JonBenet Ramsey’s killer caught? (Update: Second-grade teacher?) (Update: DU questions the timing)
posted at 4:49 pm on August 16, 2006 by Allahpundit
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Before he got a crack at Goldstein’s kid. Dr. Deb must be heartbroken.
Looks like it’s for real, though:
The suspect was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday morning.
The suspect has confessed to certain elements of the crime that are unknown to the general public.
My ingenious theory at the time was that it was her older brother whodunnit. They were playing, he got a little rough, and before you know it — a situation. Everyone was pointing fingers at her father, but I figure her mother would have cracked and ratted him out if that were true. But her own son? No way.
Turns out it was some run-of-the-mill POS child-killer, though. Go figure.
9News will be livestreaming the DA’s press conference, but I’m not sure what time it’s scheduled for.
Update: He’s being held in Thailand on “unrelated sex charges.”
Thailand. Sex charges. Gobsmackingly vile.
Update: Good lord:
CBS reported that the suspect, a 41-year-old second-grade teacher, will be brought back to the United States this weekend.
How many other victims are there?
Update: KUSA-TV caught up to John Ramsey: “When asked if he knew the suspect Ramsey told 9NEWS, ‘I can’t comment on that now. to the best of my knowledge no.’”
Update: The presser is off until tomorrow. Sounds like they’ve been working on this for awhile, though: “Both John and Patsy Ramsey, before she passed away in June, were consulted during the investigation.”
Update: Gregor asks a good question in the comments. Which lefty blogger will be the first to accuse Bush of having orchestrated the arrest to distract from whatever it is we’re supposed to be distracted from?
Update: The Calcutta News(?) says the suspect’s name is John Karr.
Update: It didn’t take long. Jason of Shock and Blog says check out DU.
Update: All kinds of new details from the AP. There are hints that Karr knew what the murder weapon was and what happened to it, and there’s a coy mention about how the cops tracked him down “online” — which, given all the circumstances here, makes me think it was a child-porn sting. Here’s where it gets really weird:
Karr was a teacher who once lived in Conyers, Ga., according to Wood. The attorney said the Ramseys gave police information about Karr before he was identified as a suspect.
Wood would not say how the Ramseys knew Karr. But JonBenet was born in Atlanta in 1990, and the Ramseys lived in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody for several years before moving to Colorado in 1991.
What was he doing following them around in Colorado five years later? And what happened to John Ramsey saying he didn’t know the guy?
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Now, if OJ could just find the real killer ….
thirteen28 on August 16, 2006 at 4:58 PM
What a shame her mother did not live to see the alleged suspect arrested. What the media and DA put that family through was horrific.
bopbottle on August 16, 2006 at 5:04 PM
Don’t feel so bad, I thought it was the parents all along, too. Quite possibly the brother, but I figured with that whole 6 year old model thing…it was some fight over a show and it got out of hand. :( If this is for real, my apologies to the Ramseys, and I’m glad, finally, the scumbag was caught. But in Thailand? WOW…never saw that one coming.
DakRoland on August 16, 2006 at 5:26 PM
A 41-year old teacher getting his freak on with six year olds? Allow me to introduce you to his new roommate. Health Inspectormania!
Kid from Brooklyn on August 16, 2006 at 5:28 PM
Thailand is a bad place, a terrorist haven and child sex-slave place. Wait a minute…terrorists and child sex, in the same place? No way.
Poor Patsy, I have to agree I fell for the media’s take on the case, too.
It would probably be a good way to catch sex offenders, by checking out their history when reentering from Thailand. But we must not profile…
Good Lord I hope it’s not a wecond grade teacher.
NTWR on August 16, 2006 at 5:33 PM
AAAHHH! Kid, that was disturbing.
And I meant second, not wecond.
NTWR on August 16, 2006 at 5:44 PM
(granted, you didn’t say muslim terrorists, but hey …)
If anyone would know about child sex slaves, it’s muslims … after all, their own prophet was a pedophile.
thirteen28 on August 16, 2006 at 5:48 PM
Can we not have a single fucking thread here without gratuitous Muslim-bashing?
I’ve been wondering when the next round of bannings was going to come. Answer: soon.
