Breaking News Thread 8/19

MistyM said:

i read he was being taken back for questioning. and i read he was charged. well i actually saw at the first news conference that he was being charged with first degree murder.

wouldn't they have to have pretty good evidence to charge him?

Click to expand...

Trino said:

Either that or the DA wants to make a name for herself.

Click to expand...

The Denver Post said:

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Investigators didn't seek writing samples, DNA, speak to family of JonBenet before murder suspect was held.


Basic steps in the investigation that could tie John Mark Karr to the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey didn't begin in earnest until after his arrest in Thailand on Wednesday, a Denver Post investigation has revealed.

Though the Boulder, Colo., District Attorney's Office had enough evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for Karr for first-degree murder, it was only after the warrant was issued that investigators started asking questions that would form the basis of a successful homicide prosecution, experts say.

For example, it wasn't until Wednesday morning, after Karr was in Thai custody, that a representative of Boulder DA Mary Lacy's office called Hamilton County, Ala., schools to seek a handwriting sample of Karr for comparison to the ransom note left by JonBenet's killer.

Similarly, Lacy's office still has not contacted the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to compare anything from Karr -- DNA, handwriting, a palm print, footprint or even shoe size -- to the evidence at the murder scene.

Nor did the DA's office consult with education officials in either Colorado or California to see if they could track Karr's teaching history.

Karr's ex-wife and children also weren't contacted to see if they could provide an alibi for Karr's whereabouts at the time of JonBenet's murder. Karr's former wife has told a San Francisco television station that she is sure he spent Christmas 1996 with her and the family. JonBenet was found dead the day after Christmas that year.

Likewise, the spokesman for the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, which has had a fugitive warrant since 2001 seeking Karr's arrest on five counts of misdemeanor possession of child *advertiser censored*, said the department was unaware of Karr's connection to the Ramsey case until after he was in Thai custody.

At a press conference Thursday, Lacy indicated that "exigent circumstances" forced the arrest of Karr to occur before she would have preferred. Meanwhile, prison guards at San Quentin State Prison searched the death row cell of Polly Klaas' killer after learning he may have corresponded with Karr, authorities said Friday.

Guards searched Richard Allen Davis' cell Thursday, but found no letters from Karr

Click to expand...

August 18, 2006

John Mark Karr, the suspect in the 1996 death of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, is believed to have traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia in recent years:

2006:
— May: University of Colorado Professor Michael Tracey, who had been corresponding with Karr about the case for four years, contacted the Boulder, Colo., district attorney about their e-mail exchanges.
— June 6: Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul, head of Thailand’s immigration police, said Karr arrived in Bangkok from Penang, Malaysia, to look for a teaching job. Karr had been in Thailand five times over the previous two years.
— June: Karr worked at the elementary school at Bangkok Christian College, but was fired after two weeks for being too strict, according to Banchong Chompowong, assistant director of the school’s English immersion program.
— Aug. 11: Suwat said U.S. authorities informed Thai police that an arrest warrant had been issued for Karr on charges of premeditated murder.
— Aug. 15: Karr began teaching second grade in an international school in Bangkok, according to the district attorney in Boulder.
— Aug. 16: Arrest warrant sent to Thai police and Karr taken into custody.
— Aug. 17: Karr told reporters in Bangkok, Thailand, that he was “with JonBenet when she died” and that “her death was an accident.”

2005:
October: Karr left Honduras after teaching at a small primary school for eight months in the town of La Esperanza. Renan Marquez, who worked at the school, said Karr taught second grade, and left because he had a contract with another school. Marquez told The Associated Press that Karr was always “reserved, shy, responsible, organized and punctual.”

2004:
— Aug. 3: John Karr left Costa Rica, crossing the border into Nicaragua by land. Costa Rican authorities said they have no record of him entering the country and no other evidence of his stay. A teacher at Pro Language, a school that teaches English to Costa Rican executives, said he worked with Karr and rented him a room.

2002-2003:
— The JobRTeacher.com resume in Karr’s name said he was a private English teacher and caregiver in Germany and the Netherlands, apparently for three families with young children. It listed Stuttgart and Munich as cities he has visited. Public prosecutors in both cities said they have no record of any investigation involving Karr. The authenticity of the resume could not be confirmed.

2002:
— April: California Commission on Teacher Credentialing suspended Karr’s certification. No specific reason was given, but automatic suspensions are authorized when a complaint, information or indictment is filed in court alleging the teacher has committed an offense specified in the Education Code.

2001-2002:
— Karr claimed he taught English to children aged 6-12 in Seoul, South Korea, and volunteered as an English teacher in Heemstede, Netherlands, a resume posted on an English-teaching institution Web site said. The Web site took down the posting after an Associated Press reporter called. South Korean immigration officials have declined to comment. The same claim was made on the resume posted on Job4Teacher.com; its authenticity could not be confirmed.

