Principles only, please

[bensmom98]

Actually, the biggest lift is from Ruthless People, a comedy Bette Midler made. Bette Midler is not known for her 'guy' type movies. Many are refered to as 'chick flicks.' This would be one of them. Another lift is from Ransom with Mel Gibson. I watched it. I enjoyed it. I don't have a photographic memory, but some people do. It's rumoured that Patsy is one of them. She is supposed to have done a whole scene from a play - Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, I've been told, for her talent in one of the pageants she was in. I think the other line is from a Sandra Bullock movie - the one about the bus. Just saw Ms Congeniality II and I enjoyed this as well.

So, you're going to have a hard sell to convince me that the author was a male and watched 'guy' type movies and memorized the lines. Also, the above are marketed to the biggest piece of the market - babyboomers!

As for 'beheaded' - the only thing I remember about he movie the Godfather - which I don't think I ever even saw, was the horses head in the bed! Does this mean I'm not a woman? Whoda thunk?

Well there you go. I saw all those movies, but never picked up on any of the quotes in the RN. I assumed incorrectly that they were less "mainstream" movies. I have a friend (a woman) who can remember things from movies. I can't unless I have seen it like 100 times.

I still think beheaded would be a pretty unfemale thing to say, unless of course you are trying to sound like a small foriegn faction or a vicious killer.

So, I guess maybe I'm all wet!! :loser: I am certainly not conceding that Patsy was the author.

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

Hey Twilight,

I'm sorry, but it seems like your posts indicate you're pointing fingers at a family member, and thats beyond the scope of this thread.

Sorry.

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

Beheading is a very significant expression in the note. Bad guys kidnap, murder, and hold people for ransom all the time without threatening to behead anyone.

I have always felt that words spoken or written are indications of possible actions, so I would have taken the threat seriously.

By the way, statistically speaking, the chances of any ransom note writer being male is far greater than female. Statistics greatly favor a male writer.

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

I believe the writer is Asian because

1. The small case 'f' in the first paragraph starts out OK, and then gradually but definitely deteriorates, and by the end of the paragraph, the small case 'f' looks more like Asian calligraphy. The small case 'f' in 'follow' isn't sloppy, jittery, or disguised. Its ornate.
2. If the thought of a beheaded child ever occurred to you, chances are you either saw it or heard of it before (not an original thought). In this case, you are more likely from a war torn part of the world. Areas like Cambodia, Vietnam, or Korea have been more exposed to that sort of thing.
3. The expresson 'Victory!" was more than just a word used in the note. It was an exclamation, closing the note. This exclamation comes over from Asia like a rocket. I believe "Victory!" meant victory in revolution, or victory in battle. "Harks back to foreign powers" is what FBI profiler Clint VanZandt said about this expression in the note, according to the article I read.

This is only my opinion.

 

[twilight]

holdontoyourhat... I was simply pointing out a female that uses the word 'Victory.' You said it didn't happen. Well, it does. Again I ask do you have support for your opinion that only males use this word? Have you checked a corpus, or read studies?

Now, the beheading thing. Think back to the summer of 1996. What was the biggest news story in America. OJ. And what was the common description of what was done to Nicole - why, my heavens wasn't she so badly cut that she was almost beheaded? Now tell me that Patsy Ramsey who helped pioneer a $Million$ software business from the basement of her home in Atlanta did not have the computer skills to follow the OJ stuff. Yeah, right.

I don't know what you're on about the 'f's'. Asian alphabet is not the same as English alphabet. Their script is very ornate and decorative. The 'f's' in the ransom note vary from beginning to end and back again. This is a sign of deception and disguised handwriting. People do not change the way they make letters unless they are trying to fool the reader. Now, why would some stranger - Asian, no less - have to fool the Ramseys or the police. And if you're the only person the Ramseys know from outside of the USofA, why point a finger at yourself. 'We're all Americans here except for him. Yep, I did it and I called myself a 'foreign faction' to fool everyone.' Now that's sure clever.

