Posted on 08/17/2006 5:29:08 AM PDT by varyouga
(Bangkok, Thailand-AP, Aug. 17, 2006 Updated 8:08 AM) _ 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. "I am so very sorry for what happened to JonBenet," he told The Associated Press.
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 as he spoke. "Her death was an accident."
Asked if he was innocent of the crime, Karr said: "No."
Later, as he was escorted to his guesthouse to pick up his belongings, he told the AP: "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."
Karr also told the AP he contacted JonBenet's mother, Patsy Ramsey, before her death in June and that he wrote her letters about "many things." He said he hoped that she received the letters.
Karr confessed to the killing after his arrest Wednesday at his downtown Bangkok guesthouse 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 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 her. He said she was very pretty, a pageant queen. She was the school star, she was very cute and sweet," 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.
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. It was not known whether investigators had any DNA evidence against Karr.
The Ramseys learned that police were investigating Karr at least a month before Patsy Ramsey's death in June 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 Wood, the family 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 guesthouse 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.
"People confess to crimes they didn't commit all the time. They want the notariety.
So far, there is no compelling evidence that this guy did it."
This is what I'm wondering too. But obviously the authorities involved know that. They must have more on him.
The statement out of the DA's office seemed they are convinced that this is their man.
"I get the feeling this guy is a nutcase looking for 15 minutes of hard-earned fame"
Agreed. I am very skeptical that this perv had anything to do with it.
I agree with both of you. I still think it was a family member, and Patsy took the info to her grave. JMO
I just googled both him and JonBenet, even his family sounds very strange. The brother is vouching for him saying what a wonderful family man he is, yet he skipped on child porn charges, the brother doesn't even know how old his nephews are, he can't remember if he had spent Christmas with them and he's not sure if he is still married or seperated. The father thought he was dead and the wife claims he and his family name ruined her life and he is forbidden to see his children. He absolutely gives me the creeps!!! and then I just also read that he was communicating with a professor and he was so disturbing that the prof. called the police. There was also a file opened up in his name with the Colorado Board of Education although he never actually applied for a teaching job. The detectives messed this case up from day one, that much is fact.
>>>and if the DNA does not match up....this case is blown.>>>
Boulder news are reporting the DNA is a match.
I'm in the "hold-the-phone" camp on this guy. Something about it (at least info that's avail now) doesn't add up... yet.
"The statement out of the DA's office seemed they are convinced that this is their man."
Maybe they want to get him back in the US to face the child pornography charges in California. THis whole thing doesn't make sense. My brain cannot get past Patsy's handwriting and style in the ransom note.
And, his brother said that he was with them that Christmas. The brother didn't live near the ex-wife, so one of them is definitely wrong, if not both of them.
Anybody?
Anybody???
(Does this really need a sarcasm tag?)
I remember thinking the first time I saw a sample from the ransom note, that there was something effeminate about the handwriting. I'd like to see his handwriting.
Yes..IF.
I'd like to see the DNA test results..or maybe that's already been posted???
"Maybe they want to get him back in the US to face the child pornography charges in California"
No. The DA's office notified the Ramsey's attorney that they had arrested this guy.
He is not a "random pervert," but a psycho who is facinated by child murder stories. He wrote a term paper in college about the JonBonnett murder, and his prof told him he should write a book. He has spoken with many people about the murder, including JonBonnet's grandparents.
The guy is a nutjob, and I'm sure that a prision in Thailand is not a good place to be....we'll have to wait and see what else comes out of his mouth.
Ok. Maybe it was an accident. Well if it was, why didn't you go to the police and report it immediately? That is the question I have. Cover ups are always bad.
The only person I heard say that the DNA matches is Patsy's sister. Are they simply repeating what she said?
One does wonder what line he crossed in Thailand...
Another wierd thing in the case that was never really answered. Apparently, several friends/neighbors claimed JonBenet told them that she was going to have a "special" visit from Santa Clause. She was quite emphatic about it.
Patsy (her mother) never heard JonBenet talk about this but others did. Very strange. Could be something to his "picking her up from school" earlier. Did he say Christmas Eve? Should be easy enough to see if there was school on Christmas Eve -doubt that line.
The first thing they have on him is that he is a fugative from justice. He never shouwed up in court on his 2001 child porn case. From that point onward he was on the lam and running from the authorities.
THAT is why he is being held in Thailand.
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