USA: A Los Angeles court orders John Mark Karr sent to Colorado to face charges he murdered child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey

A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday (August 22, 2006) ordered schoolteacher John Mark Karr sent to Colorado to face charges that he kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. In courtroom proceedings, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin said, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin stated, "The court finds the defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his right to the issuance and service of the governor's warrantee. He is remanded to custody without bail, and Defendant shall be returned to the state of Colorado." Karr, 41, who was arrested in Thailand last week, waived his right to fight extradition from California, clearing the way for him to be sent to Boulder, Colorado, where JonBenet was found dead in the basement of her home on Dec. 26, 1996. Lavin told Karr he was wanted in Colorado on five counts, including murder, sexual assault on a child and kidnapping. A date for his extradition to Colorado was not immediately set, but it was expected to take place in the next few days. Karr's surprise arrest in Thailand last week sparked off a national media frenzy over what has been one of America's most notorious unsolved crimes for a decade. He had arrived in the United States on Sunday from Thailand and was detained in California only until his journey to Colorado could be arranged. On Tuesday, Karr, who was dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, spoke only to confirm that he understood he was waiving his right to challenge extradition. Boulder prosecutors have not said what evidence they have against Karr and his own claims of responsibility for her death have been met with growing scepticism. Karr's lawyer, public defender Haydeh Takasugi, told reporters after Tuesday's hearing that the news coverage was "getting him a little bit stressed out." "He wants to get back (to Colorado) and start this whole process," Takasugi said. At an outside press conference after the hearing, attorney Jamie Harmon, who spent 3 1/2 hours meeting with Karr yesterday at the Twin Towers jail, said Karr is "very anxious to go'' to Boulder County. "He wants to address the allegations,'' Harmon said. Karr has been "portrayed by the media as being mentally unstable, attention-seeking, mentally unwell, and he is none of those things," Harmon said. The body of JonBenet, who was named Little Miss Colorado and Little Miss Christmas during her short life, was found by her father John Ramsey in the basement of their home, hours after her mother found a bizarre, 2-1/2 page letter demanding a $118,000 ransom. Her skull had been fractured and she had been strangled with a garrotte made from cord and part of a paintbrush from mother Patsy Ramsey's art supplies. A coroner's examination also found evidence that she had been sexually assaulted. The case immediately drew intense media coverage focusing on JonBenet's success in child beauty pageants, her family's wealth and mysterious details of the murder.

ITN Source | August 23, 2006

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