One thing that requires an explanation is the ransom sum of $118,000. This is a very specific but very odd amount. There are numerous theories to explain it. Most commonly people point to JR's Christmas bonus of around $118,000 suggesting that the note's author must have known he received this amount. Others, less plausibly, see a sinister allusion to Psalm 118. I'd like to contribute another point of view here. It may have been put forward before - I'm new to this case.
The clue is in the subsequent division of the sum into $100,000 in $100 notes and $18,000 into $20. Why this requirement from the so-called "kidnappers"? The answer is this - the actual ransom amount is $100,000, and on top of this is money for "expenses" or "spending money". The $100,000 is to be stashed while the $18,000 in easily disposable, inconspicuous $20 notes is to be spent, probably on the task of stashing the $100,000 somewhere safe and on the kidnapper's get-away. That is why the money is to be broken up into those amounts.
Moreover, the sum of $18,000 is for *three* people. Why 18,000? Because 18 is divisible by three. The note reports three people - the author and the "two gentlemen". Each of these three require $6000 in $20 notes as immediate cash. That is the calculation that is implicit in the ransom note. The kidnappers, it says, want $100,000 plus $6000 each = $118,000. This is how that odd amount has been calculated.
I don't think the sum the "kidnappers" demand has anything to do with JR's bonus that year - or Psalm 118. But it may have something to do with the fact that the Ramsey's offered exactly $100,000 as a reward. That is, they offered what the note actually demanded, $100,000, ignoring the $18,000 additional cash.
I don't believe this is a forensics or a DNA case. The evidence is too meager and too contaminated. I'm inclined to think we have to use good old-fashioned detective techniques and start with the solid evidence we have. We have the ransom note and the body. I'm concentrating on the ransom note and the autoposy report. Both solid facts. The ransom note in particular is a gold-mine. The War-and-Peace of all ransom notes as someone said. Three whole pages in which the author has time to give themselves away. And the first thing I want to say about the ransom note is that the amount of $118,000 goes with the claim that there are three people involved. They want $100,000. And they need an extra $6000 each in spending money.
That's how I read it. Anyone care to exchange views on the ransom note in this thread?
New here. Hi to all. Plenum7.
The clue is in the subsequent division of the sum into $100,000 in $100 notes and $18,000 into $20. Why this requirement from the so-called "kidnappers"? The answer is this - the actual ransom amount is $100,000, and on top of this is money for "expenses" or "spending money". The $100,000 is to be stashed while the $18,000 in easily disposable, inconspicuous $20 notes is to be spent, probably on the task of stashing the $100,000 somewhere safe and on the kidnapper's get-away. That is why the money is to be broken up into those amounts.
Moreover, the sum of $18,000 is for *three* people. Why 18,000? Because 18 is divisible by three. The note reports three people - the author and the "two gentlemen". Each of these three require $6000 in $20 notes as immediate cash. That is the calculation that is implicit in the ransom note. The kidnappers, it says, want $100,000 plus $6000 each = $118,000. This is how that odd amount has been calculated.
I don't think the sum the "kidnappers" demand has anything to do with JR's bonus that year - or Psalm 118. But it may have something to do with the fact that the Ramsey's offered exactly $100,000 as a reward. That is, they offered what the note actually demanded, $100,000, ignoring the $18,000 additional cash.
I don't believe this is a forensics or a DNA case. The evidence is too meager and too contaminated. I'm inclined to think we have to use good old-fashioned detective techniques and start with the solid evidence we have. We have the ransom note and the body. I'm concentrating on the ransom note and the autoposy report. Both solid facts. The ransom note in particular is a gold-mine. The War-and-Peace of all ransom notes as someone said. Three whole pages in which the author has time to give themselves away. And the first thing I want to say about the ransom note is that the amount of $118,000 goes with the claim that there are three people involved. They want $100,000. And they need an extra $6000 each in spending money.
That's how I read it. Anyone care to exchange views on the ransom note in this thread?
New here. Hi to all. Plenum7.