Monday, August 28, 2006

Back to California for JMK

Late last week, John Mark Karr was hedging his bets against what he knew to be inevitable -- the DNA wouldn't match. Courtesy of KUSA, we now have confirmation of that fact.
BOULDER, Colo. - Prosecutors decided not to charge John Mark Karr in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, his lawyers said Monday after a TV station reported that the schoolteacher’s DNA failed to match genetic material on the 6-year-old girl’s body.

For most people who've spent the last week or so watching this unfold, this revelation comes as no surprise. Will the talking heads turn to pointing out the egg on Mary Lacy's face? I don't happen to see it that way. I suspect that as the rest of the story comes out, it will be shown that the Boulder County District Attorney did what she had to do -- no more, no less. Unfortunately, it may take quite a while. I doubt that they have any intention of revealing the information they've kept under seal up 'til now. I hope that Lacy is able to weather this storm and continue to keep the JonBenét Ramsey investigation on track.

Speaking of which, I'm concerned about the direction of the investigation. At one time, I believed in Lou Smit's theory as to who tortured and killed JonBenét. He gave a good argument that the six-year-old was targeted by a child predator, a sexually sadistic pedophile, to be specific. While I agree that an intruder was responsible for her death, I'm no longer convinced that the sexual assault was the primary motive behind the heinous murder. My current theory is that the crime was commited by a cold and calculating megalomaniac. I believe that JonBenét was targeted, not simply for her beauty and high-profile image as a little beauty queen, but also for the prominence of her parents in the Boulder community. The theory is a work in progress. I have a lot of reading to do before I'll be ready to present it in detail.

Stay tuned.

Update: 5:55 pm, CDT

Court documents have been posted spelling out the reasons behind the investigation and arrest of John Mark Karr and the decision to drop any pending charges against him. Like I said before, Mary Lacy didn't do anything wrong. It's just the nature of public interest in the case and the media's tendency to exploit such high-profile crimes that turned this incident into a three ring circus. The furor surrounding the arrest was unfortunately not to be avoided. It's a shame that the pain of the Ramsey family had to be churned up and that people like Wendy Hutchens and Wendy Murphy were given a platform because of it.

Friday, August 25, 2006

His Wish Fulfilled

John Mark Karr now resides in Boulder, Colorado, and his name will forever be linked to JonBenét Ramsey.
John Mark Karr stepped off a turboprop plane at Jefferson County Airport on Thursday afternoon and into a black Chevrolet Suburban to embark on his last, short leg to Boulder, where he is being held on suspicion that he killed 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey.

Karr, 41, arrived about 5 p.m. from the Long Beach, Calif., airport in a plane operated by the Colorado State Patrol.

Wearing a red, short-sleeve, button-down shirt, black pants and a dark-purple tie, the shackled Karr shook hands with several men escorting him before he was whisked away in a motorcade of SUVs carrying armed officers.

Thirty minutes later, the Suburban pulled into the Boulder County Jail past a throng of media and curious onlookers.

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle gave a brief news conference. He said Karr would be kept isolated from other inmates.

"He will be segregated from the rest of the population," Pelle said. "Whether he is placed on suicide watch will depend on the mental and physical evaluation that he undergoes."

Is his experience in paradise, thus far, all that he thought it would be?

This sounds like good news:
The Boulder District Court judge who has been presiding over matters relating to murder suspect John Mark Karr is no stranger to the JonBenét Ramsey case.

In 1998 and 1999, Chief Judge Roxanne Bailin presided over the grand jury looking into JonBenét's killing. Those who know her and have argued before her say she would make an ideal judge should she end up handling the entirety of Karr's case.

"There couldn't be a better judge to have to handle something of this magnitude," said Steve Louth, a Boulder attorney who has had numerous cases before Bailin. "She's got a lot of experience. I think she will take a lot of the circus out of the media circus."

