Posted on 08/17/2006 7:51:23 AM PDT by Arec Barrwin
Ex-wife gives alibi for JonBenet suspect
By ALISA TANG, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 1 minute ago
A former American school teacher said publicly Thursday that he was with JonBenet Ramsey when she died in what he called "an accident," a stunning admission after a decade without answers in the 6-year-old girl's murder. But the suspect's ex-wife said she was with him in Alabama at the time of JonBenet's 1996 death.
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," Karr told reporters afterward, visibly nervous and stuttering. "Her death was an accident."
Asked if he was innocent of the crime, Karr said: "No."
As he was escorted to his guesthouse to pick up his belongings, Karr told The Associated Press: "I am so very sorry for what happened to JonBenet. It's very important for me that everyone knows that I love her very much, that her death was unintentional, that it was an accident."
Asked what happened when JonBenet died, he said: "It would take several hours to describe that. It's a very involved series of events that would involve a lot of time. It's very painful for me to talk about it."
He told the AP he made "several efforts to communicate with Patricia before she passed away," referring to JonBenet's mother, who died in June, "and it is my understanding that she did read my letters."
No evidence against Karr has been made public beyond his own admission. U.S. and Thai officials did not directly answer a question at the news conference Thursday about whether there was DNA evidence connecting him to the crime.
Karr's ex-wife, Lara Karr, told KGO-TV in California that she was with her former husband in Alabama at the time of JonBenet's killing and she does not believe her former husband was involved in the homicide.
She said her ex-husband spent a lot of time studying the cases of Ramsey and Polly Klaas, who was abducted from her Petaluma, Calif., home and slain in 1993.
Karr on Thursday refused to say what his connection was to the Ramsey family. An attorney for the Ramsey family said Wednesday that Karr once lived near the family in Conyers, Ga.
Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul, head of Thailand's immigration police, said Karr confessed to the killing after his arrest by Thai and U.S. authorities Wednesday at his downtown Bangkok guesthouse.
Suwat said Karr insisted that JonBenet died during a kidnapping attempt that went awry.
"He said it was second-degree murder. He said it was unintentional," Suwat said. "He said he loved this child, that he was in love with her. He said she was very pretty, a pageant queen. She was the school star, she was very cute and sweet."
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.
JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's home in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996.
Patsy Ramsey reported finding a ransom note in the house demanding $118,000 for her daughter.
Images of the blonde girl competing in child beauty pageants helped propel the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the United States.
DNA was found beneath JonBenet's fingernails and inside her underwear, but Lin Wood, the family's longtime attorney, said two years ago that detectives were unable to match it to anyone in an FBI database.
A law-enforcement source told the AP on condition of anonymity 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.
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," Wood said.
"John and Patsy lived their lives knowing they were innocent, trying to raise a son despite the furor around them," he told MSNBC.
The Ramseys learned that police were investigating Karr at least a month before Patsy Ramsey's death from ovarian cancer, the family said.
In a statement Wednesday, 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."
Bob Raines, principal at Wilson Elementary School outside Petaluma, said he twice hired Karr as a substitute in second- and fourth-grade classes in 2001. After observing him, Raines said he concluded Karr hadn't been trained, had poor skills keeping classes focused and was ineffective.
A couple months later, Sonoma County sheriff's officials sent a letter to school officials saying Karr had been arrested, said Carl Wong, the Sonoma County superintendent of schools.
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.
Police said Karr had been living in a dormitory-style guesthouse called The Blooms in a neighborhood of massage parlors and travel agents that cater to expatriate residents and sex tourists.
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 for being an "undesirable person" after 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 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Bangkok, said that Karr had left the United States several years ago and had not returned.
I have no idea but she is very honest and will not comment on anything that would jeopardize this case. Will not comment on evidence. Affadavit is under seal.
No charges filed at this time -- she is completely professional. A total ethical DA -- am impressed.
I agree and all these different agencies involved and it was kept tight-lipped. These people are very professional in my humble opinion from what I am seeing so far.......
..but this won't keep the media pundits from endless speculation each and every day.
Of course we speculate too at FR....
..but it gets more than annoying to hear it on TV ad nauseam....& the arguing/shrieking that accompanies it.
I'm tuning them out.
I think the guy-Karr- knows something....but my gut reaction is he didn't do it.
So....why do these people bother to have a press conference??????
I am impressed that she is not going to jeopardize the case. Mission is the pursuit of justice. If this perp goes to trial, she is going to have every t crossed and i dotted before this goes to trial.
sw
Last night FReople had found a boy in Petaluma, CA (where the ex lives) who had a My Space page. The boy is 15. The page was soon removed from My Space so I suspect it is his son. His name is John Karr, also. That child would have been 5 when JonBenet was murdered.
She's doing a fine job...but I don't understand why they chose to have a press conference..why didn't she come out and read her statement..and leave it at that?
WEIRD......just plain weird.
Leaks to follow......
Or not...
She's pretty much saying nothing. She says the law prcludes her from giving any details.
I say BS. If she KNEW that he was the guy, they would let the press know.
This press conference pretty much reinforces my view that the guy didn't do it, as much as I hoped he was.
She keeps saying he is innocent. So if this Karr freak is a fake it will be proven, but it sounds like she is doing her job by checking all leads. I think she is doing the right thing.. msm wants info and they are ticked they did not get any news.
I just got it from that link I forgot to include.
I agree. She was professional, but why bother with a press conference?
Exactly....this is all we are going to hear for months....no new news....
Patsy's sister last night told Greta that neIther John nor any of them had heard of this guy before. weird.
why bother with a press conference?
My guess is 30 Media trucks outside her office. She is professional, and she nipped in the bud that no one is talking!!! Impressive in this I NEED TO KNOW NOW world we live in.
For a chance, I am feeling really good about law enforcement and an investigation.
This was refreshing.
I cannot stand this idiot on Fox News -- when did he go to Fox News. I am switching to MSNBC after leaving CNN. Public safety and fear of flight were some reasons for arrest. MSNBC, Dan Abrhams, is saying it is a very good idea that this guy is off the street.
It could be that Karr shared some not-so-common knowledge of the case in his emails to the professor and Ramsey. The DNA...or lack thereof...will be telling.
From the press conf it would appear that the Boulder DA has come up empty again.
When you consider that Tracey, Smit and Lin Wood are the prime movers ...
They seem to be confident they have their man. But the Presser didn't do much to convince anyone else of that.
Next, we saw John Karr up close and personal, and alot of us have our doubts about his so called "confession".
I'm with you, Guen. I may have to tune out to survive this one :)
sw
Oh. I agree then. :)
..exactly....if he shared unrevealed info....he could have gotten it from some sordid person he associates with.
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