This is unreal.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060817/ap_on_re_as/thailand_jonbenet_ramsey

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/ww/news/2006/08/17/20060817karr_photo.jpg


Suspect says Ramsey death 'an accident'

By SUTIN WANNABOVORN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 42 minutes ago

BANGKOK, Thailand - A former American school teacher said publicly Thursday he was with JonBenet Ramsey when she was killed and called the 6-year-old's death "an accident," a stunning admission that should help answer 10 years of questions in the unsolved murder case.

John Mark Karr, 41, will be taken within the week to Colorado, where he will face charges of first degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault, Ann Hurst of the Department of Homeland Security told a news conference in Bangkok.

"I was with JonBenet when she died," John Mark Karr told reporters afterward, visibly nervous and stuttering as he spoke. "Her death was an accident."

Asked if he was innocent of the crime, Karr said: "No."

Karr confessed to the killing after his arrest Wednesday at his downtown Bangkok apartment by Thai and American authorities, said Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul, head of Thailand's immigration police.

He said Karr insisted his crime was not first-degree murder but that she died during a kidnapping attempt that went awry.

"He said it was second-degree murder. He said it was unintentional. He said he was in love with the child, she was a pageant queen," Suwat said.

Karr declined to say what his connection was to the Ramsey family. Dressed in a turquoise polo shirt and khaki trousers, he appeared ashen with an expressionless look on his face.

An attorney for the Ramsey family said Wednesday that Karr once lived near the family in Conyers, Ga.

JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's home in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996.

Wednesday's arrest was a surprise development in one of America's most lurid murder cases, which had left a cloud of suspicion over her family after years went by with no arrests. Some feared the case would never be solved.

Striking video images of the blonde-haired girl in child beauty pageants helped propel the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the United States.

A law enforcement source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that Karr had been communicating periodically with somebody in Boulder who had been following the case and cooperating with law enforcement officials.

A University of Colorado spokesman, Barrie Hartman, said journalism professor Michael Tracey communicated with Karr over several months and contacted police. The university spokesman said he didn't know what prompted Tracey to become suspicious of Karr.

Tracey produced a documentary in 2004 called "Who Killed JonBenet?" A woman who answered the phone at a number under his name said he didn't live there anymore; his office phone mailbox was full.

The Ramseys learned that police were investigating Karr at least a month before the June death of JonBenet's mother, Patsy Ramsey, of ovarian cancer, the family said.

In a statement Wednesday, father John Ramsey said that if his wife had lived to see Karr's arrest, she "would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder."

Suwat quoted Karr as saying he tried to kidnap JonBenet for a $118,000 ransom but that his plan went awry and he strangled her. Patsy Ramsey reported finding a ransom note in the house demanding $118,000 for her daughter.

Investigators said at one point that JonBenet's parents were under an "umbrella of suspicion" in the slaying, and some news accounts cast suspicion on JonBenet's older brother, Burke. But the Ramseys insisted an intruder killed their daughter, and no one was ever charged.

Over the years, some experts suggested that investigators had botched the case so thoroughly that it might never be solved. The Ramseys moved back to Atlanta after their daughter's slaying.

"It's been a very long 10 years, and I'm just sorry Patsy isn't here for me to hug her neck," said Lin Wood, the family's longtime attorney.

"John and Patsy lived their lives knowing they were innocent, trying to raise a son despite the furor around them," Wood told MSNBC.

Suwat said U.S. authorities informed Thai police on Aug. 11 that an arrest warrant had been issued for Karr on charges of premeditated murder. The warrant was sent to Thai police on Wednesday.

"Through investigation we were able to determine where his residence was and the Thais arrested him," Hurst said. "He did not resist. He did express surprise."

Hurst said Karr has been "very cooperative" with authorities and that he's shown a "variety of emotions."

Suwat said Karr arrived in Bangkok on June 6 from Malaysia to look for a teaching job. It was not clear whether he had gotten a job, the police officer said.

Karr's visa has been revoked as an "undesirable person" given the accusations against him, and U.S. authorities were expected to take him to the United States in the next few days, Suwat said.

Hurst, with the department's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Bangkok, said that Karr had left the United States several years ago and had not returned.

The immigration and customs office had assisted the Boulder County District Attorney's Office and the Royal Thai Police in the investigation.

The suspect, who has been in Thailand five times over the past two years, was being detained by immigration police pending arrival of U.S. officials, Suwat said.

When asked how he could travel for so many years in Asia, and whether he was independently wealthy, Hurst responded, "We're asking the same questions."

Police said Karr had been living in a dormitory-style hotel called The Blooms in a neighborhood of massage parlors and travel agents that cater to expatriate residents and sex tourists. The nine-story hotel offers rooms for as short as three-hour rentals.

