John Mark KarrInvestigators were notified in April 2006 that a 1996 school teacher, named, had been brought to their attention by investigators. Michael TraceyThe University of Colorado Journalism Professor who was involved in documentaries on the case. Tracey stated that Karr reached out to her in 2002. Slowly, a story about Karr’s “accidentally” killing a child with whom he was sexually involved emerged from correspondence. Authorities traced Karr’s calls to Thailand, where he was arrested and confessed to accidentally killing JonBenét. Karr’s family provided evidence to investigators that he had been with them in Georgia the night JonBenét died, and no charges were ever filed after DNA testing didn’t link him to the crime.
It’s an emotional bump, but we did see Lady Justice lay her hand down today,” Pam Paugh (Patsy Ramsey’s sibling) told CNN October 2006, after Karr had been cleared. “I think this is not over, but patience seems to be the wise thing at this stage.”
Gary OlivaNamed by 48 hours of investigation in August 2002 as someone who had been investigated after it was learned he may have been near the Ramsey home the night of the killing and was spotted at a candlelight vigil for JonBenét on the one-year anniversary of the crime. He had said to a friend that he “had done something awful” and had called her sometime afterwards. In a jailhouse interview included in the show, Oliva denied being involved, saying, “I believe she came to me after she was killed and revealed herself to me. It would be nice to have a monument for her. That I’ve never seen anywhere has been my only disappointment.
Oliva was arrested in June 2016 on suspicion of child pornography possession. Boulder City spokeswoman Sarah Huntley told the Daily CameraAccording to him, the police department was very familiar with him because of Ramsey’s investigation and his criminal record and that he is an alleged sex offender.
The police have diligently examined the allegations to determine if there are probable grounds for arrest. We are not currently comfortable ruling anyone out or allowing anybody to be charged as suspect in Ramsey.
Ollie GrayRamseys hired an investigator, who continued his investigation on his own. He became convinced. Michael HelgothThat was what killed him. Helgoth’s family owned a scrap yard on the outskirts of Boulder at the time. John Kenady, who worked with Helgoth, had told In Touch Weekly in April 2016 that he had heard that a tape existed of Helgoth saying he killed JonBenét. Kenady claimed that he tried to contact police 20 times during the time following the murder to inform them about Helgoth, but never received any response.
“You have to look for something in order to find something, and unfortunately for this particular case, you had a totally inexperienced police agency,” Gray said on the TodayShown in May 2016. There are likely three to four individuals that need to be investigated and should have been earlier. Michael Helgoth is the latest intel regarding this case. He was a real hell-raiser.”