Depending on who you are, this either is a huge surprise or a massive confirmation of what you have been saying all along.
DNA taken from "confessed" killer, John Mark Karr, does not match what was found at the scene of the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, this according to CNN.
KUSA in Denver broke the story originally:
"9NEWS has confirmed from two sources that the DNA sample taken from John Mark Karr is not a match with the foreign DNA found on JonBenet Ramsey's body when she was murdered in 1996. 9NEWS has also learned the Boulder County District Attorney's office will not file charges against Karr in connection with the Ramsey case."
While charges may not be filed for murder, Karr still faces child pornography charges in
California.
Many experts, like Northeastern University criminologist, Jack Levin initially felt Karr was the man. Levin even cited the fact that authorities were following Karr for months prior to his arrest, looking into his background.
Karr had always had an alibi, however. His ex-wife had said Karr was in Georgia around the time Ramsey was killed.
District Attorney Mary Lacy discussed the case at length in a five-page motion, asking the judge in Boulder, Colorado to drop the charges against Karr.
"The People, through Mary T. Lacy, District Attorney for the Twentieth Judicial District, move to quash the arrest warrant for John Mark Karr," Lacy said in the motion. The document laid out Karr's obsessive interest in the JonBenet Ramsey case, including e-mails to a college professor. Investigation into the e-mails showed that Karr had more extensive knowledge of the case than most laypeople.
Authorities actually did attempt to test Karr's DNA in Thailand, but a cleaner sample was needed to determine a factual link to the DNA left behind in Ramsey crime scene. Investigators immediately obtained a warrant to obtain lab-qualified DNA samples from Karr when he was returned to Boulder.
The conclusion was actually reached August 26 but made public today. The DNA taken from Karr simply did not match the DNA in Ramsey's underwear left behind at the crime scene. The grisly murder remains unsolved by all accounts.
Karr originally confessed to killing Ramsey in Thailand while being held on unrelated sex charges. He was brought back to the United States Thursday.
Article comments
1 - Laura P Hayman
Why wasn't the DNA evidence obtained and studied before John Mark Karr was given a First Class Trans-Atlantic airline ticket(no expense spared)back to the United States? Who paid for this logically reversed investigation of a pedophile with no cause?
Laura Hayman
Shaker Heights, Ohio
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
You know what? No. This shouldn't matter. He confessed to killing the little girl. He's guilty. That saves a whole lot of time rather than having a confession and no DNA evidence.
He said he did it. Put him in the cell or give him' the magic kill potion or whatever they do to child murderers.
If you confess to a crime, it's like first dibs. You earn the right to a speedy conviction. Due process? More like duh process.
Because now I'm sure the police are looking at each other and saying, "Um ... so now what do we do with him?"
3 - John Guilfoil
Maybe he's a chemically inbalanced pathological liar who is starved for attention? Either way I'm not surprised he's not the killer.
The truth? We will never know who killed her.
4 - Nancy
He confessed to get out of going to jail in Thailand - a whole different proposition to jail in the US. Here, he'll get a private cell, access to a library, exercise equipment, good medical care, decent food, and all kinds of "prisoners rights"; there, he'd get conditions that are pretty much what he deserves. He's no fool, nor is he deluded. Au contraire, he got 1st class travel to the US, and then some, courtesy of the taxpayers, thru some damned fool asshole stupid (or desperate) enough to believe him. IMO whoever it was ordered him brought to the US should be billed & required to reimburse the public for this massive stupid error of theirs. It was glaringly obvious from the get-go he had no connection to the crime whatsoever, except in his fantasies.
5 - Martin Lav
I said two-weeks ago that this was a ruse to get the true killer to come out. I stand by that theory. More to follow.....
6 - Nancy
I guess we'll see. Considering how badly the police AND the parents (especially the father) messed up the scene, though, I wonder how any prosecutor will ever be able to come up with any decent evidence that a good defense attorney won't shred like a head of lettuce. They pretty much rendered all the physical evidence including the body null & void by tampering with it the way they did - and never did separate the parents to question them until 'way too late. What a bunch of marroons. Even a civilian could have done a better job with that crime scene than those police goofs in Denver.
7 - Matthew T. Sussman
First time ever a first degree murder charge will be bumped down to child pornography.