Boulder Daily Camera

The case on Karr

More questions after DA speaks on Ramsey arrest

By Vanessa Miller, Camera Staff Writer
Boulder Daily Camera
August 18, 2006

PHOTO: Suspect John Mark Karr

More questions were raised than answered Thursday after Boulder County's district attorney and authorities around the globe addressed the arrest of John Mark Karr in connection with JonBenet Ramsey's 1996 death.

Is Karr's hotel-room confession that he killed the 6-year-old beauty queen valid? Or is the 41-year-old schoolteacher making false claims in one of the world's most notorious murder cases?

District Attorney Mary Lacy advised a horde of reporters Thursday to heed the advice of JonBenet's father, John Ramsey: "Do not jump to judgment."

She said circumstances — including fear of flight and public safety — can mandate an arrest before an investigation is complete.

Those statements have kept a cloud of suspicion over Karr and whether he's different from the more than 140 suspects who've been considered before. Ramsey family members told the Daily Camera on Thursday that they are eagerly awaiting DNA results and information on the investigation. Detectives have taken a DNA sample from Karr but are awaiting results.

"I don't know what to think, other than he's a very sick man," said Doris Paugh, Patsy Ramsey's stepmother. "I want answers. When are they going to do the DNA tests? That is one of my huge hang-ups."

Karr told reporters during a Bangkok, Thailand, press conference Wednesday that he was with JonBenet when she died in her Boulder home Dec. 26, 1996. He said he meant to kidnap the child pageant star and that her death was accidental.

"I was with JonBenet when she died," Karr said.

When asked if he was innocent, Karr replied, "No."

He declined to comment about how he entered the Ramsey home and about his connection to the family. Investigators in Thailand said he claimed to have picked JonBenet up from school the day she was killed and that he drugged her.

Students were on Christmas vacation at the time, and there was no evidence of drugs in JonBenet's body following the autopsy.

Mike Paul, president of a New York-based public relations firm who's worked with high-profile murders, said, "This guy is either a very sick man, and he did kill JonBenet Ramsey."

Or he's a very sick man who just wants attention, said Paul, with MGP & Associates PR.

"That might be an option, because some of the things he's said don't add up," he said. There's so far no paper trail of Karr being in Colorado. The state's Department of Education has a file on him, but no record of him ever being licensed as a teacher here. Boulder police have no record of having contact with him.

Still, some experts say investigators wouldn't make an arrest without substantial evidence.

"In true confessions, the end result is that they will typically provide knowledge that only the guilty person would have about the crime scene," said Gregg McCrary, a former FBI profiler.

But without the disclosure of evidence supporting Karr's claims in the high-profile case, McCrary asks, "Where's the beef?"

"There needs to be some sort of evidence that would associate this guy to the crime scene," he said. "Do we have a serial child killer here, or do we have a guy who likes to confess to crimes he didn't commit? He may be a pedophile and may have violent fantasies about murdering and raping children, but it doesn't mean he did it."

With questions surrounding Karr's confessions, many experts believe much is riding on corroborating evidence such as DNA. Former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman said that if DNA samples taken from JonBenet's underwear match Karr, "It's game, set and match for the case."

"Couple the DNA with the kooky confession, and it's enough for most people to convict," Silverman said.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Chet Ubowski, who analyzed handwriting in the Ramsey ransom note, said Thursday he doesn't think his office has received DNA from Karr.

"We haven't been asked to do any testing on this suspect yet," he said. "But we are assuming they have got what they need to do the job they are doing."

Based on Karr's statements and his demeanor, one criminal defense attorney said he has "questions as to his mental health and his competency."

"False confessions and admissions are not an uncommon phenomenon," said Darren Kavinoky, a Los Angeles-based defense attorney. "If his sexual escapades have caused him to have HIV or AIDS ... this could be his last act of defiance."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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