JonBenet's Skull Fractures: The Weapon

Now Miss KK, I wouldn't say this in public but, bless your heart, you know when you miss one of our SFF meetins' you tend to pitch a hissy. :laughup:

 

BOESP, we've never had an "Elvis" here at FFJ. You might be thinking of someone at WS.

I *think* the nurse KK is referring to is "Texan," who was an assistant surgery nurse. Unfortunately, "Texan" hasn't posted with us since March 2011. We miss her insight.

 

This is a theory that once had a lot of traction. I even remember that a secretary of John's was alleged to have told another woman (who took and passed a lie detector test--allegedly) that this is what she heard JR describe as having happened.

It's plausible, of course. Until someone who was there confesses or tells the truth, we simply can't determine who struck that blow or precisely what led to it on that night.

 

Ahhh ... yes. I wasn't here then.

That darn husband causes me soooo much trouble. :fingers:

 

I don't think anyone else has addressed this question, so if I may:

Yes, Meyer would have removed the skull "cap" with a saw to get to the brain to examine it. I think they only remove the top of the skull, rather than the entire skull, say, so later the head/face can be prepared for acceptably intact viewing if the family so desires. Pictures of the skull cap, as well as of the brain injuries, would have been taken because that preserves the evidence of the injuries to them.

Well, that probably sounds stupid; of course they won't remove the entire "head" if it's not necessary. But you know what I mean, I hope.

I think this photo we have is from Lou Smit sharing photos he copied for the PowerPoint he used for his Ramsey propaganda media tours. Many of those were aired on TV and screen captured by viewers who then posted them online for case discussion.

But tracing this exact photo back to the first time it was posted online or seen by the public in general--that would take some doing at this point as back in those days, there were hundreds of JB case forums and tens of thousands of posters discussing the case on them. Team Ramsey had many online plants like jameson and her "Webbsleuths" forum, and she had private forums as well where she shared "info" that often filtered out onto the public forums in time.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks KK. I knew the top of the skull is removed at an autopsy but I was thinking I had seen a photo of the entire skull and it was detached. I have CRS and need to research this stuff before I bring it up from memory.

It is just very odd the autopsy photos, especially the skull, were released before coming to trial thus my wondering if some of the photos might be someone other than JonBenet.

I know if it's on the Internet, it must be true. cguru:

 

We found out in 2002 or so that Lou Smit had been given legal rights to do anything he chose with his copies of the case file photos...yeah, you saw that right...by none other than Alex Hunter. The only restriction was he wasn't supposed to release them or share them, etc., until AFTER the grand jury was finished and no indictment had been returned.

This all came about in rather scandalous circumstances, which you can find on ACandyRose.com's website.

But the upshot was that once the grand jury was over in late 1999, the Ramseys were not indicted--which I think Hunter knew was how he was going to bury this case way back when he actually made that legal deal with Smit--and no one else was ever going to trial, either, since Patsy Ramsey's ransom note would forever be reasonable doubt for any OTHER defendant not a Ramsey, Smit could do whatever he wanted to with the photos.

So Smit then began his de facto crusade as a Ramsey propagandist to sway public opinion which was largely belief that the Ramseys did it. He held that role to the day he died, and he misled some of the public well, didn't he?

It was--and still is--shocking to see autopsy photos of a murdered child splattered all over our TV screen and the Internet, especially in an "unsolved" case. You'd think the Ramseys might have protested, but I've never seen one Ramsey or Ramsey-supporter ever say word one against it, oddly enough.

At any rate, for those of us determined not to let Team Ramsey bury the truth about what happened to that poor child in the bosom of her family, if we can stand to look at them, there is much evidence to be learned from those very pics. We've been called a lot of names for it, but who else is bothering? LE? The Ramseys? The very people who SHOULD be pushing as hard as they can to stop this injustice once and for all and bring this case to a close? Obviously NOT. They've spent 16 years covering up the truth, with a few precious exceptions.

So it just hit me...:doh: of course we have proof this is the photo of JB's skull cap...and I got it out of a BOOK: James Kolar's Foreign Faction!

