The Purpose Of the Ransom Note

Discussion in 'Justice for JonBenet Discussion - Public Forum' started by Learnin, Apr 5, 2010.

  1. Cherokee

    Cherokee FFJ Senior Member

    Instead of the gramatically correct "deviation from my instructions"? I don't remember if Twilight discussed that or not.

    What I do remember is Twilight was an expert in linguistic theory, and by comparing the ransom note with Patsy's other known communications, Twilight showed through technical analysis how the unique linguistic patterns of Patsy Ramsey unmistakeably revealed her as the author of the Ransom Note.

    We all have linguistic patterns in our speaking and writing voices. The beauty of the Ransom Note was that it was long enough to capture the "voice" of its author. If it had only been a short, "We have your daughter and we want a million dollars. Wait for the call," the Ransom Note would have been much harder to analyze for authorship. The fact that Patsy went on and on for three pages makes the Ransom Note an absolute gold mine to those who are trained in handwriting analysis, linguistics, statement analysis, etc.
     
  2. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Too bad that didn't include any experts in Colorado....
     
  3. fr brown

    fr brown Member

    Yeah. "Deviation of my instructions" always comes as a shock to me when I read it. It's jarring. I guess preposition substitution is pretty common, but I don't think I'm exposed to it very often. It's not like "have ran" and "have went" which are merely irritating.
     
  4. Cherokee

    Cherokee FFJ Senior Member

    At least not the ones hired by the Ramseys.

    Chet Ubowski, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations handwriting analyst, wrote in his report, "This handwriting showed indications that the writer was Patsy Ramsey.'' He is said to have found 24 of 26 letters in the ransom note which matched exemplars from Patsy Ramsey.

    No experts in statement analysis or linguistics were employed in Colorado to examine the Ransom Note. And that is an unfortunate fact.
     
  5. mBm

    mBm Banned for Stupidity

    mBm

    Since this is my first post on FFJ, I'd like to put in my two cents about the conspiracy theory, but first, I'd like to ask, wasn't it French who noticed Patsy peeping at him through splayed fingers? If so, perhaps that is one reason for his skepticism about the kidnapping.

    But, also, I believe since Hunter had a history of plea bargaining practically all of the cases his office was supposed to be prosecuting, he had to deal with all the Boulder attorneys on a daily basis. And, over the years, he probably developed a good "working" relationship with all of them. And, therefore, he also was in the habit of making deals with them. (He would have had to, in order to have plea bargained so many cases over the years.) Probably, IMO, many of the deals he made were questionable. So, I think we should know who was ultimately accountable for the cover-up. But, then...

    Hunter was out of town when the kidnapping occurred. But I believe he had established such a pattern that anyone (any attorney) wanting to start a cover-up process knew exactly how to proceed. And his right-hand man was there to help things along. So, I think Steve Thomas was trying to tell us a lot when he showed his feelings about Huffstrom and his meetings with the Ramsey lawyers. Thomas also pointed out how often the BPD couldn't get any cooperation from the DA when it came to getting search warrants, etc. So, it's pretty clear that the obstruction rendered by the DA's Office was the basis for the cover-up to succeed. And Mary Lacy was just an extension of Hunter's policies.

    As for who was responsible for abandoning the crime scene to Arndt, I think that could be due to the general attitude in the BPD about Arndt. They held no respect for her and would have loved seeing her brought down. This lack of respect was partly due to her being a female and partly due to a prevailing attitude of "ganging up" on someone who most officers in general wanted to see fail -- for various reasons. And they might have seen this as a perfect opportunity to demonstrate either that Arndt couldn't handle a crime scene or just a chance to make it as hard on her as they could. But, they would have had to think there was nothing much to the case or I seriously doubt they would have intentionally created a situation where the crime scene would be destroyed.
     
  6. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    I would agree with much of your post. You're right about French observing Patsy eyeing him. But, French thought something wrong well before this happened. According to ST, French arrived first. He was greeted by Patsy and John, taken back to where the ransom note was and then he read it. By this time, Reichenbach had arrived and French greeted him at the door. Before entering, he told the Sgt. that it, indeed, looked like a kidnapping but, "something is not right". Within minutes, of greeting the Ramseys, getting a short synopsis of what happened, and reading through the ransom note, French observed something was not right!

