WAFF 48 NEWS INVESTIGATES
Karr back in Alabama? Reaction is mixedOct 25, 2006 07:08 PM
John Mark Karr, now cleared of porn charges and the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey, could be settling down in the Heart of the Valley.
Several residents in Karr's hometown of Hamilton in Marion County report seeing him shopping earlier this week at Wal-Mart.
Word is Karr was buying items for a home; things like cleaning supplies, small kitchen appliances, even cookware.
Now that word has gotten around, folks are deciding how they feel about that.
Nellia Peterson says she got the phone call from her friends Monday night.
"They just said they happened to see him. The person who saw him didn't know him. They just remembered him from the news and happened to see him go by," says Peterson.
Karr, the Hamilton native who admitted to murdering Jon Benet Ramsey, spotted back in his hometown in northwest Alabama. Feelings are mixed.
"Is he going to live here?", asked one resident, "I'm not really that concerned."
Toni Glenn has heard the same reports, and even one first-hand account from the store clerk who rang up Karr's order Monday at Wal-Mart in Hamilton.
Glenn says she and others thought he'd likely move in with his father in Atlanta.
"I just don't know how this is going to go over. I guess we'll have to see," says Glenn.
Glenn says just about everyone in Hamilton even knows what kind of vehicle Karr is driving.
"Not sure if it's an older or newer model, but it's a red Jeep Cherokee," says Glenn.
Everyone left wondering if Karr will move back into a home on Sentry Road just west of town, one he grew up in, living with his grandparents.
WAFF 48 News waited outside that home on Sentry Road for more than an hour Wednesday, but no sign of John Mark Karr.
What we do know is the electricity is on and neighbors say work crews have been seen doing minor work recently.