Allahpundit on August 16, 2006 at 5:52 PM
Thailand is no worse than any other third world country.
The child prostitution in southeast Asia is mostly happening next door to Thailand, in Cambodia.
sandberg on August 16, 2006 at 5:55 PM
This whole thing has been a tragedy from beginning to end, and if this really is the guy, I am glad they finally caught him, and I am looking forward to hearing a) how they did it and b) what the heck took them so darn long.
Bob's Kid on August 16, 2006 at 5:58 PM
Hmmmm … too bad the “teach” wasn’t on holiday when the wave came …
On the other hand, It will be great to see justice done.
I wonder how many sicko’s actually did get caught up in that tide …
notthisgirl on August 16, 2006 at 6:00 PM
This is interesting. I wondered if this case would ever be solved. Before this case, I never knew there was such a thing as Child Beauty Pagents to this degree. I would have never believed it until this case. I think the cops and DA were stuck on the family for so long and believed they had something to do with it that they really never looked at anyone else until the new DA came on board.
Catie96706 on August 16, 2006 at 6:06 PM
I question the timing (not really).
How long will it take the liberal blogs to offer the theory that this is nothing more than the Bush administration diverting attention from the war?
Gregor on August 16, 2006 at 6:14 PM
Sorry …
thirteen28 on August 16, 2006 at 6:16 PM
If this is indeed true…I really have a BIG apology to make to the Ramseys. I’ve worked with “stage moms” before, and I thought for sure Patsy was crazy and responsible. May she rest in peace, with my deepest apologies.
tickleddragon on August 16, 2006 at 6:17 PM
John Ramsey just released a statement, which I pulled from Drudge. Fair Usemania!
Kid from Brooklyn on August 16, 2006 at 6:21 PM
Had I bothered to read the first update, I’d notice it was already there. D’Oh!!!
Kid from Brooklyn on August 16, 2006 at 6:23 PM
In rhe fifties, I never saw a Male elementary school teacher. Maybe there was a reason?? IMHO male teachers in elementary schools should draw attention.
gary on August 16, 2006 at 6:27 PM
Thirteen28,
Please don’t refer to the prophet with out peace be upon him mentioned after his name. We don’t want Allah the merciful upset.
Rustyw on August 16, 2006 at 6:40 PM
Rusty,
I’ll refrain from further comment ;)
thirteen28 on August 16, 2006 at 7:01 PM
The cops in Boulder, CO botched this case from day one. What they put the Ramsey’s through was criminal. Hopefully JonBenet will now finally get justice.
speed647 on August 16, 2006 at 7:05 PM
So. Many. Apologies. Due!
South park episodes, SNL episodes, half the talking heads on the planet, bloggers, journalists, preachers, the chick at the gas station, friends, family … maybe even the occasional muppet.
If it comes together, I’d guess better than half of us on the planet are in the dog house on this one. If it turns out OJ didn’t do it, I’m just screwed.
Axe on August 16, 2006 at 7:26 PM
… half of us who have followed the case, that is.
Axe on August 16, 2006 at 7:28 PM
Come to think of it, I don’t remember any male elementary school teachers either.
Of course, with all the “hot for teacher” women teachers in the junior high and up age group, we have a problem there, too.
Nothing about this case ever made sense. The weird ransom note, the freaky speculation about the parents and some child molesting group, etc. I’m glad Patsy knew about the investigation though, maybe she had a little peace about it before her death. Probably not though.
NTWR on August 16, 2006 at 7:42 PM
It took exactly four posts on the DU breaking news thread for someone to question the timing –
derby378 (1000+ posts) Wed Aug-16-06 04:39 PM
Response to Original message
4. Did somebody say DISTRACTION?!?
Such odd timing, especially with Democrats picking up steam in House and Senate races nationwide despite those terrorism arrests in the UK…
Is there anything Rove cannot do?
rw on August 16, 2006 at 7:50 PM
Watching the cops and the media focus on the Ramseys, I squirmed in my chair daily thinking the REAL KILLER was still out there….molesting or killing more kids. I dont think the locals believed the bullshit the media and the cops and the DA were smearing on the TV sets. They quit looking for anyone else!!
