Jon Benet Ramsay Suspect Arrested

[Gregory Tenenbaum]

The most recent suspect was arrested yesterday in Thailand.

He apparently made an admission to a reporter, some say a confession. I have never practised law in Colorado but I would say that it is not a confession. It seems to be an admission that he was present when the little girl died.

This is an amazing thing of itself. This fellow seemed remarkably calm given the media and police presence. Remarkable. The video is all on www.cnn.com,

One thing that this fellow will have to contend with (in the court of public opinion) that OJ and other didn't have to is the era of blogging (and forums like these).

My prediction is that this will be the trial of the century (thus far).

[ZippyTheChimp]

This sad episode, from day one, highlighted the incompetence of the Boulder police dept and DA's office in not securing the crime scene and conducting a proper forensic investigation.

I remember a 60 Minutes program, at about the time this all began, that concerned the lack of expertise of small town law enforcement when confronted by a major crime. A Mexican immigrant (he had legal status) was living with his wife in a small community (I think in northern California). The wife had emotional problems, and according to the husband, she committed suicide by holding a rifle against her chest and pulling the trigger.

The local forensics department noted that the bullet hole on the woman's back was small, but the "entry" hole on her chest was much larger. They concluded that, consistent with gunshot wounds where the entry is smaller than the exit, she was shot in the back and could not have committed suicide. The husband, who stated he witnessed the act, was lying and brought to trial.

I don't remember how far along the legal process had gone before 60 Minutes got involved. They interviewed a few large city forensic experts, who all stated that a high powered firearm held tight against the body, as the woman would have done, would produce a large entry wound. And there would have been powder residue at the entry.

The case was dismissed.

There was DNA residue under Jon Benet's fingernails. If there is a match to this suspect, you have a case. Also, in cases such as this, good police depts always keep some key information out of public knowledge - something the perpetrator would easily know.

[Ninjahedge]

I smell something funny.

This guy does not seem to be telling us all he actually knows. When asked about things, he just gives cursory answers and no real details. Someone confessing to an old murder is usually anxious to talk to people and let them know what happened.

The fact that his story does not match what was found, and things like him saying "he picked her up from school" around the Christmas holiday, when his wife, in another STATE, said that every Christmas they were together, they were, well, together.

Something is not right. You think he is in trouble in Thailand and would rather be arrested in the US?

[SilentPandaesq]

Sorry to say, I don't think this guy did it. His press confrence did it for me. Wrong details, conflicting locations, no drugs found in her system. He was off alot. Plus, how did he get into the house, nobody noticed his car sitting outside the house???

Hedge - You might be on to something.

I know it is trite, but I am still good for a family member on this one.

[kliq6]

i think he was obsessed with the girl and fanatsied about being the one. He is a sick guy but his story does not match the facts of the case, plus his ex wife who has no reason to defend him says he was with her and the kids thatnight

[Schadenfrau]

It's amazing what people will do to get out of a Thai prison.

[Ninjahedge]

"Joey, have you ever been to a turkish prison?"

[ablarc]

...or how about Nigerian?

[Gregory Tenenbaum]

From the NY Times online story I saw today:



"Just hours before his departure a doctor at a clinic that specializes in sex-change operations said Karr had been one of his patients. But Dr. Thep Vechavisit refused to provide details of the treatment.
Thep has received considerable local publicity for his male-to-female operations and the clinic is one of the sponsors of an annual beauty pageant for transsexuals in the seaside resort of Pattaya.
A staffer at the Pratunam Polyclinic, speaking on condition of anonymity since she was not authorized to make statements to the media, said Karr had consulted the doctor about a sex-change operation. This could not be confirmed."

Unless Karr waived confidentiality why would this doctor reveal this? It would come out in court (only if relevant and I can't see how) but why would this be revealed now?

Shameful if Karr didn't waive confidentiality. Give the man some dignity he has not been convicted.

[ManhattanKnight]

It's amazing what people will do to get out of a Thai prison.

Or into a reclining sleeper seat (after a sip of 1982 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut):

http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2006/08/20/us/20cnd-ramsey2.650.jpg


Ramsey Suspect on Flight to U.S.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:22 a.m. ET

ABOARD THAI AIRWAYS TO LOS ANGELES (AP) --

The suspect in the murder of JonBenet Ramsey left Thailand on Sunday aboard a flight to the United States, where he faces charges in the killing of the 6-year-old beauty queen. John Mark Karr, escorted by three U.S. officials, was on Thai Airways International flight TG794 bound for Los Angeles. It took off from Don Muang International Airport just after 8 p.m. (9 a.m. EDT.)