As I understand it, Karr isn't expected to make a court appearance until Monday. I expect the coverage will die down unless and until the arrest warrants are unsealed. The information contained therein will determine the size of the Big Top from that point forward.

As for John Mark Karr's involvement in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, remember these adages from P.T. Barnum:

"There's a sucker born every minute."

and

"Every crowd has a silver lining."

Thursday, August 24, 2006

John Mark Karr, Part II

In continuing my armchair analysis of John Mark Karr, I thought a timeline might be a better way to finish it up. If you haven't read Part I, you might want to do that before proceeding with this entry...if you can wend your way through the convoluted twists and turns, that is.

As with the prequel, the Average Jane Disclaimer applies.

May 19, 1989

  • After encouraging her to become pregnant so that they could marry without parental consent, John Mark Karr weds 16 year old Lara.
September 1, 1989
  • Twin girls are born to John and Lara Karr.
    John Karr attended to his wife's delivery of the twins in the couple's home. The babies died the same day. It is unclear whether they were stillborn or died shortly after birth.
1990
  • First son, John Mark Karr II, is born to John and Lara Karr.
August 6, 1990
  • JonBenét Ramsey is born to John and Patsy Ramsey in Atlanta.
    As yet, it has not been established that John Mark Karr knew the Ramsey family, so there is no way to know if he was aware of, or in any way impacted by, her birth.
1992
  • Second son, Damon Karr, is born to John and Lara Karr.
    John Mark Karr was the second son born to his own parents. According to reports, Karr used the stage name "Damon" Karr when he was pursuing a musical career in the late '80s. One could extrapolate from this that John Karr was acutely aware of his own place as second son in his family of origin, effectively naming his second son after himself.
1993
  • Third son, Seven Exodus Karr, is born to John and Lara Karr.
    It's almost impossible not to read something into the choice of name. The book of Exodus contains the Ten Commandments, the seventh of which prohibits adultery. It's possible that John Karr associated the birth of his third son with that of his brother, Nathaniel (third son of Wexford Karr). As established in my previous entry, Nathaniel was likely the product of an adulterous relationship between Wexford Karr and Susan Simpson while John's mother, Patricia Elaine (Adcock) Karr, was confined to a mental institution. Adcock was reportedly committed after attempting to do John harm when he was about 4 years old. Wexford divorced Adcock in 1973, when John was 6-7 years old, and shortly thereafter married Simpson. I've read speculation elsewhere that perhaps John suspected his own wife of infidelity; thus the name Seven Exodus. I suppose that is possible, given reports of John's jealous and possessive behavior with both of his wives. I wonder though if it was, instead, that the birth of his third son brought on the reemergence of feelings he had regarding the birth of Nathaniel, his father's third son, and the betrayal and rejection John may have perceived in that event.
October 1, 1993
  • Polly Klaas is kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered by Richard Allen Davis in Petaluma, California.
    It's unclear exactly when John Karr became interested in the Klaas case, but it's been established by statements from his family that he was, even to the point of obsession. He spent a great deal of time researching the case and eventually moved his family across the nation to Petaluma, mere blocks from Polly's former residence.
August 4, 1996
  • Posts believed to have been made by John Mark Karr from a Powerwurks domain cease.
    What is the significance of this? Could it be that Karr found the object of his desire in JonBenet Ramsey? Or did he abandon the Internet as a means of access to prepubescent girls in favor of the more direct route afforded him by a subsequent substitute teaching position at Hamilton Elementary School?
August 6, 1996
  • JonBenét's 6th birthday.
    Again, it's unclear whether or not John Karr had any knowledge of or connection to the Ramsey family prior to her murder. But if he had, her sixth birthday might conceivably have some significance for him.
August 13, 1996
  • JonBenét competes in the Sunburst National Pageant in Atlanta, finishing in 2nd place.
    Geographic proximity provides opportunity for John Mark Karr to take notice of the six-year-old beauty queen, regardless of prior acquaintance or the lack thereof. As many have already stated, these pageants are a pedophile's dream.
August 1996
  • John Karr begins work as a substitute teacher in Hamilton Elementary School.
    His employment was cut short due to inappropriate behavior toward second-grade female students. He did, however, continue to substitute in at least one other Alabama elementary during that academic year.
December 25-26, 1996
  • JonBenét Ramsey is murdered in her Boulder, Colorado, home.
    It has yet to be established whether John Karr was in Colorado at the time. Members of his family, including his ex-wife, insist that he was not. Significant or not, his own daughters would have been 7 years old at the time, had they survived.
2000
  • Patricia Elaine (Adcock) Karr, mother to John Mark Karr, dies.
    The mother who, by his own admission, tended to raise him as a girl was torn away from him at the tender age of 4. How much of an impact did her death have on him? Did the trauma of it provoke his move to California?