The district attorney in Boulder, Mary Lacy, said the arrest followed several months of work.

She said Karr, who had traveled extensively across the world, may also be connected to a prior case in Santa Rosa County, Calif. She did not provide further details.

Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Joan Risse confirmed the child pornography charges and arrest warrant against a John Mark Karr, though she cautioned that she didn't know if he was the same person held Bangkok. State records show Karr lost his teaching credential in 2002.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/ww/news/2006/08/17/20060817karr_photo.jpg

dude looks eerie.....

Just when you think a Law And Order episode has gotten too far-fetched...

Can we declare a mis-trial in the court of public opinion?

Indeed.

live press conference on CNN and other news stations soon, from Boulder CO.....

Some are now speculating that this might be a hoax.

http://9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=1cff0632-0abe-421a-00bc-e38b5a0628d7&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf


Legal analyst: break in Ramsey case could be hoax

DENVER (KUSA) - 9NEWS legal analyst Scott Robinson believes there are still too many questions about the suspect, John Mark Karr, to feel confident about conviction.

"In this particular case when you have an uncorroborated confession, I think it's good to be cynical and to be skeptical," Robinson said. "The suspect seems to be ducking questions about his connection to the Ramsey family. how the little girl came to be in the basement with him in the first place."

Robinson believes one thing is clear, however. This is the biggest development in the case so far.

"This is either the break that we have all been waiting for, or the biggest hoax that's ever been perpetrated in the JonBenet Ramsey case, a case that has had its share of wacky people involved in it."

However, DNA evidence could make this an open and shut case in a very short period of time.

"If they can tie [Karr] to the Ramsey home, or to any of the physical evidence at the scene. the case is pretty much done and over," Robinson said.

"These days you can get a presumptive DNA test done in a day if you have good tissue and certainly a definitive result in a week. So we will know pretty soon if there is a DNA match," Robinson explained after being asked how long it might take to get this evidence evaluated.

The problem Robinson is concerned with is what happens if the DNA evidence is inconclusive.

"His father says this is a young man who became obsessed with the case and wrote about it for a college paper. That sets the stage for a potential defense that [Karr] didn't commit the crime, he's just obsessed with it."

Will the various issues with compromised evidence and crime scene have a major impact on the outcome of the case? Robinson believes it may help the prosecution as much as it could help the defense.

"That's a sword that cuts both ways. For those advocating his guilt, perhaps that's why his DNA was not found at the scene, because the scene was hopelessly compromised in the first few moments of the investigation."

When asked if he believed the day of an arrest would ever arrive, he responded with conviction.

"Never! Ever! It's an extraordinary development," Robinson said. "What we are looking at here is either: the biggest break ever in the JonBenet Ramsey case, or the biggest hoax since the young girl's body was found in the basement."


http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/17/ramsey.arrest/index.html


Karr's ex-wife, Lara Karr, told KGO-TV in California that she does not believe her former husband killed JonBenet because he was with her in Alabama at the time.

I like John Mark Karr, he's real.

Can we declare a mis-trial in the court of public opinion?
no because, we'll still keep fucking up. this is why i've always been against the leaking and providing of too many case deatails to the public. gag orders and no tv courtrooms would go a long way in slowing down a little bit of the "i think he did and hope he dies, though i'm not sure" element.

no because, we'll still keep fucking up. this is why i've always been against the leaking and providing of too many case deatails to the public. gag orders and no tv courtrooms would go a long way in slowing down a little bit of the "i think he did and hope he dies, though i'm not sure" element.
So, the proposal to deal with a lack of common sense from the masses, in the form of prejudice inspired by the tabloids, is just to insulate the stupid masses from it? Why not actually teach people how to ask critical questions and use their brains instead? Why not get people to demand good journalism? Why not demand professional ethics from the professionals paid with tax dollars, so they don't feel compelled to play the press, even if the defense does?

<sigh> Yeah, my idealism is showing.

OJ did it Gutz. Get over it.

no because, we'll still keep fucking up. this is why i've always been against the leaking and providing of too many case deatails to the public. gag orders and no tv courtrooms would go a long way in slowing down a little bit of the "i think he did and hope he dies, though i'm not sure" element.
So, the proposal to deal with a lack of common sense from the masses, in the form of prejudice inspired by the tabloids, is just to insulate the stupid masses from it? Why not actually teach people how to ask critical questions and use their brains instead? Why not get people to demand good journalism? Why not demand professional ethics from the professionals paid with tax dollars, so they don't feel compelled to play the press, even if the defense does?

<sigh> Yeah, my idealism is showing.
your ideas cost too much money. jeez you're a cash hog Mxy.:rolleyes:



seriously that idea is good. but people dont like being educated. have you ever tried to explain the downsides of george bush the people that voted for him?