The 41-year-old teacher is to end his journey in Boulder, Colorado, where he faces charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault in connection with the 1996 killing.

Karr, who is not charged with any crime in Thailand, is being expelled from the country because he is regarded as an undesirable person. He is not being extradited.

He sat in a business class window seat next to Mark Stray, an investigator with the Boulder District Attorney's office. A U.S. Embassy official and a security officer with ''Homeland Security'' emblazoned on his T-shirt were also part of the escort party.

Before take-off, Karr took a glass of champagne from a cabin attendant and clinked classes with Stray, who had selected an orange juice.

Before entering the aircraft, he chatted amiably with passengers at the departure area. He wore a red short-sleeved, button-down shirt and tie.
Just hours before his departure a doctor at a clinic that specializes in sex-change operations said Karr had been one of his patients. But Dr. Thep Vechavisit refused to provide details of the treatment.

Thep has received considerable local publicity for his male-to-female operations and the clinic is one of the sponsors of an annual beauty pageant for transsexuals in the seaside resort of Pattaya.

A staffer at the Pratunam Polyclinic, speaking on condition of anonymity since she was not authorized to make statements to the media, said Karr had consulted the doctor about a sex-change operation. This could not be confirmed.

Karr was whisked into the immigration and customs zone at the airport after arriving in a white van from an immigration jail in downtown Bangkok. At the departure gate, he chatted amiably with fellow passengers.

Bangkok, where Karr lived on and off for two years, is regarded as a major global center for sex change operations, which cost a fraction of the price charged in Western countries.

The JonBenet case, which people in Thailand were generally unaware of before Karr's arrest, has been drawing increasing attention. The local focus has been on the qualifications of expatriate teachers, and whether there are checks in place to weed out criminals and deviants.

A divorced father of three children once detained on charges of possessing child pornography, Karr in recent years apparently traveled to Europe, Central America and Asia to search for teaching jobs.

He was arrested a day after he began teaching second grade in Bangkok, Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy told reporters in Colorado. Thai authorities said he had also worked at two schools in Thailand.

An official at one of the Thai schools, the prestigious elementary school at Bangkok Christian College, said Karr was fired in mid-June after only two weeks on the job because he was too strict with students.

Thai Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang said Saturday he had ordered his ministry to look into the screening of foreigners seeking teaching jobs.
It has been too easy for unqualified foreigners to be hired, in part because those with the proper qualifications are too expensive for many schools, Chaturon was quoted as saying by the state Thai News Agency.


Copyright 2006 The Associated Press (http://www.ap.org/)

[Gregory Tenenbaum]

Interesting post MK.

Yes I suppose the authorities show some courtesy to the accused. After all, he is an accused only at this time. And he may be an accused only at the end of his trial.

Good technique from the police. There is no point in making an enemy of the accused. You want him to be relaxed, so he is more open to telling the truth.

[lofter1]

Gotta love the POST (http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/jonbenet_creep_flies_high___until_doors_slam_in_u_ s__jail_regionalnews_andrew_drummond_in_bangkok_an d_jocelyn_gecker_aboard_thai______airways_flight_7 94_to_los_angeles.htm) ...

http://www.nypost.com/img/front082106.gif

[milleniumcab]

"Joey, have you ever been to a turkish prison?"

Has anyone been to Riker's Island?.... If all prisons were a place of punishment rather than a vacation village with more rights given to prisoners than some of the hard working people outside, maybe we would not have all this crime to deal with...

Somebody goes to prison and I have to support them getting three square meals, cable TV, Health Care and the rest of the trimmings of life, while I have to work 80 90 hours a week and not be able to afford some of the things the prisoners are entitled under the law...

Prisons should be just what they were meant to be, PRISONS...

[milleniumcab]

If this Karr caracter is found guilty, they should cut his "you know what" off and set him free...

[lofter1]

He's as guilty of this particular crime as I am.

Whacko? Definitely.

[Gregory Tenenbaum]

Click on this interesting cartoon.

[Gregory Tenenbaum]

The ransom note that the killer (or accomplice) wrote was 3 pages long. Handwritten.

The police conclusively ruled out everyone except the mother (and her link with the letter was inconclusive - it could or it could not have been her handwriting).

My prediction is that once they take a handwriting sample from Karr, and get an opinion from the handwriting experts, things should be a lot clearer.

[Ninjahedge]

If this Karr caracter is found guilty, they should cut his "you know what" off and set him free...

