Karr Case Collapses

UPDATE: For completists--and masochists--click here to download the 98-page Karr arrest warrant affidavit. In a recorded July 29 phone conversation with Tracey, Karr noted that he wanted Johnny Depp to portray him in a movie to be based on a manuscript Karr had authored. During that chat, Karr also noted that he was skilled at mimicry and was especially proud of his ability "to impersonate Katherine Hepburn." (PDF file, 7 MB)

AUDIO UPDATE: Click here to listen to an MP3 (2:45) of Karr telling Tracey about his casting choice and how Willy Wonka (whom Depp recently portrayed) is "very similar to my personality except for the fact that Willy Wonka did not know how to treat children, he had no knowledge of how to be around children."

AUGUST 28--Colorado investigators today provided the first insight into what led them to arrest John Mark Karr for the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. In a motion to quash Karr's arrest warrant, the Boulder County district attorney this afternoon revealed that they had little more than Karr's bizarre claims--contained in e-mails, phone calls, and a 153-page manuscript delivered to a University of Colorado journalism professor--to support their belief that he murdered the six-year-old beauty queen in December 1996. The prosecution's motion, a copy of which you can find below, provides a detailed account of the Karr probe, which collapsed today shortly after test results showed that Karr's DNA did not match samples taken from the crime scene. Until April, Karr's lengthy (and anonymous) correspondence with Professor Michael Tracey only reflected his "intense interest" in the Ramsey case, the D.A.'s motion notes. After that point, though, Karr began to claim "more personal knowledge" about the child's slaying and eventually "admitted personal responsibility for the death." Using the pseudonym "Daxis," Karr even forwarded Tracey a manuscript that described his "fascination with the sexuality with young girls, and his involvement with the death of JonBenet Ramsey." (5 pages)