JonBenet suspect sacked from two Thai Christian schools
The US teacher arrested here over the 1996 killing of six-year-old "beauty queen" JonBenet Ramsey had a two-week trial at a prestigious Bangkok Christian school but was let go because he was too strict, a school official said Friday.
Banchong Champowong, assistant director of the Bangkok Christian College's English immersion program, said John Mark Karr, 41, taught at the school at the beginning of June.
He said Karr, who was arrested at his Bangkok apartment on Wednesday, was "very nice".
"He didn't get the job. His discipline was too stiff. He made the students sit silently and the parents didn't like that," Banchong told AFP, adding that some of the children had liked Karr.
"He can be a good teacher, but not for young children," he said.
Karr was teaching first-grade children who are six years old, the same age as JonBenet when she was found beaten and strangled at her home in Boulder, Colorado the day after Christmas in 1996.
"He was a nice person," Banchong said. "His resume was clean and clear."
As Karr was only on a two-week trial, the Bangkok Christian College had not checked all his previous jobs, but, Banchong said, a preliminary background check was done through customs before he started.
"He was not on the blacklist," he said.
"I feel sorry for him and the Ramseys because this is heartbreaking news," he added.
Karr also applied to teach at the exclusive St Joseph Convent school for girls earlier in the year, said a teacher there who asked not to be named.
She said Karr had applied as an English teacher and had a one-week trial in February. "He did not pass our criteria. His performance was below the acceptable standard," she told AFP.
Karr was arrested in a surprise breakthrough in the case that has gripped Americans for a decade. On Thursday, the American made a stunning confession to reporters, saying that he was with JonBenet when she died but insisting that the death was an accident.
But revelations about his interest in child murders, an apparent alibi from an ex-wife and the comments from Karr himself have raised questions about whether he was responsible for JonBenet's killing.
Karr is due to be deported to the United States within a week, possibly on Sunday, Thai officials said.
Agence France Presse
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