Ramseys' libel lawsuit dismissed after settlement

DENVER - A libel lawsuit filed by the parents of slain 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey against a former Boulder police detective has been dismissed.<br> <br> Steve Thomas wrote a book about the case suggesting that Patsy Ramsey killed her daughter in a fit of rage on Dec. 26, 1996, and that John Ramsey helped cover it up by making it look like a botched kidnapping.<br> <br> In March, Thomas, co-author Don Davis and publisher St. Martin&#39;s Press reached a settlement with the Ramseys. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed. The case was formally dismissed Wednesday by a federal judge in Atlanta.<br> <br> &#34;Obviously, the Ramseys are pleased with the settlement and are glad the case was successfully resolved in their favor,&#34; said their attorney, Lin Wood.<br> <br> The civil lawsuit claiming libel and defamation sought $80 million in damages. It said Thomas made false claims about the Ramseys in the book &#34;JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation,&#34; and in interviews promoting the book.<br> <br> Thomas left the Boulder Police Department in 1998 over frustrations with the unsolved case.<br> <br> Police have said JonBenet&#39;s parents, who now live in Atlanta, remain under suspicion, but no one has been charged in the girl&#39;s death. A Boulder County grand jury disbanded in 1999 without issuing an indictment.<br>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/8/191538