2001:
— January-March: Karr worked in four different school districts throughout Sonoma County, Calif., between January and March 2001.
— April 13: Karr was arrested on five misdemeanor counts of possession of child *advertiser censored*, the Sonoma County sheriff’s office said.
— April 17: Karr pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to court documents.
— April: The Sonoma County School District where Karr sometimes substitute-taught received a letter from the county superintendent of education to say Karr had been taken off the list of acceptable substitutes, after the Sonoma sheriff’s office notified school officials he had been arrested.
— April 19: Karr’s wife filed for divorce.
— Oct. 5: After a series of court hearings, Karr was released from jail, but was ordered to report to a probation officer and avoid child *advertiser censored*, children and places where children congregate, such as schools, beaches and parks. The court records in the case were sealed.
— November: A judge issued a restraining order, compelling Karr to stay 100 yards away from his wife and three children for three years.
— December: A warrant was issued for Karr’s arrest after authorities said he violated the terms of his supervised release.

2000:
— Summer 2000: Karr moved his family to Petaluma, Calif.
— John Karr received a bachelor of science degree in liberal arts from Regents College, now Excelsior College, in 2000, spokesman Bill Stewart said.

1996-2001:
— A resume in Karr’s name at Job4Teacher.com said he taught a variety of subjects at “some of the most prestigious schools in the United States” in addition to doing private tutoring. The resume says he has been to Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities, though no dates or schools are listed. The authenticity of the resume could not be confirmed.

1996-1999:
— Karr said he served as a substitute teacher at Winfield Elementary in Winfield, Ala.

1998:
— Karr said he was a computer instructor at Bevill College in Hamilton, Ala.

1996-1998:
— At Bevill State Community College in Hamilton, records show Karr was a student from the fall of 1996 to the winter of 1998. During that time he also ran a used car business, according to Marion County Probate Judge Annette Bozeman, who often saw Karr in her office working on car titles.
— Fall 1996: Karr is hired as a substitute teacher at the high school he attended, Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ala. He worked there until school officials received complaints that he was saying things “that didn’t need to be said in an elementary class,” according to the district’s superintendent, Bravell Jackson.
———

Click to expand...

UKGuy said:

url + related links
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060819/NATION/608190325/1020


.

Click to expand...

JBean said:

Now even with all those threads, I missed that his emails to Patsy did not go to Patsy, but rather were re-routed to LE. I just heard that tonight.

Click to expand...

Hyatt said:

Trino and Nova. I think you are both right. I do think that she wouldn't mind being responsible for the solving of the case. I also think that there was pressure. Lisa Bloom said on CNN that though she doesn't believe that he is responsible, the DNA was right in bringing him in. She also mentioned something about a teddy bear that I had not heard before. But that may be rumours - that Karr's teddy bear was found in the Ramsey house after the death. IF THAT is true, then that's another story but I am willing to bet that it is not true.

Misty, I believe he has not been "charged" with anything. They are just bringing him in for questioning.

JMO

Click to expand...

Wudge said:

If someone in the D.A.'s office was replying to him under the guise of Patsy, that would be interesting.

Click to expand...

gaia said:

Well, I sure HOPE Patsy wasn't reading his horrible letters! How awful to even imagine being the mother of a slain child and having to read crap like that from some sicko - especially as you are dying at the same time! Also, the LE folks could entice him to say some very incriminating things - maybe.

I'll tell you, if the examples we've read from that Co. professor are his "best shots", I'm not so sure he does much self-incrimination in his e-mails. To me, it just shows he's nuts and deep in some psychosis with JonBenet being his muse!

I keep going back to how in this world he knew about her before she died? After all, she may have had a small following in the pageant circles, but not anywhere else...I don't believe. Now, his family had some celebrity because they were wealthy, her father owned a company, and Patsy was always out there looking for a way to get on the society pages! I keep going back to the possibility Karr surfed the internet about the pageants and may have seen pics of JonBenet there. I remember Patsy took JonBenet to Texas for awhile but can't recall if that was for a pageant or not. I do remember some of her "friends" said JonBenet was "different" when they returned from that trip and her hair was even lightened considerably. Hmmm...guess I need to re-read the books...sigh!

Click to expand...

gaia said:

Oh, Wudge, I have NO USE for that professor! I won't even say his name 'cause I don't want to give him ANY ADVERTISEMENT! The guys is a stinker. Hope he gains NOTHING from all this, but you know how snakes are...THEY'RE ON PLANES! hahahahahah! Sorry, just had to put that in 'cause that's all I've seen on TV lately!!!!

Click to expand...

Wudge said:

Karr coudl well be a stalker, and if it turns out that he is but that and nothing more, he is going to be a published and wealthy stalker. (chuckle)

ETA: and Gloria Alred will be happy to represent his book.

Click to expand...

Buzzm1 said:

Gloria is in the process of freeing herself up, so that she can sign on to represent JMK in CA, after he is transferred there from CO, on the book and movie deals. Currently she is repressenting Scott Dyleski's girlfriend, but that trial is rapidly drawing to a close, so that particular book deal, and the movie rights, should be finalized well ahead of JMK's need of her. Ka-Ching, ka-ching, is music to her ears. Of course, by now, Gloria has a CO representative, as well as representatives in most other states, for Alred Enterprises.

Click to expand...

Wudge said:

God Buzz, I was joshing about Gloria, but it would fit. (chuckle)

Anything for glory, Gloria.

Click to expand...