JonBenet suspect arrives in Colorado

John Mark Karr, a suspect in the 1996 killing of JonBenet Ramsey, arrived in Colorado Thursday afternoon, to face charges in the case.

Photo: JonBenet suspect arrives in Colorado

JonBenet suspect arrives in Colorado

Karr, 41, flew from Los Angeles in a turbo-prop airplane operated by the Colorado State Patrol. Shortly after the plane landed at Jefferson County Airport, Karr was transferred to a sport utility vehicle for the short trip to Boulder, where District Attorney Mary Lacy was expected to file charges almost immediately, the Denver Post reported.

After a flight on a Colorado state police plane, Mark Karr arrived in the city where six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was slain to face charges in a homicide case prosecutors acknowledged is still in its "very early stages."

The plane ride offered none of the prawns, wine and champagne that accompanied Karr's Thailand-to-California flight but the former schoolteacher was allowed to wear dark slacks and a red shirt, instead of a prison jumpsuit.

Questions about Karr's involvement in the case have arisen since he said following his arrest in Thailand he was with the child beauty queen at the time of her 1996 death but that it was an accident.

Karr's first court appearance in Boulder will be scheduled as soon as practical, the district attorney's office said. During an initial hearing, judges advise defendants of their rights to remain silent, to have a lawyer and to post bail unless it's denied. A preliminary hearing must be scheduled within 30 days after formal charges are filed.

Boulder County prosecutors have refused to detail any evidence they might have but in a court filing this week said investigators didn't learn of Karr's name until Aug. 11, five days before his arrest in Thailand. They said he was arrested in part because they feared he might be tipped off and vanish, the AP reports.

Television talking heads now are guaranteed many more endless hours of face time as they convict or exonerate the alleged murderer over and over. ... This is not to say that this murder or any other is unimportant. ... But one wonders how many grieving relatives of similarly murdered girls or women in Omaha or a thousand other U.S. cities have wondered why this case, or the others involving pretty females of various ages, was bloated into an international story when theirs are barely noted outside their towns. ... Regardless of the fate of the suspect arrested in Thailand, JonBenet's case ought to be remembered for the way it deepened the suffering of her loved ones — in her mother's case, all the way to her own grave, Omaha World-Herald says.

Source: agencies

Prepared by Alexander Timoshik