s socially awkward. People are going to be very interested in his demeanor, and they’re going to find his demeanor atypical. He might be talking about some pretty dark aspects of this story and smiling while he’s talking about that.

“He’s aware that his parents are suspects. He’s aware that he is a suspect, and this has had an effect on him over the last 20 years. He misses [JonBenét] very much.”

For his part, the 29-year-old Burke recounted how his mother reacted the day after Christmas in 1996, as she searched for JonBenet.

“The first thing I remember is my mom bursting in my room, really frantic, saying, ‘Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!’ running around my room — now I know looking for JonBenét. The next thing I remember is a police officer coming into my room and shining a flashlight. I remember her saying, ‘Where’s my baby, where’s my baby?'”

Burke can be seen in the top photo above, hugging his father, John Ramsey.

Though Burke keeps a low profile these days working in the technology sector and working from home pretty often, Dr. Phil related, Burke was at the funeral of his mother, Patsy.

Patsy died as a result of ovarian cancer. Burke and John were seen near the graves of Patsy and JonBenet on that day, Thursday, June 29, 2006. The funeral services were held at the St. James Episcopal Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia.

[Photo by Ric Feld/AP Images]