John Mark Karr won't be charged

A man arrested in Thailand and accused of killing US child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey will not be charged with the murder, his lawyers have said.

According to reports by MSNBC and KUSA, a local television station in Denver, Colorado, tests performed on DNA samples taken from John Mark Karr, the man who confessed to killing JonBenet Ramsey in 1996, do not match DNA samples recovered from Ramsey's body. Neworks are reporting that charges against Karr for Ramsey's murder have been dropped.
KUSA says it "has confirmed from two sources that the DNA taken from John Mark Karr does not match the DNA samples taken from the crime scene in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. No charges will be filed against Karr in connection with the Ramsey case by the Boulder County District Attorney's office," in the report on its website.
DNA from Karr's hair and saliva were tested in the Denver, Colorado Police Department's lab over the weekend.
"This information is critical because … if Mr. Karr's account of his sexual involvement with the victim were accurate, it would have been highly likely that his saliva would have been mixed with the blood in the underwear," said Colorado District Attorney, Mary Lacy. Lacy noted that Karr had become a suspect after exchanging e-mail with a professor in California .
Karr's attorney has requested that all DNA evidence be handed over to the defense for examination. His attorney has also requested additional testing of Karr's DNA; however, there is confusion about who represents Karr. Seth Temin, a public defender claims to represent Karr, but at least two other attorneys in California, Jamie Harmon and Patience Van Zandt, are also claiming to represent him.
"The warrant on Mr. Karr has been dropped by the district attorney. They are not proceeding with the case," said Timen.
"We're deeply distressed by the fact that they took this man and dragged him here from Bangkok, Thailand, with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him and no independent factors leading to a presumption he did anything wrong," added Timen.
In California, Karr still faces charges of posessing child pornography.
Karr was to have appeared in court this afternoon, in front of Judge Roxanne Bailin.