Ramsey arson suspect held

'J.T. Colfax' accused of stuffing burning papers into mail slot at Boulder slaying site

By Charlie Brennan
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writers

BOULDER -- A Denver man was arrested Thursday for allegedly attempting to torch the home where JonBenet Ramsey was murdered.

James Michael Thompson, 34, also known as J.T. Colfax, is being held at the Boulder County Jail without bail for investigation of attempted first-degree arson and third-degree criminal trespass.

Police said he stuck burning papers through a mail slot at the vacant Ramsey home on Wednesday night, and that very little damage resulted.

Thompson had previously been arrested May 22 for theft under $100 and criminal mischief for allegedly stealing pages from a coroner's log book showing the arrival of JonBenet's body at the county morgue.

On Thursday, police said, Thompson called Boulder Detective Ron Gosage -- one of the investigators working on the unsolved murder of JonBenet -- and confessed that he had "done it again,'' according to police records.

Thompson told Gosage that he had tried to burn down the Ramsey house, police say. Thompson told police he spent much of Wednesday evening sitting on the home's back patio staring at the house.

Police arrested Thompson shortly before noon Thursday at the corner of Pearl and Eighth streets, in Boulder. Among his possessions, police said was a handwritten letter, dated Wednesday, stating that "something must happen today.''

Thompson used to work for the M&M Transport body removal firm. He has previously been charged with abuse of a corpse by police in Denver, Englewood and Littleton, for allegedly taking pictures of cadavers after posing them with items such as party horns and Halloween banners.

Meanwhile, on Thursday night's broadcast of Larry King Live, the editor in chief of the Globe supermarket weekly increased the reward his publication is offering for information leading to an arrest and conviction in JonBenet's murder from $50,000 to $500,000.

Staff Writer Kevin McCullen contributed to this report.

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