  • John Mark Karr moves his family to California.
    He gains teaching credentials and works as a student and substitute teacher, at some point settling in Petaluma, mere blocks from Polly Klaas's former residence. His attraction to Polly seems to have eventually been eclipsed by his obsession with JonBenét.
January-April 2001
  • Karr works as a teacher's aide in a Napa elementary school.
April 3, 2001
  • Karr's Napa employment ends when he is investigated for the possession of child pornography.
October 2001
  • Lara divorces John Karr and gains custody of their three sons.
June 6, 2006
  • After nearly five years on the lam, John Mark Karr arrives in Bangkok, Thailand, ostensibly in search of a teaching position.
    Cue The Omen soundtrack: Note the date.
June 24, 1996
  • Patsy Ramsey succumbs to ovarian cancer
August 16, 2006
  • John Mark Karr is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.


One thing I would like to note is that John Mark Karr's pedophilic drive seems to have ramped up in 1996, in the months prior to JonBenét's murder. He established Powerwurks.com, began trolling for potential victims at Usenet, and left whatever prior employment he had to pursue a degree and career in elementary education. I wonder what triggered this seemingly sudden intensification.

I may add to this entry later, but I wanted to go ahead and get it posted before it all becomes irrelevant, which I expect will happen when John Mark Karr is cleared of any involvement in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey.

I feel like a pendulum.

Well, despite my own burgeoning doubts as to John Mark Karr's potential culpability in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy seems determined to convince. This morning I expressed, in a comment at Huff's Crimeblog.us that I was beginning to wonder if Karr would even be moved to Colorado, let alone be charged with the homicide. Revelations in today's Denver Post, including excerpts from a court document, go a ways toward realigning my thinking.
The document confirms that a week since Karr's arrest Aug. 16, Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy's investigation of Karr is far from being completed. It also says that the case against Karr is in its "very early stages" and was developed using evidence not previously disclosed about the 1996 slaying of JonBenét Ramsey.

Karr, now being held as a fugitive in Los Angeles, is expected in Boulder soon to face murder, kidnapping and sexual-assault charges in the JonBenét case.

On Wednesday the district attorney asked the Boulder court not to unseal the arrest-warrant affidavit, which would reveal underlying evidence used to obtain a probable-cause warrant against Karr, at least for 15 days until Sept. 7.

These parts in particular caught my attention:
Meanwhile, a past investigator of the Ramsey case, said evidence that could confirm Karr's involvement in the former beauty queen's homicide includes what was written on the first draft of the ransom note.
...
The motion also hints that previously published e-mails exchanged in the past four years between Karr and University of Colorado journalism professor Michael Tracey may not include the incriminating e-mails that led to his arrest.

"(The news media) even allege, with no basis for doing so, that a 'substantial portion' of the e-mails between Mr. Karr and Mr. Tracey have been disclosed," the motion said.

Nagel said that despite thousands of articles and books about the slaying, "most of the evidence in the affidavit has not been disclosed, nor has the media developed it independently."

I'm really trying to be patient, but the suspense is killing me. And the seesawing of my mindset is starting to make me a bit queasy.

