No DNA match, no JonBenet charges
POSTED: 7:54 p.m. EDT, August 28, 2006
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BOULDER, Colorado (CNN) -- Prosecutors abandoned their case against schoolteacher John Mark Karr on Monday, saying that DNA tests failed to link Karr to the slaying of child beauty contestant JonBenet Ramsey.

Karr was briefly freed from jail but was quickly returned to await extradition to California, where he is wanted on five misdemeanor child pornography counts, Boulder County Sheriff Joseph Pelle said.

District Attorney Mary Lacy revealed how the case against Karr was built -- and unraveled -- in a five-page motion asking a judge to drop the arrest warrant that brought Karr from Bangkok, Thailand. (Read the documents. (Viewer discretion advised.))

DNA tests completed Saturday confirmed that Karr "was not the source of the DNA found on the underwear of JonBenet Ramsey" -- disproving his claim that he was sexually involved with the child and killed her by accident.

Karr's family also provided "strong circumstantial" evidence he was with them in Georgia at the time of the crime, court papers stated.

The prosecutor's motion said "no evidence has developed, other than his own repeated admissions, to place Mr. Karr at the scene of the crime." (Watch the case against Karr fall apart -- 1:17)

Karr's Colorado public defender, Seth Temin, first disclosed that no charges would be filed and that a hearing scheduled for late Monday afternoon had been canceled.

Defender 'distressed'
"We're deeply distressed by the fact they took this man, dragged him back here from Bangkok, Thailand, with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him and no independent factors leading to a presumption that he did anything wrong," Temin said.

Prosecutors will offer their version of events Tuesday.

According to Lacy's court papers, University of Colorado journalism professor Michael Tracey brought Karr to the attention of investigators in April.

Using the pseudonyms "D" and later, "Daxis," Karr began communicating in 2002 with the professor, who has produced documentaries on the 10-year Ramsey investigation.

At first, court papers say, "Daxis" claimed to know two people who participated in the crime, but later insisted he was personally responsible.

His story emerged slowly, through e-mails, a manuscript and nearly a dozen phone calls. Still, the writer continued to keep his true identity and whereabouts secret from Tracey, the court papers stated.

He claimed to be sexually involved with the child, including "temporarily asphyxiating her," the court papers said.

'Lost track of time'
And, he said he "had 'accidentally' killed her by becoming so sexually involved that he lost track of time so that the asphyxiation lasted longer than he intended, causing her severe injury and leading him to inflict a severe blow to her head," the document stated.

Autopsy results showed JonBenet had suffered a blow to the head and been strangled with a garrote tightened with a paintbrush handle.

Tracey reached out to authorities in April when his contact became increasingly interested in contacting Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet's mother, who was in the final weeks of her life. Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer in June. The contact also related that he was in continuing contact with young girls, the court papers stated.

Authorities were able to trace phone calls to Tracey from "Daxis" to Karr in Thailand, court papers said.

In a court filing last week, Boulder prosecutors said they had known Karr's identity for just five days before he was arrested and that the investigation into his possible role in the case was in its preliminary phase.

After his arrest, Karr told reporters in Thailand he was with JonBenet the night she died, and that her death was an accident. The 6-year-old's beaten and strangled body was found December 26, 1996, in the basement of her family's Boulder home.

Karr's arrest, nearly 10 years after the grisly crime that grew into an international media sensation, had given the Ramsey family hope that the slaying had, at long last, been solved.

Patsy Ramsey's sister, Paulette Paugh-Davis, said the family was "hanging in there." She declined to comment further. (Watch Patsy Ramsey's sister reveal what the family will do if Karr isn't guilty -- 4:11)

After Karr's statements in Thailand, questions have surfaced as to whether the slight, soft-spoken man could have been involved in the grisly killing. On Monday, what some experts had been saying appeared to ring true: John Mark Karr's involvement with JonBenet Ramsey's murder was a fantasy.

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oh

What a freakazoid. Glad he'll be off the streets cuz I'm sure he killed some kid somewhere. Sucks that this really isn't the guy

Any word on whether John Ramsey was able to secure travel out of the country, due to the duress he was citing last week?

ThreadBare said:

Well it can't be the father. For sure they've done DNA on him right?

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Agreed! I was happy when they arrested the guy, I thought the person who did this terrible crime was caught and would be rightfully punished. Now we're back to square one again.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I believe they did.

I just think it's odd that Karr was explained as having had unreleased information that he told to the college professor who assisted in his arrest. I'd think there would be a fairly small circle of folks privy to esoteric details of the Ramsey murder.

And, again, her father was itchin' to leave the country last week. My thought is that he knew beforehand that Karr was a nutcase seeking media attention and wanted to make a run for it... Not saying he's responsible, but I've always suspected the parents of knowing more than they claimed.

What actor will play him in the movie
version?

It's amazing that people labeled him and considered him guilty instead of waiting for the evidence results first.

Somehow I knew the first time I saw this guy that he was not telling the truth-it's in his eyes . It's sad really that the family was put through this mess and not to mention the money that was wasted on bringing this guy over from Bangkok and getting him in the system. But it is good in a way because he definitely cannot hurt someone else's child now.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

nope they havent

sweet said:

Seriously? How on earth could that be possible. This can't be true can it?

luv4u said:

Him confessing proberly helped...lol

luv4u said:

Not so "amazing" when Karr made the confession to Jonbenet's murder.

Byron said:

lol exactly

frankly, I'm almost surprised they went through the trouble of DNA testing!

CinisterCee said:

They couldn't convict an innocent man!!! Although, he obviously must be guilty of something Freak job

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

i love that word

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

You know what I mean though, how many pieces of evidence did they need?

He's a very clever man ... he managed to get himself out of Thailand and Thai jail by doing this. I think they should send him back for causing distress to Jon Benet's family.

btw I don't believe the parents did it. I always thought the documentary that was shown over here (Britain) proved rather conclusively (if circumstantially) that a young blond guy who killed himself did it.

luv4u said:

Not so amazing. Can you think of a high-profile court case when that hasn't happened?

I found the whole thing suspect. I mean was he ever around her? Was ever a suspect? It just seems to have come out of the blue. Not to mention that it took the light off of the parents which were the prime suspects. Even when reading how he flew first class and ate prawns and sipped champagne, I was thinking he was a fake, like now he was famous and that was the reason behind all of this.

ThreadBare said:

Me too. If they didn't have a hand in it themselves, they had someone else do it.

Guy's still a major weirdo, particularly since he confessed to a murder he didn't commit.

I told u guys this last week. They could have easily done a DNA test oversees and saved the tax payers $$$$. What a sad state of affairs.

Reincarnate said:

He got far away from all his dirty deeds in thailand and will be facing much better treatment here.


What is this about a young blonde guy who killed himself? I never heard anything about that.
[Edited 8/29/06 13:06pm]

i knew he couldnt have done it, and i said it all over this board.

cborgman said:

cassandra syndrome. it happens to everyone once and awhile.

JasmineFire said:

thanks.

cborgman said:

I'm glad he's here. He has outstanding warrants regarding Child Porn.


M