JonBenet's Skull Fractures: The Weapon

I was asked to copy a thread here at WS that I started at FFJ, so WS'ers not registered there can comment. So, I'm not sure how complicated it will be (setting each of the links), or how long it will take, but bear with me and I'll start it here.
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For years I was almost certain that the object that was used to cause JonBenet's skull fracture was the heel of a golf putter similar to the one shown here:



The reasons for that prior belief are as follows:

1. The shape described in the autopsy report of the depressed portion of the fracture is rectangular. While the leaked photos of her skull didn’t exactly completely fit that description, it’s difficult to otherwise describe the shape as anything better with the information available, and I believe that a putter heel such as the one shown above would make a somewhat rectangular depressed fracture.
2. Whatever was used had to have enough force behind it to not just crack it, but to cause a complete displacement of a comminuted portion (1/2” x 1-3/4”) of the skull.
3. Burke was known to have injured JonBenet in the past with a golf club (although the details of that incident are still somewhat cloudy because we have to depend on the details provided by known liars).
4. There was a plethora of available sets of golf clubs in the basement (three bags full and loose clubs in a nearby closet) where at least most of what happened had occurred.
5. A single putter was found outside the house in some of the bushes.
6. After being ejected from the house by BPD, John Ramsey was suspiciously interested in getting a certain set of golf clubs removed from the crime scene by his sis-in-law. (We all know the many reasons this pegs out our hinky-meters, so I won’t go into all that.)

Now that I’ve told you why I had believed it was a putter (the most important of which was the shape of the depressed fracture), I’m going to explain how I came to the conclusion that this was not the weapon that caused all the skull injuries. Then I’ll show what I now believe actually did cause it -- and why.
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I first began questioning it when I realized that what had been thought and accepted to be a radiograph of her skull was actually the photoshopped product of someone’s imagination at NBC-news. You can see where and why I disputed this in the thread over at FFJ titled “[ame="http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10164"]The Alleged “Skull X-ray[/ame]”. Also, a great deal of this was discussed about the same time in cynic’s thread on the weapon titled “[ame="http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10160"]Golf club or flashlight or…[/ame]”.

The reason I began questioning the golf club theory is the apparent shape of the “hole” in her skull. It looked much more like an oval to me than what Dr. Meyer had described as “rectangular”. But there are several small fragmented pieces which appear to go outside of a perfect oval -- especially if you take as gospel what is represented in the previously assumed “X-ray”. But now I know that this representation is faked, certainly some of it is misinterpreted, and therefore I believe we should disregard it.

But rather than rehash all that here, I’ll leave it to you to read the other thread and decide for yourself. What I would like to point out here is the area in the photo that I had referred to then as a “bridge of flesh” that appears to partially cover the opening of the depressed fracture. We discussed it then, but I have to bring it up again here because I believe this is where the coronal scalp incision was made for the coroner to peel the scalp away from the skull toward the front and then to the back during the autopsy. He probably cut right over the depressed fracture without realizing it at the time because he had seen no signs of injury on the outer surface of the scalp*. Understanding this is essential to seeing what is actually shown in the photo of her skull. (*In the AR, at the end of the external exam, Meyer even notes, “No scalp trauma is identified.”)

SCALP. Did you know there is a mnemonic for that? There are actually five layers to the scalp and they can be remembered by their acronym:That last layer is a layer of membrane-like flesh which surrounds bone (except around long bones). It is called periosteum -- or pericranium where it occurs around the skull. I believe that when the front portion of the scalp was pulled forward, most of the pericranium came up with the rest of the layers of scalp around the depressed fracture. But toward the front, as the scalp continued being reflected, some of the fleshy layer of scalp was left attached to her skull where you can even see what appears to be scalpel marks in what would be the connective tissue of the scalp remaining attached to the skull. When the back portion of the scalp was pulled, a portion of the pericranium remained attached to the skull. This is why the posterior portion of the hole is less well-defined than the anterior portion. There is a thin layer of flesh (the pericranium) covering about one third of the back portion of the hole. Some of this flesh appears almost black because it (and the skull underneath) is where the full impact of the object occurred. The dark colored flesh is part of a bruised area of scalp that saw the full impact of the weapon that hit her head.

