A Los Angeles judge has ordered schoolteacher John Mark Karr sent to Colorado to face charges that he kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.
Mr Karr, 41, who was arrested in Thailand last week, waived his right to fight extradition from California, clearing the way for him to be sent to Boulder, Colorado, where JonBenet was found dead in the basement of her home on December 26th, 1996.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin told Mr Karr he was wanted in Colorado on five counts, including murder, sexual assault on a child and kidnapping.
A date for his extradition to Colorado was not immediately set, but it was expected to take place in the next few days. Mr Karr's surprise arrest in Thailand last week sparked off a national media frenzy over what has been one of America's most notorious unsolved crimes for a decade.
He had arrived in the United States on Sunday from Thailand and was detained in California only until his journey to Colorado could be arranged.
Mr Karr, who was dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, spoke only to confirm that he understood he was waiving his right to challenge extradition.
Boulder prosecutors have not said what evidence they have against Mr Karr and his own claims of responsibility for her death have been met with growing skepticism.
Mr Karr's lawyer, public defender Haydeh Takasugi, told reporters after Tuesday's hearing that the news coverage was "getting him a little bit stressed out."
"He wants to get back (to Colorado) and start this whole process," Takasugi said. The body of JonBenet, who was named Little Miss Colorado and Little Miss Christmas during her short life, was found by her father John Ramsey in the basement of their home, hours after her mother found a bizarre, 2-1/2 page letter demanding a $118,000 ransom.
Her skull had been fractured and she had been strangled with a garrote made from cord and part of a paintbrush from mother Patsy Ramsey's art supplies.
A coroner's examination also found evidence that she had been sexually assaulted. The case immediately drew intense media coverage focusing on JonBenet's success in child beauty pageants, her family's wealth and mysterious details of the murder.