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Suspect arrested in JonBenet Ramsey caseOnline clues lead to former schoolteacher now in Thailand
SPECIAL REPORT
• Timeline: A 10-year investigation
• Gallery: Scenes from the case
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- A suspect was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday "for the December 26, 1996, murder of JonBenet Ramsey," the district attorney in Boulder, Colorado, said Wednesday. A law enforcement source identified the suspect as 41-year-old John Mark Karr, a one-time schoolteacher and American citizen who has lived in Conyers, Georgia. It is the first arrest in the decade-long investigation of the 6-year-old beauty pageant contestant's slaying. The case was the subject of suspicion and speculation and provided years of fodder for the news networks and the tabloids. (Watch analysts discuss what evidence may have kept the investigation from going cold -- 4:50) Karr had been communicating with someone in Boulder and that online communications played a key role in leading authorities to him, law enforcement sources said. Karr has confessed to some elements of the crime and is under investigation for an unrelated sex crime, the sources told CNN. Karr's arrest followed "several months of focused and complex investigation," said District Attorney Mary Lacy, who led the probe. He was arrested Wednesday at his apartment in central Bangkok, Thai police said. A U.S. government source in Bangkok confirmed the arrest and said Karr was in Thai custody. Thailand has revoked Karr's visa, The Associated Press reported. And an investigator with Lacy's office is expected to bring Karr back to Colorado from Thailand. Prosecutors are expected to hold a news conference in Boulder on Thursday. JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, were consulted during the investigation, Lacy said, and the Ramsey family was notified of the arrest. Patsy Ramsey died in June of ovarian cancer at age 49. (Watch how the suspect's name surfaced -- 1:29) Ramseys: Karr an unknownAsked by CNN Denver affiliate KUSA whether he knew the suspect, John Ramsey said, "I really can't comment on that. To my knowledge, no, I didn't, but I don't know enough yet (to say for sure)." His sister-in-law, Pam Paugh, said she was "taken aback and speechless for a few moments" after John called with news of Karr's arrest. "I had to do a double take and say, 'Are you sure?' and he said, 'Yes, I'm quite sure. The arrest has happened in Thailand, and they're going to be bringing him back here,' " Paugh said. "I said, 'Who is it? Who is it?' and he said, 'You know, I can't remember his name, actually, but it's nobody that we know.' "And come to find out, the name, this John Mark Karr means nothing to me. I've never heard the name before," she said. A Ramsey attorney, Lin Wood, urged the public and media not to jump to conclusions now. "As her friend and her lawyer, I regret that Patsy's not here to be able to speak to you herself and express her feelings to you," Wood said. "I am confident she would urge the media to refrain from speculating about this individual, despite his arrest." 10-year mysteryJonBenet's beaten and strangled body was found in the basement of the family home in Boulder, the day after Christmas in 1996. Before her body was found, Patsy Ramsey reported finding on a staircase in the home a three-page ransom letter demanding $118,000 for her return. An autopsy determined the girl had received a massive blow to the head and was strangled with a garrote made from a paintbrush. The day after the Ramseys buried their daughter in Marietta, Georgia, they gave CNN an exclusive interview. "There is a killer on the loose," a tearful Patsy Ramsey told CNN. "I don't know who it is. I don't know if it is a he or a she, but if I were a resident of Boulder, I would tell my friends to keep your babies close to you. There's someone out there." Dying mother knew arrest was comingAlthough the Ramseys maintained that an intruder killed their daughter, the Boulder police said at one point that the Ramseys were under "an umbrella of suspicion." A grand jury investigation ended with no indictments. Law enforcement officials said Karr was not known to investigators at the time. "It is our hope that this arrest will bring some closure to the Ramsey family after a 10-year ordeal," said another Ramsey family attorney, Hal Haddon. In a statement released Wednesday, John Ramsey said his wife knew before she died that an arrest might be coming. "Had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder," Ramsey said. (Read the full statement) In remarks to KUSA, Ramsey said: "Based on what happened to us, I don't think it's proper that we speculate or discuss the case. It's important that justice be allowed to run its course and do its job." In 2003 a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Ramseys, blaming the police and the FBI for bungling the investigation. The Boulder County District Attorney's Office concurred with the judge's opinion the following month, saying there was little evidence against the couple The Ramseys left Colorado and had a house in Charlevoix, Michigan, where John Ramsey unsuccessfully ran for office in 2004. Asked about the worst part of the whole ordeal, he replied, "The hardest part was losing a child, by far." CNN's Kelli Arena and Narunart Prapanya contributed to this report. 
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