The following picture is of the inside of a skull showing a hemorrhage. Notice and compare the color of the hemorrhagic area to the darkened areas in the picture of JonBenet’s skull:


The first picture is described as an “Acute Subdural Hematoma” on the website it was posted, and the color is described as “red/black”. An older injury (chronic) pictured below (from the same website) is described as being the color of “brownish, yellowish-orange, “machine oil” or “straw colored (or combinations of all of these).”


Also of note in support of my belief that the area is periosteum is in its behavior when cut. You might have come upon this when cutting certain meats or poultry, or maybe rolling out dough for some recipe. Think of some elastic-type membrane that is stretched over a more rigid muscle or bone. When a slit is cut in the membrane, it retracts, exposing the underlying flesh. But if you look at the edge of the cut, you’ll see how it tends to be thicker than the rest of the same layer (This is because of the elastic nature of the membrane). The same phenomenon may be observed when an elastic-type dough is rolled out to a thin layer and then cut (I’m thinking here about how I make Chicken and Dumplings). This is what happens when the thin elastic layer of pericranium is cut.

I don’t want to post the pictures here due to their shocking nature, but if you have the stomach for it and enough curiosity to see what I’m talking about, go to this site (https://www2.aofoundation.org/wps/po...l-approach.jsp) and see (about halfway down) where they are showing how to cut a pericranial flap during a surgical procedure. Please note that this link is to a site showing very graphic images of surgical procedures done on a live (sedated) person. In fact, the word “graphic” is not really a strong enough adjective -- just be forewarned.

If you’re able to stomach looking at the pictures, notice two things. Notice how the edge of the pericranium “bunches up” and is thicker than the rest of the membrane; and notice also how the membrane is semi-transparent so you can somewhat see through it.

It is this rounded edge of the pericranium that glistens in the light (highlighted in the photo below of JonBenet’s wound) causing the white spots to appear along the edge. And it is the semi-transparency which allows the edges of the “hole” to show through, albeit somewhat blurred. The other factor to take into account in the overall understanding of what is shown in this photo is the dark color of the hemorrhage coinciding with the color of the hole itself, and therefore confusing the picture.

So to sum up all of what is shown in the enlarged photo of the depressed fracture, let me state the following (and it is my opinion): The depressed fracture is almost a perfect oval, and in the only photo we have access to, it is covered in the posterior one-third with a layer of pericranial membrane which was left attached to the skull when the posterior scalp reflection was done by Dr. Meyer. (One more thing here that I feel compelled to note... I have to say that after seeing the work done by other physicians on scalp reflection, the coroner in JonBenet’s autopsy is about the sloppiest butcher I can imagine. I’ll add this to my list of failures on his part.)



The darkened areas in this part of the photo:
are hemorrhagic tissue -- not missing fragments of skull on the edge of the fracture as evidenced by the glistening light circled in the following photo (If the dark area is missing skull, there should be nothing there to reflect the light.):



There is one fragmented edge on the right anterior edge of the depressed fracture.


I believe this to be simply incidental and not related to the shape of the weapon that caused the fracture. It could have been a weaker spot in the skull, or it could have been a small spot in the surface of her skull that was slightly higher than the area around it causing it to see more impact from the weapon.
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So by accepting the apparent oval versus rectangular shape of the depressed fracture, I feel I can discount reason #1 (on my list from above in the first post) for thinking that a golf club caused it.

Here is the abbreviated list from above with my current thoughts about each in red after each:

1. The shape: rectangular vs. oval.
   It is oval. This is enough reason in itself to discount the golf club and open up the possibility of other potential weapons.
2. Enough force to cause a complete displacement of a portion of the skull.
   I can’t discount the possibility of a putter having enough force to cause it; but this doesn’t necessarily exclude the viability of other objects as the weapon.
3. Burke was known to have injured JonBenet in the past with a golf club.
   Anecdotal -- and in itself not proof of anything. Its only value is in the total context of it with other reasons.
4. A plethora of golf clubs in the basement.
   Yes, there were; but like #3 above, its only value is in the total context of it with other reasons. There were also other items that could have been used in and around the house.
5. A putter found outside.
   Also found outside were two baseball bats -- one of which had on it fibers from the carpet in the basement. (Hello?)
6. JR’s interest in getting a set of golf clubs removed from the crime scene.
   This could have been to remove a particular golf club as well as any of various other incriminating items (rope, tape, bloodied cloth and/or panties, gloves, paintbrush ends, etc.).

