JonBenet Ramsey autopsy photos - CAUTION GRAPHIC!

Discussion in 'Evidence Files: Ramsey murder case' started by koldkase, Oct 20, 2009.

  1. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    I hate to even start on these, but they are the point, after all. So a word of

    WARNING! GRAPHIC AUTOPSY PHOTOS!!
     
  2. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    In no particular order

    And by the way, I HATE these photos:
     

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  3. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Here is a comparison photo of the child's neck at autopsy with bruising from the cord, along side another autopsy photo of an adult who was strangled with a rope. Notice that both have a lower line of bruising from an initial tightening of the ligature, which then rolled up the neck.

    Also, I'm adding a strangulation victim where a scarf was used, because it demonstrates the location of the triangular bruise on JonBenet's neck is also the location of bruising on the other victim's neck.

    [Did I mention I HATE these photos?]
     

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    Last edited: Oct 20, 2009
  4. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    The skull

    Image doctored by someone, possibly NBC, to look like an X-ray from a photo of JonBenet's skull:
     

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    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 29, 2012
  5. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

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    Last edited: Oct 20, 2009
  6. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Taken at the home by the medical examiner or asst

    These show the rug in the background upon which the child's body was laid by Arndt, near the Christmas tree in the Ramsey living room.

    Also, one photo shows the position of the arms/hands in rigor after being brought up by John. These are obviously taken from two different angles.

    I'm guessing these two photos were taken some time around or after 8 pm that night, probably by the medical examiner's assistant, as the medical examiner himself didn't get there until after that.

    Another element worth noting is that in one photo, there are paper bags already applied by LE to preserve the evidence on the body. There has been misinformation often stated that "paper bag fibers" found in the autopsy bag in which the body was transported to the morgue came from a non-existent "paper bag" in which the rope was found in JAR's/the guest bedroom. (The rope in JAR's room was in a type of duffle bag, according to Michael Kane. Too bad Team Ramsey misled Judge Carnes on that "intruder" evidence...among other things.)
     

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    Last edited: Oct 20, 2009
  7. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Wrist binding and paintbrush handle

    Various:
     

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  8. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Duct tape

    This is the only photo I've seen of the duct tape after it was removed from the mouth by John, other than in the crime scene photo where it lay on the blanket in the basement, so perhaps this was a photo taken at the CBI lab or the lab who did the DNA testing on it?
     

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  9. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    marks on hand

    Some think it was a heart shape, others speculate otherwise:
     

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  10. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    More of the grisly stuff

    I don't think HATE is a strong enough word for how I feel about these photos....
     

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    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 20, 2012
  11. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Still just HATE these, but these are clearer copies and looking at the injuries from another angle might bring some clarity.

    The second image clarifies that a single cord was used to make the bruises, especially the triangular bruise on the left side of the neck. From these images, you can see the line of the lower edge of the triangular bruise continues in a swag to the other side of the neck, consistent with the cord being pulled across and up as it tightened and bruised and scraped the skin, catching the necklace up as it went.

    The petechial hemorrhages above and below the cord indicate that the victim was still alive when she was strangled with this cord, it would stand to reason.
     

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    Last edited: Jan 14, 2011
  12. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Here is a photo I pulled from a website--sorry, can't remember which one. It's from a photo we've commonly seen and discussed of JonBenet in one of her portfolio/photography sessions. I think it's important because the bruises that were present on her leg at the time the photo was taken are very similar to the bruising found on the body in a couple of locations at autopsy.
     

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    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 5, 2012
  13. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    I made these up a few months ago, as this photo showed me more clearly how the cord laid against the cylindrical structure of the neck and rolled up. Then I didn't post the pics because it's so crudely done. But the point is that this might help understand the bruising pattern, so I'm going to put them up now.

    The two photos which aren't JonBenet's I'm putting in for comparison. They're from online autopsy pictures of strangulation victims, as well. Notice how each side of the victim's neck has similar areas of deep bruising. JonBenet's neck was much smaller and more fragile than an adult, so perhaps that added to the extensive bruising of the skin on her.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     

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  14. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Comparison photos of child's neck with head turned partially, causing the sterno-mastoid muscles to protrude. She was strangled from behind while on her stomach, with her head turned and pressed into the carpet by the paint tray, the evidence indicates to me. Also, a comparison Gray's Anatomy illustration of the neck--notice the "jugular notch" and the shadows there, much like the triangular bruise:

    [​IMG]
     

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    Last edited: Mar 8, 2011
  15. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Here are some forensic pathology sources which explain the ligature and neck injuries: the first link is very readable with no graphic photos; the second is more technical and has graphic photos of various injuries and autopsy dissections which you may see while scrolling to the sections related to this case.

    http://www.corpus-delicti.com/ligature.html

    Be forewarned: the following link has extremely graphic autopsy photos of dissections, as well as damage to bodies done in ways you may not want to even think about, much less see.

    WARNING: GRAPHIC AUTOPSY PHOTOS AT THIS LINK

    Look for p. 267, "Asphyxia", as this is a partial chapter--it's for book sales:

    http://books.google.com/books?id=6b...&resnum=5&ved=0CC4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false

    Also at the second link, head injuries are described in great detail beginning on p. 323 under "Head Injury." Included are types of brain injury and skull fractures.
     
  16. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Working on some of the photos of the ligatures taken at autopsy, here is an enlargement of the frayed ends of the cord that was found still tied to the wrist. The cord ends appear unevenly cut, "sawed" vs "scissor-cut":

    [​IMG]
     

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  17. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    An enlargement of a frayed end of the ligature cord, this one from the ligature around the neck:

    [​IMG]
     

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  18. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Working with the autopsy photo of the ligature from the neck, I've enlarged one end which is frayed. Also I've enlarged the cut made by Dr. Meyer to remove it from the neck, where he made black marks to indicate which side was right/left.

    Notice the cut the medical examiner made: he had to work his way underneath the cord so tightly embedded into the neck, so he had a less than pristine straight cut, it appears. But even so, compare his cut with the other ends of the cords, which are very stressed.

    Finally, also enlarged is a spot on the cord which appears to be blood on the inside, but I'm not sure as the cord could be twisted--the clarity of the screen capture isn't great. Whose blood is that? How and when did it get on the cord? I don't remember it even being mentioned in any interviews, "touch" DNA proclamations...? Did I miss that?
     

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    Last edited: May 1, 2012
  19. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    I want to keep these photos and enlargements of the ligature ends in a grouping on one page to compare easily, so I'm repeating them from page 2.

    [​IMG]
     
  20. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Now look at the end of the cord which was closely wrapped on the paintbrush segment used as a handle for the ligature: it's perfectly cut, cleanly, with no unraveling and nothing uneven.
     

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