What we know about Ransom Note

[MaryNo]

Here is a recent You Tube video with an Aussie analysing the linguistics of the Ransom Note:

VERY compelling! Thank you

 

[chaussome]

If JBR was murdered by an intruder, why was the ransom note in pristine condition without any creases or folds? If the note was written before the murder, it seems unlikely the murderer would leave it out in plain sight, on a desk or bench while he snatched JBR from her bed, carried her down several flights of stairs, carried out the crime then come back upstairs to lay out the note before leaving the house. If he wrote the note before the murder, would he have carried the note while he carried JBR downstairs? In that case the note would have been crumpled. So that either means (A) the ransom note was written before the murder and left out in plain sight while he crept through the house, snatched her from her bed, carried her down to the basement risking being caught red handed or someone waking up during the night and finding the note Or (B) the ransom note was written after the murder, leaving himself vulnerable to being caught writing a lengthy letter after having murdered a 6 year old child. I doubt a murderer would hang around the crime scene leaving himself vulnerable to being caught after murdering JBR by coming back up stairs to write the ransom note. He would have wanted to get out as quickly as possible. The more i think about it, there would be no benefit to the murderer to potentially expose himself by wasting time writing a 3 page note and walking to the middle of the house out in plain view to leave the note on the stairs. It doesn't make sense.

Interesting thought. It is important to point out that if one takes the risk of murdering someone inside his/her own home, I'm sure it is a walk in the park for that person to stealthily write a note in the home. In other words, if the killer was willing to murder poor JBR while other family members were asleep (presumably), he/she would have no qualms about sitting down to write a ransom note, and leave it in a convenient spot. I highly doubt that this was even a problem for the killer, as he/she was most likely a member of the family. If the family theory is the truth, the killer was probably comfortable hanging around at the crime scene, because the crime scene was unfortunately also the killer's home .

 

[Aquaman]

I do think Patsy wrote the note with John dictating some parts to her, I just can't figure out why they would. I don't think they had anything to do with the death or even that they knew she was dead.

 

[UKGuy]

I do think Patsy wrote the note with John dictating some parts to her, I just can't figure out why they would. I don't think they had anything to do with the death or even that they knew she was dead.

Aquaman,
They had to know she was dead, or thought she was as she likely fell into a coma so appeared dead?

The RN has stuff in it that looks like it is the result of John and Patsy brainstorming who to point to, possible motives, etc.

All intended as staging of course which is why the RN, by extension, is part of the wine-cellar crime-scene.

It was intended to point away from the bedrooms upstairs and down to the basement which JonBenet disliked as it was windy, cold and dirty.

One thing is for sure, that is Burke Ramsey never wrote the RN, so that leaves both parents as prime suspects and Patsy in particular, which is probably why so many think the case is PDI?

.

 

[Tadpole12]

hi all - I have another thought on the ransom note; I am a newbie, but have read and read and read so hopefully I can contribute to this forum positively. Others have wondered about the seemingly excessive spacing between words on the ransom note, and compared it to double computer spacing. My thought is a little different; a person that is usually right handed (PR), using her left hand to would not be used to writing w left hand whereby the word you have written is covered by your left hand, making the spacing between words hard to judge and thus potentially larger.
I tried it - My unnatural left hand writing has large spaces between words.
What do you think?

Heyya neednewhobbie.
Welcome newbie!
Newbie to the WS's site, and /or newbie to the JBR case?

" Others have wondered about the seemingly excessive spacing between words on the ransom note, and compared it to double computer spacing." - nnh

Oh, that's so interesting. Will have to find source, ty.
iirc voynich or hotyh, had measured spacing.

nnh,
When I write with my left hand, the spacing between words or within a word (ie prefix/ suffix) is comparable to my natural right hand.
I can easily recognize it as my handwriting.
The vertical slant differs by a few degrees.

When writing with my left, the issue is the baseline.
'W's have the odd first hump, that is raised from the baseline.
I raise my wrist when I write using my left; but if I draw the "rounded" 'W' as a shape, then both humps hit the baseline.
The tails of g's are erratic, and less rounded in my left.

But left or right handed I cross the 't's from left to right.

Right hand wRiting vs. left hand wRiting of one
peRson. a compaRative study
http://www.forensicscience.pl/pfs/94_Dziedzic.pdf

 

[Tadpole12]

Here is a recent You Tube video with an Aussie analysing the linguistics of the Ransom Note:

Re: Redpill's Mr Cruel theory
The aussie notes @ 1:58, 'Law Enforcement' is an American Terminology , "we don't even use that in Australia".

always interesting videos, ty jj.

 

[Newbie97]

1. Whoever wrote the note apparently knew about JR's Christmas Bonus. $118K is an oddly specific number.

2. Whoever wrote the note chose to refer to JR in a oddly familiar way halfway through: "John, don't try to grow a brain now."

3. Whoever wrote the note may have had a connection to JR during his time at the Philippines in the late 60's, during his naval service. (SBTC = Subic Bay Training Center.). And may well have been fellow military. ("Victory!")