And here it is in black and white:

 

Thinking about the possibly contrecoup injuries to the brain, I find this or the Maglite very plausible as possible weapons which might have been swung with that kind of force by any of the known occupants of the home that night.

 

Bear with me please, I am thinking of another scenario here. I don't think JonBenét was sexually assaulted on Christmas night, but I think JonBenét and her brother had some kind of tussle, whether it was over Christmas toys, or whatever (?). I think Burke lost his temper and could have whacked her on the back of the head with the torch, or the golf club - whatever, while she was eating her pineapple (?).

I honestly think when Patsy Ramsey and maybe John too (?)discovered JonBenét had been killed accidentally by Burke in a bad temper, that she, or they were out of their minds because the presence of sexual interference would be discovered by the coroner when examining her body. This is why I think it was Patsy Ramsey who broke one of her paint brushes and proceeded to try and destroy the present evidence of sexual interference in JonBenét's vagina, and then the ransom note was written. Just another theory!

 

Unless JonBenet had been looking down, it would have been difficult for someone to strike her on the BACK of her head. My problem is, I keep thinking that the photo of her skull shows the TOP of her skull, as if the weapon came smashing down from directly above her. If she were sitting at the table, for example, and someone came up from behind and hit her, the crack would have been on TOP and not the back, I think. If the person were on one side of her and swung the weapon at the back of her head, then that might have caused the huge crack, but the angles are somewhat difficult, even then.

The main thing that has always puzzled me, is why her scalp didn't get cleaved open at the same time the weapon hit her. Even if she had been flung against something, I can't imagine no scalp wound and external bleeding. When my son hit the pavement, he had no external bleeding but I think his arms took some of the force. And he must have struck the ground on the side of his head, so perhaps it wasn't enough contact for long enough to penetrate the skin? I do wish that ER nurse would come back, so I could ask her if it is so common to see this kind of extreme head wound without any cut to the scalp.

It just confuses me that anything heavy swung with enough force to crack JonBenet's skull almost in half, would not cut her scalp open at the same time. Even with her hair helping to take some of the force, it's not that hard to cut open the scalp. I had a fall from a bike once, and the nut on the handlebar came down and cut my head open, and I came to sitting in the street with blood all over my shirt and a helpful person asking me if I needed help. Almost all kids cut their chin open during childhood (I did that too).

So why didn't JonBenet's scalp get lacerated? It doesn't make sense to me.

 

Thanks, KK. I took the photo and turned it so it would show JonBenet's skull fracture from back to front, as it was delivered. I also inverted the black and white, and changed the exposure to show more detail.

Looking at it now, it makes me wonder if we are actually seeing the oval outline of the fracture, and a shadow line where the bloody edge of the membrane shows, instead of the dark area being part of the bloody edge of the membrane. To me, it looks like the fracture area can be seen under the pulled-back membrane.

Opinions?

(And as OM4U said, please be nice ... )

 

I believe the autopsy photos, about 6-7 of them (the only ones we have seen) were released by the GLobe tabloid. They claimed to have a very large assortment to choose from and chose the least graphic ones. If I recall, these photos were sold to the Globe by photo lab workers, who I believe were arrested for it. I guess the BPD didn't have their own photo lab, so they took it to Rite Aid or someplace like that. If any of you have ever seen the movie "One Hour Photo" with Robin Williams- it is EXCELLENT and really creepy. It is one of his dramatic roles, and he nails it as a lonely, disturbed photo lab technician. This topic reminded me of that movie.
Photos are taken at every step of the autopsy process, from when the body if placed fully clothed (assuming it arrived at the morgue clothed) to the final closure of the Y-cut (a large incision in the abdomen through which the internal organs are removed, weighed, and tested for toxins and drugs). This would also include very graphic and disturbing photos of JB being dissected, and except for the very first few, she would have been naked in all of them. If the tabloid bought the entire assortment, I'd say they used restraint compared to what they could have shown.

