[Louis Cypher]

Article Launched: 8/16/2006 08:42 PM

Arrest made in JonBenet case

By Kevin Simpson
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com

Authorities arrested a 41-year-old man Wednesday in the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, adding a sudden, shocking twist to the sensational 1996 Boulder case that cast suspicion over the girl's parents.

John Mark Karr, who once lived near the Ramseys' suburban Atlanta home, was already being held in Bangkok, Thailand, on unrelated sex charges, according to an Associated Press report. He will be returned to the U.S. this weekend.

Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy confirmed an arrest for the Dec. 26, 1996, murder of JonBenet after what she called "several months of a focused and complex investigation," but offered no details on the suspect.

The DA's office has called a press conference for 10 a.m. Thursday.

Both John and Patsy Ramsey, whom various theories tagged as possible culprits, were consulted during the course of the investigation, the DA said in a prepared statement. The Ramsey family has been notified of the arrest.

Patsy Ramsey died on June 24 in Atlanta after a long battle with ovarian cancer.

The Ramseys contended that an intruder killed their daughter, even as investigators put the parents under an "umbrella of suspicion" for the slaying. JonBenet, whose image danced endlessly across tabloids and television screens in beauty pageant costume, had been found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's Boulder home.

While John and Patsy Ramsey fervently denied any involvement, speculation ran rampant. Some critics said that the initial investigation had been irreparably botched and doubted that JonBenet's killer ever would be found.

The announcement of the arrest was welcomed by the family and viewed as exoneration by those close to them.

"Patsy was aware that authorities were close to making an arrest in the case and had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder," John Ramsey said in a statement to AP.

Family attorney Lin Wood said Wednesday's developments proved the parents' innocence amid lingering speculation.

"I am sure there were still doubts in the minds of individuals whose thinking had been poisoned against this family because of the years of false accusations," Wood told the AP.

The family had left Boulder and eventually settled in Charlevoix, Mich., where they had long kept a seasonal home. As the news of the arrest spread, the town erupted with elation, said one resident.

"Everybody's like it's a jubilee, everybody's dancing," said Linda Boss, a close friend and business partner of Patsy's. "It's an exoneration in the sense that, see, there is evidence that there was someone else. Everybody is thrilled Patsy was proven right. She always said there was evidence out there, and sooner or later somebody will find the person."

In Denver, the attorneys who represented John Ramsey during the criminal investigation praised the "diligent investigation" by Boulder DA Lacy and the detectives who worked with her.

"It is our hope that this arrest will bring some closure to the Ramsey family after a 10-year ordeal," said Hal Haddon and Pam Mackey in a prepared statement. "We respect the legal prcess and will have no further comment about the case or the evidence until that process is concluded."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also aided the DA's office and the Royal Thai Police in finding and identifying the suspect, said spokesman Dean Boyd.

Karr's father said his son had taught elementary school. But Eric Yoder, an investigator for the Colorado Department of Education, said that while the state does have a file for a John Karr, there's no evidence he'd been licensed or certified as a teacher.

He also said he couldn't verify whether the Karr in the file is the same man arrested in the JonBenet case.

An individual could be listed in the state's database for many reasons, Yoder added, such as taking a professional competency exam.

Another employee said it appeared the file had been flagged, an indication there may have been something noteworthy about the person.