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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

JonBenet: True Confession; Cease-Fire: Day 4; An Imam Speaks; I.E.D.s Increasing

Aired August 17, 2006 - 23:00   ET

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

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Good evening again from Boulder, Colorado. From the scene of the JonBenet Ramsey murder. This is the place where people are trying to make sense of a stranger with a troubled past who may or may not be telling the truth about his role in what happened here that night.
ANNOUNCER: The suspect speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MARK KARR, JONBENET MURDER SUSPECT: Her death was, was an accident.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was this in the basement?

KARR: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Who is John Mark Karr and that did he tell police about the murder of JonBenet?

A 10-year-old ransom note.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATSY RAMSEY, MOTHER OF JONBENET: Well, I hardly read it and I ran back upstairs and pushed open her bedroom door and she was gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight, the clues that note may contain about John Mark Karr.

And Mideast cease-fire day four. The peace holding. But Hezbollah still the wild card. U.N. troops on the way. Are they up to the task?

This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, "JonBenet: True Confession?"

In for Anderson tonight, Tom Foreman in Boulder, Colorado, and Rick Sanchez in New York.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Tom, I've certainly been hearing you intimate this tonight. But what a difference a day makes. First the case is cold. Then a suspect is named. Then reports of a confession. Now what, Tom?

FOREMAN: Rick, the air here tonight is simply full of doubt. Last night so much celebration with people feeling like it was moving forward again.

Now people are saying what do you make of this man who has said that he was in the basement with her, who has said he loved her, who says he accidentally killed her? It is very difficult to sort all of this out. The statements don't seem to quite match up with the facts from what we know so far. People are trying to figure that out and we're looking at the background.

And with that, CNN's Dan Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Controlling and child obsessed. Just a few of the accusations leveled at John Karr by his former wife, a woman he married 17 years ago. When she was 16, he was 24.

CNN obtained these court documents from their 2001 divorce. In a sworn declaration, Karr's wife Lara said he was booted from a substitute teaching job in the late '90s. The reason, she claims one school told him quote, "he has a tendency to be too affectionate with children."

That didn't stop Karr from getting another substitute teaching job a few years later here in northern California.

(ON CAMERA): So everything checked out on this guy?

CHARLES WONG, SUPERINTENDENT, SONOMA COUNTY SCHOOLS: Absolutely.

SIMON (voice-over): Charles Wong was the head of one of the school districts where Karr occasionally filled in for absent teachers and says he saw no reason to raise a red flag.

WONG: No one goes into a classroom, comes on a campus until they've been cleared on both counts. On the professional qualification credentialing side, background criminal check, fingerprint. That side has to be cleared.

SIMON: This young Alabama woman, a former Girl Scout, remembers him when he was her neighbor.

ERIKA SCHOLZ, FORMER NEIGHBOR: He never striked me as anything like who I wasn't comfortable. Like, he's never, of course, never invited me into his house to have like coffee or tea or anything, but he was just a great guy.

SIMON: Karr's teaching days in California ended in 2001 when he got arrested for possessing child pornography. Sheriff deputies busted him for allegedly having pictures of children engaged in sexual conduct on his computer. Karr pleaded not guilty and was freed on bail. But according to California authorities, he skipped town and never stood trial. He may have fled the country, but Karr's ex-wife obtained a restraining order against him that prevented him from getting within 100 feet of her and their three sons.

Even so, Karr's ex may be able to provide an alibi. She told a San Francisco television station that they were together in Alabama during the Christmas holidays in 1996 when JonBenet was murdered.

MIKE RAINS, ATTORNEY FOR LARA KARR: She sincerely believes there was no Christmas anytime between approximately 1989 when they were married and the year 2000 when her husband was not with her and her family at Christmas time. She has no recollection of him ever being away.

SIMON: The woman's attorney told reporters that Colorado investigators have yet to speak with her. And she wants to make herself available to them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON (on camera): The man you saw there, Mike Rains, he is a prominent San Francisco attorney. He actually represents Barry Bozz (ph). And what he has told this woman is basically to go look at your photo albums, go back to the year 1996 and see if there are any pictures of you and John Karr off in Alabama where she says the two were at the time JonBenet was murdered -- Tom.

FOREMAN: Do you are any idea how these two hooked up, this attorney and this woman? Did she go seeking help? And if so, why?