 

Autopsy Translation

I’ve been meaning to do this for some time. Since it came up today, I decided to spend what spare time I had putting together the portion of the AR detailing the skull and brain injuries into plain, simple English (with only a few big words thrown in, just to make sure koldkase doesn’t fall asleep).

This is going to be a graphic, and unfortunately at times, brutal sounding discussion; so take a deep breath and prepare yourself if you want to understand the brain injuries.

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For reference:

Illustration-1:

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Illustration-2:

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Illustration-3:

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I've copied the words of the AR in blue first, then my translation in black and indented. I also added additional notes and comments [within brackets] and in bold green which may help.

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Skull and Brain:

The head:​

Upon reflection of the scalp there is found to be an extensive area of scalp hemorrhage along the right temporoparietal area extending from the orbital ridge, posteriorly all the way to the occipital area. This encompasses an area measuring approximately 7x4 inches.

After cutting her scalp down to the bone, from ear to ear, across the top of her head, and then pulling the two parts of her scalp down to expose her skull, there is found to be a large area of bleeding from the scalp along the top/right side of her skull which goes from the bone just above her right eye socket, going all the way back to the back part of her skull. This covers an area that measure about 7†long (front to back) by 4†wide (side to side).​

This grossly appears to be fresh hemorrhage with no evidence of organization.

Without taking into consideration any other evidence, and without benefit of having already examined the blood with a microscope, this looks like recent bleeding without any indication that it has begun the clotting process (coagulation). [IOW (and this gets pretty complicated here and beyond my complete understanding), there are microscopic things (mostly having to do with the platelets and fibrin in blood) that should be happening within the exposed blood in the area Dr. Meyer is talking about here -- if it had not happened recently. If these microscopic processes had occurred, this blood would appear to be thicker than it is because it had begun coagulating. I have read others’ opinions that this meant it had to have occurred very close to the TOD (time of death). If true, this would contradict the opinion of Dr. Lucy about TOD, but I’ll leave it at that for you decide what it means. If you care to read more about this process, and if you can keep your eyes from glazing over, this, and this are good sources, and then there’s always this.​

At the superior extension of this area of hemorrhage is a linear to comminuted skull fracture which extends from the right occipital to posteroparietal area forward to the right frontal area across the parietal skull.

At the upper portion of this area of bleeding is a crack in her skull which includes both a linear crack and a hole which has broken pieces of bone punched out [The word “comminuted†directly contradicts what Dr. Spitz said about there being a single hinged piece of bone within the “holeâ€, and makes me wonder where he was getting his information and doubt everything else in his analysis.] which goes from the right side of the back of her skull, over the top, and forward to just above her right eye socket.​

In the posteroparietal area of this fracture is a roughly rectangular shaped displaced fragment of skull measuring one and three-quarters by one-half inch.

At the back of her skull (refer to Illustration-1 above) [posteroparietal means the back of the parietal bone], there is a somewhat rectangular hole of broken skull bone which is 1.75†long by 0.5†wide. [I dispute, of course, the rectangular description of the depressed fracture. It could be that at the point in the autopsy that Dr. Meyer was at here, he had not yet removed the thin membrane (the pericranium) covering the skull --only the scalp without this membrane. If this membrane completely covered the hole and it was bruised as it appears to be where we can see only the back portion of it in the only photo we have available, it may have looked to be “roughly rectangular†at this point in the autopsy. That’s the only way I can imagine that it would have looked to be rectangular instead of oval.]​

The hemorrhage and the fracture extend posteriorly just past the midline of the occipital area of the skull.

The bleeding and the fracture go back to just past the center of a line drawn down the middle of the occipital bone at the back of her head (refer to Illustration-1).​

This fracture measures approximately 8.5 inches in length.

The entire length of the fracture is about 8.5â€, from end to end.​

On removal of the skull cap there is found to be a thin film of subdural hemorrhage measuring approximately 7-8 cc over the surface of the right cerebral hemisphere and extending to the base of the cerebral hemisphere.

