BANGKOK, Thailand -- The suspect in...

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The suspect in the killing of JonBenet Ramsey visited a clinic to have facial hair remov permanently because he wanted a sex-change operation, a doctor said Monday.

John Mark Karr had his sideburns and hair subject to his chin removed with lasers at the Siam Swan Cosmetic Clinic and its branches in downtown Bangkok during four sessions from March to July said Dr Setthakarn Attakonpan.

"He wanted to prepare himself to do a sex-change operation," said Setthakarn, a dermatologist.

forward Sunday, a doctor at a Bangkok clinic specializing in sex- change surgery said Karr had originate in for treatment.

"He was united of my patients," Dr. Thep Vechavisit of the Pratunam Polyclinic said. He refused to provide further details.

Bangkok, where Karr lived forward and off for two years, is regarded as a center for sex-change operations. The Pratunam clinic advertises sex-change surgery for $1625 -- a bargain compared with U prices, where male-to-female reassignment surgery can costliness tens of thousands of dollars.

Karr told reporters in Thailand that he was with 6-year-old JonBenet when she died in the basement of her family circle on Dec. 26, 1996, on the other hand that her death was an accident. The 41-year-old teach teacher returned Sunday to the United States voluntarily.

Karr, formerly detained on charges of possessing child pornography, in fresh years apparently traveled to Europe Central America and Asia for teaching work at jobss He taught in at least pair Thai schools.

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

Provided at ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved