JonBenet, the Ramsey Family, the Boulder Police, John Karr and Reputations in Crisis

“I was with JonBenet when she died. Her death was an accident. I am so very sorry for what happened to JonBenet. It’s very important for me that everyone knows that I love her very much, that her death was unintentional, that it was an accident.” Commented John Karr, the JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect and former elementary school teacher, at a press conference in Bangkok Thailand. He was visibly nervous and stuttered when he spoke.

According to A.P. a former schoolteacher was arrested Wednesday in Thailand in the slaying of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey — a surprise breakthrough in a lurid, decade-old murder mystery that had cast a cloud of suspicion over her parents. Federal officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the suspect as John Mark Karr, a 42-year-old American, and one law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Boulder police had tracked him down online.

The Ramsey family’s attorney in Atlanta pronounced the arrest vindication for JonBenet’s parents, John and Patsy Ramsey. Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer on June 24. John and Patsy lived their lives knowing they were innocent, trying to raise a son despite the furor around them,” attorney Lin Wood said. He said the Ramseys learned of the suspect a least a month before Patsy Ramsey’s death.

Karr was a teacher who once lived in Conyers, Ga., according to Wood. The attorney said the Ramseys gave police information about Karr before he was identified as a suspect.

Wood would not say how the Ramseys knew Karr. But JonBenet was born in Atlanta in 1990, and the Ramseys lived in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody for several years before moving to Colorado in 1991.
An attorney for the Ramsey family said Wednesday that Karr once lived near the family in Conyers, Ga.

Wednesday’s arrest was a surprise development in one of America’s most lurid murder cases, which had left a cloud of suspicion over her family after years went by with no arrests. Some feared the case would never be solved. Striking video images of the blonde-haired girl in child beauty pageants helped propel the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the United States.

JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family’s home in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996. Karr was being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges. CBS News reported he will be brought back to the United States this weekend. Ironically, Karr began working as a second-grade teacher in Thailand on Tuesday before he was arrested.

A few comments and questions from the Reputation Doctor regarding the recent developments in the JonBenet Ramsey case:

Finally, the Ramsey family reputation will be rehabilitated after being suspects themselves for 10 years.

This case is a prime example as to why a reputation must be defended vigorously. John Ramsey did the right thing in his first communication with the media upon the capture of John Karr in Bangkok. Ramsey said we must allow the justice system to be served and highly praised the authorities in Boulder and in Bangkok for all of their hard work and tireless dedication. He took the high road here and his reputation will be repaid for doing so. He has a reason to be upset with law enforcement and the press for the way they treated his family with 10 years of doubt of their own innocence, but he is more grateful for what is happening today. Smart man. The media is rewarding him for how he is handling the news. John Ramsey will have more to say soon, as well as others. Look for his reputation to bounce back better than ever. We love an underdog and this is a wonderful underdog story for John Ramsey personally and also vindication after death for Patsy Ramsey’s reputation too. Remember, she passed 3 lie detector tests and law enforcement, the media and the world still didn’t believe her before she died!

The Boulder Police department continues to have a reputation in crisis.

The entire Boulder police department made many big mistakes in this case and had tunnel vision focused only on John and Patsy Ramsey as alleged murder suspects of their daughter for years. Sadly, the police department will now continue to reap the consequences of their actions. Yes, they contributed to finding John Karr, but the Boulder police will not get much of the glory. They tried so mnay times to try to appear as murder investigation experts, but in reality the Boulder police were scared to death about making big mistakes in a high-profile case like this, and, as we all know now, they made many mistakes. Their amateurish, small town and sometimes cocky approach was front and center for all to see. They were trying to be the NYPD, but seriously lacked the expertise to do so.

The new Boulder district attorney, Mary Lacey, is now one of the potential heroes in this case.

Mary Lacey was not the D.A. when this case first began, but all are happy to see her in the position today. Her determination to do the right thing, pay for a proper investigation and seek the best outside advice she could get is one of the reasons for the capture of John Karr. However, the Boulder D.A. and many others, including the FBI, still have a lot of work to do on this case. Her press conference today did not really give any new information. As I always say, there is a big difference between the court of law and the court of public opinion. The law leans towards no comment and public opinion desires more information through the media. Ironically, murder suspect John Karr had more to say to the press thus far than the Boulder D.A. Without new, honest, factual information from authorities in this case, the void of info will be filled with other opinions, conjecture and innuendo. Always has been and always will be. This is one reason why no comment might work well in the court of law, but never really works in the court of public opinion. And the phones at the D.A.’s office and the Boulder police department are now ringing off the hooks again by the many hundreds of global media bureaus seeking more information. Note to both: get excellent, seasoned, outside PR counsel on the case now before it’s too late. Your reputations are all on the line and this case has legs.

Remember, do the right thing when your reputation is in crisis and seek the counsel of an experienced reputation management expert. It will be a major challenge, but ultimately the rewards of repairing your reputation will be great. Why? Because Your Reputation Is Everything!™

Boulder Police, John Karr, Ramsey Family

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