The wave of television shows and specials focusing on the grisly murder of 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey is receding, but CBS’s docu-series The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey dropped a bombshell accusation in its last episode, which aired on Monday night.

The four-hour series featured some of the original investigators on the case, as well as a team of forensic experts headed up by Laura Richards and Jim Clemente, revisiting the events of December 26, 1996, when JonBenét was found dead in the basement of her Boulder, Colorado home. Her parents, John and Patsy, had been the prime suspects but were cleared in 2008. JonBenét’s older brother, Burke, was removed from the suspect list as a result of DNA evidence back in 1999.

Prior to the airing of the recent CBS series, the theory regarding the crime that seemed to hold the most water was that an intruder broke into the basement of the home and killed JonBenét. Testing this theory, the investigators for the CBS show used a painstakingly accurate recreation of the Ramsey home and discovered that it would have been “impossible” for this scenario to be true. In the special, Jim Clemente pointed out a spider web in the window, still intact after the alleged break in.

It seems that the CBS-hired team feels that Burke indeed killed his sister and that his parents covered up the crime, fearing losing not one, but both of their children. The investigators referred to an interview conducted with Burke after the murder which raised a number of concerns due to his odd behavior at the time.

After examining video interviews with JonBenét’s older brother, Burke, the team seemed troubled by his behavior. Speaking of his demeanor displayed in an interview Burke gave shortly after the murder, Clemente noted, “I haven’t seen any indication yet that this child has been through recent trauma.” After showing a clip of Burke acting out how the murder could have happened — hitting her on the head with a hammer — Richards noted, “It’s odd that he’s acting it out.” Clemente added, “On top of it, there is no emotion. No appropriate emotion at all about this happening to his sister.”

Family friend Judith Miller noted, “Burke had a bad temper. … He had hit JonBenét. … He hit her with a golf club.” In an interview with Burke that took place 18 months after the death, the then-11-and-a-half-year-old talks about how he slept through the crime, emphasizing how he sleeps “really deeply” and “never hears anything.” Clemente commented, “When he says ‘really deeply’ and ‘never hear anything,’ that’s overselling. … That’s deceiving.”

[From US Magazine]

James Kolar, a former investigator on the case, discussed his theory that John and Patsy covered up the crime, potential cover-up by the parents, saying, “They would do anything for their children….[Patsy] said she would have nothing else to live for if she lost Burke….That seemed to me motive to cover up for Burke.” This, he posited, was the impetus for the ransom note, which some close to the case, most notably co-lead investigator Steve Thomas, suspect was written by Patsy herself (he previously was on the record accusing Patsy of the murder).

Burke Ramsey, who finally spoke out about the murder with Dr. Phil, continues to deny that he had any role in the killing. On the last part of his 3-part sit down, Burke was asked, point blank, “Did you murder your sister, JonBenét?” He responded “No“ and added, “Look at the evidence…or the lack thereof.” The 29-year-old said this while demonstrating the same odd behavior, smiling and smirking, that he has over the previous parts of the interview. Dr. Phil addressed this again on Monday’s show, telling viewers, “You must remember, until now, Burke has never spoken publicly about this traumatic part of his life. He was shielded for decades by his parents, so he is a bit nervous and socially uncomfortable.”

Burke went on to tell Dr. Phil that, ”People still can’t get that in their head that we didn’t do it.” He also said that he believes that JonBenét is with his mother watching over him, and said he talks to her sometimes. Burke “keeps the hope alive that [JonBenét’s killing] will [be solved in my lifetime]. I don’t know, but you gotta never give up.”

20 years have passed, and I wonder if this case will ever be solved. Lack of concrete evidence has plagued the case from the start, and televised theories and speculation can only go so far. It seems that, much like Making a Murderer, we may end up seeing a sequel to this story soon.

Photo credit, CBS, Getty Images