(snipped)
If the wrist cord was placed over the handle that was placed into a holder above the head the torso would be raised vertically and the arms would be raised up close to the position the artist's rendering depicts them.
IMO
The artist's rendering you are referring to was done from the AR description and "police sources" (according to the artist) before any photos were leaked. It has several things we know now are wrong -- including the position of her arms. There is a long discussion about this at FFJ starting [ame="http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10197"]here[/ame]. In particular, look at
cynic's post [ame="http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showthread.php?p=193872#post193872"]here[/ame] where he tried to adjust the right arm position closer to what is shown in the coroner's photos.
The boxers position (or pugilistic position, or equestrian position) of the arms is more a reaction to heat than a normal body response during rigor mortis. It is fairly uncommon unless a person has died in a house fire or their body exposed in some way to extreme heat.
(Read about Joseph Goebbels body or search for images of it if you have the stomach for it.) For the muscles to dry to the point of contraction without extreme heat, it would take days -- not hours.
Extreme heat causes rapid drying of the muscle tissue and tendons, therefore shrinkage -- which results in contraction of the limbs. If youve ever cooked some kind of meat (which is of course muscle tissue) in the oven or in a pan and seen it curl one way or another, youve seen this very thing happen because of the difference in the rate of shrinkage.
I dont think the position of JonBenets arms had anything to do with anything other than their having been in that position during the process of rigor mortis. If her body was temporarily posed with her arms suspended, unless they were held there long enough for rigor to occur, they would go back to a more natural position after she was taken down -- unless they were kept above her head by the cord between them (which would have nothing to do with her having been "posed").
Also, if you look at the picture of the
knot left on her right wrist, it is obvious it was never used to support half her body weight. Had she been suspended by her wrists, the knot (a capsized square knot) would not be as loosely tied as it is.