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The Ramsey Case, Continued:
b) It is a riddle:
Taken at face value the note doesn't make sense. It seems to be saying that John is being targeted
through his daughter because his country has ticked off some foreign group. Why? What would be
the connection? There is none. The motive for the crime is revenge. Everything else is a smoke screen.
The writer is proud of his intellect. The note is meant to taunt investigators in a game of wits. It is
meant to torment John Ramsey. The "mastermind" is offering several clues as a challenge that demon-
strate, to him at least, his superiority. He dares us to solve the riddle. The note may reveal his motive.
It is apparent that the writer knows quite a lot about John, or at least wants to give that impression.
$118,000: The amount of John's deferred comp. bonus. Who would be most envious or angry at his
receiving this amount of money? One angry employee thought Access Graphics owed him $118,000.
John had fired him and then sometime later took a $118,000 bonus. Did this make the employee
mad enough to want revenge? Apparently, anyone who had access to John Ramsey's desk could
have seen this amount printed on one of his check stubs, as well as seen the picture of an aircraft
carrier with the label "Subic Bay Training Center" ( the title of the picture according to the house
cleaning lady ) above the desk. In fact, the place wasn't commonly called that but the writer
wouldn't know that would he?
1:18: Per Jameson, this is the minute that Perry, in the book In Cold Blood, was executed. There are
many parallels between the Clutter family and the Ramseys. Ref: http://www.jameson245.com. She
thinks that the figure might allude to this event as several aspects of the crime seem to be modeled
on that book. "S.B.T.C." could then possibly mean "Staged By Truman Capote."
Psalm 118: verse 17 concerns healing which was meaningful to Patsy as it concerns her healing from
cancer. She has been very verbal about this. The story had been published in a national magazine.
The killer probably knew this, and may have known also that verse 27 concerned the binding of a
sacrifice to the altar. Perhaps the killer concluded that JonBenet must be the sacrificial lamb for what
John had done to him. The housekeeper said that John kept his Bible open to this psalm all the time.
I suspect this was because of his wife's healing and her daily reading of that particular Psalm during
her chemotherapy.
Foreign Faction: There is no foreign faction. What the killer is saying is "don't suspect a local con-
spiracy." (Or, if the Celtic sacrifice theory is correct, it might refer to the Druid origins of England).
So many references to on tv kidnapping movies, one that played that night, and one that had been
on a month, and "Ransom", making this so obviously a fake. So many allusions to John's life. Do you
get it? Would you write a letter like this to protect yourself if you were guilty?
c) It is meant to torment John:
The writer relishes having control over John. John do this. John do that. The writer throws out all
these references to John's life to demonstrate he is omniscient, more powerful than he. Deep resent-
ment is apparent in this note. The writer resents the storybook life of the Ramseys. John's quick
success in business. He resents their Christianity and their testimony. They are goody two shoes.
They couldn't be that nice. It must be a show. The truth is, theRamseys represent something he
doesn't have. He resents their happiness and prosperity and decides they don't deserve it. He may
smoldered for a while and then something put him into action. Did he meet up with the "Master-
mind"?
An interesting analysis of the Ransom Note, and the crime, by Donald Pugh, can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/5046/ransom.html http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/5046/behavior.html http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/5046/profile.html
The Garrote
Davidson also postulates a link with the bindings that occur in Norse tradition. The best known
examples of this are probably the binding of Loki following his betrayal of Baldr; the binding
of Baldr himself, a theme that found itself into Scandinavian and Old English interpretations of
the Crucifixion; the binding of the wolf Fenrir; the ritual binding of sacrificial victims, as
partly confirmed by the discovery of bound corpses in the peat bogs of northern Europe; and the
Herjoturr or "war fetter", a kind of paralysis that Odin and the valkyries were said to be able
to inflict upon disfavored warriors in the heat of battle. To these we might add the hangman's
noose characteristic of the double sacrifice - simultaneous hanging and stabbing - known to have
been used in the cult of Odin and a method of ritual killing that accords with the condition of
a number of bog corpses. One bog discovery, the severed head of a man discovered at Osterby in
Denmark, is very interesting; the hair on the right side of the head is gathered into an elaborate
knot that looks very much like a valknut.