SIMON: Well, as you can imagine, she is pretty intimidated by all of these cameras parked out in front of her house, which is right behind me. So, she hired a lawyer, and she hired a very seasoned one. And what he has basically told her is to take a deep breath. Let's go talk to the Boulder investigators. Let's tell them what you think. Let's tell them what you know. And he has placed that call and says he hasn't heard from them yet, but he's hoping to connect with them in the next day or two -- Tom.

FOREMAN: Is there any sense of surprise that you sense from him or on her behalf that they weren't talked to before or that they haven't been reached yet?

SIMON: Yes, I mean the sense I got is that they were a bit puzzled that they were at least never consulted about this particular case.

And as we've heard all day long, she says they weren't even in Colorado when this murder occurred. So, they desperately want to talk to the Boulder investigators. And he's hoping again that will take place hopefully soon -- Tom.

FOREMAN: Fascinating work, Dan Simon. Thank you so much. We appreciate all of that. There's so many questions about whether or not this person killed JonBenet Ramsey. He says he cared about her, but if so, what would drive him to do something as horrible as what happened in this house? And how can you explain his strange statements being made right now?

Our Randi Kaye takes a look inside the mind of a killer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Why would John Mark Karr, if he is JonBenet Ramsey's killer, be talking about it?

Renowned Criminologist James Alan Fox sees big question marks emerging in what Karr says.

JAMES ALAN FOX, CRIMINOLOGIST: I think you have to take this confession with a whole shaker of salt. That there is some question marks that emerge from hearing his story about I was there, it was an accident. This may be someone who just wants to be part of this big case.

KAYE: But, Fox says, if Karr is the killer, like most, he wants attention. He wants the world to know it.

FOX: One real possibility is that this man wanted attention and that he reached out to a professor at the University of Colorado, telling little tidbits about the crime, to intensify his celebrity. Or to make himself into a celebrity. And look, we're all talking about him today.

KAYE: Fox says it's a myth killers want to get caught. But he says the death of JonBenet's mother Patsy Ramsey may have inspired Karr to come forward. Karr told the Associated Press he sent letters to Patsy Ramsey telling her he is sorry.

KARR: It is very important for me that everyone knows that I love her very much. And that her death was unintentional and it was an accident and I made several efforts to communicate with Patricia before she passed away and it is my understanding that she did read my letters and she was aware of me before she passed away.

FOX: Well, there are killers whose level of remorse is such that they cry, they apologize, they write letters to the families, expressing remorse.

KAYE: What makes this case unique, according to Fox, is the young victim's public image. Fox says that while the Ramseys may have thought it totally innocent to enter their daughter in beauty pageants, there is a small segment of society for whom it might have triggered fantasies.

The question still to be answered, did such fantasies lead Karr to kill or just to fantasize about it?

Randi Kaye, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: We're going to return to our round table now. Jeffrey Toobin our legal analyst; Craig Silverman, former prosecutor down in Denver and Lawrence Schiller who is an author and who wrote a terrific book called, "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town," about all this.

Lawrence Schiller, you raised a very interesting question here. If the negotiation was to get this man back in the United States, why not act upon the existing charges out in California against him?

LAWRENCE SCHILLER, AUTHOR, "PERFECT MURDER, PERFECT TOWN": Well, you know, that's the big question because police have lots of ways of holding people for 72 hours, 56 hours, five days. You know, here they seem to have charged him in Colorado, probable cause for the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.

He's on bail. He jumped bail in California. He disappeared for five years. They could have held him. They could have brought him back quietly. None of us would have known about it. They -- something might have leaked. They could have done DNA, they could have done everything.

What caused a knee jerk reaction for the Boulder district attorney to go in and say this is the guy? She's got to have something that we don't know about, maybe we shouldn't know about. It's got to be presented properly to a grand jury. A grand jury has got to say there is probable cause. And then the D.A. has to file charges.

FOREMAN: Craig Silverman, let me ask you this. Do you believe that? Because certainly in this case many times we in the media and the public have thought that things were developing and in the end, it was an empty box. There was nothing developing there. Do you think they have something or do you think they jumped the gun?

