Crime Crime History Burke Ramsey Files $150 Million Defamation Lawsuit Over CBS Documentary Positing He Killed Sister JonBenét By Char Adams Char Adams Char Adams is a former reporter at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2019. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 7, 2016 02:08PM EDT Burke Ramsey is suing an forensic pathologist featured in a recent CBS docuseries that advanced the theory he killed his younger sister JonBenét in 1996. Ramsey, 29, filed the defamation suit on Thursday in Wayne County, Michigan, against Dr. Werner Spitz to the tune of $150 million. The suit alleges that Spitz’s claims in the two-part The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey “attacked and permanently harmed the reputation of [Ramsey],” according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. “Defendant Spitz is a publicity seeker with a history of interjecting himself in high profile cases in an effort to make money, exaggerate his resume and claim a level of expertise that he does not possess or deserve,” the filing states. Michele Crowe/CBS/Getty In the docuseries, which aired last month, a panel of investigators developed a theory of the killing of the 6-year-old beauty pageant queen, who was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado, in December 1996. On the show, the team — which included Spitz, a criminal behavioral analyst, a forensic scientist, and a former FBI profiler and a pathologist theorize that Burke accidentally killed his sister. • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. “The accusations by Werner Spitz against this young man are outrageous,” attorney L. Lin Wood tells PEOPLE. “Such false accusations for self-promotion and profit have no place in an orderly and just society. This lawsuit is the first step to holding Spitz fully accountable for his heinous wrongdoing.” Spitz did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE. RELATED VIDEO: Was JonBenét Ramsey Killed by Her Brother Burke? Experts in TV Show Advance Startling Theory Though the Ramsey family long faced suspicion, including from police, in JonBenét’s death, they have never been charged and have always maintained their innocence. In 2008, then-District Attorney Mary Lacy wrote a letter to father John Ramsey saying that DNA evidence cleared him, wife Patsy Ramsey and Burke. (Lacy’s letter was criticized by some in law enforcement.) Lawyer: Burke Ramsey Plans to Sue CBS The filing alleges that Spitz held a grudge against the Ramsey’s “because he believes the Ramsey family shut him out of the investigation — thereby frustrating his pursuit of self-promotion.” Ramsey is requesting compensatory damages “in an amount not less than” $50 million and punitive damages of no less than $100 million. Last month, Wood told PEOPLE that he planned to sue CBS on behalf of Ramsey as a result of the show, and the court filing states that he still plans to do just that. “The CBS docuseries and Defendant Spitz’ participation in it will be the subject of separate defamation litigation to be filed in the near future in Los Angeles, California,” according to the documents. But network officials vowed not to back down, saying in a previous statement to PEOPLE, “CBS stands by the broadcast and will do so in court.”