When I did previously think the putter was the most likely weapon, I had this one lingering doubt that bothered me. That was that it seemed almost inconceivable that the sharp corners on a putter would have not caused some external cut, scrape, or bruising of some sort that would be noticeable on the scalp before it was reflected.

My conclusion after all this is that the putter (or some other golf club) did not cause the depressed fracture. So the question now is, “What object would have been accessible that night, that could have sufficient force behind it to cause this type of wound, and would result in the shape of depressed fracture that was found in JonBenet’s skull without causing much external scalp damage?
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Using Meyer’s AR dimensions of 1/2” by 1-3/4” in the photo below, the linear fracture is separated just about 1/8” (by my roughly scaled approximation):


In the following enlargement, notice the two edges of the skull along the linear crack right at the upper edge of the “hole” (circled). Before the skull was fractured, they were attached, so it seems to me (and by looking at them up close) that they should fit together.


If I divide an enlargement of the depressed fracture into two separate photos, cropped at the edge of the linear fracture:
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and then put them back together without the 1/8” separation,
I get a more correct representation of the depressed fracture (the “hole”). Perhaps someone with better photo software can do a better job than I can overlaying the two sides. I’m limited to what I can do with Microsoft Picture Manager, but hopefully you get the general idea.


Now I’ll draw an oval along the edge of the result and you can see how well it matches:



This is why I believe that the depressed fracture was caused by an object that left an almost perfect oval in her skull. Of course, the obvious question then is, “What shape would that object have?”

This is where an epiphany struck me in what I have to confess is a personally sensitive area. You see, I reached a point in my education (some time ago) where I figured I just wasn’t cut out for college. That point occurred for me in my attempt to understand Calculus and Analytical Geometry. Now, I regret not trying a little longer, but I do remember enough to recall a little about the intersection of 3-dimensional forms.

What we have in this case is a sphere (the skull) intersecting with another unknown object, and the resulting collision or impact of those two objects is the intersection. An oval is the resulting intersection of a larger diameter sphere with a smaller diameter cylinder. If we know the curvature of the sphere and the approximate dimensions of this intersection, mathematically we could calculate the diameter of the cylindrical object. Well... at least someone who didn’t flunk out of college level geometry might be able to calculate it. I, on the other hand, have to figure it by trial and error, or by trying different diameter cylinders to see if I can find the approximate size of the object.

(Later I’ll explain how the same object that caused this oval-shaped depressed fracture also caused the linear fracture that ran almost the length of the top of her skull.)

Assuming Meyer’s dimensions of the depressed fracture (1/2” by 1-3/4”) are correct, we have an oval whose width to length ratio is 1:3.5.

(Note: I don’t know whether to include the 1/8” separation in Meyer’s measurements, or if the linear crack separated only after the top portion of the skull was removed during autopsy. So I left it out and made no adjustment for it.)
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Actually, so everyone here knows, it was very easy to copy :dance:. And it doesn't look like you have to be a member there to copy a thread to here, because I wasn't even logged in when I copied them. Just select all you want to copy (pictures and all) within a thread there, and paste it into a reply here. Even the font formatting is automatically copied.

:cheers:
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Speculation has led some to think the blow to the head came to shut up the "scream", which might have been in response to the vaginal jab. How could the jab be perpetuated against a live, possibly wriggling child with one hand and the other hand wielding a weapon hard enough to make this fracture?Can't imagine it, especially if a weapon had to be 'reached for'. I don't think the blow to the head was to stop a scream.

just to let you know, I'm reading and studying what you have written, but it's taking awhile for my pea brain to process everything. And since there's no way I could look at those graphic pictures, (sorry), it's taking even longer. I've leaned towards a golf club or baseball bat, because of the damage done, but really, I have no idea. The only thing I can be sure of, was that the weapon was something from that house, I do believe that knowing what the weapon was, would go a long way in pointing to the perp and maybe help explain why.

midwest mama said:

Speculation has led some to think the blow to the head came to shut up the "scream", which might have been in response to the vaginal jab. How could the jab be perpetuated against a live, possibly wriggling child with one hand and the other hand wielding a weapon hard enough to make this fracture?Can't imagine it, especially if a weapon had to be 'reached for'. I don't think the blow to the head was to stop a scream.