So here's one possibility (unless PR was trying to point the finger at herself and JR with the ransom amount and familiar language):

JR may have become close to someone at Subic Bay. Perhaps someone who had been a combat veteran in Vietnam, which was raging during that period. It has been noted that some Navy Seals, like Senator Bob Kerrey, were put in positions during that ambiguous conflict where they had to kill civilians, even children, simply to stay alive. It has also been noted that some of those combatants (a small minority) had other psychological/mental problems, and found that they enjoyed acting in such a sadistic manner.

So, let's say that JR became close to a combat veteran like that at Subic Bay. Let's say that person looked up JR 25 years later in Boulder, and possibly began working at JR's defense contracting business. Let's say that person found out about JR's bonus, was in financial need, and requested a loan from JR. Let's say that JR turned him down. Let's say that the person snapped, and retaliated by breaking into JR's home, lying in wait, and eventually abducted, violated, and killed JBR in the basement.

A former navy seal would have no trouble abducting a small child and abusing her in the basement while the family slept upstairs. The same person could also calmly lie in wait in the home while the family was away, and decide to write a bogus ransom note to confuse investigators, copying elements of PR's handwriting to further confuse them. He could also add little clues to let John know who was actually the author, and the killer. (Like the "John, don't try to grow a brain" reference, and the "Victory! SBTC.")

So why wouldn't JR report this person to the police? It's possible that he and JR may have been involved in something illegal or even similar in the Phillipines, like the rape/murder of a prostitute. And that JR therefore couldn't go to the police without having the assailant reveal what he knew about JR.

This is all of course speculative. However, it does explain most of the loose ends in a way few other theories do.

 

[Tobiano8th]

Newbie, some good observations....

i think most people think the note was written by a woman (and of course, patsy is overwhelming candidate given that view)......... i don't know any 30+ male who would write "don't try to grow a brain" nor use a french grammar symbol on attache (of course, patsy named her daughter with a french grammar symbol)..

i have no idea what happened and RDI vs. not-RDI both have huge leaps of faith required........ but the one thing i feel strongly about is patsy and the ransom note. i might of course be wrong, but it seems obvious to me.

 

[Tobiano8th]

here's a question,

how many people would know the size of JR bonus? the $118k......... it would seem to me to be very small and often those few people would just know the approx. size.

of course, would the ramsey be so stupid (smart?) to put that in a fake ransom note?

so much bizarre behaviour underlies this case.

 

[Tobiano8th]

has anyone taken the ransom note and run it through an analytical engine that spits out a grade level for it?

i think the ransom note is extremely well-written and there are almost no words crossed out...... journalism major?

one thing that i've never seen notice is how straight the left margin is.......... again, professional writer? appearances being important?

did patsy really say "the paper looks familiar" when the police handed her a photocopy of the note? if so, arguably really bad thing to have said. you could argue it was the line pattern though

 

[Tobiano8th]

i was looking at a copy of the note........ the french mark on attache seems to bleed in the "y" above. am i just looking at a crappy copy of the note?.. my point is PR lawyer could say "there's no mark on attache"

 

[Tobiano8th]

why would ANYONE (RDI or IDI) put the $118k in the ransom note? really naive or staged?

 

[Catchem]

I think PDI makes most sense because it is obvious she authored the note. Aside from all the expert comparisons, the handwriting samples she provided intentionally differed from ransom note(in one case she wrote BAG and tomoRRow to contrast with ransom note where otherwise capitalization rules were followed; she used close word spacing and non-indent to contrast with ransom note; she was ambidextrous and an artist; in discovery deposition she feigned not recognizing her own handwriting, and how many people write those weird “a”s?)However, I don’t believe she authored the content of the ransom note. Only a male who is an action movie fan could have been the ghost writer for the ransom note. In 1995 before the murders is when Die Hard Vengeance ( where Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson haul *advertiser censored* all day to stop a terrorist act) and Speed (Keanu Reeves tries to stop bomb attack for ransom) came out. I would submit to you that JR has seen those movies and incorporated them into the ransom note. As a shrewd businessman he is obviously a master in crisis management. I surmise that JR is also a skilled chess or bridge player. All evidence shows his cool and level-headedness during kidnapping. From Die Hard Vengeance the themes of getting tired and carrying a attaché and foreign faction are copied. I think the purpose of the ransom note was that it was intended to be solved and the solution was simply that a crazed psychopath was playing games with no intention of keeping JonBonet alive. Who knows? Maybe STBC stands for Sixth Avenue Bonwit Teller Company ( the mall that was blown up in beginning of Die Hard) Incidentally, there was a Bonwit Teller store in Troy Michigan a few hours from where Ramsey’s had vacation home (if JR flew his plane regularly to Troy Municipal Airport he might be familiar with it). Anyways, bottom line is PR wrote and JR dictated.BR is just special needs kid who hid in bed while everything was going on. Why would parents send him to neighbors house where he could blab about what happened when police came?(however, it must be noted that that BR was sent to White house and both Whites were invited to Ramsey house so only grandma watching soap operas was babysitting 3 or more kids probably with instructions not to mention anything.) Also BR suggested JonBenét might have been stabbed???? Or hit with hammer during police interview. His movements indicated non-athletic and below average motor skills and coordination so I doubt he could generate enough force to crack a skull unless he got lucky shot. In summary, JR is ghostwriter and PR is secretary writing with left hand. Regardless of whether anyone goes to prison over this, JR and PR conspired to create misery for themselves and BR is oblivious (thank god he has ambulance chaser attorney LW in his corner). Grand jury needed to consider manslaughter for PR but prosectors working under BDI theory and hoping to get at least accessory after the fact (not a really serious crime) even if child abuse charge cleared. RIP JBR.Died 6 years young.

