Three critical questions

Discussion in 'Justice for JonBenet Discussion - Public Forum' started by koldkase, Aug 14, 2012.

  1. Elle

    Elle Member

    No! I don't think Burke Ramsey would have even known his sister was dying, KK. Burke Ramsey could have knocked out JonBenét with the flashlight during the pineapple session, and probably didn't know he may have killed his sister. He could have taken off upstairs, leaving Patsy to find her early morning, with her wakening up John and the staging began.
     
  2. Pearlsim

    Pearlsim FFJ Senior Member

    My oldest child had a hairline skull fracture when he was a toddler. He's now 30 years old but I can still bring back the horrible sound of his skull cracking. While though there was no blood evident from JonBenet's blow to the head, Burke would've had to hear that awful sound. Even as an almost ten year old, I think he would've known something was dreadfully wrong when he heard her skull crack open and watched her drop to the floor immediately.

    I'm honestly trying to imagine what he would've done. I doubt he would've grasped that he'd mortally wounded her but would the instinct to save his own hide have kicked on, or might he have run to mom or dad for help? I go back and forth between those two possibilities.

    I was a demure, obedient child but I once set a piece of paper on fire and then got so panicked I dropped the flaming paper in a wastebasket, left the room, closed the door and tried to slink off. (I was about 5 or 6 at the time.) Thank God my Uncle felt like something was up because he went into the bedroom and put out the fire I'd started. In my mind, I guess i thought if no one saw what I'd done, it would all go away? A part of me wonders if Burke didn't head his sister over the head and then "hide" from what he'd done by going upstairs to bed.

    The more likely scenario has Burke trying to rouse JonBenet from her fall and then panicking as he realized she couldn't/wouldn't get up. Patsy was either already close by and saw all this happening or Burke went to get her, putting the whole staging cycle in motion. I say Patsy because it's her fibers that are all over the staging elements.

    Whatever happened, it is gut-wrenching to think of the time elapsing between the first head blow and the final strangulation causing JonBenet's death. How did any one of them carry on, from that day forward??????
     
  3. DeeDee

    DeeDee Member

    The last question is really the most important one, isn't it?

    WHERE did it happen? That would go a long way in piecing together the events of the night.
    I think it may have happened in her room or BR's room. I think that is where the molestation took place, and to me, that caused the scream that provoked the head bash. The blood on the pillowcase seems to indicate SOMETHING happened in there. We KNOW she bled, but it was only visible from her vagina. The head bash didn't bleed externally, but some tan-tinged mucus was noted, which could have been blood.

    What happened in the 90 minutes? Well assuming it WAS that long- it really isn't hard to imagine and for what it must have been like in the house at that time wasn't really a long time anyway. Frantic tears and rushing about, certainly PHONE CALLS. Coming up with a plan (fake kidnapping, ransom note) writing the lengthy note, staging her body, placing her in the wineceller, all this in a adrenaline blur. The human body in a high stress situation like that produced huge quantities of adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline can enable us to do things we'd never imagine, and it carries us along until whatever we are doing is finished. The effects can't be underestimated.

    How did she get by the paint tray? I believe she was carried down those stairs, as evidenced by the green fake garland in her hair, which I envision happening as she was carried down the spiral stairs which were wound with fake garland. I believe it was JR who carried her. I believe she was put down on the carpet near the paint tote, and left for a little while while they figured out what to do next. She likely appeared dead by then, though she was not. But I do not believe whoever wound that cord knew she was alive and I do not believe it was something BR could have done -alone, anyway. (Patsy had to provide the paintbrush- that is how her fibers got in the tote- and tied the cord. JR was with her. They both had input in the RN, but Patsy physically wrote it.
    After that, she was cleaned up, redressed and put in the WC, with Patsy either getting the panties from the gift box or telling JR where they were. JR puts the panties on her.
    Bottom line- I cannot see BR "helping" his parents stage that body or doing it alone. Parental fibers link them to the body. I think if BR was the one who bashed her, then he was the one who molested her. But his involvement did not include the staging. However- IF the blacked-out name IS BR, and there WERE fibers or other evidence linking him to the body, crime scene or WC, then I'd say JAR (or another male NOT JR) was involved with him in what happened and did most of the staging. But this is not my primary theory for the staging. I really do not think he was there for that.
     
  4. Cherokee

    Cherokee FFJ Senior Member

    I believe this is why there are marks on JonBenet's back and face from the ends of the train track.

