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Who is John Mark Karr?; "Snakes on a Plane" Debuts After Months of Buzz

Aired August 18, 2006 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: His so-called confession reignited the Ramsey case and the media frenzy that's always swirled around it. But whether or not John Mark Karr had anything to do with JonBenet's murder, his documented past is troubling -- and troubled.
CNN's David Mattingly looks back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN MARK KARR, SUSPECT IN RAMSEY KILLING: I love JonBenet and she died accidentally.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Before causing a sensation in the grasp of Thai authorities, John Mark Karr was a father, a husband, and a teacher with roots almost a world away in northwest Alabama.

BRAVELL JACKSON, SUPERINTENDENT, MARION COUNTY SCHOOLS: John was a likable student, an outgoing, intelligent -- you couldn't help but like John. He had something going all the time.

MATTINGLY: Marion County School Superintendent Bravell Jackson remembers a boy raised by his grandparents in the small town of Hamilton, who graduated and attended college. In 1984, when Karr was 19, according to the Associated Press, he married a 13-year-old local girl. The marriage was annulled the following year after the bride said she feared for her life and safety.

In 1989, Karr married a second time. This time to a 16-year-old in Georgia. And in 1996, the year JonBenet was murdered, Karr came home as a substitute teacher in elementary school. But almost immediately there were problems.

JACKSON: Complaints from parents that rumors that were going on in the community and I could not find any legal ramifications as far as any arrest had been made at that time of local authorities. But we felt like it was in our best interest that he not be allowed to substitute in our schools.

MATTINGLY: Karr was let go after just three months. Two years later, he lost another substituting job at another nearby school system after more undisclosed complaints.

In divorce papers filed in 2001, his second wife, Lara, said her now ex-husband had been told that he was "too affectionate with the children." UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you were in the basement?

KARR: Yes.

MATTINGLY: But in spite of what he says, Karr's ex-wife Lara told San Francisco television station KGO her ex-husband couldn't have killed JonBenet Ramsey because he was with her the entire Christmas season of 1996. According to school officials, Karr was substituting in Franklin County, Alabama, at the time, working up to December 18th. A week before JonBenet was killed and her Colorado home. And he returned to work when classes started in January.

But Lara Karr also said John Mark Karr was fascinated with the JonBenet murder, researching it extensively, according to KGO. He was also reportedly interested in the murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas in Petaluma, California. Karr moved his family there in 2000. He lost another teaching job in 2001 after being charged with possessing child pornography. He pleaded not guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long had you known JonBenet?

KARR: No comment on that.

MATTINGLY: By the time John Mark Karr was making his stunning public statements, authorities say he had traveled extensively, on the run from the California charges, for five years. A resume posted to an online service for teachers paints Karr as a globe-trotting educator. It cannot be fully verified, but it claims Karr recently taught young children in Honduras, Costa Rica, Germany, the Netherlands and South Korea, before starting a new job this week teaching second grade in Bangkok.

(on camera): And there are still a lot of missing pieces to this puzzle. Authorities say that John Mark Karr is from Georgia, but they will also say that they know almost nothing about him.

David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, before most of us ever heard of John Mark Karr, e-mails like this had already raised the hackles of Ollie Gray and John San Agustin. Quote, "I will not discuss my sexuality as if it is a psychological disorder. If you would like to learn something about my sexuality on an intellectual, non-judgmental, non-traditional and non-psychological way, I would love to share. It would help you understand a lot about my connection with JonBenet and possibly about the case."

Gray and San Agustin have been on the case since the beginning, first in conjunction with the Boulder City Police and later hired by the Ramsey family. They join me from Colorado Springs.

John, your first reaction as we hear bits and pieces from these e-mails?

JOHN SAN AGUSTIN, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: My first reaction?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

SAN AGUSTIN: You know, this -- maybe he did it, maybe he didn't do it. You know, obviously, if he did do it, we're going to be looking for physical evidence that ties him to that scene, to the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. If he didn't, obviously you're not going to find any physical evidence that links him to the case.

PHILLIPS: When you were actively on this case, did his name ever come up anywhere?

SAN AGUSTIN: In our investigation, Ollie and our -- and my investigation, his name never had come up.

PHILLIPS: And Ollie, you were saying you checked an entire database, his name wasn't anywhere?

OLLIE GRAY, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Not in the database that we have on -- which was prepared by investigators and ourselves that we're doing things for the Ramseys' attorneys.

PHILLIPS: So, did you actually -- Ollie and John, you can decide who wants to respond -- did you guys actually see all these e-mails that triggered authorities to finally go after John Mark Karr?

GRAY: No.

PHILLIPS: You didn't see them? What about you, Ollie -- or John?

GRAY: We did not...

SAN AGUSTIN: No, I had -- I have not seen all the e-mails, either.

PHILLIPS: OK, have you seen some of them, the ones that actually led to the arrest?

GRAY: I haven't seen -- I don't know what they sorted out, and I don't know how many of them they've got. We have some and have had often added to over the last two-and-a half, three years. But I have not seen his name, and I don't know what they selected as part of their investigation.