    I agree with you that there was probably some resentment, ill-feelings, toward Arndt but I don't think they were setting her up for failure. I don't think they'd mess up the investigation just to make her look bad. After all, the BPD caught no little grief for not clearing the house and leaving Arndt there to oversee the scene by herself. I simply believe, from all I've read, that investigators, by this time, thought the kidnapping scene was a cover for something else and were trying to figure out how to proceed. I mean, when you think about it, they simply couldn't go up to the Ramseys and say: "Alright, this is not a kidnapping....your daughter's probably dead and someone is covering their arse."

    I put myself into the detectives shoes. Here's what I would have been thinking by about 10-11 in the morning: "Something horrible happened, the girls body has been taken somewhere and someone is blaming it on a kidnapping." What to do? You probably wait a while, check the ransom note over for clues, and then bring the parents in for some tough questioning. I believe they wanted to get that ransom note checked out, compare some handwriting and present the evidence to the parents during questioning. But a body was found before the second step was taken....IMO....
     
  7. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    I tend to think "Deviation of my instructions" isn't too noteworthy. I agree that it is "jarring"., but when you consider the author was involved in a highly emotional situation; it was probably early morning; and the author was probably writing with opposite hand, etc., it was probably a slip the author would not make most times.

    Sometimes, when I'm writing on the run, late at night on the forums, I re-read my post and catch some glaring mistake that I wouldn't normally make.
     
  8. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    kk, can we be sure that the paintbrush was used to cause the vaginal injury? Didn't Wecht say that the bifringement (sp?) material, found within the vagina, might have come from talcum powder, etc.? I believe Wecht thought there was an obvious sexual assault which led to the assault.

    I'm open to any correction you can offer if it has proven the stick was actually used in the penetration. I'm not saying it wasn't, probably was, but, unless 100%, I hold on to the possibility there was a penetration with finger, etc., and then the head blow.

    I have to agree that Spitz' demonstration is surely one of the most valid demonstrations as to how the head wound occurred.

    That flashlight is probably in the evidence collection which LE still has. I wonder if they ever rinsed that light off to gather possible JBR DNA? I mean, if it was used to strike her head with so much force, wouldn't it contain some of the little girl's DNA?
     
  9. Elle

    Elle Member

    Like Learnin, I agree with a lot you're saying here mBm and enjoyed reading your post. Welcome to FFJ. I didn't fully realize the BPD held no respect for Linda Arndt, but now that you've brought this up, would this be the reason why Linda Arndt ended up in cahoots with Patsy Ramsey and receiving flowers from her?

    I did feel sorry for this poor girl being left with all of these people in the Ramsey home. This was absolutely unforgiveable! Shame on the Boulder Police for leaving this girl with such a big responsibility. I wonder how she is faring out today (?). I need to research and find out. Thank you for bringing her to mind.
     
  10. mBm

    mBm Banned for Stupidity

    mBm

    Thanks, Elle. I do think they treated her poorly and I think it was mostly due to lack of respect for her on their part. And this lack of respect probably turned into animosity when she established a friendship with Patsy. However, leaving her alone at the crime scene could have been just a "happenstance" in that the last officer there with her left apparently without giving a second thought to the fact that she would be alone with all the civilians on the scene. Maybe it didn't occur to him that she would have a problem keeping them together in one place. In any event, I can just see her trying to give JR something to do to keep him occupied, never dreaming he would find JB's body. Sometimes, it's hard to visualize the various things that "could" happen in the event of such and such.

    Of course, IMO, all this could have been avoided if a supervisor had gone to the scene and remained there, taking charge. Wasn't it Mason who was supposed to be in charge? Eller was reluctant to leave his family to go in to work and I believe he had designated Mason to act as officer-in-charge. Whoever it was, though, apparently shirked his duty. Just as, IMO, Eller should have left his family (although they were visiting from out of town) to go and direct a kidnapping investigation.

    I think Linda Arndt has a lot of information about the crime that would be very interesting. At one time, she had planned to write a book; however, that seemed to have fallen by the wayside. I, too, wonder about her now.
     
  11. fr brown

    fr brown Member

    Do you use different prepositions from the ones you habitually use? Those aren't the kinds of mistakes I make.

    "Deviation from my instructions" is a phrase in common usage. The only instance of "deviation of my instructions" I've found is in the ransom note.
     
  12. Elle

    Elle Member

    Thanks mBm for joggng my memory on this part.

    Courtesy of Little
    <o:p></o:p>
    <o:p></o:p>
     
  13. Learnin

    Learnin Member


    I think, Fr. B, that this is a mistake I could make if writing in a hurry. Here's why I believe it happened. The preposition, "of", could be correctly used to convey the same message:

    Any disobedience of my instructions.
    Any disregard of my instructions.