CRAIG SILVERMAN, FORMER DENVER CHIEF DEPUTY D.A.: I still think they have something. Larry makes a great point. Why not let him be locked up in Sonoma County, do this quietly? Larry is a smart guy, but there are smart people in the D.A.'s office as well. They surely had to think of it. They don't want that kind of egg on their face because if they release him now, or if they don't charge him, it will be humiliating.

I would correct Lawrence on one point. While Alex Hunter went it a grand jury, I would expect Mary Lacy to simply sign a complaint and information, then he will have a probable cause preliminary hearing within 30 days of his first advisement.

SCHILLER: Craig, I disagree. I don't think she's going to want to try this case at a preliminary hearing in court where a defense attorney can cross-examine all her witnesses. I think she'll still go to a grand jury.

SILVERMAN: No, you don't have to put on all the witnesses, Larry. You could can do it almost entirely based on hearsay. So all you have to do is put on the confession. That's more than enough right there to get it bound over for trial.

SCHILLER: You're probably right, yes.

FOREMAN: Jeffrey Toobin, let me ask you, sitting in the middle of all of this. Look, this is a 10-year-old case. You're talking about potential statements made in Thailand, you're talking about old evidence, you have questions about the chain of evidence, you have so many things that are up in the air on this. I can't imagine that any step right now is wholly wrong or wholly right.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It is very hard to know what it do. Especially when you consider what the district attorney said today at the news conference. Because she really suggested -- it was sort of a ridiculous news conference, frankly, because she said so little.

FOREMAN: Well, she called a news conference to say that she had...

TOOBIN: To say she couldn't say anything.

FOREMAN: ... nothing to talk about.

TOOBIN: But she did suggest about the timing. Why now? And she did suggest that there had been quite a rush, that they were concerned about public safety, further assaults by Karr and flight.

And it was clear that they had not completed their investigation. I mean, after all, this whole issue of his ex-wife, if his ex-wife finds a snapshot of him opening presents with his kids on December 25th, 1996, unless there is DNA evidence in this case, this case is over. He's going to get acquitted or won't even be charged.

So, you know, this is -- was obviously a rush job on her part and she has got a long way to go to bring a case of this complexity and tell a jury we have it beyond a reasonable doubt.

FOREMAN: Craig, I would think as a prosecutor, I would think that on a case this big that's been around this long, that about the last thing you would want on earth is any publicity about what you're doing until you have your ducks in a row.

SILVERMAN: And she has kept it so quiet. The news just exploded. Again, you have to wonder why not lock him up in Sonoma County? Why not do this quietly. The only logical explanation is they have something pretty darn incriminating and we know it has to be more than the confession.

Frankly, the confession today that we heard on television was delusional. When he said it was an accident, when he said he picked her up at school, when he said she was drugged, all things we know to be false.

SCHILLER: Right. Craig, you know, something else happened two months ago which startled me. When Mary Lacy showed up at Patsy Ramsey's funeral, she's an elected public official. To show up at that funeral, something had to be going on. She was paying respect as if she knew she was ready to bring down the gauntlet on somebody. And she wanted to be there to show.

FOREMAN: I appreciate your comment on that. That did raise some eyebrows. People did have questions about that.

Lawrence Schiller, Jeffrey Toobin, Craig Silverman, thanks for joining us and all of your thoughts on all of this.

We will have more. Confessions aren't as clear cut as you might think they are. Here's the raw data on that.

According to the Innocence Project, 15 to 20 percent of defendants who were wrongfully convicted actually confessed to something that they did not do.

And in one of the most famous crimes in American history, the Charles Lindbergh baby kidnapping, more than 200 people came forward to say that they abducted the child.

Much more on all of these developments when we come back. In a moment, we're going to take a look at the ransom note. What role might it have played in building a case against John Karr.

This is 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAVELL JACKSON, MARION COUNTY SCHOOLS, ALABAMA: We got some complaints that I did investigate and felt at the time that it was in our best interest that we not use John as a substitute teacher.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: That's Bravell Jackson, the superintendent of Marion County schools in Alabama, commenting on John Karr's employment.

With me now is Trip Demuth, counsel for the prosecution, more or less. And is a former Boulder deputy district attorney.

You have been looking at this murder case. You looked at it for two years, for quite some time. And you had your own reaction when you heard this giant break in this case. You heard all this. What did you think?

