Arrest Made in JB Murder - Aug 16th, 2006

[Peter Hamilton]

thanks les0305--didn't know about his ex-wife's statements

 

[close_enough]

sounds like he didn't show up for court in 2001, for charges of child *advertiser censored*, here in the US (california)...a warrant was issued after that.....hmm

per Greta

 

[Buzz Mills]

okay because i thought i also heard he was arrested on an outstanding warrant from the US. Maybe that was in addition?

Just off the press:

Suspect arrested in JonBenet Ramsey case
1 minute ago

BOULDER, Colo. - A former schoolteacher was arrested Wednesday in Thailand in the slaying of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey — a surprise breakthrough in a lurid, decade-old murder mystery that had cast a cloud of suspicion over her parents.

Ramsey family attorney Lin Wood identified the suspect as John Mark Karr, 41. Federal officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the name, and one law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Boulder police had tracked him down online.

Wood said the arrest vindicated JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey. Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer June 24.

"John and Patsy lived their lives knowing they were innocent, trying to raise a son despite the furor around them," Lin Wood said. "The story of this family is a story of courage, and story of an American injustice and tragedy that ultimately people will have to look back on and hopefully learn from."

The attorney said the Ramseys learned about the suspect a least a month before Patsy Ramsey's death. "It's been a very long 10 years, and I'm just sorry Patsy isn't here for me to hug her neck," Wood said.

Karr was a teacher who once lived in Conyers, Ga., according to Wood. The attorney said the Ramseys gave police information about Karr before he was identified as a suspect.

Wood would not say how the Ramseys knew Karr. But JonBenet was born in Atlanta in 1990, and the Ramseys lived in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody for several years before moving to Colorado in 1991.

A source close to the investigation said Karr confessed to elements of the crime. Also, 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.

District Attorney Mary Lacy said the arrest followed several months of work, but she said no details would be released until Thursday.

U.S. authorities said Karr was being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges, but Thai police Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul said he was unaware of any criminal charges the suspect faced in Thailand.

Karr was arrested in his apartment in downtown Bangkok at the request of U.S. officials, and was being held until they arrived in the country, Thai police said. Suwat said he expected U.S. officials to bring Karr back to America in the next few days.

JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's home in Boulder on Dec. 26, 1996. Patsy Ramsey reported finding a ransom note in the house demanding $118,000 for her daughter.

The image of blonde-haired little JonBenet in a cowgirl costume and other beauty pageant outfits has haunted TV talk shows ever since, helping feed myriad theories about her killer, and the case became one of the most sensational unsolved murder cases in the nation.

Over the years, some experts suggested that investigators had botched the case so thoroughly that it might never be solved.

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

In the months after the slaying, Patsy Ramsey went before the cameras, vigorously defending herself and her husband, chastising the media and blasting local law enforcement as incompetent.

In a statement Wednesday, John Ramsey said: "Patsy was aware that authorities were close to making an arrest in the case, and had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder."

The Ramseys moved back to Atlanta after their daughter's slaying.

Wood lashed out at the frenzy that long surrounded the case, and he accused the media of "the most obscene false accusations." "I think the public's mind was so poisoned against this family that no one was able for too many years to look at the evidence," he said.

Patsy Ramsey's sister, Pam Paugh, of Roswell, Ga., said the family was celebrating the news of the arrest. "We are elated. We are elated. If this is, in fact, the killer, then we have a very heinous killer off the streets to never harm another child," Paugh said.

Lib Waters of Marietta, Ga., visited the gravesites of Patsy and JonBenet Ramsey in the Atlanta suburb immediately after hearing news reports about the arrest.

Waters, who described herself as a longtime friend of the Ramsey family, taped a piece of notebook paper to JonBenet Ramsey's headstone that read: "Dearest Patsy, Justice has come for you and Jon. Rest in peace."

In 2003, a federal judge in Atlanta concluded that the evidence she reviewed suggested an intruder killed JonBenet. That opinion came with the judge's decision to dismiss a libel and slander lawsuit against the Ramseys by a freelance journalist, whom the Ramseys had named as a suspect in their daughter's murder. The Boulder district attorney at the time said she agreed with the judge's declaration.

"Today is additional vindication of the family," Wood said.

Wood said he and the Ramseys "have been totally amazed and impressed with the professionalism of law enforcement" under Lacy's direction. Lacy became district attorney in 2001.

Lawrence Schiller, author of the 1999 book "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" about the case, said Wednesday he understood the man had been on a list of sexual offenders who were suspects for a long time.

"There are a lot of facts about her actual death that the public does not know." Schiller said. "If he did confess to some facts of the murder, to reveal those facts of the case, that would finish the puzzle."

Among the facts he said were not generally known was the murder weapon and what the killer did with it.

DNA was found beneath JonBenet's fingernails and inside her underwear, but Wood said two years ago that detectives were unable to match it to anyone in an FBI database. It was not immediately known Wednesday whether investigators had any DNA evidence against Karr.

Bob Grant, a former Adams County district attorney who worked on the case, said there was never enough evidence to convince him that any potential suspect could be successfully prosecuted.

"I wasn't convinced it was an inside job, nor was I convinced it was an outside job," he said. "All the outside suspects were cleared after exhaustive investigation, and there were a whole lot of outside suspects."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060817/ap_on_re_us/jonbenet_ramsey

 

[michelle]

I think this may really be it, I am praying anyway. I have been looking for a "profile" of what the experts say the killer would be. I remember they said 25-35 years old white and a pedophile. I guess it depends who the profiler was but it seems like they always get it right.

