The Maglite really makes me wonder. The Rs didn't recognize it, but they would have tried to claim to not recognize JonBenet herself if that would have made them look less guilty.
They owned a flashlight very similar, if not the same.
The Maglite at the scene had been thoroughly wiped down, including the batteries inside, which indicates to me that it may have very well been the instrument that fractured JonBenet's skull.
The hardest thing for an RDI like me (I subscribe closely to ST's theory - I believe she was hit first then strangled, but what hit her?) to figure out is - if the killer was a Ramsey, why would s/he have the flashlight on hand to crack JB's skull with, if indeed that was the item?
Perhaps Patsy went to have JonBenet use the toilet during the night as was her custom and had the flashlight for that, instead of turning on lights when people are asleep. But then I think, wasn't there a bathroom right off JonBenet's room? Was it Burke's custom to have his bedroom door shut while he was sleeping? Would having a light on even have bothered him?
What about JonBenet's personal flashlight? I believe I read, and I'll go check DOI as soon as I get done with this, that JB had a flashlight in her room that was kept there for if she needed it.
Now I keep wondering about the sequence of events. I used to think JB was strangled, then hit...then I changed my mind and now I think it looks more like she was hit and then strangled. If she was strangled first then I could see the flashlight - the killer choked her near to death and then got the flashlight in consciousness of guilt and desire to be secretive and then cracked her head...but if she was hit first and then strangled, I have to wonder how the flashlight, if indeed the weapon, plays into it.
Sorry to ramble but there's so much endless odd stuff about this case that I can't help but ponder it all again and again.