The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • B3

Filename: B3-METRO-AJCD0714-AJCD created: Jul 13 2007 Username: SPEED7 AJCD0714 Saturday, Jul 14, 2007 METRO 3 AJCD 3 Cyan Magenta Yellow Black 3 Cyan Magenta Yellow Black AJCD File name: B3-METRO-AJCD0714-AJCD created: Jul 13 2007 Username: SPEED7 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ajc.com 4 Saturday, July 14, 2007 B3 Charges disappear if Karr gets counseling By RHONDA COOK A Fulton County magistrate said Friday she will drop misdemeanor domestic abuse charges against John Mark Karr if he gets counseling. Magistrate Stephanie Davis also dismissed related charges against 86-year-old father, but without the requirement for counseling. John Mark Karr, 42, a onetime suspect in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, was arrested last weekend after police were called to his house. The elder Karr said he summoned police about a between Karr and his 22-year-old girlfriend. Police took John Mark Karr to jail and also charged his father, Wexford Karr, with simple battery, a misdemeanor.

Wexford Karr said that, while he called police to stop the he think his son should have been arrested. The father and son struggled when John Mark Karr tried to stop his father from completing the 911 call, according to police reports. The phone was knocked to the where it shattered. John Mark Karr had been released Sunday after posting a $3,000 bond. girlfriend, Brooke Simmons, was with him in court Friday morning.

They hugged when Davis announced dismiss the charges if Karr gets 24 weeks of domestic violence counseling. The couple held hands as they talked with reporters outside the Fulton County Courthouse, with both insisting the dispute was little more than a family squab ble. do not admit anything physical the younger Karr said, adding he will continue living with his father. love my not a violent man, not a Simmons said. because of his notoriety Karr is to appear in court again on Sept.

7. Karr was unknown until last August when he claimed he was with 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey on the day 10 years ago when she was killed in her Boulder, home. At the time he surfaced publicly, Karr was a teacher in Thailand. He returned to the United States and DNA testing cleared him of the crime. He said Friday it has been dif for him to have a normal life during the past year because he gets by law enforcement for things like sitting on a park bench in his upscale neighborhood.

He said sometimes people think his girlfriend is in her teens and call police. The Associated Press contributed to this article. Photos by JOHN SPINK Staff John Mark Karr, who faced domestic abuse charges, hugs his father, Wexford Karr, after a hearing Friday. John Mark Karr (center) was in court Friday with girlfriend Brooke Simmons and attorney Adam Jaffe. Simmons says Karr is a violent father said the couple were which led him to call 911.

METRO UPDATE THE STORY SO FAR Previously: Police arrested John Mark Karr a onetime suspect in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey on domestic abuse charges. The latest: A judge said she would drop the misdemeanor charges if Karr undergoes counseling. next: Karr must appear in court again Sept. 7. By MARK DAVIS shy, OK? Give the kid time.

Dumadi the baby orangutan, one of most reclusive celebrities, made a semipublic appearance Friday. Zoo Atlanta released photos and a video of their 8-month-old redhead. His genuine, and-waving-to-the-crowd appearance remains on hold while the youngster gets more acquainted with his adoptive mom and big brother. Meantime, doing great, said Susan Elliott, the spokeswoman like an 8-month-old she said. exploring the world around Dumadi is an orphan.

His mother died an hour after he was born last year at the Fort Wayne Zoo in Indiana. Workers raised him from infancy until a few weeks ago, when it became clear that their young charge needed an older orangutan as a role model. He also needed some long, red arms to hold him. Zoo Atlanta had just what the little ape needed. Madu, a 25-year-old female, had already proven herself as an excellent surrogate mom.

Dumadi came to Atlanta June 20, bringing a few favorite stuffed toys. Since then, the little ape has been getting closer to Madu and checking out his new older brother, Bernas. 5. Madu is cuddling her new arrival, while Bernas, said Elliott, is doing what all big brothers do rolling around with the kid, swatting at him, whooping. Watch for public debut later this month.

baby orangutan not ready yet for red carpet Mom turns to media for help in case By JEFFRY SCOTT S.A. REID Linda eyes were wet, as though she stopped crying in a week. Her answers were sometimes one word or As she met with reporters Thursday morning in a Decatur she said she had little choice but to take her pain and loss public. Otherwise her daughter, Monica Renee Bowie, who is missing and apparently abducted, would be forgotten. the media stops, hard to start it Howard said.

Bowie, 34, was taken from her apartment complex in DeKalb County on the night of July 5. Neighbors said they heard her scream: help! I need help! Help Investigators found evidence of a struggle in the parking lot. The next day, the car used in her abduction was found torched. On Saturday, DeKalb County police arrested Jasper Keels, 24, charging him with theft by taking of the car, and drug possession. Police said they know if a connection between Keels and abduction.

Howard and family members, meantime, are clinging to hope, and hoping her abductors are listening. let her Howard said Thursday, surrounded by family members in the of attorney Gerald Griggs. her go. This is affecting the whole world. It could have been a mistake on their part.

It could have been a mistake. Let her go anony Howard said she and her family believe Sher notta Walters, 35, was involved in her abduction. Walters and Bowie were arrested June 20 in an incident involving drugs and a gun found in a car. The charges were dropped. But police have questioned Walters about the abduction, said attorney, Dennis Scheib.

Walter, who remains in the Fulton County Jail because possession of a gun is a violation of his parole, know the gun or drugs were in the car, Scheib said. He said Walter also was not worried that Bowie would testify against him. told me she would testify for said Scheib, who described Walters as very upset about her abduction. Howard said her daughter loved Atlanta since moving here from Pittsburgh about four years ago. felt real down said Howard, who described her as an honor student with an upbeat attitude.

allow negative things around her. That was her. She was a go-getter from the day she learned to Bowie owns two businesses in Atlanta: Go2girls, a hip hop production company; and LaCoca Wear Clothing, a boutique off Metropolitan Avenue, Griggs and Howard said. Griggs that she also worked as a stripper for several months after her arrival in the city. was like a lot of young ladies that come to Griggs said.

was trying to make ends meet, but she had gotten out of that Woman taken from DeKalb complex remains missing Photos by JOHN SPINK Staff the media stops, hard to start it Linda Howard said as she met with reporters this week to plead for help. Her daughter, Monica Renee Bowie, 34, went missing the night of July 5. Neighbors heard Monica Renee Bowie scream. Milaika Ellison appears to be enjoying her lesson Friday during the third annual Teen Etiquette Luncheon at the Doubletree Hotel. Students received instruction on proper table manners, place setting and other dining etiquette.

The lesson was sponsored by DeKalb County Recreation Services. Dining with style JOHNNY CRAWFORD Staff.