Suspect named in JonBenet killing

Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 17, 2006 at midnight

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

A man arrested in Thailand is being held in connection with the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, law enforcement officials said today.

John Karr, 41, a former Atlanta, Ga., resident, was arrested today in Bangkok, according to two people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition they not be identified.

The connection to the Ramsey family was not immediately clear.



Federal officials familiar with the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Thai authorities have declared the suspect an "undesirable person," an immigration-related charge that prompted deportation. The charge stems from the suspect's involvement in the Ramsey case, the source said.

It is unknown when Karr will be brought to the United States.

A third source close to the case who spoke anonymously identified the suspect as one-time resident of Conyers, Ga., and said he was a school teacher.

John Karr, 41, had lived in Atlanta where the Ramseys once lived.

That source said that authorities had been focusing on him for some time and that Patsy Ramsey had been made aware prior to her death on June 24 that his arrest was being pursued.

Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy today confirmed the arrest,without naming the suspect. She said it followed several months of a focused and complex investigation. "John and Patsy Ramsey both were consulted during the course of the investigation," Lacy said in a brief press release this afternoon.

The Ramsey family has been notified of the arrest, Lacy said.

The district attorney's office has scheduled a news conference Thursday at 2 p.m. at the justice center.

JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family’s home in Boulder on Dec. 26, 1996.

Law enforcement officials from Boulder were flying to Bangkok to present Thai authorities with documents in the slaying of the 6-year-old beauty pageant contestant, officials in Washington said.

They spoke to the Associated Press but asked to remain anonymous pending an announcement in Colorado.

The girl’s parents, Patsy and John Ramsey, had been under an "umbrella of suspicion" in JonBenet’s death. The Ramseys said an intruder killed their daughter. A grand jury investigation in Boulder ended with no indictments, and no arrests had been made in the case.

In 2003, U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes in Atlanta concluded that the evidence she reviewed suggested an intruder killed JonBenet. That opinion came with the judge’s decision to dismiss a libel and slander lawsuit against the Ramseys by a freelance journalist, who the Ramseys had named as a suspect in their daughter’s murder. The Boulder district attorney at the time said she agreed with Carnes’ declaration.

The district attorney’s office has established a web page for information on the case: www.co.boulder.co.us/da

Featured

• Mount Crushmore

  

  Which four Broncos greats should be immortalized on Mount Crushmore? Vote here.

• Winter Escapes

  

  Your insider’s guide to the copious joys of the coolest season.

• Rocky Multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.

• Broncos Video

  

  More Broncos videos. Get the latest from Dove Valley

• Weekend plans?

  

  Figure out things to do this weekend with the help of our entertainment calendar.

• Season To Share

  

  The Post-News Season To Share campaign provides grants to area nonprofits.

• The Rocky @ 150 Years

  

  The Rocky was there when Colorado became a state in 1876. Read our coverage.

• A Dozen on Denver

  

  And the winner is... Robert Ziegler! See the whole fiction series by clicking here.

• Rocky Mountain Music

  

  Mark Brown blogs on the new Guns N' Roses album