TV host apologizes to JonBenét Ramsey’s father for heinous mock trial that painted him as a sex abuser

Geraldo Rivera has apologized to the father of slain beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey for airing a mock trial that portrayed him as a sex abuser.

A new Netflix documentary examines the police investigation and media handling of the case of the little girl found strangled in the basement of the family’s home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996.

Episode two of the series opens with a look at a mock trial that Rivera hosted on his now-defunct talk show in 1997.

His ‘jury’ found JonBenét’s parents liable for her death after a woman identified as an expert on sexual abuse analyzed the girl’s tapes.

The ‘expert’ claimed a video of the pageant queen playing the saxophone during a Christmas show proved she was a child who had been ‘sexually stimulated’.

JonBenét’s mother Patsy, who died in 2006, said in a previously recorded interview that the trial left her so depressed that she “stayed in bed for about two days because I was so shocked.”

Rivera apologized to JonBenét’s father, 80-year-old John Ramsey, during an interview with from NewsNation Chris Cuomo on Monday.

“I sincerely apologize for what you and your family have suffered,” he said, noting that “mock trials and moot court competitions are not all that unprecedented.”

Rivera hosted the trial on his now-defunct talk show in 1997. His “jury” ruled that JonBenét’s parents were liable for her death after a woman identified as an expert on sexual abuse found tapes of the girl had analyzed.

An ‘expert’ claimed a video of the pageant queen playing the saxophone during a Christmas show proved she was a child who had been ‘sexually stimulated’

“When I say I’m sorry, I’m not apologizing for my reporting… but I don’t know what happened. I just want you to know that I am sorry for contributing to the pain you have endured.

The former Fox News host stood by his reporting and said the family was considered viable suspects at the time, but apologized for any pain they suffered.

“I don’t think anyone deserves to go through what you went through. That’s my starting point,” Rivera said.

Ramsey accepted the apology and went on to say he believes there is evidence in the case that has never been tested for DNA.

“Let me first say, Geraldo, I accept your apology and thank you… I believe the police passed false information and misleading information to the media before the evidence was even recovered and viewed,” he said.

No one has ever caught JonBenét’s killer, even though the murder has haunted investigators and captured the public’s imagination for nearly thirty years.

Although initial suspicions focused on her family – father John, mother Patsy and brother Burke – they were ruled out as suspects by DNA evidence in 1997, and in 2008 they were formally exonerated.

The Young Miss Colorado’s killer left her in a pile of clothes with an 8-inch skull fracture and a fragmented paintbrush stabbed into her neck with a garrote.

JonBenét’s mother Patsy, who died in 2006, said in a previously recorded interview that the mock trial (pictured) left her so depressed that she was “in bed for about two days because I was so mortified”

JonBenét was found strangled in her basement of the family’s home in Boulder, Colorado in 1996

While initial suspicions focused on her family – father John, mother Patsy and brother Burke – DNA evidence ruled them out as suspects in 1997.

A surprising confession by a police source has also given investigators new hope of finally solving the 28-year mystery.

“We fixed the case from the beginning, and now we can finally solve it with fresh blood,” a police source told police. New York Post.

This stunning statement comes as Boulder’s newly appointed police chief, Stephen Redfearn, redoubles his efforts to solve the case.

Redfearn, who took up his role in early 2024, has made solving the murder a top priority.

“He wants it resolved and off the books,” said a department insider. “He is assigning officers and resources to solve the murder, which has been a black mark on the Boulder Police Department.