JonBenet death 'an accident'
2006-08-17 13:34
Bangkok - The American teacher arrested in Thailand for killing six-year-old "beauty queen" JonBenet Ramsey 10 years ago told police that he loved the girl, an official said on Thursday.
John Mark Karr, 41, was arrested late on Wednesday in his downtown Bangkok apartment, following a request from the US embassy here for his capture over the murder on the day after Christmas 1996.
"He said he was in love with the girl, and on the day the incident happened, he went to see the girl at her house. The two of them went into the basement, which is where he said he accidentally killed her," Lieutenant General Suwat Thamrongsrisakul told reporters.
Karr had entered Thailand at least five times since the killing, Suwat said, most recently on June 6 when he arrived from Malaysia with a visa that would allow him to work in Thailand.
He had applied for a job to teach math at an international school in Bangkok but had not yet begun work, Suwat added.
Ann Hurst, an attache for the US department of homeland security, said Karr would be returned to the United States within the week.
US authorities have been working with Thai police for about two months to track down Karr, she said, adding that he could be linked to another crime in California.
It was the first-ever arrest in the case, which was the subject of intense media speculation about the suspects, who initially included her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey.
JonBenet was found beaten and strangled to death in the basement of her family's 15-room home in Boulder, Colorado. An autopsy report indicated she may have also been sexually assaulted.