That simply does not work.

You have a psycho with screwed up attractions and pent up frustration, you cut of his who-ha and the desire isstill there, but now has absolutely NO release.

You think he will just sit around and be a good boy? I don't.


As for prisons, you probably did not get the reference I was making.

In regards to cable TV and the like, I think the only thing we SHOULD do for these guys is try to find a way to rehabilitate them. Have it so the only things on TV are things like CSPAN and PBS. Have job training in some of the basics and psycological treatment, otherwise we will just have to deal with them AGAIN a few years after they get out.

[Ninjahedge]

Click on this interesting cartoon.

Scary. I agree with you on this one. And it was mentioned on the Daily Show.

More attension is being given to a 10 year old crime case than to people being killed every day in Iraq and Lebanon. More than the problems in New Orleans (although we keep hearing that self serving snot Nagin yelling at everyone).

The people of the US are the main ones to blame. The whole Ramsay story is what we actually want to hear. New/old rather than old/old news.

Sad but true. News will not be heard unless it entertains these days.

[NYatKNIGHT]

Another overblown story to distract the public away from real news, and you're right Ninja, the people who eat it up are equally as bad.

Now everyone go open your window and shout "I'm mad as hell, and i'm not going to take it anymore!"

[Ninjahedge]

I was more in favor of:

"It just doesn't matter...
It just doesn't matter...
It just doesn't matter......."

[lofter1]

Resignation ^^ is not nearly as effective as OUTRAGE ;)

[bubdanose]

We are a nation of easily distracted people....we thrive on it....

Putting our head in the sand, so we don't have to deal with negatives, is another trait we seemed to have cultivated to the highest level....

When Bush was gov. here in Texas.... he swaggered and would get that idiotic smile on his face when the press would mention about how many inmates, on death row, were executed under his watch....he was proud of the fact that he GOT DEM DEAD.... come to find out, the people that declared they were innocent might have been....the DNA lab that the old boy used, was being run by someone who didn't have the credentials to be running DNA tests, in any lab in any state....grrrrrrrrrr that made me sick....it was a big scandal here in Austin....bet ole Georgie, scatched his head and said, "weeeeeellllllllll he was a native booooooooooooooooorn Texan, so I jeeeest assumed,"....I can still hear that nasal make believe southern drawl he uses....GAWD....

Now should I tell you how I really feel????:D

[ZippyTheChimp]

John Mark Karr freed in JonBenet case

By JON SARCHE, Associated Press Writer

Prosecutors abruptly dropped their case against John Mark Karr in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey and released him Monday, saying DNA tests failed to put him at the crime scene despite his repeated insistence he killed the 6-year-old beauty queen.

The move came just a week and a half after the 41-year-old schoolteacher was arrested in Thailand and put on a plane to the U.S. in what was regarded as a remarkable break in the decade-old murder mystery that had cast suspicion on JonBenet's parents.

District Attorney Mary Lacy said Karr emerged as a suspect in April after he spent several years exchanging e-mails and later telephone calls with a Colorado professor in which he admitted responsibility for the slaying.

According to court papers, Karr told the professor he accidentally killed JonBenet during sex and that he tasted her blood after he injured her vaginally. But officials at the Denver crime lab conducted DNA tests last Friday on a cheek swab taken from Karr and failed to connect him to the crime.

"This information is critical because ... if Mr. Karr's account of his sexual involvement with the victim were accurate, it would have been highly likely that his saliva would have been mixed with the blood in the underwear," Lacy said in court papers.

She also said authorities found no evidence Karr was in Boulder at the time of the slaying.

Karr was released from custody by the Boulder County sheriff, who said California authorities had not asked for him to be detained to face child pornography charges in that state. Karr's whereabouts were not immediately known.

Defense attorney Seth Temin expressed outrage that Karr was even arrested.

"We're deeply distressed by the fact that they took this man and dragged him here from Bangkok, Thailand, with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him and no independent factors leading to a presumption he did anything wrong," Temin said.

Lacy defended the decision to arrest Karr. She said that there was no way to take a cheek swab from him without alerting him that he was under investigation, and that would have created an "unacceptable risk that he would flee."

Also, prosecutors detained Karr after he began to describe an interest in several girls in Thailand "in much the same terms that he had described his interest in JonBenet," Lacy wrote. Shortly before he was arrested, authorities confirmed he was involved with at least one of the girls, Lacy said.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press.


Office of the DA, Boulder, CO
http://www.4tucker.com/calumetclowns/web%20graduating%20clowns.jpg

[ablarc]

Yeah, but this guy is loose, and he's obviously a problem around litle girls.