Get the guy to Boulder, and let's get on with it already!

Update: 5:30 pm, CT

Thank you.

Poor Pluto

Pluto is dead," said Mike Brown, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology who spoke with reporters via a teleconference while monitoring the vote.
...
The vote involved just 424 astronomers who remained for the last day of a meeting of the International Astronomical Union in Prague.

"I'm embarrassed for astronomy. Less than 5 percent of the world's astronomers voted," said Alan Stern, leader of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute.
...
Stern called it "absurd" that only 424 astronomers were allowed to vote, out of about 10,000 professional astronomers around the globe.

"It won't stand," he said. "It's a farce."

Stern said astronomers are already circulating a petition that would try to overturn the IAU decision.

You tell 'em, Mr. Stern!

A Ray of Sunshine

After following events of the last week and delving back into the details and botched investigation of the Ramsey case, a story like this is a welcome change.
About 1 a.m. Tuesday, Sharon went into sudden labor in the bathroom of their Canby home and yelled to her husband there was no time to get to a hospital.

In a matter of minutes, the baby was born. But instead of warming to a healthy pink, she was pale and struggling for air.

As paramedics raced to the Ellis home, Boe, 29, followed instructions from 911 operator Tammy Shaver. He cleared his daughter's breathing passage, blew two puffs of air into her mouth and gently pressed on her chest to stimulate her heart.

Finally, Boe tapped on his daughter's feet, and Bridget took her first light breaths as Pulford and fellow paramedics Val Codino and Tighe Vroman arrived.

They found the baby's pulse and respiration were slow, so they left her connected to the umbilical cord and receiving oxygenated blood from her mother while they continued resuscitation. Over the next 18 minutes, they provided physical stimulation and supplemental oxygen.

But the paramedics all agreed that Boe Ellis saved his baby's life and protected her from brain damage or other long-term effects.

Bridget Ellis was doing fine with her mother at Legacy Meridian Park Hospital in Tualatin, with her father and her 2-year-old sister, Brooke, all smiles.

Sharon Ellis, meanwhile, said she was still amazed at her husband's calm response: "I thought for sure he would have passed out in a situation like that."

Read the full article at MSNBC.com.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Can JMK get any freakier?

John Mark Karr's first wife was interviewed on Good Morning America today.


Quientana Ray told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he used to tell her about fantasies he had about little girls. She also says he was controlling.
...
Ray says she was drugged and that “things were done” to her without her knowing. She didn’t elaborate.

Ray’s parents said they discovered letters Karr wrote to their daughter that were signed “SBTC.” Those are the same initials found on a ransom note left in the Ramsey home.


I'm so back and forth on this guy, I'm about ready to just throw up my hands and leave it until we hear something solid...like DNA results.

Last night, thinking back on all the writing I did yesterday, I'd just about decided it was a waste of time and energy. I figured, "Y'know, everything I've learned about the guy could just as easily explain why he'd be so obsessed with JonBenét's murder that he'd try to insinuate himself into a case he had absolutely no involvement in, as it could paint a picture of a guy who would commit such a crime against a beautiful little girl. Until there's a solid link between John Mark Karr and the Ramsey family, all the psychoanalysis in the world means nothing."

Then, this morning, I read this brief recap of Quientana's appearance on GMA. Seriously, can this guy and this case get any freakin' weirder? I wish I'd seen the show, but maybe they'll have a clip up online later today. If anyone saw the segment, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the veracity of the claims made by this woman and her parents.

Anyway, if you've started to worry that I wasn't going to finish that long and rambling entry from yesterday, fear not. I'll forge ahead with the armchair analysis, if for no other reason than to finish what I've started. Be patient though. What with taxi duties and all the other mom stuff to do, I've given up trying to get any blogging done in a timely manner. I'll leave it up to others to be on top of things and just keep doing what I do whether its old news or not.