Only someone who knew they would be suspect would conceal their handwriting. It's a no brainer. I don't know who your FBI source is, but he's a little out of step with the rest of the opinions, is he not? Oh, except for John Douglas who can't seem to get it right, or straight, or something. Wrapped, unwrapped, over, under - all have meaning, but the meaning seems to change if the most likely perps have...well, never mind - I'm sure he means well - it's just very confusing.

And your point about the exclamation at the end of the note, is what? To me, it is a reminder that a foreign faction did this. So, all you have to do is guess which one. Funny thing they didn't say. Guess they didn't really want credit for this...but then why do it? I have no idea if Asians use victory...but English speaking people sure do - even Americans, both male and female.

 

[KatherineQ]

"Beheaded" IS a very weird thing to say. In the last year or so, with all the horrific beheadings going on in Iraq, it doesn't seem so out of place, but before that I only thought of beheading in the context of King Henry XIII's wives. In the same context you'd think of a garrotte.

At the time JonBenet was killed, "beheading" wasn't taken in the same context it is now in the US.

I don't think of it in an Asian context, but a century's old archaic punishment.

 

[twilight]

But if you're going to move away from the pristine border of the US into 'foreign factions' where such barbaric things do sometimes happen - I guess when no one will sell them guns, why didn't these beasties do the deed?

They would have to have been Americans, right? Because unlike the rest of the world, Americans would find it just too yucky, right? And the closer you move to the victim, presumably, the yuckier the perp would find the actual deed. One thing to talk about - quite something else to do - unless of course, you're very very mad at a former spouse. But to a little kid?

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

Twilight-- your post said:

" People do not change the way they make letters unless they are trying to fool the reader. "

If you are learning to write in English, you may tend to start out concentrating on correct formation, but your concentration comes and goes. Bad habits take over. You're assuming that the variation is caused deliberately and not accidentally.

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

Author's Education

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

I believe the author's composition are at an adult level of education, between high school and college. The choice of words I believe indicate an experienced, albeit psychotic, adult. However, the writing ability seems way down there at elementary school level. I believe this difference can be attributed to English having been learned as a 2nd language by an adult.

The handwriting isn't jittery sloppy or disguised, its simply of poor quality. Reading the note from a calligraphers standpoint must be like listening to bad violin.

In other words, the composition and choice of words says educated, while the handwriting appears unrefined and inexperienced.

 

[twilight]

holdontoyourhat... can you print? I can. I can print tidy. I can print sloppy. I can vary my letters. I can change the slope and slant. Consistency is the tricky part. I have to remember every little variation I make. If I print as I normally do, I can just go with the flow. My letters will be consistent.

English is my first language. American is my second... just kidding.

English second language persons learn to print or write just as you
or I would. They would not vary the way they made an 'f'. They would make it the way they were taught to make it - either a hoop top down, or a hoop bottom up with a cross. Where they place the cross is probably significant.

If you look at the 'f's' in 'foreign' and 'faction' it is quite apparent that there is an effort being made to alter the handwriting. These two words belong together. It is highly unlikely that much time transpired between the penning of one and the penning of the other. Yet note - the top hoop of the first 'f' is rounded, the second is more of an angle. The first is crossed half way up and the second is crossed almost at the bottom. The first almost touches the 'o' that follows. The second is above and away from the 'a' that follows.

Now scoot to the end of the paragraph - 'follow.' The 'f' is angled at the top like in 'faction' but the cross touches the 'o' like in 'foreign.' See, even to my untrained eye, it is not hard to see that there is cross-over in style indicating an attempt to deceive. Go way to the end 'fat cat' and you've got the rounded top again and crossed in the center it touches the 'a'. Remember in 'faction' it was crossed low and raised above the 'a'.

