Posted on 08/19/2006 5:16:19 PM PDT by Shermy
BOULDER - As a running columnist for the Boulder Daily Camera, Mike Sandrock had little interest in the JonBenet Ramsey investigation until he saw a photo in his paper's newsroom.
The picture staring back at him, Sandrock remembered the summer of 2002 in Paris like it was last week.
Sandrock travels the world covering running events, but this trip was used for research on an Ernest Hemmingway book he's preparing.
Beneath his Paris loft, Sandrock looked for motivation in a bookstore named Shakespeare and Company, a hangout of Hemmingway's in the 1920's where his thoughts and career once started to blossom.
Sandrock met many tourists in the historic shop, and shared several conversations, including many talks with a John Mark Karr.
"He was just a regular guy, clean cut, very pleasant in fact," said Sandrock.
The topics quickly focused on JonBenet Ramsey and Boulder, Colorado after Sandrock's occupation came up.
"He said what do you do? I told him I'm a columnist with the Daily Camera in Boulder, and he got so excited," said Sandrock.
Maybe excited was an understatement, as every word thereafter, was about the town and the story.
"He knew everything about it, everything," said Sandrock.
Karr recited many facts about Boulder, from landmarks to the location of the Daily Camera.
"I got the impression he had been in Boulder, then I thought he just saw the documentaries," said Sandrock.
Documentaries produced by CU Professor Michael Tracy, whom Sandrock knew, and someone Karr wanted to know.
After talking with Karr on several occasions that summer, Sandrock was no longer interested in the subject, but later agreed to put Karr in touch with Professor Tracy through e-mail.
"I got the impression he wanted to talk more, but I stopped the conversations when he got into how the girl died, I just was not interested in that," said Sandrock.
Sandrock said Karr never discussed having visited Colorado, and never got the impression that Karr was a murderer, only extremely consumed with JonBenet Ramsey and her death.
"That's the thing, he wasn't that different, just obsessive, even in Boulder you meet a lot of people that are obsessive," said Sandrock.
Exactly...but actually, CT Mom, I was responding to someone who thought that John Ramsey picking her up in his arms, plus removing the tape on her mouth, then carrying her upstairs, was done to contaminate the scene so the Ramseys would escape justice.
Their point was to say that if a parent does that upon finding their murdered child in their own home, it looks like they touch them in order to beat a murder rap.
You said you wouldn't think, oh, I better not touch her or the police will think I did it. It's the opposite to what I was responding to.
And I said I can't imagine a parent who would make sure NOT to touch their child so the police could process the scene correctly. Can't see John R. calling up the basement stairs, hey, here's my daughter, dead, now come down here and do your detective work.
The first impulse would be to get her out of that hell hole where she had been so horribly mistreated and killed. Get that awful stuff off of her body that the creep had left there. Then lay her down on a nice sofa, cradled in your arms, and try to revive her and failing that, sobbing your heart out.
You're point is extremely well put. Rationally, he would not make deliberately incorrect statements if he really wanted "credit" for the crime. Only thing I can think of...he's now quite confused and is acting as more than one personality, or has severe memory problems or something. The multiple personality thing has been mentioned as a possibility.
I have been out of pocket for several hours, of necessity. Can you point me to the latest info, including Karr's transfer? Haven't had a chance to watch TV yet. Just a few hightlights...not everything. I would really appreciate it.
This confuses me.
They went to a party at a friend's house, right? (For years I thought the party had been in the Ramsey house.)
So he told this woman that he did coin tricks for Jon Benet at the Christmas party at another house, so she was willing to come downstairs with him in her own house?? This begs the question of how did he get into the Ramsey home? And when? Including to write the note as well as commit the crime. How did he know his way around?
You know, THOSE little details.
I'm not thinking about the chloroform right now, because the last I heard, didn't the Thai authorities say that he really didn't say he drugged her, after all?
I'm thinking too hard about it....and it likely isn't that hard.
Karr has a grudge against power and the money. His life has been a flop.
Being from the south, Ramsey would be in the southern papers more than here...up north.
There's some connection to the Ramseys but we don't know how yet.
From Sandrock (or whatever his name is) we learned that it appears that Karr was familiar with Colorado....but that might just be by doing web searches......except he knew the color and position of the newspaper building that the writer was from...by heart. Is that toooo familiar? Had he been there looking at Victorian Houses? Had he worked on any? There are a lot of guys who work for subcontractors doing work under the table.
I think John Ramsey said that the little room where they found Jonbenet had been painted shut. Who was the painter...and how long ago??
He's not THAT confused. He said after checking that the record light was on (the flitting eyes) that: it was "an accident" and then continued "That would make it 2nd degree murder not 1st degree".
go to this link-http://www.kron.com/Global/category.asp?C=8554&nav=menu130_1
scroll down to where it says "Womans says Karr told her about Ramsey"
Thanks for that link...very interesting to say the least....this open-house she was referring to can be easily checked...he went with his brother, also John Ramsey has said he has never heard of Karr, but this woman says John Mark's brother worked for Ramsey at one time, another thing that could be easily checked through payment records...
OK. Now I have something in common with KARR, eeeeekkk!
As I said, for years I thought the party was at the Ramseys.
So he tells this woman that the party was at the Ramseys. And that's how the whole crime came about.
Just one thing...everybody else seems to KNOW that the party was at...what did Rte66 say...Fleet White's house?
He probably sells his body for money. Which may be why Sandrock was "excited" to meet him.
That's quite a story about the Vampire, Common Tator. If you have the inclination, you could turn that into a novel. The story's so good, a publisher would pay to have it edited, if necessary.
Yes, I had heard that revelation from Sandrock...the only question being HOW and WHEN did Karr come to know such minute details about Boulder, CO...there being no doubt that he did know.
Surely the prosecutor has got to have something placing him there.
I'm thinking if she doesn't, she's as nutty (well, maybe not quite) as Karr.
I want the truth to come out. But I confess to wanting Kimberly Gilfoyle, et al, to have those smug, sarcastic smirks wiped off their faces.
Sigh. But I will accept..whatever.
I know he wasn't confused about the legal implications.
I was talking memory of the crime details. He has flights of fantasy, I think. He's so confused he feels like a girl trapped in a male body. He brags. He embellishes. Of course if he's the one, he knows, or once knew, everything. If he's not the one, just a wannabe, he still knows more than almost anyone else about the case.
And yet, and yet..if he gives knowingly false statements about details how does that square with his wanting to be thought the murderer?
Conservative Texan Mom pointed that out.
Which led me to speculate...
Thanks.
The DeLorean, the traveling, no visible means of support add up to the life of a gigilo, serving gays all over the world. There really is a large underground of these guys. The look good, dress well, have "friends" who support them and may even pass them around to other guys with money.
I lived in San Francisco for a decade, worked in the arts, so had a lot of gay friends. They told me more than I wanted to know. It's just incredible how promiscuous they are, sometimes having as many as 40 encounters in a 24-hour period. If they get paid for half of them, that's major money. Or, they might be the honey of one wealthy and sometimes "straight" fellow who provides an apartment, car, spending money....everything.
Karr has the right look, the right attitude, the right haircut to be a gay "escort."
I think his ex and brother are likely good people and will work with the police...not with the media.
I'm sure there are people coming out of the woodwork and reams of information on this guy.
I'm also certain they want to write up a search warrant properly and thoroughly so nothing gets overlooked and/or thrown out.
I MUST believe they have a match to fingerprints or the palm print. That could have been easily faxed and confirmed. Be patient.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.