TRIP DEMUTH, SR. TRIAL ATTORNEY DURING RAMSEY CASE: Well, I was hopeful. I was cautiously optimistic, but I assumed that in addition to whatever statements he had made that they had corroborating physical evidence to support the arrest. So -- but I remain cautiously optimistic and hopeful.

FOREMAN: Karr said that he drugged JonBenet, according to the Thai officials, and that he accidentally killed her.

First of all, with what you know about the case, and what I know about the case, that doesn't seem possible.

DEMUTH: Yes, those statements are very problematic. The autopsy report was released and it had a toxicology report. There was no evidence of drugs in her. And I was present at the autopsy. It was not an accident. I can assure you of that.

FOREMAN: Is there any way that somebody could argue that it started as an accident. Yes, they were involved in some kind of pedophilia, the child became hurt and they panicked and they killed her?

DEMUTH: Well if you consider that an accident -- an act of pedophilia or some other thing...

FOREMAN: Well, I understand what you're saying, but.

DEMUTH: But no, no, I mean based on the evidence that was discovered in the autopsy, no it was not an accident.

FOREMAN: We heard a lot yesterday about the savagery of this. I really don't recall having heard so much before publicly about the savagery of the attack itself.

DEMUTH: It was savage. I mean, her skull was fractured and she was strangulated with that garrote and rope was embedded quite a distance in her throat.

FOREMAN: I want to ask about the note, which is one of the things that has raised some suspicion to you a long time ago. One line in the ransom note that came up. The line was, if we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. I remember the line before it said something about don't talk to the police, don't contact anybody. If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. Why did that line bother you long ago?

DEMUTH: Yes, it occurred to us, the investigators that were working in the D.A.'s office, Lou Smitt (ph) and myself, when we first started looking at that ransom note, those are words taken out of a Dirty Harry movie. And so, I mean, it was just another one of the oddities of that ransom note, in addition to the amount and the length. I mean, It's the longest ransom note in history, I think of criminal prosecution. So, that was another thing that really struck us as, you know, this guy is referring to lines out of modern day films.

FOREMAN: Another one of the lines that you were troubled by was, listen carefully. We are a group of individuals that represent a small foreign faction. We respect your business, but not the country that it serves.

DEMUTH: I mean, yes, that was just absurd. I mean, no one ever believed and I don't think anybody has ever believed that this had anything to do with a small foreign faction.

So it seemed lithe like it was a fantasy. It seemed like it was so surreal that it suggested someone living out a fantasy, more than someone legitimately trying to seek a ransom for a kidnapping.

And, plus, you know, the crime itself was not consistent with the kidnapping. It was a sexual predator, in my opinion, who committed this crime, and evidence of a sexual assault, you know, and a violent death. Nothing consistent with the kidnapping or an individual seeking a ransom.

FOREMAN: What did you think of this line. You can try to deceive us, but be warned that we are familiar with law enforcement countermeasures and tactics. This sounds like the kind of thing you would hear today in the modern terrorist war, but certainly not something from 10 years ago.

DEMUTH: Well, you know the mistake that we make, I mean oftentimes, even law enforcement makes the mistake when they're dealing with a -- if in fact, as I believe, a sexual predator committed this crime, the mistake we make is sometimes we try to attribute logical or rational thinking to their actions, when in fact they might be acting out some sort of demented fantasy. You know, and if you step back and you take another look at that ransom note in that light, it starts to look more like someone was acting out a fantasy, which is consistent with what happened to JonBenet.

FOREMAN: Some of these statements, like, don't try to grow a brain, John, you're not the only fat cat around. Don't think killing you would be difficult. That sounds like something that a junior high school boy would write in a bad novel assignment.

DEMUTH: Right, that don't try to grow a brain was another line out of, I think, "Speed." Just some really oddities about the ransom note.

Another thing we noticed is there is not a single curse word in the ransom note. It just did not -- it did not look like or appear to be a true ransom note.

FOREMAN: Are you still troubled by -- one of the things that we're wondering about with this fellow who has come forward now, John Karr, is can he answer some of the big questions about this case which still seem to be unanswered?

One of the very basic one for all of us, I think, is what kind of person would even think they could come into a house with people in it, on Christmas night and commit a crime like this, and hide the body and leave a note and do all this and get away with it?

DEMUTH: Well, you know what, it is not that uncommon. I mean, it happens. Look at the Polly Klaas murder.