Shrewd move on his part: airfare back to the USA, charges dropped, no longer a fugitive, likely offers from National Enquirer and other rags.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Not shrewed at all. He is wanted in California on charges.

Prosecutors Drop Case in JonBenet Slaying

Prosecutors Won't Charge John Mark Karr in JonBenet Ramsey Slaying Saying DNA Tests Failed

By JON SARCHE
The Associated Press

BOULDER, Colo. - Prosecutors abruptly dropped their case against John Mark Karr in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, saying DNA tests failed to put him at the crime scene despite his repeated insistence he killed the 6-year-old beauty queen.

In court papers, prosecutors suggested he had a twisted fascination with the little girl and confessed to a crime he didn't commit.

Karr, 41, will be kept in jail in Boulder until he can be sent to Sonoma County, Calif., to face child pornography charges dating to 2001, authorities said. Earlier in the day, the sheriff's department announced Karr had been released.

The move came just a week and a half after the schoolteacher was arrested in Thailand and put on a plane to the U.S. in what was regarded as a remarkable break in the decade-old murder mystery that had cast suspicion on JonBenet's parents.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures

Boulder should have let California get him in custody, and they could have obtained a DNA sample before all the publicity began.

[lofter1]

And he has turned himself into the most infamous "nobody" since John Hinckley.

The human mind is a strange thing ...

[OmegaNYC]

This guy is nuts. Can we throw him in this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Puu_oo.jpg/800px-Puu_oo.jpg

[Gregory Tenenbaum]

The NON Trial of the Century.

I was going to bet on the handwriting evidence being conclusive, but it was the DNA (thank God for the defence attorney who asked the Court to shine light on the case early).

I guess that there was a reason that he was so calm in all of the TV interviews in Thailand - it wasn't him - he was being a fantasist. Weird.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Even on TV, he gave me the creeps.

[Gregory Tenenbaum]

There was DNA residue under Jon Benet's fingernails. If there is a match to this suspect, you have a case. Also, in cases such as this, good police depts always keep some key information out of public knowledge - something the perpetrator would easily know.

Well done Zippy. My money was on the handwriting. :confused:

[Ninjahedge]

Latest news is that he has been let go. (At least from the charges of murdering JBR...)


(PS, I called it!!! ;) )

[lofter1]

Case Against JonBenet Suspect Collapses

Prosecutors had nothing to go on except Karr's bizarre claims

Smoking Gun (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0828061karr1.html)

AUDIO UPDATE: Click here (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/sound/karrdepp.mp3) to listen to an MP3 (2:45) of Karr telling Tracey about his casting choice and how Willy Wonka (whom Depp recently portrayed) is "very similar to my personality except for the fact that Willy Wonka did not know how to treat children, he had no knowledge of how to be around children."

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/0828061inside1.jpg

http://www.filmweb.no/bilder/multimedia/archive/00049/Johnny_Depp_som_Will_49333c.jpg

[lofter1]

Ideal casting choice:

http://images.easyart.com/i/prints/rw/lg/2/2/Celebrity-Image-Anthony-Perkins-228039.jpg

[lofter1]

Listening to that audio clip there is no doubt that Karr is a total whack job ...

This is the Depp film that convinced Karr that Depp is the perfect actor ( "He's an attractive man, like me..." ):

The Secret Window

Some windows should never be opened!

Johnny Depp gives his most riveting performance in this action/suspense thriller. Following a bitter seperation from his wife, famed mystery writter (Depp) is unexpectedly confronted at his remote lake house by a dangerous stranger. Claiming he has plagiarized his short story, the psychotic man demands justice.

http://paisley.presys.com/graphics/secretwindow.jpg

[Ninjahedge]

Actually, he looks a little like him:

http://www.okinawa-connection.com/pmr/images/hl2/gman.jpg

[ZippyTheChimp]

Actually, he looks like Ned Lamont.

Karr
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-08/26/xin_222080326110839013121.jpg

Lamont
http://i1.tinypic.com/mhgb5i.jpg


Karr with the media
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20060817/i/r1391763103.jpg

Lamont with the media
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20060808/capt.sge.cuk77.080806163755.photo04.photo.default-512x297.jpg


There goes Connecticut.

[lofter1]

Lamont is either a psycho, too, or just isn't getting enough sleep ....

[OmegaNYC]

Lamont is either a psycho, too, or just isn't getting enough sleep ....


lol. Lofter 1, you got a future in comedy. :D