JonBenet murder suspect's fake confession exposed

[phk]

JonBenet murder suspect's fake confession exposed

Nick Papps

August 30, 2006 12:00am
Article from: Herald-Sun

JOHN Mark Karr has been unmasked as a sick fantasist who lied about killing child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey but who may still face time in jail.

The 41-year-old was yesterday cleared of any involvement by DNA testing.

But he is to be extradited to California to face charges of possessing child pornography. If convicted on all five counts dating back to 2001, Karr could face a one-year sentence. But he could also walk free on time served.

Last night Karr was in a Boulder jail after an extraordinary day when prosecutors were forced to drop a murder case against him despite his claim to have accidentally killed her during sex.

Just hours before he was due to face court over the 1996 killing, prosecutors announced there was no match between Karr's DNA and DNA found in JonBenet's underwear, and that he could not be placed at the Ramsey home on December 25, the day before her body was found.

Karr reportedly told Thai authorities after his arrest that there would be no DNA match.

"The DNA might not match, but you can't trust the test," Karr allegedly told an official.

Yesterday, Colorado District Attorney Mary Lacy said in court papers that "because his (Karr's) DNA does not match that found in the victim's blood in her underwear, the people would not be able to establish that Karr committed this crime despite his repeated insistence that he did".

No evidence has developed, other than his own repeated admissions, to place Karr at the scene of the crime.

Ms Lacy added, "This case is not closed, and we will continue to investigate leads and pursue justice."

Yesterday's development was just another setback for the family of JonBenet Ramsey, who have suffered through an original botched investigation and the recent cancer death of JonBenet's mother, Patsy.

Yesterday Patsy Ramsey's sister, Pamela Paugh, said the search for the killer would continue. Karr's name wasn't the only one on the list, Ms Paugh said.

The prosecution court documents filed yesterday shed more light on Karr's arrest, revealing that he had described in emails how he committed sex acts on JonBenet that would have left his DNA in her underwear.

Ms Lacy said in her court documents that those claims were "critical, because . . . if 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".

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

She said Karr's family provided "strong circumstantial support for their belief that he was with them in Georgia, celebrating the Christmas holidays".

Yesterday Karr's lawyer, Seth Temin, hailed the dropping of the charges, saying; "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."

Karr achieved instant infamy earlier this month when he confessed to being responsible for the death of JonBenet, one of America's most famous unsolved crimes.

Karr is expected to be extradited this week to Sonoma, California, to face charges of possessing child pornography. The former teacher was arrested in Petaluma, California, in 2001 and pleaded not guilty to five misdemeanour counts, but fled before he could be tried.

Still unanswered is the question that has perplexed authorities for a decade:

Who killed JonBenet?

[dazzleman]

I think the investigators decided pretty early on that the murderer was either the mother, or somebody in the family for whom the mother was covering up.

But they never had enough evidence to charge anybody.

As for John Mark Karr, he is a very, very sick man.  To be able to make up the kind of lurid details that he made up requires a very sick mind.

[J. J.]

I think the investigators decided pretty early on that the murderer was either the mother, or somebody in the family for whom the mother was covering up.

But they never had enough evidence to charge anybody.

As for John Mark Karr, he is a very, very sick man.  To be able to make up the kind of lurid details that he made up requires a very sick mind.

People have been "confessing" for centuries.

There is a problem, however, with "known" suspects.  The found someone else's DNA on her body.  It doesn't match anyone known to be in the house.

[opebo]

Just as I predicted.  This fellow is a harmless dreamer.

[WalterMitty]

Just as I predicted.  This fellow is a harmless dreamer.

no.  he is a creepy pedophile.

[opebo]

Just as I predicted.  This fellow is a harmless dreamer.

no.  he is a creepy pedophile.

Yeah, like I said..