FOREMAN: But it is -- statistically, it is very uncommon.

DEMUTH: Yes, but it does happen. I mean, Heather Don Church, down in Colorado Springs, right here in Colorado, a case that Lou Smitt (ph) worked on and solved after they focused on the parents in fact, in that case. And for years the law enforcement focused on the parents and Lou Smitt (ph) got involved and then found the fingerprint of the actual killer many years later and solved that case. You know, and also the Polly Klaas case, and we see others where there are sexual predators who invade homes and commit these types of crimes. So, it's a possibility. One that cannot be ignored.

FOREMAN: You said that you're cautiously optimistic. Very briefly here, when you said that, I must say you seem to have a bit of dismay about you, like you're not as optimistic as you were 24 hours ago.

DEMUTH: I'm not. I'm concerned. I mean, based on the things I've heard Lynn Wood say that the DNA has not been tested. Based on the things that I heard Mary Lacy say and almost apologetic approach she took to her press conference has led me to believe that she took to her press conference has led me to believe that they haven't compared this individual to the forensic evidence. And if they haven't done that, and they have only made this arrest based on his statements alone, they have taken a tremendous chance.

FOREMAN: Trip Demuth, thank you very much for all of your knowledge on this case. And for helping us talk about it a little bit and sort all this out. We appreciate it. And we'll talk to you again as this moves on.

DEMUTH: Former Boulder deputy district attorney.

As we said, the portrait of Mr. Karr is far from complete. Tonight we're going to continue trying to fill it in. Coming up a decade old ransom note and all the clues it brought forward.

And the way the legal system works. Is it really possible in the age of instant media, when people start looking at the notes and the statements and the history and so many people talking about it, is it really possible to have a fair investigation, a fair trial when it comes to it.

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Safe to say there are a lot of people and a lot of places scratching their heads over all of these events that have occurred today. As we try to figure out exactly who this man is, John Karr and whether or not he's telling the truth about what he might have done. One of those people is Michael Rains. He is a lawyer for Mr. Karr's ex-wife. I spoke to him earlier on this evening and he talked about his thoughts and her thoughts at this very strange time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL RAINS, ATTORNEY FOR JOHN KARR'S EX-WIFE (on the phone): My client was shocked. She learned about these events when the media person contacted her at her house last night. And, of course, she had never heard about any connection of Mr. Karr to the Ramsey murder. So she was pretty shocked about that. Notwithstanding the fact that, of course, she's been divorced since 2001. And, you know, the circumstances of the divorce were not good. And she does not have good feelings about her former husband.

FOREMAN: Did she have a sense immediately when they talked about the murder time, of saying, no, he was never gone on a Christmas. He couldn't have done this. Or just generally that they lived in Alabama.

RAINS: You know, that's her best recollection, is that during the period of their marriage, she could not recall him ever being away from the family and three boys. And she could not recall him being away from them at any time during Christmas season. And that's her best recollection, mind you going back 10 years. So, she's going to be checking some documents, Christmas photographs that she's kept through the years. And we're going to try to make sure that that recollection is accurate.

FOREMAN: How does -- what does she think's going to happen now? Does she think this is going to just work its way out? Does she think he was even capable of something like this?

RAINS: Well, you know, understand she married this man thinking that he was not the kind of man that would be interested in child pornography. Only to be shocked and saddened to find out that the authorities in California had assimilated a case against him for just that.

So she thinks that there is a certain side to him that might be capable of almost anything. She certainly was shocked with the news. I think at this point in time she doesn't know what to think about these allegations.

FOREMAN: Does she witness -- in her time with him, did she witness any violent acts by him?

RAINS: No, no. Not -- you know, admittedly I've had a brief discussion and I'm going to be spending a lot more time with her because, you know, I've called the district attorney in Boulder and said I think probably they should interview her. They have not done that.

And I intend to spend some more time with her. But in the brief time I spent with her, the answer to that would be no. There was no violent conduct, nor anything certainly around her own kids or other kids, other friends that would have led her to believe that he would be violent toward young children.

FOREMAN: Look at the storms of media around Mr. Karr. The simple truth is in our media age, long before you go on trial in court you can be convicted in the court of public opinion. Just ask the man who used to live here, John Ramsey.

Now with all of this going on with these latest accusations and suspicions, is he closer or further from having his name cleared in the name of his late wife Patsy Ramsey? Plus, there is more news coming around the world, the Mideast cease-fire is in day four. It's still holding, but what will it take to keep Hezbollah in line? Are U.N. troops up to that job?

We're going have all that and more when this special edition of 360 returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARC KLAAS, FATHER OF POLLY KLAAS: I'm very skeptical that this guy did it. And if this guy didn't do it, then I think that puts the suspicion right back where it's been for the last decade.

SANCHEZ: That's the father of 12-year-old Polly Klaas. She was killed by Richard Alan Davis. Today, Marc Klaas spoke out about John Karr who was also fascinated with Polly's murder. The decade long mystery over who killed child beauty pageant JonBenet Ramsey continues to throw up questions tonight. Here is an investigation update. What we know.

John Karr said the death was an accident. And he's not an innocent man. But Boulder D.A. Mary Lacy says Karr's presumed innocent and people should not rush to judgment. She refused to discuss any evidence that links him to JonBenet's death.

Karr was arrested on the second day on the job as a second grade teacher at a school in Bangkok. Authorities said he had traveled to Thailand, a country notorious for its child sex trade, five times in the past two years.

Karr was being investigated for an unrelated sex crime at the time of his arrest. He'd been arrested on misdemeanor charges of possessing child pornography. That was back in 2001.

And back then, just like now, they were only charges, allegations. As the Boulder D.A. said, you're innocent until you are proven guilty.

But human nature often doesn't work that way. With a big murder case, everybody it seems, wants to somehow point a finger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): John and Patsy Ramsey hardly had time to bury their daughter's body before they found themselves on the defensive and in the court of public opinion, on trial for murder.

JOHN RAMSEY, FATHER OF JONBENET: Let me address very directly, I did not kill my daughter JonBenet.

SANCHEZ: The Ramseys quickly launched a public relations offensive. They took out newspaper ads, hire a publicist, an attorney, and their own investigators. Moves that only fueled speculation.

Police told reporters the Ramseys were under an umbrella of suspicion. Even the governor of Colorado weighed in.

BILL OWENS, GOVERNOR OF COLORADO: Quit hiding behind attorneys, quit hiding behind P.R. firms and work with the prosecution to find your daughter's killer no matter where that trail may lead.

SANCHEZ: As time passed with no arrests, police and some in the media fixated on the lurid details including reports that Patsy Ramsey could have killed JonBenet in a fit of rage over a bed wetting incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has been suggested that perhaps Patsy enraged over a bed wetting incident of JonBenet suddenly went berserk.

SANCHEZ: People questioned whether Mrs. Ramsey wrote the bizarre ransom note herself, even though comparisons showed it was likely not her handwriting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is your handwriting cleared, both of you?

P. RAMSEY: John's definitively was cleared. And I scored a 4.5 out of 5. Five is definitely no match.

SANCHEZ: Much was also made of this video, seen around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The little girl with a tiara and the heavy makeup and the bleach blonde hair.

SANCHEZ: Leading people to question whether the child was being exploited.

In 2003 a federal judge ruled the evidence pointed toward an intruder, not Patsy Ramsey. Officially she was cleared. But all throughout and even to the day she died last June, many believe Patsy Ramsey had a hand in her daughter's murder. A point driven home on live television when former investigator on the case Steve Thomas confronted the Ramseys.

STEVE THOMAS, FORMER INVESTIGATOR: Because I felt that Patsy is involved in this death, in this tragedy.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING": Why did you agree to come on with Steve tonight? I mean, this is rather historic -- I don't -- I'm trying to remember if there has ever been television like this.

J. RAMSEY: This man, as a police officer, has caused irreparable harm to my family. He has called my wife a murderer. He's called me complicity to murder.

SANCHEZ: Steve Thomas even published a book suggesting Patsy Ramsey killed her own daughter. The Ramseys later sued him for libel which ended in a settlement. It appears Legal Analyst Larry Posner's assessment of the frenzy surrounding the case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They spun it, you played it, we bought it. SANCHEZ: Bought it, Posner says, hook, line and sinker. In fact a Gallup poll conducted in 2000 showed that almost 60 percent of Americans believe one or both of JonBenet's parents were involved.

What would a poll show today? Much may depend on what happens with this man, John Karr, who is right now also presumed innocent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (on camera): It is impossible to predict where the story will go next.