    Burke had heard the crack of JonBenet's skull and saw her fall to the floor after he hit her. Realizing JonBenet's injury was serious, Burke may have yelled at her to get up and tried to rouse her, but she just laid there as if dead. Burke thought if he poked JonBenet with something sharp, she'd react or wake up. He got a train track from the basement floor, and poked, then pushed it into her back and then the lower right side of her face. No reaction. Nothing.

    Panicked, Burke decides JonBenet is dead, and runs upstairs.
     
  5. Karen

    Karen Member

    This is what I think happened with the marks too. But something else to think about, Kolar said in his book there were also parts of train tracks scattered on Burkes bedroom floor. So that brings me back to where did this originally happen? I still tend to think it originated in the basement and JB caught Burke getting into his birthday presents. Something else about the green garland or needles in her hair, I think that came from the basement wine cellar floor. That is where she was layed and that is where all the Christmas trees were kept. There had to be tons of shed greenery on that floor. I don't believe the blood on JBs pillowcase is a factor in the crime, EXCEPT, that one curtain tieback that is draped over her headboard still bothers me. The other day I read an online article about a child who was killed by the perp bashing her head against the bedpost.
    As usual , I still have no idea what happened.
     
  6. wombat

    wombat Member

    Direction of JonBenet's head fracture

    I am pretty sure, after staring at the skull fracture for all these years, and prompted by Kolar's book, that JB was hit from behind. The skull bone is resistant to compression, like all our bones, so it only fractures clearly from blunt force-type impact. It's weak in tension and shear, which is why we break legs or arms when we twist or over-bend them.

    JonBenet's autopsy skull shows that horrible indentation we've all looked at for 15 years - it exhibits an inpact of some wide, but not too wide, elongated weapon. The crack that extends forward to her brow reflects the direction of the applied force, in that the crack spreads to dissipate the origninal force away from the point of impact. The autopsy photo shows her skull seprated slightly - which I don't believe is true to actuality - it was a hairline-size fracture that opened when the skull was posed.

    (sorry for being drily technical, professional engineer here)

    The idea that she was hit from behind fits into the idea that someone hit her in the basement, she fell on her face, and everything happened from there. I wonder about the re-dressed bloomies in that scenario - we presume they were put on her after the assault, and they had two blood stains, and the urine that Kolar states was released at her death. Was the bloomies package already conveniently in the basement?

    :cb:
     
  7. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    I certainly agree with you that BR was not involved in any staging. I think the staging and ransom note had a double purpose...to mislead police and BR.
    Which makes me think that BR did not tie the ligature because I believe, if he struck first blow, he could have gone to bed thinking he didn't kill her; if he tied the ligature, there would have been no reason to mislead him with the kidnapping, etc. In fact, now that I think about it, if I'm right about the ransom note's double purpose (and from the git go, I figured this was the case), then, BR most likely struck the blow on the first or second floor.

    Why? Because if BR struck first blow, and if the parents wanted to cover for him, then, they had to fool him too because it would have been too risky just to tell a nine year old: "You can't tell anyone you did this to your sister!"
    When he awakes the next morning, he hears that his sister is missing and he knows he didn't do that. When he finds she was found in the wine cellar, he knows he didn't do that. Now, I'm sure he wonders if there is a connection but what 9 year old would not take the bait and get himself off the hook?


    I still find it hard to believe that PR or JR could tighten that ligature around their still alive daughter. I've always believed they thought she was dead at the time it was tightened.

    But maybe, kk, they waited for an hour or so to see if she would regain consciousness and, at some point, the vital signs became so weak that they thought she was dead and then they tightened the ligature.
     
  8. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    Well, there's a laundry room in the basement so maybe that's where she picked up the lint and dust which was on her feet. Didn't I read somewhere that police quizzed Patsy about photos that were found in that basement laundry room?
     
  9. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    I just want to say thanks to all of you so much. You've given me so much to think about.

    Also, it's been a while since you joined us, wombat, and we've missed your engineer thinking and knowledge. Seriously. Many times I've clumsily tried to explain the force of that head injury or needed something clarified as you do so brilliantly and wished you were here. Welcome back!

    I'm trying to think about the things Kolar told us about evidence we haven't know about before, things that might give us some answers.

    Some of you have raised the questions already, like the train tracks in Burke's room and the Maglite on the kitchen counter.

    I still want to ask some questions of Kolar to clarify: the "too large" pj's in JB's room which Kolar says are thought to have belonged to Burke; the feces on the candy in JB's room; what was in those Schwarz packages opened in the cellar room?
     
  10. Tricia

    Tricia Administrator Staff Member

    omg this is a great thread
     
  11. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Learnin, when you mentioned the DNA on the cord not belonging to Burke that jumped right out at me.

