There are different versions of Burke being asleep/awake. Why should the parents need them, if there were nothing to hide? Part of BR's initial story contained the detail that he'd heard his mom "going psycho" downstairs. What time was that? If your tale begins untruthfully, continuing to be skeptical is logical.
What was the untruth here? If Burke was awake, pretending to be asleep and then didn't tell his parents about it, how were they supposed to know that?
The Rs invited people on the 26th in order to destroy the CS. John would do this a bit later when he brought the body from the WC.
Sure, that's one opinion.
The rind of the pineapple matched what was in the fridge.
I thought it was supposed to match that in the bowl? Either way, as Thomas himself admitted, it basically means it was the same kind of pineapple - fresh, not canned. They didn't test pineapple DNA.
Pineapple and milk was a favorite snack of the kids.
Well, a. no it wasn't. I've never seen anyone claim that it was a favorite of theirs, or even that they had it before at any point. It's a myth. Also b. there wasn't milk in the bowl. That factoid only started doing the rounds 20 years later, probably from people confusing the mold and the whiteness of the bowl with some form of dairy product (the bowl was left out for days before the pictures were taken).
It was not a random offering. The intruder(s) would have to have known this already, or asked JB what she wanted to eat, while she was being abducted. The fact is that Burke's fingerprints are on the bowl. It is not asserted usually that Patsy served it.
Yet there was a serving spoon in it. We can see the other evidence of the victim advocates' setup, like a plate with bagels, on the kitchen counter. A serving bowl with a serving spoon indicates that the bowl was meant for serving out of, not eating from.
If the NE is trash, what is the point in discussing it?
I didn't bring it up. I'd be happy in removing it from the discussion entirely.
DNA evidence per se proves nothing.
Staging: The duct tape was put over JonBenet's mouth after death.
Not impossible, though it should be said that Thomas admitted to not recalling if they ever did actual tests to be sure.
Staging: The white blanket was retrieved from the dryer to wrap JB.
We don't know that it was in the dryer that night.
Staging: JB was wiped down.
Staging: Pink Barbie nightgown laid on floor of WC.
But was that staging, or was that something the killer had thought to take with him, in case of a successful abduction?
Staging: JB's arms were tied too loosely to be restrained.
Didn't John say he attempted to remove the restraints when he found her?
Staging: The size 6s were removed.
Or she wore the size 12 she was found in.
Staging: The FF is fictitious.
Instead of picking holes in RDI, proponents of IDI ought to offer a clear narrative which takes into account the available evidence, and which adheres to a reasonable timeline. By what means did the intruders arrive at and depart from the house? Why did they take time to feed JonBenet? How did they know about and find the size 12s? And on and on...
There are a ton of variables depending on whether information has been acquired or relayed correctly - and depending on whether evidence was real or chimeras generated before or after the crime.
But sure, I'll have a go.
The intruder is a young man, likely blond and might be wearing glasses. My guess is that he was a student at Boulder University, but he could also be local. He has approached JonBenet at some point (he might have been a mall Santa), and told her Santa would make a secret visit after Christmas. He has no practical experience of a crime like this, but he has obsessed over it, watching movies and likely reading books, fantasizing about committing such a crime.
The intruder had watched the house from the alley, possibly for multiple nights. He might even have entered the house before that night, but it isn't necessary. On Christmas Day, he brings a bag with tape, cord, rope, perhaps a flashlight and other things, and waits in the alley. When he sees the Ramseys leave at 4:30-5 for the Whites, he decides to take his chance and enter early. He likely tries some doors, but enters through the basement window. If the suitcase was in the position Fleet White remembers, he might have stepped on it on his way down. Now he has the house all to himself, so he takes a tour, enjoying the transgressive nature of it. This is when he decides to write the note, using a pad he finds. Not having written a ransom note before, he fills it with lines he remembers from movies. He also adds surface details from what he finds in the house - John's 118000 bonus on his paystubs, the ties to Atlanta - then tears out the pages. He knows (from observation) that the room next to JonBenet's (John Andrew's room) is not occupied, and has a view of the garage, so after a while he retreats there to wait.
The Ramseys return at 8:30-9, and the intruder slips under John Andrew's bed with his bag. The Ramseys put the sleeping JonBenet to bed, while Burke has started fiddling with one of his toys alone. John goes and finds him, then helps him for a while before putting him to bed. The Ramseys retire ca 10:30 and the house goes quiet. The intruder, having waited until he thinks it's safe (some time around midnight, maybe an hour later), before slipping out. This next bit is solely a guess of mine, but I do think the intruder had some kind of Santa outfit - not a while thing, mind, but at least a hat and probably a beard. He puts it on, grabs his things and goes into JonBenet's room (there is a possibility that just before this is when he wrote the ransom note, by flashlight in the kitchen). Once inside, he lifts her up, hoping that if she wakes, the benign nature of his outfit as well as their secret promise would prevent her from reacting badly. He carries her down the spiral staircase (getting the pieces of garland in her hair), then down into the basement.
Here is where something either goes wrong or according to plan. He tries to subdue her with a stun gun, either before removing her from the house or assaulting her. He might also take this time to put the tape on her mouth (getting fibers from his Santa suit on it), but it doesn't work like in the movies, and she struggles and might even get a scream out. He ties her wrists together and fashions the garrotte using a paintbrush found beside him, strangling her. But again, it isn't as he expected - she claws at the garrotte and struggles, so he grabs a bat and bashes her over the head. The sexual assault happens somewhere around here, using another part of the paintbrush. His saliva mingles with a drop of blood in her panties. When he's sure she's dead, he pulls the panties up, takes his things along with the bat and leaves the basement. Left are red fibers and beaver fur from his Santa outfit, as well as black fibers from what he wore below. Agitation causes him to forget the rope in John Andrew's room, and possibly the flashlight on the kitchen counter. He walks out the butler door, leaving the bat beside it, before vanishing into the night.
The details and order of things could change, but I do believe something like this happened.