OJ did it Gutz. Get over it.
i got over before it was ever a topic in here. it seems everyone who didnt agree with me hasnt. [smilie=burgerking.:

what i was talking bout was the fail safe for mxy's plan. which i had taken for granted wouldnt work because people dont wanna be educated for the most part..

Did I not agree with you?

Did I not agree with you?
probally. its been to long a week to remember. also proof of how oj related subjects havent been on my mind.:cool:

Closer to your mind than the English language I hope. I'll keep working on the cookie crisp looking for my Gutz Gatsu decoder ring.

Closer to your mind than the English language I hope. I'll keep working on the cookie crisp looking for my Gutz Gatsu decoder ring.

Favorite cereal of all time, hands down.

1. that guy looks scary. straight up child molester if you ask me. regardless, im not sure he isnt just trying to be 'cool' in his mind. i havent heard all the facts so if i missed something, forgive me. but i just think he might like the 'prison life' *cough cough*.

2. ive said it here before... gutz, my p's voted for bush and will look you in the eye and tell you he is absolutely one of the greatest presidents weve ever had. i feel your pain.

3. good luck finding an impartial jury.. this guy is getting convicted no matter what comes up in the trial.

No one likes the child molester prison life. Perhaps dude is at the end of his rope and looking to die the hard way though.

-- A U.S. law enforcement official tells CNN that the man held in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey offered details about the condition of her body that have never been made public.

Okay, they can kill him now.

-- A U.S. law enforcement official tells CNN that the man held in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey offered details about the condition of her body that have never been made public.

Okay, they can kill him now.


There is a good chance this is the guy, but there are too many holes in the story. What I mean by that he said he raped her, there was no evidence to support rape occured, there was DNA in her underwear however. So either he is a liar or has convinced himself that he did do those things to act like he doesn't have a sexual disfunction of some sorts like most sexual predators profiles say is common.

Next he is claiming it was an accident, the evidence doesn't support that claim in anyway.

The only thing that says he is the guy is him claiming to be ,and the fact he knows something that the media didn't. There are two logical reasons for that first the media and grand jury were privy to a lot of details and the police let stuff slip, so if you can see 99% of a puzzle and a piece or two is missing it isn't that hard to fill in the holes. Sure grand jury stuff is to be sealed but look at Balco, we still found out, this was higher profile and has had as many leaks as Balco. Secondly, the police have been bumbling fools throughout this case talking and revealing too much all along, it isn't unreasonable to assume some jack ass leaked info to somebody who shared it and somehow this guy got the info.

I agree with what you are saying JS, especially since this is your area of expertise.

That being said, and this may sound harsh, but if the guy is already a convicted pedophile then I wouldn't sweat it if they just put him down anyways.

That's just me though, I know the legal system doesn't work that way.

I agree with what you are saying JS, especially since this is your area of expertise.

That being said, and this may sound harsh, but if the guy is already a convicted pedophile then I wouldn't sweat it if they just put him down anyways.

That's just me though, I know the legal system doesn't work that way.


I agree, society is much better w/o a guy like him. To be honest my guess would be if he has been traveling the world as he claims, his habit followed him throughout his travels so i am sure he is guilty on many levels for many crimes. In the US getting nailed for murder can result in the death penalty, but most of the time not, however in Thailand or some of the other countries the penalties for "lesser" crimes can be death especially if children were harmed. Thus better to confess to something stateside and be punished in the US than have another government catch up with him and punish him with their justice system. I am not saying that he has murdered or comitted crime abroad from anything I heard, a just saying the pathology behind his crimes does not just stop, it usually groes out of control and manifests into more perveted behavior.

I found it noteworthy that it was mentioned in a report that I read yesterday that he lived in the same town in California (the name escapes me right now) as Polly Klaas.

I'm surprised that more hasn't been made of that "coincidence".


EDIT: Petaluma, CA

GD there is an apparent connection or at least could be. Nice work at seeing that.



Cell of Polly Klaas' killer searched
8/18/2006, 4:31 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) — Prison guards searched the death row cell of Polly Klaas' killer after learning he may have corresponded with the suspect in the decade-old slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, authorities said Friday.

Guards at San Quentin State Prison searched Richard Allen Davis' cell Thursday, but not would immediately disclose what they found. A news conference was planned later Friday.

Davis, 52, was sentenced to death for the 1993 kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas. The girl was from Petaluma, where suspect John Mark Karr lived from 2000 to 2001, when Karr was charged with child pornography.

Advertisement




Lt. Eric Messick said officials decided to search Davis' cell after learning that Karr had told detectives in 2001 that he had a letter from Davis and was researching a book on him.