Tacitus, writing at about the time the Osterby man is believed to have met his end, about the 1st
century CE, tells us that the warriors of the Suebi (a generic name for the Germanic tribes
inhabiting the region now occupied roughly by north western Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands)
tied their hair in such a knot, and a number of Roman monuments depict Germanic warriors with the
same hairstyle. It would be reasonable to suppose that this hair-knot marked a warrior as a
follower of an early form of Odin in his role of war god. (See the author's article on "Heretical
Hairdos" in Talking Stick magazine Spring 1992 for a further discussion of pagan hairstyles and
the symbolic significance.)
The noose found around the neck of the Lindow Man unearthed from a peat bog in Cheshire a few
years ago consists of a sliding knot in a cord knotted at each end, making a triple knot. A
similar noose was found on a body in a peat bog at Borremose, Denmark but the noose found on
another Danish corpse, from Tollund, is much simpler. Dr. Anne Ross and Dr. Don Robins, along
with the Danish archaeologist Professor P V Glob, believe that these nooses are related to the
Celtic torc, and note that a number of torcs seem to be designed to look like garrottes.
They suggest that the corpses from Tollund and Borremose were sacrifices to Nerthus, a goddess
mentioned by Tacitus, and that the torc was an attribute of that goddess. Tacitus also tells us
that certain warriors of the Chatti wore iron collars that would not be removed until they had
killed their first enemy, although many chose to wear them until they died. In their case the
collar probably indicated they were dedicated to a god of war as opposed to a goddess of peace
and plenty like Nerthus. It would be rash to state unequivocally that the collar and torc
represent stylized versions of the noose or garrote - but it is an attractive proposition.
However, torcs and collars are not valknuts, and only the nooses found on Lindow Man and his
Danish counterpart can possibly be construed as being such....
...As Bruce Lincoln puts it in his book, "Death, War and Sacrifice" (1991), "Her domain is under
ground and she physically conveys her victims thence by fixing a snare or noose on their bodies
and dragging them down. Her bonds regularly fall upon the foot or neck of the victim, the same
places where domestic animals are fettered. The deceased are thus led away like animals by Death,
in whose bonds they may struggle, but which they cannot escape, caught in her snares and dragged
under."
The above was copied from an article at:
http://www.paganlibrary.com/reference/knots_of_death.shtml
1. Suppose the ransom note were for real. Why would the kidnappers bring a garrote? And why would they use it?
The intent of kidnapping is, of course, to get money. The intent of carrying a garrote is to silently kill someone.
2. The Writer Jeff Shapiro claims that the garrote was widely used in 1872 against the native rebellion in the
Philippines. Presumably this ties into the Subic Bay reference, "SBTC", and John's being stationed there while
in the Navy. And apparently, He feels is one reason for the use of the garrote as a murder weapon. What is the
meaning of the garrote and the cord on the wrist?
3. If the cause of death was strangulation with the garrote then why the blow to the head? I have read that a
neighbor heard a blood curdling scream just after midnight coming from the Ramsey house (through the vent
pipe?). Some believe that this blow to the head was to silence the girl. But the autopsy report says that death
came first, and then the head blow. If dead, then how could she scream? She must have awaken (from the
stun gun?) and then wrestled with the murderer, scratching him, screaming, and then been strangled. The
head blow must have been to insure that she was dead, and is proof that the "intruder" intended all along to
kill the little girl. This blow was the "coup de gras". And do we know for sure that the scream was from
JonBenet? Could it have been prerecorded for some reason?
4. The autopsy reveals that the garrote knot was to the left and toward the back of the little girl's neck. Wouldn't
this suggest that the attacker approached her from behind, slipped the loop over her head, and then knocked
her to the ground as he pulled on the cord? How did her hair get caught in the knot at the neck and the
complex knot at the stick? Wouldn't the location of the knot indicate that the killer was left handed? Who
would normally know how to tie this type of knot? A mountain climber, a sailor? A scout or Navy seal? Would
they have learned it from someone else who is an avid outdoorsman?
The Stun Gun, and Other Things
1. A stun gun may have been used on JonBenet according to three DA detectives. This would have rendered her
unconscious for some (20+? minutes) time, long enough to carry her to the basement.
