JonBenet slaying suspect arrives in US

LOS ANGELES – John Mark Karr, the suspect in the killing of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, arrived late yesterday after a 15-hour flight from Thailand on which he sipped champagne, dined on fried king prawns and roast duck, and exchanged what he described as “small talk” with law enforcement escorts.

Agents wearing US Customs shirts met Karr as he left the jet ahead of all other passengers and the group disappeared from the view of reporters on the flight. He was later turned over to local authorities and flown by helicopter to a Los Angeles County jail complex near downtown.His day of wining and dining over, Karr was expected to spend the night in a single cell in the high-security Twin Towers jail, where he will await an extradition hearing on a request to move him to Boulder, Colorado.”He is going to be housed here in the men’s jail, kept in isolation in a 1.8 by-2.7 metres room with a bed, a toilet no windows and no phones,” sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore told reporters awaiting Karr’s arrival at the jail.Jail guards would check on Karr every 15 minutes, said sheriff’s Sgt.Brian Lendman.He was expected to be charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault in connection with the young beauty queen’s 1996 killing.Karr voluntarily returned to the US and was not handcuffed in his business class seat.A hearing was expected to take place in Los Angeles within a few days, and if Karr agrees to waive extradition, he will then be taken to Boulder County, said Carolyn French, spokeswoman for the Boulder County district attorney’s office.The Los Angeles County district attorney’ office had not received word of an imminent hearing, spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.”Nampa-APHe was later turned over to local authorities and flown by helicopter to a Los Angeles County jail complex near downtown.His day of wining and dining over, Karr was expected to spend the night in a single cell in the high-security Twin Towers jail, where he will await an extradition hearing on a request to move him to Boulder, Colorado.”He is going to be housed here in the men’s jail, kept in isolation in a 1.8 by-2.7 metres room with a bed, a toilet no windows and no phones,” sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore told reporters awaiting Karr’s arrival at the jail.Jail guards would check on Karr every 15 minutes, said sheriff’s Sgt.Brian Lendman.He was expected to be charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault in connection with the young beauty queen’s 1996 killing.Karr voluntarily returned to the US and was not handcuffed in his business class seat.A hearing was expected to take place in Los Angeles within a few days, and if Karr agrees to waive extradition, he will then be taken to Boulder County, said Carolyn French, spokeswoman for the Boulder County district attorney’s office.The Los Angeles County district attorney’ office had not received word of an imminent hearing, spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.”Nampa-AP