"Our reasoning was that if there was evidence of them having this relationship, then it might shed some light on things — it wasn't a far reach," he said. "But I don't think we've found anything so far suggesting there was a nexus between Davis, Karr and JonBenet Ramsey. Obviously Richard Allen Davis was in prison at that time."

Calls to Davis' lawyers Friday were not immediately returned.

Karr, 41, told authorities he drugged and sexually assaulted JonBenet, the child beauty queen who was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's Colorado home on Dec. 26, 1996. Karr said he killed the 6-year-old girl accidentally.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/national-69/1155933589217430.xml&storylist=jonbenet

Do they pay commissions for this type of thing?

Do they pay commissions for this type of thing?

For watching the Court Tv channel? No.

Dude didn't do it.

Latest word was that he was contemplating a sex change?

Ewwwww.

-- DNA found on JonBenet Ramsey's body does not match sample DNA from suspect John Mark Karr, Denver, Colorado's KUSA television station reports.

No charges!

Does that put the parents back on the hot seat?

What a nutjob, I hope they can find something else to charge him with to keep him off the street.

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20060828/2006_08_28t154027_360x450_us_crime_jonbenet_dna.jp g

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/28/ramsey.arrest/index.html


Report: Karr's DNA doesn't match; No charges to be filed

POSTED: 4:18 p.m. EDT, August 28, 2006

BOULDER, Colorado (CNN) -- The DNA sample taken from suspect John Mark Karr does not match DNA found on JonBenet Ramsey's body and no charges will be filed against the schoolteacher who claimed he was with the child when she died, CNN affiliate KUSA reported.

KUSA, based in Denver, Colorado, quoted two sources in a bulletin on its Web site:

"9NEWS has confirmed from two sources that the DNA sample taken from John Mark Karr is not a match with the foreign DNA found on JonBenet Ramsey's body when she was murdered in 1996. 9NEWS has also learned the Boulder County District Attorney's office will not file charges against Karr in connection with the Ramsey case."

KUSA says other sources also confirm that no charges will be filed against Karr in connection with the Ramsey case by the Boulder County District Attorney's office.

CNN is working to independently confirm the report as Karr awaits his first court appearance in Colorado later Monday afternoon. Karr will appear before Judge Roxanne Bailin at 4:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. ET).

The Denver station reported that samples of Karr's saliva and hair were taken in Boulder after his arrival Thursday evening. Those samples were tested over the weekend by the Denver Police Department's crime lab.

The Colorado television station says those tests ruled out Karr's DNA is as the foreign DNA left on JonBenet's body when she was slain in December 1996.

JonBenet was covered in a blanket when her body was found. Foreign hair fibers were found on that blanket and they did not match any of the Ramsey family or approximately 100 people that were tested.

Karr still faces charges of child pornography in California.

Earlier Monday, Karr's defense team requested that prosecutors hand over DNA evidence in the Ramsey case.

Public disclosure of any DNA evidence was specifically barred by a gag order issued Friday. The order applies to all attorneys and law enforcement officials involved in the case.

The 41-year-old suspect is being held in Boulder County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, first- and second-degree kidnapping, and sexual assault. No formal charges have been filed yet by Boulder prosecutors.

Documents list Karr's birthplace as Conyers, Georgia, and his occupation as "teacher."

Karr was brought back to the United States from Bangkok, Thailand. He arrived in Colorado Thursday evening from California, where he skipped bail in 2001 after being charged in Sonoma County with five misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography.

Karr appeared at a brief hearing in Los Angeles and waived extradition to Colorado. (Watch Patsy Ramsey's sister reveal what the family will do if Karr isn't guilty -- 4:11)

He told reporters in Thailand he was with JonBenet the night she died, and that her death was an accident. The child's beaten and strangled body was found December 26, 1996, in the basement of her family's Boulder home.

Autopsy results showed she had suffered a blow to the head and been strangled with a garrote tightened with a paintbrush handle.

After Karr's statements in Thailand, questions have surfaced as to whether the slight, soft-spoken man could have been involved in the grisly killing.

Earlier this year, Michael Tracey, a journalism professor at the University of Colorado, alerted authorities to e-mails he had been receiving from a person now believed to be Karr.

Tracey, who has produced a documentary about the Ramsey case, said there was something in the e-mails "that made me decide I had to try and do something." But he would not say just what prompted him to contact prosecutors.

A law enforcement official told CNN that Karr's e-mails to Tracey were initially innocuous but that the professor contacted authorities when they became "weird." The communications were eventually tracked to Thailand.

Tracey told CNN Thursday he also learned Karr's name five days before the arrest.

1. that guy looks scary. straight up child molester if you ask me. regardless, im not sure he isnt just trying to be 'cool' in his mind. i havent heard all the facts so if i missed something, forgive me. but i just think he might like the 'prison life' *cough cough*.

called it.