Did a Psychic Foresee JonBenet’s Killer?

image Back in 1998 Psychic Dorothy Allison drew a sketch (on the left) during an appearance on the Leeza Gibbons show of what she thought JonBenet Ramsey's killer looked like. The sketch was posted online and distributed via flyers. Now that John Mark Karr has been arrested for the murder of JonBenet, some people are saying that the sketch looks an awful lot like him. Is this a case of a psychic making an accurate prediction?

First of all, the sketch looks vaguely similar, but not exactly like him. Her drawing would match up pretty well to any skinny, white guy. Second, although the guy has confessed, there seems to be some doubt about whether he's telling the truth, so he may not be the killer. Third, as the Amazing Randi always points out, only psychic's hits ever get counted. Never their misses. So how many completely bogus predictions did Dorothy Allison make? That needs to be considered in any evaluation of her ability as a psychic. However, in her favor, it seems that she really did produce this sketch in 1998. So this isn't a case of a Tamara Rand style prediction.

Future/Time Law/Police/Crime

Posted on Fri Aug 18, 2006



Comments

I think it looks a lot like him, but it remains to be seen whether Karr is the killer (pretty doubtful from what I've read).

Also, anyone checked the story that this picture was in fact drawn in '98?
Posted by JoeDaJuggler  on  Fri Aug 18, 2006  at  10:53 AM
I also think the drawing resembles Karr significantly. A little too much to be mere coincidence. But then again, the drawing also looks like this guy too:

Posted by Grain  on  Fri Aug 18, 2006  at  12:13 PM
For the truth, I, Raoul, The Psychic Gangster of Love, will now channel the spirit of Edgar Casio, The Prophet of Electric Pianos: "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...I am here. This man Karr is an imposter. The real killer's name...the real killer's name is...OOOOOOO....." Oh, gosh the darn it, Casio has moved on from this realm. How can this story now dominate all the news in the USA if we don't know for sure, okay? I'll keep trying to bring back this Edgar, okay? You people don't think about no thing else until then, okay? Ten years old murders, that's the breaking news, so don't go no wheres, okay? Chumps. I am just the kidder, so don't get mad at Raoul. Rrrraoul
Posted by Raoul  on  Fri Aug 18, 2006  at  01:12 PM
Hell, that picture looks like me... and you... and you... and you.

I could have told you ten years ago that it was done by a white guy. Geesh... give me my Crayolas, I'll draw you a picture.
Posted by Jim  on  Fri Aug 18, 2006  at  01:56 PM
It does look like him. But Karr may not be the killer anyway.
Posted by hmmm  on  Fri Aug 18, 2006  at  04:42 PM
The jaw line is all wrong. Karr has a much wider chin then the sketch, his head over all is very oval shaped, the sketch has an egg shaped head.

Subtler differencers can be found in the nose, I'm aware Karr's photo is an upshot up his nose appears to tip up more then the sketch which is more pointed down, the sketch's nose also appears slightly narrower. The eyes are close but not quite right Karr's eyes have almost the inverted shape of the sketch with the lower rim being rounded and the top rim being flatter. The ears don't stick out as much either.... although I'm sure all of those would be wiped away with a "well the visions are kinda fuzzy so it's never gonna be an exact match"

Overall it does look like him, but it's like a Freshmen Art Student's first portrait assignment and wouldn't even score a C.

on a related note there's a painting in the de Young Museum (Legion of Honor I guess it's also called) in San Fransico that I overhear people say looks just like Keanu Reeves (I personally think it looks kinda like Johnny Depp in 'Secret Window') but it was painted in the 18th Century... I guess that artist predicted what actor would go on to star in a triology of highly quotable genre films 200 years later and made a painting of them.
Posted by Hittoshi  on  Fri Aug 18, 2006  at  06:29 PM
Also, the hair part in the drawing is on the other side of the head from Karr's.
Posted by Cranky Media Guy  on  Sat Aug 19, 2006  at  02:50 AM
I think we'll find that John Mark Karr was stuck in Thailand without money or a job and took desperate measures to get home. I don't doubt he's a sick bastard, but it's unlikely he is the murderer. What could be creepier than a wannabe child killer? brrrrrrr...
Posted by gcason  on  Sat Aug 19, 2006  at  10:26 AM
The person in the drawing looks like a slim white male. Karr looks like he is a slim white male. I guess this is proof psychics have supernatural powers. To be serious, I don't think the drawing looks like Karr at all.

