Hearing Set for Ramsey Suspect

John Mark Karr lunched on a bologna sandwich, carrots and an apple in the Los Angeles County jail Monday, a day after he washed down seafood with champagne aboard a flight from Thailand to face charges in the decade-old slaying of JonBenet Ramsey.

Karr is scheduled to appear in court early today to announce whether he will oppose extradition to Colorado, where 6-year-old JonBenet was killed on Dec. 26, 1996.

If Carr waives extradition, he could be quickly handed over to Colorado authorities. Regulations on the transfer of accused criminals between states dictated that Karr be arrested in and extradited from California, rather than simply being put on a connecting flight.

Karr has told reporters he was with 6-year-old JonBenet when she died in the basement of her Boulder, Colo., home. He said her death was an accident.

Prosecutors in Boulder have declined to provide details of their evidence suggesting Karr’s involvement in JonBenet’s death.

Media organizations including the Associated Press on Monday asked a judge to unseal the arrest warrant and other documents. The filing noted mistakes in the Ramsey investigation and said there was “great public interest” in whether Karr’s arrest “is yet another ‘mistake,’ ” the wire service reported.

Many investigators and lawyers following the case have said they were skeptical of Karr’s confession.

In an Aug. 15 order, Boulder County District Court Judge Roxanne Bailin ordered case documents sealed, saying disclosure could jeopardize the investigation. Monday’s filing asked her to consider releasing edited versions of the documents if she rules against their full release, according to the AP.

Karr’s return to the U.S. was voluntary, and he was not handcuffed before or during the 15-hour flight from Bangkok. The 41-year-old teacher was flanked on the flight by an investigator with the Boulder County district attorney’s office, and federal immigration officials, who could not be reached for comment.

Karr first dined on pate, salad, fried king prawn, steamed rice, broccoli and chocolate cake, according to the AP. He later ate roast duck with soy sauce and yellow noodles, and for his third meal had pizza and chocolates.

Karr was arrested in 2001 on child pornography charges. In recent years he worked as a teacher in Europe, Central America and Asia.