Broken once or twice?

[Holdontoyourhat]

We know the paintbrush handle was broken, but was it broken once or twice?

[shiloh]

Twice, and it had been whittled.

[Paradox]

Originally Posted by shiloh

Twice, and it had been whittled.

Whittled?

[dingo]

Originally Posted by Paradox

Whittled?

Thats what I was going to ask

[Paradox]

Not one whit of truth there, I bet.

[dingo]

Originally Posted by Paradox

Not one whit of truth there, I bet.

Here a whit..there a whit..everywhere a whit whit ...Im sorry Im just in a stupid mood today

[shiloh]

Originally Posted by Paradox

Not one whit of truth there, I bet.

In looking at the photograph of the paint tote, the broken paint brush is blue. http://www.acandyrose.com/178paint-tote.jpg (The blue paint brush in the lower left hand corner is the one which is broken). The "stick" tied to the cord is tan/brown. http://www.acandyrose.com/garrote3.jpg

From the autopsy report: This wooden stick is irregularly broken at both ends and there are several colors of paint and apparent glistening varnish on the surface. Printed in gold letters on one end of the wooden stick is the word 'Korea.' The tail end of another word extends from beneath the loops of the cord tied around the stick, and is not able to be interpreted."

The autopsy report refers to it as a stick, and mentions several colors of paint and a glistening varnish, which would be from various painting jobs from areas on the "stick" that had not been whittled.

Whittling was one of Burke's hobbies. Either he had whittled it at some point in time, or (my theory) the killer whittled it as a way to implicate Burke.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by Holdontoyourhat

We know the paintbrush handle was broken, but was it broken once or twice?

Good question. Was it broken quickly like a dry string of spaghetti with two thumbs, or, was one end broken off first and then carefully the other? Indeed, what happened to the paint brush end? Did somebody go paint a picture with it?

A puzzle?

[Jayelles]

Definitely twice. It would need to be twice since there is a "middle" portion. One of the ends is missing though. There has been discussion as to whether it was removed as a trophy.

I don't recall ever reading that it had been whittled and I'd be interested in a source for that.

It is not the coroner's job to decide the fabric or purpose of an object. He only describes as he sees. As Don Bradley has stated on several occasions - a coroner would not describe a gold wedding ring as such but rather as "a yellow metal band on the third finger of the left hand" (or similar description).

[UKGuy]

Twice, both ends are irregularly broken. this aspect is plainly visible to the eye, it needs no analysis.

It is also obvious there as been no attempt to smooth the ragged ends, and the surface of the stick appears unmodified.

I see nothing to suggest it has been whittled which as we know has BDI connotations.

The shards of wood found on the floor just outside of the wine-cellar originate from the stick and are consistent with a simple breaking or snapping.

As I remarked before it was not necessary for the stager to break the stick twice, or even at all.

The purpose of the stick could have been achieved whole.

.

[rashomon]

In his #81 post on the 'Tea' thread, SuperDave provided a very informative link where one can see a picture of the stick around which the cord was wrapped, and to me one end does not look broken at all.
http://misty.angelcities.com/article1.html

But Dr. Meyer in his report said the stick was broken at two ends.
Am I reading all your posts correctly: the stick broken at two ends was in fact from a paintbrush, but one broken end could not be found?
Just a thought: could the end which was missing have been that part of the paintbrush with which the perp inflicted the injury to JB's vagina? For no doubt that part would have had blood on it, so maybe it was indeed whittled away (or broken into smaller pieces) and the shavings were flushed down the toilet?

[Paradox]

The stick is clearly broken. The right end looks more weathered than the left, as if that end was broken more recently. But that could be due to lighting. The breakage is clean and the ends are nearly perpendicular to the shaft, that is not easy to do. Wood that size and shape usually splits up the shaft and splinters alot when snapped.

That stick was fashioned to fit into something, I think; a holder.

[SuperDave]

"Just a thought: could the end which was missing have been that part of the paintbrush with which the perp inflicted the injury to JB's vagina? For no doubt that part would have had blood on it, so maybe it was indeed whittled away (or broken into smaller pieces) and the shavings were flushed down the toilet?"

Or burned. I seem to recall one of the cops mentioning something about the fireplace.

"So now we have the killer whittling to while away his time."

With a knife that only three people knew the location of.

"Ties in with the possibility that JR's black WOOL shirt fibers and PR's jacket fibers could have been taken from the parents' closet to implicate them, which closet was some distance from their sleeping area, separated by a door, stairway ( the straight stairs) , and a bathroom."

If they were in the closet at all. I have a little trouble picturing this scenario, when a simpler explanation is available.

[Toltec]

Two knives were found...a paring knife on the second-floor landing and the swiss army knife in the basement.

The paring knife could have been used to cut the cord since cord fibers were found on JonBenet's sheets.

The swiss army knife could have been used to cut the paintbrush...or perhaps score the paintbrush to help in breaking it.

I would find it hard to break a paintbrush in three pieces!

[shiloh]

Originally Posted by Toltec

I would find it hard to break a paintbrush in three pieces!

Artist paint brushes are often quite long. I have some that are 10 inches and one that is 12 inches.

Edited to say, this is measuring only the wooden portion, not including the bristles or the metal attachment. I'm sure there are some that are longer. I'll have to check in the craft store and see what's available.

[shiloh]

Originally Posted by Toltec

I would find it hard to break a paintbrush in three pieces!

Toltec: I agree. And I think that would be especially difficult for a scrawny 9-yr-old.

Seeker: Here's a better photo. http://www.acandyrose.com/179paint-tote.jpg