E-mails led to JonBenet killer
2006-08-17 17:38
Washington - John Mark Karr's
correspondence with a professor who made documentaries on the
JonBenet Ramsey case was key to his arrest in the decade-old
slaying, a private investigator was quoted as saying.
Karr, 41, arrested on Wednesday in Bangkok, began an exchange
of hundreds of e-mails with University of Colorado journalism
professor Michael Tracey four years ago.
n the process, he revealed critical
information about the 1996 killing of the 6-year-old
beauty-pageant star, investigator Ollie Gray told the Rocky
Mountain News.
"(The suspect) talked about being there, about doing this
and doing that, and knowing this and knowing that," Gray said.
"He had a whole bunch of things that didn't come out before. It
wasn't part of what the media was allowed to get at before."
Tracey produced three documentaries on the Boulder,
Colorado, case and contended the girl's parents, John and Patsy
Ramsey, were unfairly viewed as suspects.
He worked closely
with Gray, who had been hired by the Ramsey family, alongside
former Colorado Springs police detective Lou Smit.
Disturned by writings
Karr became interested in Tracey's documentary Who Killed
JonBenet Ramsey? and started an e-mail correspondence with
him, Gray said.
He said Tracey eventually became disturbed by
Karr's writings and was encouraged to continue corresponding
with him.
Tracey declined to comment on his role in the Karr
investigation but was quoted by the News as saying: "I do
believe he has the right to be presumed innocent.
"I got
involved in this, for 10 years, because I believe that right
was never extended to the Ramseys and that was wrong."
Gray said he and his associates pressed the Boulder
district attorney to look into Karr, but that authorities were
reluctant until Gray was on the verge of going to Paris, where
Karr was believed to have been, to confront Karr himself.
Prosecutors interviewed Tracey in June and "then they got
damn serious in a big hurry", Gray said.
"Michael Tracey was instrumental in this investigation,"
Susan Stine, a Ramsey family friend, told the Rocky Mountain
News.
"He was instrumental in flushing this person (Karr) out
in the sense of getting him to talk."