    We do have "touch" DNA in the wine cellar which did belong to Burke and Patsy, on the Barbie nightgown. I don't remember that the biological material of their DNA on the gown was named by Kolar, though.

    Patsy would have handled the laundry when doing laundry. But Burke wouldn't do laundry.

    But here's the important question I have which you triggered with your thoughts, learnin: if Burke were the one who put the cord on JB and broke the paintbrush, if he pulled that "handle" and tied those knots, wouldn't he have done that without gloves?

    I can't see Burke thinking, OH, I better use gloves or they'll find my DNA and fingerprints.

    So if Burke's DNA is NOT on the cord, paintbrush, or "handle," then I'm thinking he didn't tie that ligature or pull it.

    On the other hand, if his DNA was on those, anyone want to bet that we'll never hear about it?

    My goodness, this is maddening. I feel like Dr. Lecter had me for dinner--fried brains.
     
  12. Karen

    Karen Member

    Something else I've been wondering and I'll see if I can articulate it.
    The cord around Jonbenets neck was extremely tight. But the cord tied around her wrists was extremely loose. If it was all staging then why pull the cord around her neck that tight and then leave the wrist cords so loose? If for example, JR or PR put that cord around her neck thinking she was already dead then why so tight??... when the wrist bindings were so loose? Something is off about this and it doesn't make sense to me.
     
  13. wombat

    wombat Member

    A long time ago EasyWriter and I got into a kerfuffle with some others about the "garrotte" - the loop around her throat was static, the knot couldn't slide. If the perpetrator pulled on the cord, it would not tighten but rather come away from her nneck on one side, like when you walk your dog. I think the sloppiness of the garrotte and bindings just point to a clumsy amateur.
     
  14. heymom

    heymom Member

    Kolar reiterates that it was a slip knot, and that it did tighten when pulled.
     
  15. wombat

    wombat Member

    Yes, Kolar has cleared up so many things regarding the evidence.

    There's one thing that I don't remember reading before, which he buries on page 369 in the bombshell chapter on sexual behavior problems:

    What??!!!?? Did we know that before? Why do we have to wait until page 369 to hear about it? (I know, don't complain.)

    Kolar wrote this book very carefully to make sure he never said "Burke did it." Here he's also careful to not say - if he hit her once, he could have hit her again. Well, I'll say it.

    The next two paragraphs are about books the Paughs bought about problem child-rearing, including one called Why Johnny Can't Tell Right from Wrong. I've got a few opinions about that - I think there was so much ongoing trauma going on in the household, due to Patsy's cancer and its aftermath and the lack of any real therapy (apparently) to help the family deal with it. This was a woman walking around with a probable death sentence and everyone acted as if everything was JUST GREAT. Their whole lives were staging.
     
  16. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    I agree. If BR tied the ligature, he did so without gloves. We now know the ligature was tested for DNA thanks to Kolar's book (we all figured as much, no?).
    So, I have to believe if BR tied the ligature, his DNA should have been on that cord because who ever tied it, and pulled it, had to leave some DNA on there unless they were wearing gloves. I'm thinking it's better, since Patsy's fibers were all over the place, to stick with her being there when the ligature was tightened.

    I wonder if Kolar's theory includes Burke tightening the ligature? If so, how does he explain his DNA not being on the cord? Is it possible he's not letting us know it was? I doubt it but, if his theory does include BR as the perp, then, he might not want to let that info out..just thinking....
     
  17. Learnin

    Learnin Member

    You raise a good point about the wrist cords. Why so loose?
     
  18. Elle

    Elle Member

    heymom.

    It seems Chief Kolar is correcting all the flaws for us.
     
  19. heymom

    heymom Member

    Just think about that implication. Patsy mentioned that incident but made it sound as though it had been a very minor accident. What if it hadn't been? What if Burke struck JonBenet more or less on purpose, with a junior sized golf club? Now we have JonBenet struck almost dead by some instrument, golf clubs all over the basement, and JR asking for Pam Paugh to get his golf clubs out of the house when she goes on her evidence raid. It all seems a bit of a coincidence...or maybe it's not....
     
  20. Elle

    Elle Member

    I personally think Burke Ramsey was far too young to help with any of the staging DeeDee I cannot see this scene happening either! Plus, in spite of the garland in JonBenét's hair I think it would have been awkward for John Ramsey to have carried JB down the spiral staircase, while there was a more practical one available (?).

    I agree with your thinking "those" involved in the staging thought she was dead.
     
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice