Karr Not Charged With Jonbenet Murder

Colorado prosecutors tonight dropped their case against John Mark Karr over the 1996 murder of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.

Prosecutors threw out the case after DNA tests failed to put Karr at the crime scene despite reports that he had confessed to killing the six-year-old girl.

"The warrant on Mr Karr has been dropped by the district attorney," Karr's defence attorney Seth Temin said. "They are not proceeding with the case."

The 41-year-old teacher was arrested in Thailand two weeks ago on charges of possessing child pornography and flown back to the US last week. He was scheduled to make his first Colorado court appearance tonight. The hearing has now been cancelled.

A local TV station, citing two sources close to the investigation, said that hair and saliva taken from Karr after his arrival in Boulder were tested over the weekend by Denver police and that he was ruled out as the source of the DNA taken from the crime scene.

"We're deeply distressed by the fact that they took this man and dragged him here from Bangkok with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him and no independent factors leading to a presumption that he did anything wrong," Mr Temin said.

Karr will be held in custody by the Boulder County sheriff's office pending extradition to California to face child pornography charges dating to 2001.