But tonight, our next stop is going to be in the Middle East.

Four days into the cease-fire, the biggest question mark remains, Hezbollah. Will it abide by the U.N. resolution and give up control of southern Lebanon? Can anyone really tame its ambitions?

Also new numbers on the growing insurgency in Iraq. A frightening rise in roadside bombings.

This, when this special edition of 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: You're looking at the pictures of Lebanese tanks rolling into southern Lebanon taking positions as part of that cease- fire that is now in its fourth day.

Four days and holding, but with no guarantees and one huge wild card.

Here is CNN's Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israeli armor rumbles down a dirt hill leaving Lebanon behind. Across the border Lebanese troops march south. They cross a rebuilt bridge over the Litani River and pass into uncharted territory.

Hezbollah has controlled Lebanon's southern border for decades. And now the army has to reclaim it from a Hezbollah militia that is more popular than ever. The army needs and expects help from a United Nations peacekeeping force.

(On camera): The United Nations says that within the next 10 days, the first 3,000 to 4,000 troops from this multinational force will have taken up their positions in south Lebanon.

(Voice-over): Israel will continue handing over captured Lebanese territory to the U.N., but only if nations keep their promise to send thousands of troops to the peacekeeping force and the Lebanese army controls an emboldened Hezbollah.

This is part public funeral for a Hezbollah commander and part celebration. Despite losing hundreds of fighters, Hezbollah says it fought Israel to a standstill and will not disarm.

Hezbollah is the people and the people are Hezbollah, says a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament. Israel can defeat armies, but Israel cannot defeat a people.

But some say it is the Lebanese people who lost, leaving 200,000 refugees in a humanitarian crisis. Several towns are completely devastated.

But on Thursday, a French military ship unloaded food and supplies in the towns of Sidon and Beirut.

Israel did not escape the damage. Hezbollah launched nearly 4,000 rockets into northern towns. But not all of them exploded. On Thursday, the hunt for unexploded ordinance began in Kiryat Shmona, where it could endanger hundreds of families who've already returned home.

Both Israelis and Lebanese alike hope the army and U.N. are enough to turn the cease-fire into a lasting peace.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Metullah, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And a week ago today, British police announced a bust in an alleged terror plot to blow up as many as 10 Transatlantic Flights. Twenty-three suspects are behind bars in the U.K. British police continue to search homes and businesses in and around London for clues. The alleged plot has put the spotlight back on the most radical corners of London's Muslim community.

CNN's Dan Rivers sat down with one of its leaders who says innocent Americans are fair game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What was your reaction, for example, on September the 11th?

AN IMAM: Every Muslim was pleased because America deserved a punch in the nose, you know? As a...

RIVERS: Three thousand people died that day.

IMAM: Three thousand people was like a drop in the ocean compared to the millions of Muslims that have been killed.

RIVERS: Abu Abdullah calls himself a cleric. But his extremist views may be repugnant to the vast majority of Muslims. In fact anyone who believes in God.

One of the most outspoken Muslims in Britain, he's an associate of convicted Terrorist Abu Hamza who is serving seven years in prison for inciting racial hatred and soliciting murder. And he's wanted in the United States for trying to establish terror camps in Oregon. But Hamza's friend, Abu Abdullah (ph) is still free despite expressing views that come very close to inciting and glorifying terrorism. But he hasn't been charged with any crimes.

IMAM: My honorable Sheikh Osama bin Laden and Sheikh Ayman al- Zawahiri. I love these people dearly for the sake of Allah. I couldn't express how much I love these people.

RIVERS (on camera): You love Osama bin Laden?

IMAM: Well, I love him more than myself.

RIVERS: Abdullah tries to use the Koran to justify terror.

IMAN: The Muslims have the -- obviously, want to take up arms against the west. It is their Islamic right to do so. Islam is a peaceful religion. But the same time Islam is allowed to defend itself.

RIVERS: It's allowed to defend itself, you say. Is it allowed to attack the West?

IMAM: Absolutely. If this person is killed by the West, then we'd have our rights to take it out on the West. Those mainly the army, the British or the American army, government buildings, where they legislate from.

RIVERS: So it's a very fair game?

IMAM: Well, it is absolutely -- of course it is fair game for the Muslim.