It's hard to fool people into believing you are English second language. It seems easy, but often the clues are very subtle. For instance, sometimes the grammar is correct, but semantic attitudes give the writer away. Or habits that the writer is not even aware of get into the mix. I have successfully identified English second language from a grammatically correct text and English first language from a grammatically incorrect text. I amazed the person who provided the grammatically correct text challenge.

The Ramsey ransom note was written by someone who spoke fluent English and was an American. She had post-secondary education and revealed a lot of attitudes toward life in this note. She was and is Patsy Ramsey.

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

Suppose English is your 2nd language. You're going to be more proficient writing in your first language, are you not?

No matter what, the characteristics of your writing in your first language are going to manifest themselves in your attempt at writing in your 2nd language. Its like a battle between what you have learned about how to write in your 2nd language and your tendencies carried over from your habits writing in your first language.

IMO the variations in the ransom note are not due to masking, but are instead due to the writer's first language tendencies periodically overtaking an attempt at correct English writing form.

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

Author's character

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

Who says:

"immediate execution"

or

"beheaded"

IOW, into what character do these terms have a place, or an application?

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

a·bys·mal
adj.

1. Resembling an abyss in depth; unfathomable.
2. Very profound; limitless: abysmal misery.
3. Very bad: an abysmal performance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The author of the note threatens to behead a child. The author's thoughts seem to have no lower boundary, so you could say the author's character is abysmal.

Actually killing a child is way down there in the abysmal character department also, so the author is probably the killer too. It seems unlikely there are 2 characters so abysmal in the same place at the same time. The 'two gentlemen' part of the story may be real, but I believe the killer is the author.

 

[sissi]

Who says:

"immediate execution"

or

"beheaded"

IOW, into what character do these terms have a place, or an application?

Shakespeare drama/ various operas

hmmm?

edit to add..was the Mikado playing in Boulder Dec. '96?

Okay guys you aren't taking me seriously...maybe the play was being presented at Boulder U?

"
The Mikado demands an immediate execution or else the city will revert to the status of village.Nanki-Poo volunteers to be beheaded at once, but Ko-Ko says he can't kill anybody--he has never even killed a fly"

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

I believe you may be right on a connection to opera. The perp seems to be into theatrics with all the superfluous wording, 'Victory!" and all that.

What about reality though? IOW, into what type of character do the concepts of immediate execution and beheading have a real application?

 

[sissi]

When I think theatrics (within this case) I think Santa. Who else , involved in this child's life , acted on stage as well as acted "real" life. For heavens sake this wasn't "miracle on 34th st", this guy "took on " his characters. Wasn't it a play that brought about the growth of the beard and long hair . I forgot the name, maybe it was "fiddler on the roof"?

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

Destructive character

Consider that it was probably not necessary to fracture JonBenet's skull, given the ligature. Add to that the broken paintbrush and the beheading threat. IOW, the expressions and actions making up the crime seem to have a particularly destructive character, as though the crime was more a release of anger.

 

[sissi]

Would that depend on when the note was written? The expression of anger?
Would a person to whom words came easily be able to put this note together very quickly, after the murder?

If someone went into that house with one intent, and things turned ugly, not at all what the fantasy dictated, could the anger be aimed toward the child?

The uncooperative child , the unloving, non compliant child, deserved to die, because she wasn't the icon of an angel that he had built "in his head". After all, she presented herself as an angel, then turned out to be a feisty ,screaming ,kicking mortal. Would a sociopath blame the child for not living up to his fantasy, and unleash all of his anger on her, killing her as one expression, then creating that note during a calming down phase as another expression. A kind of "I'm blameless" note, with the theme as "don't cooperate ,she dies", however she was already dead, as she didn't "cooperate". Is not cooperating with the killer the theme, the theme being excuses , a way of saying it was someone elses fault she died? In this case her own?

The note started off shakey, then as the writer relaxed ,the handwriting did as well? Would that not be indicative of the adrenaline levels falling after the murder? IF the note was created before the murder should we expect the writing to have any differences from beginning to end?