It's ironic that the tabloids pay people to make up wild stories and then they get this one handed to them on a silver platter. Now we'll all have to suffer the pain of seeing the headlines at the supermarket checkout.
Posted by Captain Al  on  Sat Aug 19, 2006  at  12:27 PM
As far as I can tell, Kar doesn't appear to be partially mutated with a huge brain cavity and a REALLY small chin... so I think the drawing is wrong xD I just so happens that a LOT of males look similar to that... I mean... SERIOUSLY.
When we first heard of the Oklahoma bombings and saw the picture of the guys face my entire family went "Oh shit, it's cousin Jimmy!!" because it looked EXACTLY like him. Considering that for a week we thought my dad's cousin was a mass murderer sort of proves how similar many faces are, and drawings make things worse, because you can draw lots of features based on an average perception of them.
Posted by Mera  on  Sat Aug 19, 2006  at  01:06 PM
I'm not buying it. No matter how many psychics make drawings of him, I refuse to believe that Carl Sagan killed JonBenet Ramsey.
Posted by Big Gary  on  Sun Aug 20, 2006  at  01:30 PM
Actually, when I look at it, I see facial features that are very carefully designed so that they could apply to a wide range of people.. The head shape is going to be the trickiest, of course.. she should have stuck with a more oval face.


Granted, she's dead now, and won't be claiming her prediction came true.
Posted by Robin Bobcat  on  Mon Aug 21, 2006  at  03:35 AM
... the drawing looks to me like one of those creeepy grey aliens...

and maybe kinda like jesus
Posted by joodd  on  Mon Aug 21, 2006  at  04:14 AM
:roll: After carefully studying the drawing, i have come to the conclusion that it could very well be our guy "KARR". The killing happened 10 years ago and the drawing was 2 years later. People change and get older. My question is, How did Karr meet up with the Ramsey's to kill JonBenet? What was his connection with JonBenet? But,I also have said that it could be possible that the Ramsey's son could of killed JonBenet out of pure JEALOUSLY, due to JonBenet getting all the attention and the Ramsey's have known about it and covered it up so that he would not go to jail. Why would it take the police 10 years to find this killer? Is someone maybe hiding some EVIDENCE??? :coolhmm:
Posted by Jodeegirl  on  Mon Aug 21, 2006  at  08:46 PM
I've always wondered about the brother; was anything ever published about them questioning him?
Posted by Judybird  on  Wed Aug 23, 2006  at  01:44 PM
Well, the picture looks to be more accurate than the guy's story, anyway 😊

Has no-one else but me and TIME noted that he calims he drugged JonBenet, and the autopsy showed no drugs in her system?
Posted by DFSTuckey  on  Sun Aug 27, 2006  at  01:01 AM
"I think we'll find that John Mark Karr was stuck in Thailand without money or a job and took desperate measures to get home. I don't doubt he's a sick bastard, but it's unlikely he is the murderer. What could be creepier than a wannabe child killer? brrrrrrr...
Posted by gcason on Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 08:26 AM"

Am I good, or what? 😉
Posted by gcason  on  Tue Aug 29, 2006  at  08:37 AM
In the November-December Skeptical Inquirer (http://www.csicop.org/), Joe Nickell has a great article on this using what he calls "forensic caricatures". I can only agree: not Karr.
Posted by harrie verstappen  on  Tue Nov 14, 2006  at  09:13 AM
No the sketch doesn't look like john mark karr at all!
and sketch wouldn't be able to solve the case either!
Posted by melissa  on  Sun Nov 09, 2008  at  03:23 PM
Speaking of having a mutated face could the sketch be an alien hybrid?
Posted by James  on  Sat Mar 14, 2009  at  10:58 PM
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