Update: 11:32 am, CDT

Okay, I'm stupid. That was a CBS article about an ABC show. Here's a link that includes a video clip: ABC News.

Video Link

Update: 1:47 pm, CDT

This isn't really new, but I'm aware that there are people having as much trouble as I am trying to keep up with this case. If you haven't yet heard any of Wendy Hutchens' recordings of her conversations with a man she identifies as John Mark Karr, you should make time. When I first heard about this woman's claims, I had serious doubts. I thought she was just an attention-seeking kook. Not so, anymore. Kook or not, her claims have merit.

Listening to JMK on those tapes answers the question I used to title this entry with a big fat YES!

Video Link

Update: 3:25 pm, CDT

More SBTC from Karr?
After hearing news reports about strange messages Karr wrote in Hamilton High yearbooks, Hampton said she called home and asked her father to check her book.

News reports said the ransom note found at the home where the 6-year old was killed contained the initials “S.B.T.C.” Hampton said message in her yearbook includes the phrase “I shall be the conquerer.”

“I’ve talked to other people we graduated with and he signed everybody’s yearbook that way,” she said.

“We’re all pretty much in shock.”

I'm starting to wonder if these folks from Alabama are jerking the rest of us around. Show me some proof, please.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Today's Developments: JMK

Just a brief update to summarize today's developments.


  • John Mark Karr has agreed to be extradited to Colorado to face charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping and sexual assault on a child. [No big surprises there.]


  • Though Karr's ex-wife, Lara, cannot remember a Christmas during their marriage when John Karr was away from his family, the Karr family, as yet, has not been able to come up with a photo from Christmas 1996 that includes John Mark Karr. [Provocative, no?]


  • Handwriting experts see similarities between the handwriting in the Ramsey ransom note and known samples of John Mark Karr's handwriting.

  • Karr's first wife spoke briefly and reluctantly to a reporter who accosted her outside her home. [Pretty, isn't she? Imagine, if you will, her appearance at age 13.]


  • John Mark Karr made additional spontaneous statements during transport to the LA county detention center.
    Karr began talking calmly to himself while looking out the window, the source said.

    "Everybody says I couldn't know my way around the house, but I got in the house around 5 o'clock ... and I stayed there all night," Karr said, according to the source.

    Karr also said "they," meaning the Ramseys, did not come back until about 10 p.m. He also repeated what he earlier told reporters: that JonBenet's death was an accident and that he was with her when she died
    .

*Post updated at 9:50 pm, CDT.

John Mark Karr

Until today, other than doing a lot of reading and a little commenting at Huff's Crimeblog.us and Websleuths forum, I've refrained from blogging about the arrest of John Mark Karr, suspect in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey. With information accumulating and theories growing more and more convoluted, my head is whirling with piecemeal tidbits and fragmentary notions. So once again, I've decided to put together an entry as a means of setting my thoughts in order. Bear with me.

So far, we know very little about the evidence implicating Karr, except that he has confessed to being "with JonBenét when she died" and that "her death was an accident." Almost everyone considered Karr's confession kooky, especially when it was erroneously reported that Karr claimed to have picked JonBenét up at school, taking her to the basement of her Boulder, Colorado, home where he drugged and raped the six-year-old prior to her death. To anyone with a passing knowledge of the evidence, it's obvious that Karr's alleged statements do not match the most basic elements of the case. I, at first, considered Karr's statements to be deliberately misleading and boldly posted my opinion in one of Steve Huff's comment threads. My faith wavered as more information was published. Since that initial certainty, I've gone from having serious doubts about Karr's involvement and concerns with the Boulder DA's case to a renewed, though tenuous, belief that they may indeed have the right guy.