 

[Tobiano8th]

i've done alot of reading recently...... it seems like alot of knowledgible RDI people think JR was only involved up discovery of this ransom note in the morning.

but the ransom note references 3 movies, all of which would be considered male-oriented. maybe that's not right. dirty harry for sure......... the "ransom" references seem really innocuous........ did the "speed" saying exist before the movie? did it become famous on its own? i.e. you didn't need to have seen the movie......... the dirty harry quotes i would say suggest JR. but maybe not. i am a male but i've seen that movie 20 times probably. PR could have seen it a few times....... i guess maybe "ransom" and "speed" are mature family adventure movies. as said, the "ransom" references are very generic phrases.

 

[ACG2x]

1. Whoever wrote the note apparently knew about JR's Christmas Bonus. $118K is an oddly specific number.

2. Whoever wrote the note chose to refer to JR in a oddly familiar way halfway through: "John, don't try to grow a brain now."

3. Whoever wrote the note may have had a connection to JR during his time at the Philippines in the late 60's, during his naval service. (SBTC = Subic Bay Training Center.). And may well have been fellow military. ("Victory!”)

Good analysis and theories. A few thoughts:

1. Not necessarily. $118K was JR’s bonus, but also was an amount Jeff Merrick believed JR owed him and wouldn’t pay. It’s highly likely the $118K is a reference to the bonus, but not absolutely.

2. The entire note contains references that the author knows the Ramsey’s. They are subtle, but the author is letting them know ‘you may not know me, but I know you’.

3. Seen this a few times and it makes sense, however there wasn’t a Subic Bay Training Center. Or more specifically, the base wasn’t actually called that. Now it could just be another reference to ‘knowing’ the R’s because there was a naval training center in Subic Bay that JR was at and the author calls it that but those who trained there, including JR, wouldn’t call it SBTC.

I’ve long believed the note was written by the perp (not in the R family) as a red herring to throw LE off the scent. Get them going in a bunch of different directions while the perp got away with kidnapping JBR. I believe the perp knew the R’s on the fringes - aka know someone who knew someone - and was sexually obsessed with JBR.

The plan was to kidnap her but in the process of subduing her things went wrong and she was hit over the head causing brain damage. Perp then tried to put her out of her misery by using the garrote and hastily left, not thinking to go back to the spiral staircase and grab the note.

 

[fr brown]

....3. Whoever wrote the note may have had a connection to JR during his time at the Philippines in the late 60's, during his naval service. (SBTC = Subic Bay Training Center)....

As Steve Thomas pointed out in JonBenet, there is no Subic Bay Training Center. "Training Center" was appended to "Subic Bay" by the media. Nor was there a plaque or a photograph with "Subic Bay Training Center" on it.

 

[Tobiano8th]

interesting comments.......

to me SBTC was never Subic Bay........ "saved by the lord" makes more sense. very grandiose wording for the end of the letter...

who would know the $118k figure? very very few people, i'd think ..... and why would someone who knew it put in a note? would PR have known it? seems like alot of RDI investigator types think the first time JR knew anything about this is when PR woke him up after ransom letter discovery. i may be wrong about this JR part...... anyway, very very strange.......... and people are all over pedophile drifter as IDI, but to me the letter rules out all of these types.

 

[Tobiano8th]

this is probably lame comment but poirot always says something like "once you rule out all alternatives you have what happened".......... unfortunately, that's how i feel - justified ?? - on this case. IDI doesn't fit at all. RDI is hard to believe but it can easily fit the evidence.

 

[Tobiano8th]

this might be asking too much but can someone do a brief "cliff notes" on PR finding the ransom note, showing it to JR and somebody moving it at some point?

if the R's are involved, how hard is it to get that right?....... or was PR caught in some inconsistency? (i guess it may tie into not showering and/or wearing same clothes as the day before i.e. she didn't legitimately "find" the note so her professed movements make no sense)

if the R's aren't invovled in JBR death/cover-up/note, their behaviour should have no inconsistencies.

i don't understand how something so germaine can be so complex.

thanks in advance

 

[Tobiano8th]

i'm answer my own question partially, but maybe things are harder to fake than we think. we don't actually naturally so we miss stuff