    The word "deviation" probably popped in the author's mind and was used without changing the originally intended preposition. Something, I feel, would be easily done when one is composing on the fly and in a hurry. This author is educated and I think this simply points to the stress that the author was under when composing the letter. A sadistic pervert, with the intent to taunt, would not be under such stress, IMO.

    If this erroneous use of the preposition, "of", occured elsewhere in the letter then I believe it would be significant. Simply my opinion.
     
  14. fr brown

    fr brown Member

    Neither of those phrases is connected to the case. "Deviat[ion] from my instructions" is connected via Ruthless People. The ransom note appears to be a paraphrase of the demand in that movie with some bells and whistles thrown in. If that's the case, then "deviation" was the original word in mind.

    I'm not claiming that Patsy didn't know the meaning of "of" or "from." For instance, almost everybody says "embarrassed by," but a few people say "embarrassed of." The latter isn't wrong; it's unusual. But the Corpus of Contemporary American English shows no usages of "deviation of" in the ransom note sense. All the examples of that phrase occur in discussions of statistics or medicine (deviation of the iris, for example).
     
  15. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    Do you think the paraphrasing, of movie lines, is a conscious decision on the author's part? Or do you think, in composing, the author was just pulling lines out of the subconscious?

    If it was a conscious act, I always believed it pointed to more of an adolescent authorship. I never could visualize Patsy or John consciously throwing in movie lines unless it would have incriminated a certain individual.

    I need to re-read Cherokee's analysis again.
     
  16. DeeDee

    DeeDee Member

    Ii don't think it was a deliberate paraphrasing of lines from movies. I think it was simply the author writing what they thought a ransom note SHOULD sound like. Possibly a combination of things they had seen in movies or on TV, what kidnappers theoretically would say, etc. AND they were putting in several "clues" (i.e. suspects)- the SFF (Access Graphics was a Lockheed subsidiary), the bonus amount (alluding to a disgruntled employee or co-worker) and someone with familiarity (use of first names, etc). They tried to cover a lot of territory in that note, that is why it was so long. A REAL note has just one objective- get the money and leave NO clue as to who you are. Certainly you do not describe yourself as a "small foreign faction", even if you ARE one.
    Even terrorists don't claim responsibility until AFTER the fact.
     
  17. fr brown

    fr brown Member

    There are a lot of paraphrases of memorable movie lines in the note, but though I've seen Ruthless People several times and think it's hilarious, I didn't remember any of the lines from the ransom phone call. It's Mr. Stone's reaction to it that's memorable, as it dawns on him that his dream is coming true.

    I don't know the answer to your question, but I suspect that some of the paraphrased lines from Speed and Dirty Harry were familiar to John even if he really didn't see either movie--as long as Burke did.

    Maybe the following is a version of an earlier ransom demand in a movie or book somewhere. I haven't found it yet.

    "Mr. Stone?

    Listen very carefully. We have kidnapped your wife.

    We have no qualms about killing and will do so at the slightest provocation. Do you understand?

    You are to obtain a new, black American Tourister briefcase, model number 8104. Do you understand?

    In it you will place $500,000 in unmarked, nonsequentially numbered $100 bills. Do you understand?

    Monday morning at 11 a.m., you will proceed with case in hand, to Hope Street Plaza and wait for a phone to ring. You will receive further instructions then. Do you understand?

    You'll be watched at all phases of execution. If anyone is with you or if any action is not carried out to our complete satisfaction, it will be considered an infraction of the rules, and your wife will be killed. Do you understand?

    If you notify the police,your wife will be killed. If you notify the media, she will be killed. If you deviate from our instructions in any way whatsoever, she will be killed. Do you understand?"
     
  18. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    I tend to agree with you, DeeDee. I think the author was just bringing phrases out of memory just to make it sound like a ransom note. I don't believe it was a deliberate attempt to plagiarize from the movies.
     
  19. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    It looks like to me that the ransom note author was well acquainted with this Ruthless People movie. That ransom note reads a lot like the conversation you quoted above.
     
  20. Elle

    Elle Member

    It doesn't matter what "they" THE RAMSEYS were doing to sidetrack the police with the ransom note and staging and whatever else they came up with, they succeeded. Until someone comes up with some unique investigation tactics we'll never know more than we know right now.

    No news of any interviews with Burke Ramsey has appeared in the headlines; however, if John Ramsey's cage has been rattled just a little bit about the thought of his son, Burke being interviewed, I feel good about that!
     
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