Arrest Made In Connection With JonBenet Ramsey Murder
Posted August 16, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
For years the murder of JonBenet Ramsey has befuddled investigators, fueled tabloid headlines, and whipped up a storm of suspicion around the former child beauty queen’s parents.
On Wednesday that umbrella of suspicion somewhat dissipated after authorities arrested a man in Thailand in connection with the 6-year-old’s murder.
U.S. law enforcement officials say the man is being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges. Investigators from Boulder, Colorado are flying to Bangkok to present Thai police with further documents concerning the unsolved murder mystery.
District Attorney Mary Lacey said the arrest followed several months of work, although she wouldn’t divulge any further details, adding a news conference was scheduled for Thursday.
Unsubstantiated reports suggest the suspect is a 42-year-old second-grade teacher from America named John Mark Karr. He reportedly confessed to details of the killing not known to the public.
He’ll be brought back to the United States this weekend.
Ramsey was killed on Boxing Day, 1996 at her home in Boulder and was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family home.
Her parents, Patsy and John Ramsey, vehemently maintained their innocence over the years, claiming an intruder killed their daughter.
Despite their adamant stance they were thrown into the eye of an intense media storm. They wrote a book, “The Death of Innocence,” published in 2000.
Ramsey family lawyer Lin Wood admitted that the couple knew authorities had focused on a suspect at least a month before JonBenet’s mother died of cancer on June 24.
“It’s been a very long 10 years, and I’m just sorry Patsy isn’t here for me to hug her neck,” Wood said.
In a statement Wednesday, John Ramsey said: “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.”
The Ramsey case: a capsule recap
Full text of a statement from John Ramsey, the father of JonBenet Ramsey, released Wednesday after authorities confirmed the arrest of a suspect in the girl’s slaying:
“I want to have only very limited comment on today’s arrest because I feel it is extremely important to not only let the justice system operate to its conclusion in an orderly manner, but also to avoid feeding the type of media speculation that my wife and I were subjected to for so many years.
“I do want to say, however, that the investigation of the individual arrested today in connection with JonBenet’s death was discussed with Patsy and me by the Boulder district attorney’s office prior to Patsy’s death in June. So 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. Words cannot adequately express my gratitude for the efforts of Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy and the members of her investigative team.”