After using a saw to cut off the top portion of her skull, there is a thin layer of bleeding which lies within the space between the outermost meningeal layer (the dura mater -- which adheres to the skull), and the arachnoid, which envelops the brain (refer to Illustration-2). [This is usually what results from tears in the bridging veins that cross through the subdural space. In contrast, epidural hematomas are usually caused by tears in arteries, resulting in a build-up of blood between the dura mater and the skull.] The amount of bleeding here would probably be about 7 to 8 cubic centimeters (7 cc = 1.4 teaspoons; 8 cc = 1.6 teaspoons. So 7 to 8 cc is the equivalent of about 1.5 teaspoons.) if it was collected and placed into a measuring device. This thin layer of blood is spread out over the entire right half of her brain and goes all the way down to the bottom of the right half of her brain.​

The 1450 gm brain has a normal overall architecture.

The brain weighs 1450 grams (about 3 lbs. and 3oz.) and looks pretty normal in its shape. [IOW, it’s not larger in any one area than another -- meaning there is not a noticeable amount of swelling in any one area.]

[I should mention here that 1450 gm seems to me rather large for a 6 year old female, but Meyer makes no additional mention of it. For more information on brain weights, see notes below.]​

Mild narrowing of the sulci and flattening of the gyri are seen.

Even though I (Meyer) just said there was no noticeable uneven swelling, there must be a small amount of swelling because of what is seen in the ridges and grooves of the surface of the brain.​

No inflammation is identified.

I (Meyer) don’t see where this small amount of swelling is coming from.​

There is a thin film of subarachnoid hemorrhage overlying the entire right cerebral hemisphere.

In addition to the thin layer of subdural bleeding mentioned earlier, there is also another thin layer of blood in the area between the arachnoid and the pia mater (refer to Illustration-2, and Illustration-3) that covers all of the right half of the brain. [This is the type of bleeding that usually occurs during a brain aneurysm.]​

On the right cerebral hemisphere underlying the previously mentioned linear skull fracture is an extensive linear area of purple contusion extending from the right frontal area, posteriorly along the lateral aspect of the parietal region and into the occipital area. This area of contusion measures 8 inches in length with a width of up to 1.75 inches.

On the right half of the brain underneath the linear fracture is a large area of purple bruising of the outer portion of the brain. This bruising goes from above her eye socket to the back, along the right side of the top of her skull, all the way back to the back of her skull. This bruised area is 8†long by 1.75†wide (It coincides with the length and the location of the linear fracture.)​

At the tip of the right temporal lobe is a one-quarter by one-quarter inch similar appearing purple contusion. Only very minimal contusion is present at the tip of the left temporal lobe. This area of contusion measures only one-half inch in maximum dimension.

[This is difficult for me to explain with my limited understanding, but the “tips†of the two temporal lobes are not truly distinguishable as physically identifiable parts of the brain. They are general areas that are theoretically divided regions of a portion of the brain -- so divided because the function of that portion of the brain. The tip is located at the back of the brain. It is probably better to simply see an animation of exactly where it is located here.]

[What Meyer is saying in the above sentences is that there is a very small area of bruising on the back of the brain. This is probably (IMO) because of the initial force from the head blow itself toward the back of her head. Meyer does make note here that the bruising is more dominant on the right tip over the left, but the total area is only one-half inch in maximum size.]​

The cerebral vasculature contains no evidence of atherosclerosis.

The blood veins and arteries of her brain show no signs of hardening. [I’m not sure why Meyer would state this, unless it is just a standard notation made during an autopsy. I don’t know of a reason that it could be related to the injuries associated with her head wound.]​

Multiple coronal sections of the cerebral hemispheres, brain stem and cerebellum disclose no additional abnormalities.

With a carving knife, multiple sections of each of the two upper halves of the brain were cut, as well as sections of the two lower parts of the brain (as is the standard autopsy practice).​

The areas of previously described contusion are characterized by purple linear streak-like discolorations of the gray matter perpendicular to the surface of the cerebral cortex. These extend approximately 5mm into the cerebral cortex.

Once the sections were cut, a cross-section of the bruises noted before on the outer surface of the brain could be seen. These bruises went about 5 millimeters (about 0.2â€) deep [essentially, not very deep].