Click to expand...

I agree - there are easier ways to stop a child screaming, and if a golf club or baseball bat had been used it would have been awkward to handle when that close to the target.

Brilliant, otg. So what is your best guess as to the oval shaped weapon?

midwest mama,

Count me as one who believes that that was the purpose of the head blow. In your post, you are making several assumptions that may or may not necessarily be true.

1. She may have been “wriggling”.
2. Both the object used for the “jab” and the weapon that caused the head blow were being held at the same time in opposite hands, or:
3. The weapon causing the head blow had to be reached for and was some distance away, and:
4. There was only a short time between the start and the stop of the scream.

While it’s true there may have been better ways to stop the scream, perhaps the options weren’t that carefully thought out in the mind of the person who panicked and just wanted to stop it before someone heard it. This person probably didn’t take the time to think out the consequences of what might happen -- he (or she) just wanted to stop it as quickly as possible.
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I don’t blame you for not wanting to look at the pictures, dodie. That’s exactly why I chose not to post them here, but instead simply link the website so you could choose to look or not look. I really don’t enjoy it either, but I’ve seen so much while I was researching this I’m beginning to get desensitized (not something I’m necessarily happy with).

But I think if you just read the posts, when I get through the rest of this, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

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KarenUK,

How close was this person that it was difficult to swing some type of weapon? And why the awkwardness over close distance?
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You’re getting ahead of me, Rashi’sDaughter. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t yet figured it out. Besides, I’d like to take you through my reasoning and how I came to the conclusion I did. Unfortunately, I have to wait until Mrs. otg is not around so I can take the pictures I need.

(OT, but are you a fan of Anton?)
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KarenUK said:

I agree - there are easier ways to stop a child screaming, and if a golf club or baseball bat had been used it would have been awkward to handle when that close to the target.

Click to expand...

As otg pointed out, rightfully so, there's the chance that JB was NOT at a very close proximity. She could have been running away from the perp. Or in a position at a distance that would have allowed for plenty of room for the bash to happen. Just too many holes in this case, and so many possibilities. Arrgghhh!

If the weapon or cause of the bash could really be pinned down, I agree that it might give a better picture of who did it.

otg said:

KarenUK,

How close was this person that it was difficult to swing some type of weapon? And why the awkwardness over close distance?
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Click to expand...

Well that is if the person gripped the handle end of the golf club or bat - rather than holding it at the base and hitting her at close range... To me the use of that type of weapon would suggest JB was at a slight distance from the person who swung the bat/club.
(This is purely conjecture on my part of course - I have no experience of swinging a bat at someone, the closest I've come is swatting flies with a rolled up newspaper :dunno: )

For a long time I thought that maybe the flashlight was used in the sexual abuse, then used to silence her when she screamed; however I can't imagine a scenario in which that would occur were the killer would strike with the handle-end of the flashlight, rather than the bulb end, OR put their hand over her mouth.
Mind you in this case what 'most people' would do is irrelevant - if we started looking at the strange things that people have said/done in this case we would have trouble knowing where to begin!

otg said:

midwest mama,

Count me as one who believes that that was the purpose of the head blow. In your post, you are making several assumptions that may or may not necessarily be true.

1. She may have been “wriggling”.
2. Both the object used for the “jab” and the weapon that caused the head blow were being held at the same time in opposite hands, or:
3. The weapon causing the head blow had to be reached for and was some distance away, and:
4. There was only a short time between the start and the stop of the scream.

While it’s true there may have been better ways to stop the scream, perhaps the options weren’t that carefully thought out in the mind of the person who panicked and just wanted to stop it before someone heard it. This person probably didn’t take the time to think out the consequences of what might happen -- he (or she) just wanted to stop it as quickly as possible.
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Click to expand...

All points totally valid.

Two things:
1. What about less velocity with the weapon, but more pressure? That crack took a great deal of pressure, IMHO.

2. Lack of scalp contusion - weapon without sharp, clean edges?

OTG, Thank you so much for getting us in 'logical thinking' path again!!!

IMO, here are couple things to consider from your prior and current posts.