PHILLIPS: So, John, of the e-mails that you have seen, was there anything in there, in addition to the bits and pieces we're seeing now about how he fantasized about JonBenet -- for example, this one, "JonBenet, my love, my life, I love you and shall forever love you. I pray that you can hear my voice calling out to you from my darkness, this darkness that now separates us." Anything addition to these fantasy-type statements that caught your attention where you thought, this could be the guy?

SAN AGUSTIN: No, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: Nothing at all?

SAN AGUSTIN: No, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: Any details about the murder or how she was killed that led you to believe, that's interesting, he knows about that?

SAN AGUSTIN: Well, I think there were some specific things that were identified -- which I won't disclose because it's still an active investigation -- that obviously caught our eye, and that is why the District Attorney Mary Lacy has access to those e-mails.

PHILLIPS: So, Ollie, let's say that he's not the guy that killed JonBenet, could he know the killer?

GRAY: There's a good possibility. If you stop and look at the way he's answered and made statements in his interviews with the media, he didn't say, I killed right off, he said, it was an accident, this happened, that happened and things of that nature. Which means that he could really go either way. I don't any of us will know anything about it until they get done with their investigation.

PHILLIPS: John, is there confirmed -- confirmation -- is there confirmation that John Mark Karr actually talked with any of the Ramseys? Any of the members of the family?

SAN AGUSTIN: We're not aware of any conversations between Mr. Karr with Patsy or John Ramsey.

PHILLIPS: So, John, where's the DNA testing? Why haven't we heard if, indeed, there's a DNA match yet?

SAN AGUSTIN: Well, you know, the process, just so you should know, obviously, either they do it in Thailand or they'll bring him back to the United States. They will do a buckle swabbing probably, send it to a lab, which typically, you know, takes about 10 days. Obviously, with this type of case, it may take a day or two and once those tests have been done, they will have to compare that to the known sample that was taken underneath JonBenet's fingernails and in her panties.

PHILLIPS: One more piece of an e-mail. "Sometimes little girls are closer to me than with their parents or any other person in their lives. When I refer to myself as JonBenet's closest, maybe now you understand."

Ollie, does it seem like he's sort of living in a fantasy world?

GRAY: Sounds like a pedophile to me. He's, you know, he's all wrapped up in himself and how well he gets along with children, particularly females. You know, he's really hard to read.

PHILLIPS: You're both investigators. Final question, John, what's your gut? Do you think he's the guy?

SAN AGUSTIN: My gut is, maybe he did, maybe he didn't. You know, as an investigator, you base your decisions on facts. And basically, what we need to find out is if this individual has any physical evidence that ties him to that scene. If there's any physical evidence that ties Mr. Karr it the JonBenet Ramsey murder.

PHILLIPS: Ollie, when you look at his eyes and mannerisms and hear what he's saying, do you have a gut one way or the other?

GRAY: I'd have to go along with what John says. You know, really and truly, I think it's too early to say because everybody is hanging their hat on his, quote, "confession," instead of looking at what else is out there. You've got handwriting, you've got fibers, you've got hairs. You've got a lot of other physical evidence potential that has never been put into play with a good suspect. And on top of everything else, if nothing else, this brought out the intruder theory, which we've actually had ever since we got started on this case.

PHILLIPS: Interesting to see how this all folds out. Ollie Gray and John San Agustin, thanks, guys.

SAN AGUSTIN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Later on LIVE FROM, John Mark Karr's background. CNN investigates his life in Petaluma, California. Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, some notable names are playing catchup at the PGA Championship and they did have plenty of reasons to do so, 6.5 million reasons to be exact. That's the purse at Medinah Country Club where Larry Smith can only watch and dream. Hey, Larry.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And look at good pretty golf as the big names, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, just teeing off a few moments ago. They're right now on the first green.

Now Mickelson can join Woods as the only golfers in the stroke play era to win the PGA Championship in back-to-back years. But the comparison to woods For the most part end right there. Tiger Woods, 30-years-old, what he has done, it simply, it boggles the mind. Not only on the course but also off the course in the area of marketing. He's without pier, at the bank at well. The youngest of 50 wins on the PGA Tour, his 11 major victories tied for second all-time and already a record tournament earnings in excess of $60 million.

But as I say, what's good for the goose is good for the gaggle, I think it is? I don't know. I don't know words. In the years, Woods turned pro in 1996. Tom Lehman won the money title with the record 1.78 million bucks. That total would have ranked only 40th in 2005.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MICKELSON, -3 OPENING ROUND: I thank him all the time for it because he deserves it, not just for the purses, but for the interest in the game of golf because that leads to increased revenue opportunities off the course. Companies that wouldn't be interested in golf, he's helped bring to the game.

JIM FURYK, TIED FOR 27TH: Obviously, he kind of injected a lot of excitement in our game, bringing a lot of fans, a lot of notoriety, just a lot of attention to our tour.

