John Albert Gardner (mugshot)

Convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner is charged today with murder in the disappearance of missing teen Chelsea King.  The District Attorney filed the charges and the complaint was read at today’s arraignment when Gardner made his first appearance.  Gardner entered a plea of not guilty.  The charges come after a body was found yesterday in Lake Hodges, an area near where Chelsea King went missing last week while she was running through the Rancho Bernardo Community Park.  We are waiting for a positive ID on that body.  Investigators say that Chelsea, 17, was a runner for her high school, and parked her car nearby as she went to exercise.  Inside her vehicle, police found a cell phone and other personal belongings.

Registered sex offender John Albert Gardner was arrested on Sunday and held on preliminary charges of suspicion of murder and rape in the disappearance of the missing teen.  Gardner has a conviction for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age, and served five years in prison.  He was staying with his mother in the Rancho Bernardo Community where Chelsea went missing.  It is widely reported that 10 years ago, Dr. Matthew Carroll, a psychiatrist who spent time and interviewed Gardner after his conviction said he lacked remorse for the incident, making him “an extremely poor candidate for any sexual offender treatment.”