Arrest made in JonBenet Ramsey murder case

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

An arrest has been made in the almost 10-year-old murder of JonBenét Ramsey, according to a law enforcement official. The suspect is 41-year-old John Mark Karr, a former second grade teacher. Karr was detained in Bangkok, Thailand at the request of the U.S. government. The suspect faces charges in Colorado.

Local authorities in Boulder, Colorado, where the suspect will face a murder charge, declined to comment.

9News, a Denver television station, claimed that the suspect had confessed to elements of the crime that were not public.

CBS News is reporting that according to their sources the suspect is John Mark Karr, a 41-year-old American man and second-grade schoolteacher, who will be brought back to the United States this weekend.

JonBenét's father, John Ramsey, told 9News that he has been notified of the arrest. Asked if he knew Karr, Ramsey replied, "To the best of my knowledge, no," the station's Web site reported.

According to CBC, John Ramsey released the following statement to the media:

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 JonBenét'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.

On December 26, 1996, 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey, a child beauty pageant queen, was found murdered in the basement of her parents' home in Boulder, Colorado, United States, eight hours after being reported missing. The case drew national attention when no suspect was charged and suspicions turned to possible family involvement.