2. After the dinner party at the White's house John noticed that his daughter had fallen into a deep sleep in the
car. This probably was a normal thing for a kid on a busy Christmas day but could it possibly mean that she
had been given something while at the White's to sedate her? A drug that would not show up in the toxicology
testing? Something that may have slowed her digestion also?
3. There is some debate concerning whether or not JonBenet had been sexually assaulted. The autopsy seems to
show that the killer used a rubber gloved finger or stick to simulate sexual penetration. This would be proof
of a setup. And as for the erotic asphyxiation theory: This is supposedly done to heighten the erotic pleasure
of the one losing consciousness and is typically done by a partner using their hands or by a self-administered
noose. Does anyone really think this is what the killer was trying to communicate in this? The use of the cord
more closely follows the manner of the Celtic sacrifices.
4. Was the pineapple in the bowl found by the police tested for drugs? Did the killer stop off at the refrigerator
on his way out, which led by the kitchen? If he had skipped eating all evening, being nervous about what he
was to do, and have thought it cool to help himself to a quick snack.
5. Has anyone checked the lists of persons who bought stun guns in 1996 around Denver and previously?
6. Has the "Santa Bear" been traced to any particular store? Would those clerks be able to identify the purchaser
from photographs of the chief suspects?
The Maze In the House
1. The Boulder Police believe that the layout of the house was too complicated for a stranger to maneuver around
in. While this might be true for some people it would not necessarily be true for all people. Home remodeling
contractors (or realtors), for example, might be more adept at getting around in a home, particularly if they
had been part of the extensive remodeling project done to the Ramsey home. They print a lot and were given
keys to the house. Also Mrs. Ramsey kept a hidden key near the front door for times when she got locked out.
Could the killer have observed her hiding place one day from somewhere in the neighborhood? Like from a
neighbor's window? At the time of the murder this outside key was gone. The killer may have been in the home
during the home tour. It is likely that the killer had a duplicate key made and used it to enter the house at will,
maybe more than once, during one of the Ramsey's many absences. A stranger with a flashlight could have
negotiated the house. Neighbors said they saw strange lights moving around the kitchen after midnight.
There many people who were familiar with the home besides the Ramseys. The killer was familiar with the
house layout and knew what he would do and where he would do it well in advance. JonBenet's bedroom
was some 55' away and one floor below the Ramsey's. It is across the hallway from the spiral stairway.
#1 Indicates the place on the stair where Patsy found the 3 page letter.
#3 Indicates the wine cellar and the location of the body.
#6 Marks the location of the broken window.
Santa's Visit
1. JonBenet remarked to a friend's mother on Christmas Eve day that Santa had told her that he would be paying
her a special visit on the 26th. The woman tried to correct her saying that Santa came on the 25th. JonBenet
insisted that what she said was correct. It was to have been a special and secret visit. Because of this incident
a Ramsey's neighbor who had played Santa at their Christmas party had for a while been a suspect. He was
subsequently cleared by DNA analysis.
2. My guess is that JonBenet was not expecting the neighbor, Bill McReynolds, but the "real" Santa. Someone,
claiming to be Santa may have delivered a written message to her (or a phone call?) stating that he would be
bringing her a special gift that next day but not to tell anyone. This may have been the ruse that led her to
the basement. How did the "Santa bear" wind up in her room? Did the murderer wake her and then present
the bear to her? Personally, I doubt this. I think the child would have screamed at the sight of a stranger in
her room. She must have been unconscious when the intruder took her from her bedroom. I believe the bear
was left behind as a tormenting reminder: "Santa" was here. (a teddy bear is a significant item in IN COLD
BLOOD)
The Metal Scraping Sound
A neighbor has said that about 2:00 am, on the 26th., there was a scraping sound as of metal being dragged across
concrete. John Ramsey thinks this was the grate covering the broken basement window being displaced. Since
it appears that the grate may not have been removed (the spider web) could this have been the sound of a
manhole cover being set aside temporarily? Are there any manholes located in this alley? This is a typical place
for them to be located. Did anyone look in them for evidence that might have been discarded in them? If they
exist I would flush the line from the manhole nearest the Ramsey house to the next to see if any evidence,
like a plastic glove, washed out.
