CA - Child *advertiser censored* charges against John Mark Karr dismissed

[Ca-Sun]

SANTA ROSA -- One time JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect John Mark Karr will stand trial Monday on five misdemeanor charges of possession of child *advertiser censored* filed against him in 2001 in Sonoma County.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Cerena Wong denied a defense motion late this afternoon by Karr's attorneys to dismiss the charges against Karr.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/9964938/detail.html

 

[i.b.nora]

FBI Reviewing Evidence Against Karr

KTVU
POSTED: 2:47 pm PDT October 2, 2006

"SANTA ROSA -- The FBI is reviewing *advertiser censored* found on the computer equipment of former JonBenet Ramsey slaying suspect John Mark Karr for comparison to a national database of child *advertiser censored* victims, a lawyer for Sonoma County said Monday.

Deputy County Counsel Anne Keck said the digital files were unrelated to the current child *advertiser censored* possession case against Karr, but contain pornographic images of teenagers.

The FBI is trying to determine whether underage victims appear in the photos, Keck said.

The disclosure came at a Sonoma County Superior Court hearing over whether to unseal police documents related to what authorities have called an ongoing investigation since Karr was returned from Colorado to face the five-year-old charges.

"Defense lawyers did not comment on the new twist in the case, but renewed efforts to get child *advertiser censored* charges dismissed and filed a motion to exclude newly discovered computer evidence from his case."

"They don't know how the images got there," defense lawyer Robert Amparan said. "They don't know whether Mr. Karr knew they were there. They don't know when if ever they were viewed.""

"Karr's trial was originally scheduled Monday, but it was postponed for further hearings Tuesday on defense motions to dismiss the case or throw out newly revealed computer data."

 

[i.b.nora]

New judge will handle Karr child-*advertiser censored* trial

Chronicle Staff Report
Monday, October 2, 2006

(10-02) 14:48 PDT SANTA ROSA -- A new judge was assigned today to handle the John Mark Karr child *advertiser censored* trial after a second attempt to unseal police reports and search warrants was denied.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau will take over from Judge Cerena Wong. He will be greeted with a flood of motions to exclude evidence and dismiss the case, among other requests, according to Karr's attorney Robert Amparan.

"As her last act, Wong denied a motion to unseal court files, insisting that the loss of a computer and subsequent "misleading" statements by prosecutors did not justify opening the sealed documents to the press and public."

 

[lighthouselover]

Thank you for all your updates, i.b.nora!

IMO, Judge Wong did not want to be known as "the judge that let John Mark Karr go free" and ruled on admitting what can only be classified as "tainted evidence".

No matter what you feel about JMK, a defendant in this country still has the right to confront and cross examine their accuser and/or evidence. The fact that his hard drive was copied, then two other cases added to the copy, and then the entire disk was reformatted cannot make one feel comfortable or good about the evidence.

Now they're invoking the whole "FBI looking" again, which IMO is a total sham. They only hope that JMK will be scared into pleading guilty on the misdemeanor charges thereby absolving them of having to prove their case with questionable evidence.

And where is that Thailand laptop?

 

[i.b.nora]

New Judge Assigned To Karr Child *advertiser censored* Trial

New Judge Assigned To Karr Child *advertiser censored* Trial
NBC11.com San Jose San Francisco Oakland
POSTED: 3:05 pm PDT October 2, 2006
UPDATED: 3:36 pm PDT October 2, 2006

"A Sonoma County Superior Court judge again denied a motion Monday morning to unseal affidavits in John Mark Karr's 2001 possession of child *advertiser censored* case and assigned the trial to another judge.

Judge Cerena Wong, who denied a motion Friday to dismiss the five misdemeanor charges against Karr because of missing computer evidence, sent the trial to Judge Rene Chouteau. Pretrial motions are scheduled for Tuesday morning."

"Wong is starting a voluntary manslaughter trial involving a crash that killed a family of four and a trial currently before Chouteau was expected to go to the jury Monday."

"The case against Karr included a laptop computer that prosecutors allege contained pornographic images. However, the laptop's hard drive has been lost, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department.

An evidence technician testified last week that paperwork documenting the Sheriff's Department's move to a new building in 2002 doesn't show loss of evidence, but Sheriff Bill Cogbill has said it is believed that's when the original hard drive was misplaced."

 

[lighthouselover]

I knew I was forgetting to ask something and that was if anybody knew why the judge was replaced.

That clears it up! Thanks!

 

[i.b.nora]

Judge Keeps Karr *advertiser censored* Case Sealed

October 02. 2006 10:14PM
By MARCUS WOHLSEN
Associated Press Writer

excerpt:

"Karr's trial was originally scheduled to start Monday, but was postponed for further hearings Tuesday on defense motions to dismiss the case or throw out newly revealed computer data.

Investigators said they think they have other computer equipment linked to Karr that could contain more than 1,000 other images.

Prosecutors "don't know how the images got there," defense lawyer Robert Amparan said. "They don't know whether Mr. Karr knew they were there. They don't know when if ever they were viewed."

Sonoma County Deputy County Counsel Anne Keck told the judge the FBI was comparing images of teenagers found on Karr's computer equipment with a national database of child *advertiser censored* victims.

