John Mark Karr, an American primary
school teacher, is escorted from a news conference in Bangkok, August 17,
2006. (Xinhua/AFP
Photo) | LOS
ANGELES, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- John Mark Karr, the confessed killer of 6-year-old
JonBenet Ramsey, is on his way to Los Angeles on Sunday aboard a Thai airways
flight from Bangkok, airport officials said.
Karr, 41, was arrested in Thailand and is returning
to the United States to face charges in connection with the child beauty queen's
death.
With the U.S. media devoting much coverage to his
arrest, Karr's fate has been the focus of public debate these days. A pool of
U.S. reporters was accompanying the suspect on his way back home.
Karr, a former schoolteacher, is due to arrive at the
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) aboard the Thai Airways flight later in
the day, LAX spokesman Harold Johnson told reporters.
Karr told reporters in Bangkok last week that he was
with JonBenet when she died in 1996, but that her death was an accident.
However, there is little public evidence linking him
to the crime, prompting some experts to doubt Karr's confession, saying he might
be delusional and simply obsessed with the deceased child beauty pageant
contestant.
Lawyers for the Ramsey family say a number of people
already have confessed to the killing of JonBenet, but none had enough
credibility to attract the attention of law enforcement.
Karr's trial was expected to be a lengthy and
complicated one, legal experts said.
It is not clear how long Karr will be in Los Angeles.
Officials in California refused to comment. LAX officials did not know how long
Karr would stay in Los Angeles.
Karr will eventually go to Boulder, Colorado, where
he is expected to face charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and child
sexual assault in connection with the young beauty queen's 1996 killing.
After Karr lands in Los Angeles, he will be processed
by immigration officials and is expected to be arrested by local authorities on
an arrest warrant out of Colorado, said Carolyn French, spokeswoman for the
Boulder County district attorney's office.
An extradition hearing will be held in Los Angeles
for Karr within the next few days, French said. If Karr agrees to waive
extradition, he will then be taken to Boulder County.
"If he fights extradition that is a much more lengthy
process," French said.
Karr was being brought back to the United States on a
temporary passport.
Karr had lived in Bangkok on and off for two years.
In recent years, he apparently traveled to Europe, Central America and Asia to
search for teaching jobs. He taught in at least two Thai schools. Enditem
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