 

[dragonfly707]

sounds like he didn't show up for court in 2001, for charges of child *advertiser censored*, here in the US (california)...a warrant was issued after that.....hmm

per Greta

Yes here in Sonoma County California.

 

[windovervocalcords]

sounds like he didn't show up for court in 2001, for charges of child *advertiser censored*, here in the US (california)...a warrant was issued after that.....hmm

per Greta

Naw, its because he was in Thailand.

 

[close_enough]

I read thru the thread quickly, so please forgive if this was mentioned already, but if it ends up that this guy is into pedo stuff, perhaps he simply knows someone or met someone who was involved in JBR's murder.

his brother said he was deeply into research on child/molesters/killers, & that he had even interviewed the guy that killed polly klauss (sp?).....this guy MAY have just gotten so deep into all of this, that he started emailing Patsy with some strange questions??...something along those lines, maybe???......

interesting, for sure....i want to hear one way or the other about the DNA

 

[michelle]

his brother said he was deeply into research on child/molesters/killers, & that he had even interviewed the guy that killed polly klauss (sp?).....this guy MAY have just gotten so deep into all of this, that he started emailing Patsy with some strange questions??...something along those lines, maybe???......

interesting, for sure....i want to hear one way or the other about the DNA

Richard Allen Davis, wow he interviewed him. It sounds like this guy is a psychopath!

 

[Wudge]

And it could have taken a few months to have the results back....which is why Patsy may have known something was up back in June.

BUT (and a big BUT) I'm holding judgement against this guy until there's more info out there than just the media spewing you mentioned also. He very well could have been trying to capitalize on the murders of children by researching to "write a book," emailed Patsy - made some weird statements, all in an effort to get Patsy talking so he could sell some story to the tabloids or something. Who knows?

Boulder PD took many a howitzer hit for their incredible incompetency. I have a hard time believing that LE would not have dotted I's and crossed T's before arresting Karr. Moreover, without highly incriminating corrobatory evidence, I have a similarly hard time believing that another country would allow extradition unless strong evidence exists and was provided.

 

[close_enough]

Yes here in Sonoma County California.

so, as Greta put it, sounds like he might still have other legal "issues" here in the US...i haven't heard anything about the warrant; if it was carried out or what....

 

[Buzz Mills]

okay because i thought i also heard he was arrested on an outstanding warrant from the US. Maybe that was in addition?

U.S. authorities said Karr was being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges, but Thai police Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul said he was unaware of any criminal charges the suspect faced in Thailand.

Karr was arrested in his apartment in downtown Bangkok at the request of U.S. officials, and was being held until they arrived in the country, Thai police said. Suwat said he expected U.S. officials to bring Karr back to America in the next few days.

 

[mfmangel1]

The wife says he was in Alabama with her for Christmas 1996....The brother says he was in Atlanta with him for Christmas 1996.


We already have conflicting alibis....Hmmmm!

Need to get those stories straight before you give interviews, folks!

 

[dragonfly707]

so, as Greta put it, sounds like he might still have other legal "issues" here in the US...i haven't heard anything about the warrant; if it was carried out or what....

There is still a Sonoma County warrant out for him on the charges from 2001 in which he failed to appear in court.

 

[JBean]

U.S. authorities said Karr was being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges, but Thai police Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul said he was unaware of any criminal charges the suspect faced in Thailand.

Karr was arrested in his apartment in downtown Bangkok at the request of U.S. officials, and was being held until they arrived in the country, Thai police said. Suwat said he expected U.S. officials to bring Karr back to America in the next few days.

Thanks Buzz..that was a good article..I posted it on another thread too. Gave you full credit of course.

 

[Jack]

Looks as though maybe he was thrown under the bus by the Ramseys:


"Karr was a teacher who once lived in Conyers, Ga., according to Wood. The attorney said the Ramseys gave police information about Karr before he was identified as a suspect.

Wood would not say how the Ramseys knew Karr. But JonBenet was born in Atlanta in 1990, and the Ramseys lived in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody for several years before moving to Colorado in 1991."


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/17/ap/national/mainD8JHSLF80.shtml

 

[close_enough]

Also, 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.

hmmmm, that's interesting...(from the link that Buzz posted above)

 

[Ca-Sun]

I was so shocked when I saw an arrest had been made in this case! Hurried home from work to come here and had a heck of a time getting in, and staying. Actually got in once, but was dumped back out. "Server busy, try again later" was all I could get. I tried to say it was later, and I was trying again, but that didn't work either. Finally, the server let me in. :clap:
I so hope this really is the right person, and after all this time, justice can be served. Can't wait for the press conference tomorrow.

 

[JBean]

Also, 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.

hmmmm, that's interesting...(from the link that Buzz posted above)

On another thread, it is thought that the confession came through those emails, at least in part.

 

[close_enough]

There is still a Sonoma County warrant out for him on the charges from 2001 in which he failed to appear in court.

thanks for the info!...i was curious

 

[CherokeeKid]

Dr. Baden just said on Greta's show that the brother sounded quite convincing why he was in touch with the Ramsey's family via email (research for writing a book). He said he just has to see who things develop. It's too early to say anything else.

Dr. Lee was also on Greta's show. And Dr. Spitz from Arizona. Both confirmed there was NO sperm found in JonBenet's underwear. Only some male DNA blood.

The underwear was made in Thailand.

Mark Fuhrman was careful in his conclusions, IMO. He said John Karr is NOT charged with anything yet. Just a suspect.

I think it's really too soon to jump to any conclusions! The arrest sounds promising. However, I think it still has to be seen if there is enough to connect John Karr to this crime. I'm just skeptical. As much as I wish for a solution in this case.