She said the digital images were not related to child *advertiser censored* charges against Karr.

But FBI spokesman Joe Schadler later said the bureau's role in the Karr investigation had ended, and was limited to providing expert testimony and forensic analysis of five pictures discovered on Karr's computer in 2001.

"We're not doing any further forensic work," he said.

Keck did not immediately return phone messages to The Associated Press seeking comment."

more...

 

[lighthouselover]

Huh? So did they lie (again) that the FBI was comparing photos or continuing to look at the "mirror image" evidence?

If this was anybody but JMK, this case would be shut down and thrown out.

Where is the Thailand laptop?

 

[i.b.nora]

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat's take on yesterdays proceedings.

Judge keeps Karr documents secret
Wong says detective didn't intentionally mislead her about status of investigation
Published: Tuesday, Oct 3, 2006
By LORI A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
"A Sonoma County judge Monday for a second time refused to unseal investigative documents used to arrest John Mark Karr in 2001 on child *advertiser censored* charges, saying she believes a detective didn't intentionally mislead her last month when he told her the investigation was ongoing.

At the time, the only computer known to contain any possibly illegal photographs was missing. Sheriff's detectives say they have since recovered a copy of the computer hard drive, though the original hasn't been located.

In another twist Monday, a lawyer representing the Sheriff's Department said in court that the FBI is investigating "computer media" that deputies seized from Karr five years ago but never processed."

and

"Sheriff's deputies arrested Karr five years ago and seized four computer hard drives, according to court documents and detectives' testimony.

Deputies said another hard drive was too damaged to examine and two others were still being examined. It was unclear why the two other hard drives, in a laptop and a computer tower, weren't examined in 2001 during the six months Karr spent in jail as his trial approached.

Also, a high-capacity Zip disk and Zip drive that deputies say was found just last month in an archive box from the Karr case is believed to contain 1,600 images, some of which detectives have said are child *advertiser censored*. That drive and disk were never logged into evidence and no criminal charges have been filed related to those images.

In court Monday, a Sheriff's Department lawyer argued the documents should remain under seal because federal authorities were examining images seized from Karr's computers.

"At this moment, the FBI does have that file, those photographs, and are comparing them to a national database" of potential child-*advertiser censored* victims, said Anne Keck, who represents the Sheriff's Department.

She said the images are unrelated to the current case and that "charges could be brought on those photos." She said the ages of some of the people in the photos couldn't be determined.

An FBI spokesman said the agency isn't investigating anything new in the Karr case.

"We are not doing any - nor did we do any - forensic work," said Joseph Schadler of the FBI's San Francisco office. "We're not doing any further investigation. We are simply authenticating the images with which he's been charged."

He said FBI agents may provide testimony regarding the ages of the people in the photos."

No word on the missing Thailand computer.

 

[i.b.nora]

Lawyer: Karr's Ex-wife Has Evidence That Could Clear Him
NBC11.com an AP article
POSTED: 12:16 pm PDT October 3, 2006
UPDATED: 12:21 pm PDT October 3, 2006

"The ex-wife of former JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect John Mark Karr provided Sonoma County prosecutors more than a month ago with evidence that Karr's lawyers said could clear their client.

Lara Knutsen divorced Karr in 2001 after he was charged with possessing child *advertiser censored*. But she told investigators last month that the computer on which five alleged child *advertiser censored* images were found was not working at the time of Karr's 2001 arrest."

"In a new motion to have charges against Karr dismissed, his lawyers argue that because the computer was not working at the time it was seized, prosecutors cannot prove that Karr knowingly possessed the images.

Karr's lawyers say prosecutors deliberately withheld a transcript of their interview with Knutsen until last week, when earlier arguments to dismiss the charges were already underway."

 

[LovelyPigeon]

If the images were on one of Karr's computers, what does it matter whether the computer was 'working' at the time it was seized?

 

[i.b.nora]

Here is the evening AP story of today's happenings.

Defense: Prosecution Withheld Evidence in Karr Child *advertiser censored* Case

Read the whole article, but I found this particularly interesting:

Karr's defense team also is seeking to invalidate the search warrant that led to the seizure of the computer, claiming a detective failed to disclose that his confidential informant suffered from bipolar disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

 

[lighthouselover]

If the images were on one of Karr's computers, what does it matter whether the computer was 'working' at the time it was seized?

I don't know for sure, but I would think they would have to prove that the "crime" occurred in CA and that the images were not already on the computer when he obtained it and that they were obtained during the time he lived in CA.

Something like that.

 

[lighthouselover]

AP article (speaking of Wendy)

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KARR_CHILD_PORN?SITE=ALDOT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

In a separate motion filed Monday, Karr's lawyers allege the informant told a sheriff's detective that she suffered from bipolar disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. E-mails indicated she stopped taking medication for those conditions for nine months.

The search warrant would not have been issued if the judge "was aware of the mental health, honesty and veracity, and bias and prejudice" of the informant, the defense argued.

Petaluma resident Wendy Hutchens identified herself in August as the informant. She said she recorded more than 20 hours of telephone conversations and exchanged e-mails with Karr in the months before his 2001 arrest.