RIVERS: Sir, Tony Blair is a legitimate target, George Bush...

IMAM: Absolutely, yes.

RIVERS: Do you think that America and Britain will be subjected to further attacks?

IMAM: They should be.

RIVERS: A lot of people would be horrified by what you're saying, that they think that you are bringing nothing but chaos and death and destruction and misery.

IMAM: Well, I'm not here to please the West or to please people's understandings. My people are being killed. All over the world in many, many countries.

RIVERS: That doesn't justify killing others.

IMAM: It does justify. Of course it justifies it. When is it going to stop? You people need to know we're not going to take it anymore. You want to know why Muslims in this country are understanding what they understand? They're sick of the West. They're sick of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). My oldest country, nothing. RIVERS: And this from a man born and brought up in the United Kingdom, who only converted to Islam later in life.

But, do you think God really wants Muslims to go out and kill innocent people?

IMAM: God doesn't instruct Muslims to go out and kill innocent people.

RIVERS: Well, that's what you're...

IMAM: No, no, no. That's what you're saying. That's the terminology you're using and the words that you're actually using.

RIVERS: Well let's clarify this...

IMAM: We call it self-defense. The difference between me and you is faith. The difference between me and you is trying to enjoy the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and forbid the evil. The difference between me and you, I live for the sake of God and you live for the sake of the devil.

RIVERS: Dan Rivers, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: A gruesome rise in homemade bomb attacks in Iraq, as well. We're going to have a live report on that. It is coming up.

First though, a "360 Business Bulletin." We're going to start off on Wall Street where stocks posted their fourth straight day of gains this week. The Dow finished up 7 points, the NASDAQ gained 8. Federal court ruling against tobacco companies. A judge says tobacco makers violated racketeering laws in the ruling. The industry has been ordered to buy ads to warn of the health effects of smoking. They also need to stop using descriptions like ultra light. It might suggest that cigarettes are less dangerous than they really are.

Also, a gap in profits at Gap Incorporated. Second quarter profits fell by more than 50 percent for Gap. A parent company as well as Banana Republic and Old Navy stores. The company blames flat sales and aggressive discounting.

In Iraq, an insurgency unchecked. IED attacks are on the rise. A steep and very deadly rise. We'll have that when we come back.

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SANCHEZ: Welcome back. There are some chilling new numbers from Iraq to share with you tonight. Daily strikes against American forces and Iraqi forces have doubled since January. And most of those strikes involve IEDs, homemade bombs. Last month a number of IEDs reached a new high. In July, for example, insurgents planted 2,625 explosive devices in Iraq; 1,666 of the bombs exploded; 959 were found before they went off.

Joining me now from Baghdad, CNN's Michael Ware, who has been following this story.

Michael, what does it say about the insurgency? And does it passively say that they're as strong as ever?

Does it say that they're as strong as ever?

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Rick. I mean, these guys are as strong as they ever were. In fact, you have some American commanders saying they're actually reaching new highs. I mean, there is absolutely no reason that they wouldn't be. Their incentive to fight remains. Their recruitment remains. Their capabilities remain. I mean, there is nothing that is standing in their way.

The military operations here have not made a dent in their capabilities. We were saying a year ago, two years ago, that the insurgents were able to put as many as 20,000 fighters in the field on any given day. That remains untouched. In fact there is some question whether they're able to put more men in the field. So no they have not gone anywhere. This war against the American occupation has not only maintained. It is now appearing to intensify -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Well, you know what is interesting. Remember when Zarqawi was taken out. Many thought that's going to take -- that's going to really take an effect on the insurgency. It seems, though, looking on it back now, and you tell us from your perspective, you know as much as anyone, you been following this story for so long that it really hasn't made that much of a difference, has it?

WARE: Absolutely not. I mean, anyone who thought that the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was going to make any significant difference on the insurgency here was simply deluding themselves. I mean, his organization, for example, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) makes up a fraction from 1 percent to 5 percent of the actual insurgents in the field is able to replenish itself. Both its leadership and its fighters. It is proven that ability.

Zarqawi was particularly charismatic. But this was an organization prepared for loss. We now see them in the wake of Zarqawi's death maintaining their level of suicide bombings -- 75 a month. That remains unchanged -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks so much, Michael Ware following that story for us as he will continue to do so.

And we're going to have more of 360 in just a moment.

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