Suspect's Lawyers: There is Nothing Crazy About John Karr
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
LOS ANGELES — Two attorneys for the man suspected of killing 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey described him as "extremely lucid" but exhausted and concerned Tuesday ahead of an extradition hearing that could have him headed to Colorado to face charges.
"There is nothing crazy about this man," attorney Jamie Harmon said on NBC's "Today" show.
Harmon and Patience Van Zandt, who represented Karr when he was charged in 2001 with possessing child pornography in northern California, said they spent a total of 7 hours with him on Monday. Their role representing Karr hadn't been clearly defined.
"What I found was an incredibly bright, intelligent, well-spoken, thoughtful human being," Harmon told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday. She said he seemed bewildered by the attention.
On the "Today" show, Van Zandt declined to discuss anything Karr said to her about the case.
"He's been through a lot this past week, and it shows. He's exhausted. He's terrified."
Karr, arrested in Thailand last week, was expected to make his first of many expected court appearances Tuesday when he goes before a judge and either agrees to be transported to Boulder, Colo., or challenges the order.
"What we're really focusing on is getting him back to Colorado and getting through that first appearance and going from there," said Carolyn French, spokeswoman for the district attorney of Boulder County, where authorities have a sealed arrest warrant for Karr.
The 41-year-old teacher has told reporters he was with the 6-year-old beauty pageant princess when she died and that her slaying in the basement of her Boulder home on Dec. 26, 1996, was an accident. Little is publicly known, however, about what evidence Boulder officials have.
Karr spent Monday in a high-security jail cell, where officials said he met with various lawyers.
It was unclear who would represent Karr on Tuesday.
In Los Angeles County's Twin Towers jail, Karr is in a high-security isolation cell and kept far away from the other 3,500 male inmates.
"There may be inmates in here who might take an opportunity to hurt him, so we have to be careful," said sheriff's Chief Marc Klugman, who oversees county jails.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has yet to be asked to compare any evidence from Karr with evidence taken from the Ramsey crime scene, bureau spokesman Lance Clem said Monday. This is because the FBI is likely conducting the tests
A law enforcement official said last week on condition of anonymity that Karr was given a mouth-swab DNA test in Bangkok, but the results of that test were not known.
Asked about comments Karr earlier made to reporters about the murder, Van Zandt told NBC's "Today" show: "I don't believe he's made confessions. I think that he's made statements," she said. "Although I can't, unfortuantely, flesh out thoughts behind them at this point, I am absolutely confident that what Mr. Karr meant will become clear."
The Boulder district attorney's spokeswoman declined to comment on any evidence in the case.
Media organizations including The Associated Press on Monday asked a judge to unseal the arrest warrant and other documents involving Karr. The filing noted previous mistakes in the Ramsey investigation and said there is "great public interest" in whether Karr's arrest "is yet another `mistake."'
In an Aug. 15 order, Boulder County District Judge Roxanne Bailin ordered case documents sealed, saying disclosure could jeopardize the investigation. Monday's filing asked her to consider releasing edited versions of the documents if she rules against their full release.
In recent years Karr apparently traveled to Europe, Central America and Asia to search for teaching jobs. He taught in at least two Thai schools. U.S. authorities brought him from Thailand to Los Angeles on a commercial flight Sunday.
