US: Colorado prosecutors will not charge schoolteacher John Mark Karr with the murder of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey after tests showed his DNA does not match DNA found in her underwear, two local TV stations reported yesterday.
Denver's KUSA and KCBS both cited unnamed sources close to the investigation in the reports, which came just hours before Karr (41), was due for his first Colorado court appearance. Amid scepticism over Karr's claims to have been with the former Little Miss Colorado when she died, legal experts said it would be difficult to bring the case to trial without a DNA match. A spokeswoman for the Boulder district attorneys office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Prosecutors have disclosed none of their evidence against Karr. Under Colorado law, formal charges must usually come within 72 hours of a defendant's initial court appearance.
The DNA found on the little girl's underwear was identified as belonging to a white male but has never been matched to a suspect in the murder, which for 10 years has baffled police and fascinated Americans.
Other evidence at the crime scene included a foot print found near JonBenet's body in the basement of her home and a palm print on a nearby door.
JonBenet's father, John Ramsey, found the girl's battered body in the basement on December 26th, 1996, about seven hours after her mother stumbled on a bizarre letter claiming that she had been kidnapped and demanding $118,000 ransom.
JonBenet had been strangled to death with a garrote made from supplies found in the home, her skull was fractured and her mouth duct-taped. Forensic evidence suggests she had been sexually assaulted.
Members of Karr's family insist he was out of state at the time of JonBenet's murder and could not have been involved in the crime.