Boulder investigators apparently have in their possession four years' worth of email correspondence between John Mark Karr and CU professor of journalism, Michael Tracey. Tracey has done several documentaries on the case, in support of the intruder theory, but for many, his integrity is questionable. Karr, who has an obvious obsession with the little girl's murder, began the correspondence after a chance meeting in Paris with Boulder columnist, Michael Sandrock during the summer of 2002. It remains to be seen whether the allegedly secret details Karr confided to the professor have been tainted by Tracey's bias and perhaps inside knowledge of previously unreleased evidence. Notwithstanding, I have a hard time accepting the idea that the Boulder DA would take this course of action based solely on the content of those emails. Surely, there is more to the story. I have to believe that Mary Lacy wouldn't take her investigative team out on this limb, after all the embarrassment and criticism suffered by their predecessors, without something more substantial to bolster their case.

What has arisen from the overwhelming media coverage is some background information on the life of John Mark Karr. Speculation in regard to the psychology of the "wingnut" and how he might fit the profile of JonBenét's killer naturally emerges from there. I have no background in psychology, so my opinings have no more weight than those of the average Jane. Still, I can't help but take note of significant events in the development of John Mark Karr and how the impact of those circumstances seem to have manifest in a classic pedophile. I also notice some details that, coincident or not, bear some semblance to particulars in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey.

John Mark Karr has a history of involvement with under-age girls. At 19, Karr took a thirteen-year-old across state lines, lied about her age, and married her without the consent of her parents. The marriage was annulled some months later, to John Karr's disappointment. He then remained single until the age of 24 when he married 16-year-old Lara Knutson, with whom he had 5 children -- twin daughters who died the same day they were born and three sons. In the interim, he reportedly often drove his red DeLorean to the local middle school to flirt with young girls. Some would draw parallels between Karr's proclivity for under-age girls and his father's penchant for wedding younger women.

His father, Wexford Karr, had married Patricia Elaine Adcock on Aug. 21, 1958. He was 37 and she was 18, according to court documents.

John, who has two brothers, was born Dec. 12, 1964.

Wexford and Patricia separated 11 years after they married, and Wexford filed for divorce in 1973 in Clayton County, saying the marriage was "irretrievably broken" and that the boys were in his custody. His wife received a $5,000 mobile home and $125 a month in alimony, according to court papers.

Soon after, Wexford Karr, then 52, married a woman 23 years his junior, Susan Simpson. But his union with the 29-year-old burned out in divorce six months later.
At this point, I'm not willing to judge the elder Karr so harshly. Though his brides were 19 and 23 years his junior, respectively, they were of legal age of consent. Unlike his son, there are no accusations of pedophilia against Wexford Karr, and I don't mean to imply that he has any such tendencies. I do, however, wonder if the age disparity, as perceived by a young John Karr, gave him a sense of condonance of his own attraction to teenage and even prepubescent girls. He may have justified it in his own mind with thoughts such as these: What difference does it make if the girls are 7 or 16? They're closer in age to me than my father's wives were to him.

As related by a friend of Wexford Karr, John Karr's mother attempted to end her son's life in infancy.

John Karr's mother, Patricia Elaine Adcock "made a big round donut [of kindling] and put him in the middle of it," said George McCrary, 76, who said he has known Karr's father, Wexford Karr, for 40 years.

"She just boxed the little baby in and tried to light it," McCrary said. John's older brother Michael "came running in just before she got the flame to the flammable material," McCrary added.

Adcock was later committed to a mental institution. She died in 2000, according to an obituary in the Pittsburgh, Pa., Post-Gazette.
Knowledge of his mother's attempt to burn him to death had to have had a profound impact on him. Add to that the resultant institutionalization of his mom, and I'd say you have the makings for some serious psychological issues in John Karr.

Early on, followers took notice of the effeminate appearance of John Mark Karr, speculating that the odd intentation in his neck and apparent lack of an adam's apple, along with the semblance of breasts on an otherwise gaunt man, could be an indication that gender reassigment surgery was the purpose for his relocation to Thailand. Subsequent reports of facial hair removal and Karr's status as a patient at a Bangkok clinic bear that out. Missives between Karr and Professor Tracey also allude to gender identity issues:

At another point, Tracey wrote, “You told me once that your mother tended to raise you as a girl. This must have had a powerful effect on your developing sexuality – confusion maybe?”

