Why doesn't anyone think it could've been John.

[Meara]

Cranberry hit a tech Issue trying to post the photos she mentioned, but we made a workaround. Here they are, and thanks to Cranberry!

 

[Rain on my Parade]

borndem, after I replied to you some puzzling details came to mind, so I'm going to modify my previous comment with respect to the location and put some questions out to the forum in general. Thanks for bringing up this subject!

Investigators have said that the events leading to JBR's death most likely started in the kitchen. To me, it's important that they don't think they started in JBR's bedroom or any other upstairs room, or in the basement. But, why the kitchen and not the Breakfast Room, where the bowl of pineapple and empty tea glass were found? Does anyone know what evidence made them decide on the kitchen?

Also, crime scene images show a pillow inside a pillowcase on the central kitchen counter. The image below is a screenshot from BPD's crime scene video:

(view from the Breakfast Room looking toward the kitchen)

It appears to be a standard size pillow. Can anyone confirm?

On a different thread, a WS member said the pillow came from BR's bed, although crime scene images are inconclusive on this point. Can anyone clarify?

One might assume that the pillow was in that location when police arrived on the morning of 12/26. However, we know that many things in the kitchen got moved around during the day, and that the crime scene videos weren't filmed until the night of 12/26. Therefore, it's unclear whether the pillow was there when police first arrived and might be related to the crime, or was placed in that location at a later time and is unrelated to the crime. Can anyone clarify?

If the pillow was found in the kitchen when police arrived on the morning of 12/26, was that a factor in their conclusion that events leading to JBR's death began in the kitchen? Can anyone confirm/elaborate?

Thanks in advance to members for any answers or insights.

Rain on my Parade,
The pillow was on a table in the Kitchen area and definitely did not look like it had a beauty and the beast pillowcase.

Meaning the one in her bedroom complete with bloodstain suggests JonBenet's head or body was on that pillow, suggesting something took place in her bedroom, surprise, surprise.

Which bedroom could the Kitchen pillow have come from?

Might be Patsy was given a hint where the questioning might be going prior to being interviewed, saying she cannot see any blood is almost incriminating given she is then asked about nosebleeds, etc.

IMO JonBenet was redressed in her bedroom and possibly whacked on the head there, resulting in the blood on the pillow, along with other items, that Patsy cleaned and removed, hence she thinks there are no bloodstains in the room.

Since her Pink Barbie Nightgown is stained with her blood, this suggests she may have been wearing it in her bedroom, hence why it was dumped in the wine-cellar?

.

 

[CloudedTruth]

I too think it's most likely that whatever happened began in JB's bedroom. But that's kind of inconvenient to the aspect of everyone being sound asleep and not hearing a thing, in particular Burke whose bedroom was on the same floor.

When they moved JB to the basement, they also moved some things from her bedroom, the pink Barbie nightgown and her blanket. Both items had blood on them. Had they left them in her bedroom, that would be a sure sign that at least part of what happened that night occurred in her bedroom. IMO they moved these items to the basement to support their premise that the basement was where everything happened....which was located far enough away from the rest of the "sleeping" family to support their claims of not hearing anything. Why the pillow with a spot of blood was left in the kitchen is interesting. An oversight maybe? Some things just didn't make a lot of sense, but I think they just ran out of time.

 

[Meara]

Following up on my commitment to find sources for the “started in the kitchen” theory, I found it mentioned on p. 559 of PMPT (Kindle ed. ) that in the early weeks of the investigation this was the theory favored by detectives working the case. I’m not arguing for it, just saying this is what Schiller reported. I’ll keep looking.

 

[ispywithmylittleeye]

I am not anywhere near as knowledgeable about the case as a lot of you so have mercy on me but on the night of the homicide, Patsy would have been weak from having undergone chemo. Also, in the CBS series demo, the child who plays Burke is repeatedly striking a skull replica that remains upright and immobile. The actor wails on the faux skull continuously until he gets the desired result and again, the skull replica doesn't topple.

Wouldn't the only adult male who was present in the home be the one most likely to have had the physical strength to have delivered the head blow?

There are too many unknown factors to make that assumption IMHO. We dont know what the actual murder weapon was, we dont know the positioning of JB or the assailant. For example, if JB was restrained on the floor, and BR was standing over her, his strength, the weight of the weapon, all play into how much damage would occur. Think of a can of peas falling on your foot from the bottom shelf, then think of the same can of peas falling from the roof on your head. Its the same little can but a huge difference in injuries.

 

[Lebowski]

one specific mental image i've gotten from time to time is BR throwing the flashlight down the stairs at her, and the added force of it hitting her from that height contributing to the head injury.

i've seen siblings do things like that, not intending to kill them or even imagining they might do so. similar things happened in my house growing up (no serious injuries). kids argue and sometimes they throw stuff and sometimes the stuff they throw is more dangerous than they realize.

this scenario makes it easier to account for BR producing that amount of force. it also makes it easier to account for how the flashlight itself apparently encountered enough force to bust open. what makes me say it busted open? well why were the flashlight batteries wiped down? also, IIRC, there was a puddle of urine at the bottom of the stairs (?), which IIUC could be consistent with her either dying there (from the strangulation) or receiving the head injury there.

 

[borndem]

It was Patsy's hand writing... so she was at least involved. I think it was 100% her

Certainly some, all 3, or one were/was involved...
I still think that the pineapple business had something to do with it, i.e., Burke was in the kitchen/breakfast area eating the pineapple, and here comes his sister, wanting some of the pineapple.
Burke refused and probably hit her with the flashlight -- not to kill her, but just to get her away from his pineapple. She fell and her head was split open when she hit the floor.
So now it starts... What can the parents do now?
They start to make things look like an outsider did it. Patsy's long note was done in her agony, and she just couldn't stop writing and writing.
They had a lot of work to do -- so they figured a way to make it look like some outsider did it.

This case will never, IMO, be solved.