They should be charged with something. That poor little girl and her family …10 years of hell. Thanks Boulder.
shooter on August 16, 2006 at 9:11 PM
Pricks, Damn pricks. Boulder D.A.’s, cops, almost of them from Boulder. (A few resigned because of this crap.) Yes I’m Mad.
I HOPE this is the right guy.
Shooter
Colorado
shooter on August 16, 2006 at 9:22 PM
I read the Inquirer and it was Patsy!
No, wait it was John!
No wait it was Jon Benet’s brother!
No wait it was really Patsy, no it was John.
This is one reason I hate the media, these two-bit self anointed judges convict people in the court of public opinion and ruin the lives of innocent people.
This may turn out to be something other than it appears today; and even this sex-offender deserves the presumption of innocence until and after guilt has been proven in a court of law. Fortunately, the D.A. in Colorado had told Patsy a few weeks before she died that they had focused on another key suspect and would soon make an arrest. This D.A. was newly elected and a woman!
Umnumzana on August 16, 2006 at 10:29 PM
Umnumzana says:
Could not agree more. There seems to be a serious problem with the timeline and that the accused (according to his brother and ex-wife) was not in CO during Christmas.
Just need to wait for court case. Best case he will stand for trial in CA.
im4eagles on August 16, 2006 at 11:31 PM
Yes, I called it! Not hard to predict the lefty crowd though.
(jfern; DailyKos)
I’ve kept a running log on my site of many of the embarrassingly deranged babble. Not that it’s at all unusual for them.
Gregor on August 17, 2006 at 12:10 AM
I had a male fourth grade teacher in the mid 60’s. It didn’t seem strange so maybe it was common by then. I can’t remember him being odd or anything.
This is so sad for the mother. To be accused of something so horrible. And now for the truth to come out after her death, if this is the guy.
Rose on August 17, 2006 at 12:29 AM
All this time I blamed the parents…
Guess I took the news reports too serious….
IM glad Mrs. Ramsey knew an arrest was coming before she
died…
The whole thing is heartbreaking…
Tom N on August 17, 2006 at 12:34 AM
I just received an Breaking News Alert from FOxnews in my email that says Law Enforcement Officials have said he admitted to killing her.
Will wait to see if it’s true. If it is, I hope they extradite every last piece of him back soon, in as small a box as they can find.
I shudder thinking of all the grief this family has endured because of this scumbag.
LewWaters on August 17, 2006 at 2:40 AM
As I understand it, this man had been previously arrested on child pornography charges. So… why the hell was he released?
sandberg on August 17, 2006 at 4:00 AM
” I was with her when she died”??? “It was an accident”??? When the Thai police chief told him he was accused of Murder 1, Karr said, “No, no, Second degree. It was an accident”. When a child dies in the midst of being sexually assaulted, isn’t that usually enough of an aggravator to bump the charge to Murder 1?
Kid from Brooklyn on August 17, 2006 at 6:15 AM
How bad do you have to be to be in jail in Bangkok for sex crimes??? Interesting book on this: Perfect Town, Perfect Murder.
honora on August 17, 2006 at 9:37 AM
BREAKING!!
Mr. Karr has admitted, in a press conference, to being with JonBenet when she died. He stated that he loved her and that the death was an accident.
~V5
V5 on August 17, 2006 at 10:03 AM
OOPS, I gues I’m behind the power curve. People already posted it. That’s what I get for just skimming the comments real quick and not reading in-depth.
My apolgies.
~V5
V5 on August 17, 2006 at 10:05 AM
I wasn’t listening carefully, but I’m about 75% sure that, on our local news last night, they said the suspect emailed Patsy Ramsey himself.
Tanya on August 17, 2006 at 10:48 AM
A horrid crime, a worse criminal-does Colorado have the death penalty? If this guy is the actual killer, I am glad to see justice done. I am sure that Thailand is a beautiful country, but it has had the reputation for years of being a haven for pedophiles. Is the government doing a visa check on US travellers to Thailand who also show up on sex offender registrys? Especially those who otherwise have dropped from sight? I know of one case nearby where a man convicted of sexually abusing a child jumped bail and went back to Sicily-how many have escaped prosecution by travelling to Thailand?
Doug on August 17, 2006 at 12:02 PM
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