Karr responded: “Michael, I will not discuss my sexuality as if it is a psychological disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In my case, I disagree with that totally, and if this is to be the way we progress in discussing it, I might as well stop while I am ahead.

“On the other hand, if you would like to learn something about my sexuality on an intellectual, nonjudgmental, nontraditional and nonpsychological way, I would love to share. It would help you understand a lot about my connection with JonBenet and possibly about the case. Shall we?”
Others discount the notion that Karr's mother tried to raise him as a girl, citing her commitment to a mental institution following the attempted infanticide of John as a preclusion to any such opportunity on her part. However, the ABC article doesn't specify exactly when she was institutionalized, only that it was later. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article states that Wexford Karr didn't divorce his first wife until 1973, when John would have been nearing the age of 9, however the couple separated after 11 years of marriage. A wedding date in 1958 puts that separation in the proximity of 1969, when John would have been 4-5 years old. It isn't a giant leap to assume that the separation coincides with Mrs. Karr's institutionalization. Also of note is the fact that only two of the three Karr boys, Michael and John, are attributed to the union of Wexford and Patricia Karr. The third son, Nathaniel Karr, is currently 34 years old, according to recent articles, meaning he would have been born in about 1972, after the separation but prior to the divorce. John would probably have been a second grader at that time. The previously-quoted George McCrary reveals that Mr. Karr's relationship with his second wife probably began while he was still married to Patricia.

At the time of the alleged murder attempt, the Karr family was living in an Atlanta apartment complex that Wexford Karr owned, McCrary said. One of the tenants in that building was Susan Simpson.

"She'd watched the marriage go to hell," McCrary said. "And when it ended, she was there for Wex, and helped him through that hard time. He fell in love with her."

Wexford Karr and Simpson married. He was 52. She was 29. They lived together for several years before splitting up. [emphasis mine]

The elder Karr took his sons to live with his parents in Hamilton, Ala., where John attended high school, McCrary said.
In conjunction with the following quote from AJC.com, one can deduce that the Karr-Simpson relationship began prior to the dissolution of the Karr-Adcock marriage, and that Nathaniel Karr was a product of that relationship.

Wexford and Patricia separated 11 years after they married, and Wexford filed for divorce in 1973 in Clayton County, saying the marriage was "irretrievably broken" and that the boys were in his custody. His wife received a $5,000 mobile home and $125 a month in alimony, according to court papers.

Soon after, Wexford Karr, then 52, married a woman 23 years his junior, Susan Simpson. But his union with the 29-year-old burned out in divorce six months later. [emphasis mine]
It isn't clear whether the relationship began prior to the first Mrs. Karr's commission to an asylum, but even if it had, it probably wasn't conspicuous to young John until after his mother was sent away. What I'm getting at here is the issue of adultery and what John likely perceived as betrayal and abandonment of his mother, and effectively himself, by his father in favor of another woman and child, while John was between the ages of 4 and 9. That age range and the allegation that Patricia tended to raise her second son as a girl are both significant when you consider the fact that John now admits to identifying with young girls of that age. From the Journal Gazette article:

"Maybe I am not going back but have simply stayed consistent,” Karr wrote. “My peer group has not changed since I was a little boy, and girls were the people I was with always. Referring to them as a peer group is somewhat incorrect, but might also be the very definition of what they continue to be in my life.”
Prior to, and in close proximity of, the time of JonBenet's murder, Karr even began a website, Powerwurks.com, and pursued teaching credentials in an effort to gain access to children in his so-called "peer group".