1. Size and Position.

- as you stated earlier (many times!), the size of the depressed fracture aka 'hole' is not large (1/2” by 1-3/4&#8221. And if you'll take out 1/8" from the width (as you show above) - it'll be even smaller 'hole' - 3/8" x 1-3/4".
- the 'hole' is on the back of the head, on the right-lower location, indicating that the blow was delived from behind. IMO, while JB was in sitting position. In SECURELY SITTING position. Why? Because if JB would be running-out or laying-down or standing-up, such a blow would send her 'flying' hard to the floor, potentually causing an additional injuries to her face and front body.

2. Shape

- absolutely agree, it's OVAL!!! But does it mean that weapon should have the oval-shape surface or it means that while making penetration INTO the scalp, the object's BODY (not the tip) should have the oval-shape projection???!!! (IMO, I believe in underlined). What do I mean by 'oval-shape projection'? For example, the tip of the french bread by itself is not oval. But if you'll sliced it off - you'll see the oval. Another example would be the SIDE of the door knob. By the tip, it's not oval but by the body 'projection' - it's oval. Hope I made myself clear....Another example would be the OVAL HEAD HAMMER used for jewelry-making and other hobbies (by the way, it could have the wood handle)....something like this:

http://phasic.manufacturer.globalso...welry-finding/1053873465/Oval-Head-Hammer.htm

Anyway, thank you again, OTG!!!! Looking forward to see your 'virtual' weapon....I'm sure it'll be amazing!!!!

If the flashlight was the weapon, she would have been struck with the bulb end. The case on that end is larger, and as the blow came down, it would have been the EDGE of that casing that made contact with her skull. I believe one forensic specialist used an identical flashlight to crack a "skull" made of styrofoam and it made an almost identical oval hole, although because it was not bone, it made no linear fracture.
There are three possibilities, each with its own possible reasons for being the one that actually was used. The flashlight would fit that hole in her skull it matched (of course, it never was tried to see if it fit). It was also heavy enough to have caused such a massive injury, and it was completely wiped down, including the batteries, which were removed and wiped down as well. This is MOST suspicious. While it could have simply been wiped down just because it was used to walk around the crime scene, I see no real reason to do this. It belonged to the house, after all, so unless it was actually used to bash her, I see no reason why it would have been wiped down. I suppose it could have been because they planned to say it wasn't theirs, but still seems odd. If it was the bludgeon, I can totally see why.

As for the golf club theory- we have two suspicious events- JR's insistence on having Patsy's sister get the golf bag from the home when all the home's contents were going to be packed by movers and sent to Atlanta anyway. December in Boulder is hardly golf weather, and it Atlanta you'd think he'd have other things on his mind (like his daughter's funeral) to be thinking about his golf clubs. We also have a prior assault with a golf club.

As for the bat, this is least likely to me. Although there were a few found in the home, including the one in the side yard, I tend to believe these were left there after some previous playtime. The only suspicious thing about a bat is that Patsy denied owning a bat herself, and this was a blatant lie. Patsy belonged to a womens' softball league and had her OWN bat. Her lie is distancing of the most obvious kind but why lie at all? This proves, not that the bat was necessarily the bludgeon, but that Patsy (who claimed to NOT have seen the autopsy or photos) KNEW she had been bashed in the head. This was something that even surprised the coroner and police present at the autopsy. There was NOTHING to indicate she had been bashed on the head. There was so little swelling of her face and head (odd even in a strangulation death), that this fact alone tells me the head blow came first, and the strangulation didn't really need to be very forceful to contribute to her death.

midwest mama said:

As otg pointed out, rightfully so, there's the chance that JB was NOT at a very close proximity. She could have been running away from the perp. Or in a position at a distance that would have allowed for plenty of room for the bash to happen. Just too many holes in this case, and so many possibilities. Arrgghhh!

If the weapon or cause of the bash could really be pinned down, I agree that it might give a better picture of who did it.

Click to expand...

I've speculated, (no proof at all), that maybe PR came charging after JB and that's what made her scream and then turn and run. Seeing an enraged PR wielding a golf club or baseball bat would be enough to scare anybody. But IDK, seems a little too dramatic, kwim? Hearing about all the feces, has led me to suspect PR more than ever, because IMO, it provides a real motive for a rage...but if PR found the chocolates and then raged, wouldn't she have thrown them out later? It seems like for every step forward, there are 2 steps back.