Gary Oliva, 60, made parole and was released from prison after serving roughly eight years of a 10-year sentence on Wednesday, January 31. He is believed to be living in a motel in Denver, Co., less than an hour from where JonBenét Ramsey was murdered in 1996.
According to a source, the ex-convict — who claimed he'd killed the little girl in letters to acquaintances — was "obviously desperate not to be recognized" and "looked really shifty" after his release.
"He kept checking to make sure no one was watching him," the source added. "Word quickly got out that he was staying there. People are not so keen on monsters who prey on children. He must know he has to tread very carefully."
As OK! previously reported, Oliva had a sick obsession with JonBenét and allegedly confessed to murdering her while conversing with a former schoolmate, but he has never been convicted of any crime related to her death.
"It was obvious to me that Gary had killed JonBenét," former classmateMichael Vail admitted. "I’ve also received hundreds of letters with numerous murder confessions from Gary."
In one correspondence, Oliva allegedly wrote: "I never loved anyone like I did JonBenét, and yet I let her slip and her head bashed in half, and I watched her die. It was an accident."
A separate time, he penned, "I love you, JonBenét. It would be worth it to take the blame for you."
When Oliva was initially arrested, more than 300 pictures of JonBenét in his phone and he also drew a number of images of the murdered child from behind bars.
"I’m extremely concerned about Gary being released," Vail said at the time, noting he'd spent years "agonizing and worrying about" the possibility of Oliva hurting a child after his release.
The slain pageant princess' parents, John and Patsy, were also advised to look into Oliva as a suspect by a Boulder, Co., district attorney.
"When all the circumstantial stuff was described to me, I said, ‘Man, this is the guy!'" John said in an interview.
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The source spoke with In Touch about Oliva's feelings after his release.