The defense also questioned the reliability of the informant's motives, saying she tried to sell her diaries describing her communications with Karr on the online auction site eBay. It was unclear if they were ever sold.

Wendy - putting the "con" in confidential informant.

 

[i.b.nora]

I don't know for sure, but I would think they would have to prove that the "crime" occurred in CA and that the images were not already on the computer when he obtained it and that they were obtained during the time he lived in CA.

Something like that.

According to a report on KTVU television this morning, it sounds like you may be right, Lighthouse.

The report talked about the defense saying the search warrant was illegal, or flawed or something and did not go into the issue of Wendy Hutchens. However, they went on to say, "the images were found on an ERASED portion of a hard drive which was found in a closet and MAY NOT have ever even been used in California."

 

[i.b.nora]

Judge Opts Not to Bar Evidence Against Karr in *advertiser censored* Case

Associated Press article

SANTA ROSA, October 4, 2006 - "A Sonoma County judge refused Wednesday to bar evidence from the former JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect's computer in the child *advertiser censored* case against him.

John Mark Karr's lawyers argued in Sonoma County Superior Court that Karr never gave sheriff's deputies permission to search the computer's hard drive where five illegal images were allegedly found.

Prosecutors and Judge Rene Chouteau disagreed, saying a judge determined in 2001 the search was valid.

Defense lawyer Robert Amparan also revealed Wednesday a printout made by sheriff's deputies cataloging the contents of Karr's hard drive showed the computer had never been used while Karr lived in California.

"Nothing has been accessed on that computer since 1998, two years before the Karrs moved from Alabama to California," Amparan said.

Divorce records indicate Karr, his former wife and their three children moved from Alabama to Petaluma in 2000.

At least one observer said if Karr obtained the images more than a year before charges were filed, a judge could throw out the case because the deadline for bringing charges had expired."

There is more...

 

[lighthouselover]

Looks like the "fix" is in. No judge wants to be the one to dismiss the case, even though that would be the right thing to do, it would not be politically correct. There will not be a jury anywhere who does not want JMK locked up, off the streets, and out of their neighborhoods.

And where is the Thailand laptop?

 

[panthera]

I don't ever recall a case where misdemeanor charges have gotten so much attention. I'm afraid he's going to be convicted based on what the public knows about him now, rather than what the evidence is pertaining to these charges.

 

[i.b.nora]

Karr loses another motion to dismiss child *advertiser censored* charges
But fight continues over computer at center of case

SFgate San Francisco Chronicle
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer

"A Sonoma County judge on Wednesday denied a second attempt to dismiss child *advertiser censored* charges against John Mark Karr, a former suspect in the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, but the battle over the computer that contained the sexually explicit images is raging on."

and

"The latest attack by the defense was based on a statement by Karr's ex-wife, Lara Knutson, who wasn't sure whether the computer seized from their Petaluma home in 2001 was working at the time of her husband's arrest.

Defense lawyer Robert Amparan argued that the computer was being stored under the stairs when it was confiscated and there is no way of knowing whether the computer worked because investigators lost it.

They have since found a "mirror image," or copy, but Amparan claims it has been reformatted twice and is degraded.

Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau denied the dismissal motion and another one to exclude copies of the sexually explicit images because, he said, Karr "should have had knowledge of the state of the computers.""

and

"Another battle is expected today when Risse attempts to prove that Karr used the computer within a year of its confiscation. Amparan claims computer printouts indicate the computer had not been used since 1998, two years before the Karrs moved from Alabama to California.

Amparan also wants the judge to exclude a computer printout cataloging the evidence found on Karr's hard drive and to invalidate the search warrant that led to the confiscation of the computer. He claims the information investigators relied on for their search came from a mentally ill, unreliable informant."

more...

No word on the missing Thailand computer.

 

[i.b.nora]

Judge again denies Karr dismissal
Date computer was last accessed may present statute of limitations problem

Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Published: Thursday, Oct 5, 2006
By LORI A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

"Karr's attorneys argued that evidence from a computer hard drive on which investigators said they'd found five images of children in sexual situations should be suppressed because Sonoma County sheriff's detectives didn't have a search warrant to examine it.

Judge René Chouteau ruled that the issue was dealt with in 2001 when another judge determined police would have discovered the evidence anyway, despite not having a warrant to search the house in which it was seized. The detectives had a warrant for a house Karr and his family were moving into, but not for the one from which they were moving.

"If I were addressing this without a prior ruling, it would be a very close call," Chouteau said. "It's not being relitigated at this time.""

and

"Amparán said the sheriff's computer examination showed the documents on the hard drive hadn't been accessed since 1998, two years before the Karrs moved to Petaluma.

"How do you charge someone with possession of child *advertiser censored* when the images have been deleted multiple times, on a computer that's broken, a computer that's never been operational in California, that's not been operational since 1998, when they didn't move here until 2000?" Amparán asked in court."

and

"But arguments on the issue prompted questions about whether the criminal case was filed before a legal deadline.

"There may be statute of limitation issues if the computer wasn't functional and no one looked in it for five years," Chouteau said."

more...