Of further interest is that, apparently, only Michael and John were sent to live with their paternal grandparents when the brothers were 17 and 12, respectively. Nathaniel would have been about 4-5 years old at that time, and probably remained in Atlanta with his mother, Susan, closer to the boys' father. Another abandonment and perhaps reinforcement of the idea that younger children are more desirable? Nathaniel's reference to the elder Karrs as "the grandparents" reinforces the notion that he was not sent to live with them, along with his brothers.

My apologies to my readers, but I've lost my train of thought. I'll continue this entry later when I find time and inspiration, and after I have a chance to catch up on today's developments. My intention is to further relate what I've already written to JonBenét's murder. Stay tuned.

p/s: I warned you it was convoluted.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Stan Tribble Arrested

By the courtesy of a friend, I've just learned that Stan Tribble was arrested this morning on charges that he murdered his wife, Tracy Gostomski Tribble. Investigators believe that Tracy was killed sometime between 10:45 on May 2 and the morning of May 3.

Links to articles:

Thank you, Friend.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Update: Tracy Gostomski Tribble

Investigators held a press conference this afternoon, announcing the results of Tracy Tribble's autopsy, and have reclassified her death as a homicide. A few interesting details were revealed.
  • Investigators said Gostomski-Tribble died of asphyxiation and that she was either strangled, smothered or she drowned in the Missouri River where she was found.

  • "She suffered multiple blunt force injuries, including at least three separate injures to her head, which are inconsistent with an accidental death," Wilber said.

  • Wilber said he believes that Tribble was murdered between 10:45 p.m. on May 2 and the early-morning hours of May 3.

  • "We know Tracy was having a phone conversation with her husband's sister that ended at around 10:45 p.m.," Wilber said.

  • There is a $75,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case. Wilber said that investigators specifically want to talk to someone who saw activity on the Missouri River bridges on the night and early-morning hours of May 2 and 3.

Stan Tribble is still a person of interest in the case. County attorney Matt Wilber would not comment on how cooperative Mr. Tribble has been with the investigation.

Read the full article at KCCI.com or KETV.com.

On Mel Gibson...not so much

I am not going to defend the actions of nor the despicable statements spewed by Mel Gibson during his drunken tirade. Neither do I intend to jump on the "Let's bash Mel!" bandwagon. There's plenty of that going on elsewhere. My only purpose in writing an entry at all is to address the disingenuousness of TMZ head Harvey Levin's proposed motivation in pursuing the public release of sheriff's department recordings of Gibson's arrest.
"We want the tapes not just because of Mel Gibson but because the tape puts the conduct of the sheriff's department in context," said Harvey Levin, head of
TMZ.

Questions have been raised about the fact that a sheriff's department spokesman initially said Gibson had been arrested without incident. Also, the arresting deputy's initial written report, which contained Gibson's controversial statements, was ordered modified and the comments were placed in a supplemental report instead.

"Although the sheriff's department has maintained that deputies did not show Mr. Gibson favoritism, the department's prompt release of the requested materials will speak louder than any statement the department's spokesperson can make," TMZ lawyer Alonzo Wickers IV wrote in a letter to the sheriff's department.

In my opinion, Harvey Levin is a weasel. The sometime legal correspondent and entertainment reporter is like so many heel-biters in Hollywood who delight in seeing celebrities brought to their knees. He must be peeing his pants in glee over his part in the demise of Mel Gibson's star status and prodigious career. Mr. Levin is simply trying to profit, in both dollars and renown, from Gibson's self-inflicted ruination.

As for Mel Gibson, I think that his problems go much deeper than alcoholism. His proclivity for booze and drugs and history of depression are symptoms of what truly ails him. I hope that he is sincere in his repentance and committed to seeking real help in battling the demons that torment his soul.

Tracy Tribble: Resolution?

It's about time. Three months after Tracy Gostomski Tribble disappeared from her Council Bluffs home, it appears that there is some activity in the case. Her battered body was later found floating in the Missouri River. Complete autopsy results have come in. Police are planning a news conference this afternoon, but will first apprise the family of any new information. As yet, no arrests have been made.

Are you sweating, Stan?