TIGER WOODS, -3 OPENING ROUND: They don't owe a debt to me at all. I mean, I think the game was already evolving. It was changing. We were seeing new fans being introduced to the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Well, you know, the $1 million pay day on the PGA Tour didn't exist until 1999 and that is why you have numbers like these. Only nine million dollar winners on tour in the year of 1996, 78 millionaires last year. Already 54 golfers this year have already earned $1 million in earnings.

We're only really two-thirds of the way through the PGA season. So Tiger Woods, his impact being felt throughout golf as we now celebrate a decade of since he turned pro and what a difference this game has been, since he has been here. Again, Woods, Mickelson and Jeff Ogilvy all on the course right now, on the first toll, all at three under par as they begin play at round two here at the PGA championship. Let's go back to you.

PHILLIPS: Hey Larry, just a side note. You know, you talk about the impact of Tiger. I mean, it's pretty awesome to see how many more kids, especially within the inner cities, have gotten involved in golf and the programs that he's done in various communities.

SMITH: That's true. The first heat program, some of the programs that he has been involved in. Tiger not only has done this in terms of the money and the popularity, but also introduced an entirely different section of the population, not just in the U.S., but worldwide to the game of golf through the different charities he's involved in. So many young kids now, we've done so many stories that I know a story we did earlier this year on four young youths in Atlanta who all got college scholarships because of some of the golf programs and Tiger has been a part of that.

PHILLIPS: Larry Smith, thanks so much.

Well where's Carl Spackler when you need him? A gopher ridden golf course was played for laughs, as you know, in "Caddyshack," who can forget that movie? But frustrated golfers are pretty teed off about the condition of Cedar Ridge golf course in Cedar City, Utah. Actually Utah prairie dogs are the offenders here. They've torn up the course so badly that the management had to come up with special rules for lost balls. Now, since these critters are on the endangered species list, they can't be removed and, as we all well know, a vermin will never quit, ever -- ever.

Coming up, "Snakes on a Plane." Does that grab your attention? High concept, higher hype, mostly on the Internet. Slithers its way into LIVE FROM, right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So you ever wonder how they come up with those movie titles? Consider "Snakes on a Plane." Well, it's not just the plot. It could have been the four-word pitch producers threw at a studio executive while elevator doors were closing.

CNN entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The title alone says it all -- "Snakes on a Plane," but it barely describes how such a seemingly B-movie thriller became one of this summer's most anticipated films.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: Do as I say, and you live.

ANDERSON: Almost as soon as word got out the New Line Cinema was producing the film about an FBI agent, played by Samuel L. Jackson, traveling on a plane full of both passengers and deadly snakes, the Internet was buzzing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Samuel L. Jackson won't save you from the snakes.

ANDERSON: From song parodies...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): I'm not even ready for an in-flight meal, but if I got to get real, I'm eating snakes like veal.

ANDERSON: To comedy routines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are snakes, on the plane, and they're biting.

ANDERSON: Producers at New Line couldn't help but take notice of the hype, going so far as to schedule additional photography, borrowing some suggestions culled from the Internet, which changed rating from PG-13 to R and included a particular line of dialogue.

JACKSON: I've had it with this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) snakes on this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) plane. Everybody strap in, I'm about to open some windows.

ANDERSON: CNN spoke with Samuel L. Jackson at the recent Comic Con International in San Diego, where the promotional machine for "Snakes on a Plane" was full-speed ahead.

JACKSON: Excuse me, "Snakes on a Plane." We want everybody to know that's what they're coming to see, snakes on a plane.

ANDERSON: Thanks to the Internet, director David Ellis thinks the audience will like what they see.

DAVID ELLIS, DIRECTOR, "SNAKES ON A PLANE": I think you're stupid NOT to listen to your audience wherever you find it. And because the Internet is such a powerful force now, that's a really good place to go.

ANDERSON: The producers of "Snakes on a Plane" are so serious about making a film for their audience, they've refused to show it to the press.

But Russell Schwartz, and executive with New Line says, while the Internet can be a powerful tool, it won't replace old-fashioned filmmaking.

RUSSELL SCHWARTZ, NEW LINE CINEMA: The one thing about the Web and the fan base is that there's thousands and thousands of communities. They each have their own opinion, and I think what you have to do, the best you can do is you can take all these opinions, but you still have to go with your own gut, what you feel is the right kind of entertainment to put out there.

ANDERSON: As for Jackson who went with his gut to do snakes on a plane almost as soon as he heard the title, he feels he will give the fans exactly what they want.

JACKSON: They know me in the heroic bad-ass genre as this kind of guy who speaks a specific way, and at some point is going to get fed and start talking loud, and screaming and cursing. And I'm OK with that, because that's what, you know, fuels the fire.

That's what I do and I'm very good at it.

ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: "Snakes on a Plane" opens nationwide today.

Coming in next hour on LIVE FROM, at most state fairs, you're looking for the tilt-a-whirl, right? Or the livestock shows. Well, maybe that cotton candy. Not for the next president of the United States. But this isn't most state fairs. LIVE FROM goes to Iowa right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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