BANGKOK: Murder suspect John Mark Karr awaited expulsion to the US yesterday, as questions mounted over whether his stunning confession to the slaying of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was that of a killer or merely someone obsessed with the case.

While detained in an immigration jail in Thailand's capital, slices of his globe-trotting life as a teacher began to emerge. An administrator at an elite Bangkok school described Karr as articulate and polite, but too strict, and said he was fired after two weeks on the job.

"John Karr came to us with a good resume and with credentials, but then we allowed him a trial (period) with students, we found he was too strict," said Banchong Chompowong, an administrator at Bangkok Christian College's elementary school.

Following Karr's surprise arrest in Bangkok on Wednesday, many questions hovered over one of the most intriguing American criminal cases of the past decade.

Karr, 41, told US investigators that he picked JonBenet up at school, drugged and had sex with her before accidentally killing her in the US state of Colorado in 1996, Thai police Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul said on Thursday after he was briefed about the interview.

But among the jarring discrepancies between his confession and earlier established facts were these: Schools were closed for the Christmas break when JonBenet died and an autopsy found no evidence of drugs in the little girl's body and was inconclusive about sexual assault.

And few experts believe that a girl who was slowly strangled with a garrote was killed by accident. There are even questions whether Karr was in Colorado at the time of the slaying.

The doubts have led some to wonder whether Karr is the answer to the long-unsolved slaying or a disturbed individual obsessed but not involved in the case.

Experts said the questions surrounding Karr's story put more pressure on corroborating evidence such as DNA.

"They either have a miss or a match on the DNA," former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman said. "If it's a miss, the prosecution has serious problems. If it's a match, then it's game, set and match for this case. Couple the DNA with the kooky confession and it's enough for most people to convict."

"The bottom line is that they now have a confession and until and unless they can corroborate that confession with either physical evidence or strong circumstantial evidence, that's all they have," said Scott Robinson, a Denver attorney who has followed the case from the beginning.

"I am so very sorry for what happened to JonBenet," said Karr on Thursday as police brought him through his guesthouse to collect belongings following his arrest.

Suwat, the Thai police general, said a Thai officer asked Karr why he had sex with a 6-year-old girl.

"He said that at the time it was just a blur. He said they were lovers," said Suwat.

Suwat said Karr, whom he described as "quiet and kind of strange," now wanted to go back to the United States to fight the case.

He said US authorities were preparing documents and plane tickets for the return journey. The departure could take place at any time, he said.

The divorced father of three children, once detained on charges of possessing child pornography, apparently travelled globally searching for teaching jobs. Suwat said the suspect had visited several Asian countries in recent years, but provided no details.

Karr will be taken within the week to Colorado, where he will face charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault, US officials in Bangkok have said.

Denver attorney Larry Pozner, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers, said there were "serious questions" about the case.

"I hope we have found the murderer of JonBenet, but I have not heard the evidence that compels that conclusion," he said.

Source: China Daily