Cops aren't stupid. John was cleared of writing the note for a reason. The thing with the Internet is that there is no end of people that think they are smarter than the experts. I think it is fair to second guess people like Kolar because much of what they say is only their theory based on the evidence, and thus, they could be mistaken. But one would hope that the experts that cleared John of writing that note did not use guesses, theories or gut feelings to come to their conclusions. So IMO, as a sleuth, I try not to question the findings of individual experts just so it suits my theory a little better.
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You sound like me in a nutshell. I have difficulties settling on a specific theory because to build a theory you must leave key things out so it makes sense but the main reason I do not write out some long theory on what I believe happened is due to us not having all the information.
KOlar does make some interesting observations and for anyone here who has not bought his book for whatever reason, it is worth the purchase just for his observations of the basement sequence alone. Maybe I'm a bit biased as I always felt that is one of THE key pieces to solving this murder and Kolar did a great job pointing out issues I always had with what happened down there that morning/afternoon. He loses me when he goes too far with his BDI theory.
It's still a great book though.
If memory serves me correctly, Kolar denied that a doll was in the WC even though we can see it ourselves in that grainy pic. Glad I had bought his book before knowing that or I wouldn't have bought it on principle. There is enough confusion in this case without someone in his position muddying already muddy waters. Like I said before, I don't think we were supposed to see that pic so maybe he had to deny it.
Imagine you're a kid and your grandma goes to a thrift store and brings you back one of those 100 piece jigsaw puzzles. You open the box and there are only 30 pieces. You try to put it together anyways.
That is the JBR case for sleuthers.
Many sleuthers over the years make a lot of great points, excellent debates, killer research, etc. but it doesn't change the fact that we are missing many pieces of the puzzle.Hopefully more of these pieces are revealed later this year. These various shows coming out in the fall will have to bring something new to the table.
I agree completely, there's no way John wrote it. The female tone all over it, the similarity to the family album captions, the similarity to Patsy's unmasked hand writing, the use of her expressions, her sudden switch to typing after the murder, the details pile up.
I read long ago that the writer avoided using Jonbenéts name through out the note, probably as an attempt to distance themselves from her, not to bring her imagine to mind by mentioning her name directly. As if the writer wanted nothing more to do with her. Considering the reason was the child was probably already dead or dying when it was written, creating a state of shock in the writer, for me it is a deeply disturbing document.
Not only is there distancing in the note, there was distancing in the 911 call and pretty much from that moment forward.
You can count on your fingers how many times these people referred to her by name. It is always "that child" or "my daughter".
The change in tone...the tiny slips in hand writing, it makes me wonder if it was written in one sitting and a little fatigue started to kick in, or if it was written in two sessions while something else was done in the middle.
I might disagree on that although I do see your point.
I sense urgency in the note which is a bit ironic due to its length. I have said many times that the pictures we have never seen will tell a story. We just don't know what that story is.
This ransom note also has a story to tell but even though we do see this note, we are unsure of what its writer is really saying. Yes I know its staging, inauthentic, etc. but there is something else underneath the paradoxical layer of the note. JOhn Douglas(yeah I know he has his haters here but I like him) always said this note is the most crucial piece of evidence in the case. I always disagreed with that but maybe he realizes there's something inside this note that no one has figured out yet so that is what makes it so crucial.
This note did its job too well.
I never noticed that before.
The RN takes on a different tone starting with "Any deviation..."
The note is bizarre. As I said before, it will be analyzed for centuries.
I would have loved to know the FBI's first thoughts on reading it besides the fact they said she was already dead.
It starts out as a pretty much standard(yet lengthy) ransom note. Then it takes a detour into the Twlight Zone. When Jonbenet gets discussed, it is with coldness, distance, and IMO rage. You don't discuss potentially beheading someone you genuinely love and I don't buy the excuse from some that this term was used only to convey the fact that there are neck injuries. The next detour the note takes is its most bizarre....a mocking, twisted, stand up comedy routine aimed specifically at John. IMO the final third section of the note reveals how dysfunctional this family really was and says something about John and Patsy's relationship. Mr. Big CEO Man with all his power, influence, and control is having those things ripped away from him as the note winds down. His involvement or lack thereof in the murder and/or writing of the note does not change this. Even if he himself approved of the contents of the note he must see what Patsy is doing. There is a power play going on within the note....whether intentional or subconscious is beside the point.
I would not be surprised in the least if a very heated argument/domestic dispute was occuring as the note was being written. If not, it most certainly happened after he read it. The alpha male's ego is being bruised and he would not have taken that lightly.
Some may think my opinions on the note are hogwash and that's fine. I do not claim to be an expert on the ransom note and have avoided many discussions on the note since then because I see it for what it is(disingenuous, staging, etc.) and nothing but rabbit holes await its reader whether the person reading it is FBI, Secret Service, BPD, my grandma, or a new member of a crime forum.
As you can see by this post, I just jumped into its rabbit hole.
The writer, if it were not the Ramsey's, couldn't be sure they'd even find the note by 10am Dec 26
GREAT point and IMO this issue with the note is one of their biggest mistakes and they should have been called on it during those interviews. Where Patsy claims the note was found is absurd. Yes I know that its where the housekeeper would leave notes for Patsy and vice versa but it is still a huge mistake. If the note is genuine(its not), what happens if Burke wakes up, thinks its worthless, a piece of garbage, or even Jonbenet's scribbling or homeworl assigment, and throws it in the trash? What if John comes down the stairs, thinks its one of the kids, and just kicks it aside?
The fact they claim that is where the note was found tells us they knew exactly what it was before even touching it.....which they did so very delicately. It was treated as such because they themselves knew the contents of the note. A woman who will do cartwheels over a note so as not to touch it before she even knows what it says and a man who will get on his knees in his underwear to read it without picking it up is so revealing......yet they never had to answer for this bizarre behavior. Shame on every single person involved in those interviews.
It's similar to how the RN emphasizes not to tell the police or anyone, and the Ramsey's read it and call everyone immediately.
I give them a free pass on this because any parent would call the cops if their child is kidnapped. Calling 911 is to be expected. On the other hand, calling so many others is definitely an oddity in the case, and they should have focused a bit more on who they did NOT call to the house.
I can understand calling your best friend over to help you but they went overboard and its inexcusable that the cops did not make these people leave or confine them all to one room.
Good point on the whole issue of "tomorrow" and this has been debated since the ransom note was published and will continue to be. I am in the group that believes too much focus is placed on this and its obvious that the writer meant THAT specific day. Having said that, a case can be made that it meant the 27th....but I disagree. You and Servant pointed out how much emphasis is placed on "early"...too much emphasis IMO and it once again goes back to the sense of urgency in the note itself. The writer of the note wants to get this freak show a rolling, move on with their lives so to speak, yet some people think they wanted this dragged out an extra day?
I strongly disagree. I think they were expecting the cops to find her body minutes after they arrived and were shocked that it didn't happen. Then they start winging it, John goes off the grid, and Patsy just sits and waits for the inevitable horror to come.
I wonder if there are any notes from first interviews with police that morning about whether PR and JR expressed any confusion about the timing or any regret/concern about having called the police.
Good question.
According to Arndt, when the 10 am deadline hit, no one in the house acknowledged its passing.