[My question here (and this goes to the issue of the length of time between the head blow, the strangulation, and the actual TOD) is when did the good doctor do the tissue fixation, and how good were his medical practices? I won’t spend a great deal of time on it in this post, but this has been nagging at the back of my mind for a long time. Organs are preserved with a solution called formalin. Body tissue (including brain) will continue “rotting†until it is fixed (“fixed†in this sense of the word means stabilized). Formalin is a mixture of formaldehyde (which is actually a gas), water (which is what makes the formaldehyde a liquid, as we think of it), and methanol. The liquidized formulation of formaldehyde comes in different percentages of gas to liquid. Different percentages of the gas result in a different calculation of the desired ratio of methanol. There are conflicting opinions as to the different percentages of each that should be used. There are commercial mixtures available, but many pathologists still mix their own. If too much methanol is used, it can contribute to necrosis of the very tissue it is intended to preserve. If the least amount of artificially caused necrosis is present, it will throw off the estimation of TOD making it seem to be longer than it actually is between injury to the organ and actual death. So you can see that the proper fixation of brain tissue is critical to the estimation of the length of time between injury and actual death. Dr. Lucy was not present at the autopsy and has no knowledge of the precision used in the preservation of the brain sections. Her opinion is based on the assumption that it was all done correctly and efficiently. How much faith do you have in the ability of a small town coroner to take this all into consideration? There is also another factor that I don’t believe Dr. Lucy considered because her specialty is brain pathology -- but I’ll save that for another time.]​

Examination of the base of the brain discloses no additional fractures.

[This would only be significant if there were fractures at the base. Much more force is required to cause basilar fractures, and therefore they are relatively rare -- accounting for less than 5% of severe head injuries. Also, basilar fractures have particular, specific signs: blood in the sinuses, a clear fluid called cerebrospinal fluid leaking from the nose or ears, “black-eyes†(often called raccoon eyes), and other less common symptoms.]

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[Notice in this that most of the bleeding is from the breaking of veins and arteries and associated capillaries within the layers of the skull, and that they mostly follow along the linear fracture. This indicates to “Dr. otg†that the breaking and tearing of them was due to the damage done in the separation of the skull along the linear fracture -- not the moving of the brain within the skull from front to back or vice versa. (Illustration-3 shows the distribution of veins, but not the arteries.) I am not trained in the medical field, so I claim no expertise. If someone who does have the expertise will speak up and explain to me where there is any indication of contrecoup bruising indicated in this AR, I would sincerely welcome the information. As it is, and as I read it, there is none.]
​

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Additional Notes:

The human adult skull bone has three layers (or tables) the outer layer is the hardest. It is thick and tough. The inner table is thinner, denser, and more brittle, and therefore is more likely to shatter or break. It is not terribly unusual that after a blow to the head, the inner table (also called the vitreous table) will sometimes break off without apparent or severe damage to the outer table. In the center, between these two layers is what is called the diploe. But at six years, this diploic layer has not yet developed, and therefore, a child’s skull is much thinner than that of an adult.

Weight of the Human Brain:
The average normal mass of an adult male human brain is approximately 1300 to 1400 grams (2.87 to 3.1 pounds).
The average Male's brain weighs 1360 grams (3 pounds)
The average Female's brain weighs 1250 grams (2.8 pounds)
A newborn human brain is about 350 to 400 grams (0.77 to 0.88 pounds).
A human’s brain grows quickly in the first years and reaches its full size by around the age of six.

The brain weights of some well known people:
The brain of Albert Einstein weighed a mere 1230 grams (2.71 pounds)
The brain of the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss weighed 1492 grams (3.29 pounds)
The brain of the leading poet of the Russian Revolution Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский for OM4U) weighed a whopping 1700 grams (3.75 pounds)

Dura mater means literally “tough mother†(think of dura as in durable -- meaning strong and tough). This layer is what cushions the inside of the skull bone from the other layers that protect the brain.
Pia mater means literally “soft motherâ€, because this layer of the brain is a soft, pliable membrane right next to the delicate tissue of the brain (cortex).
Arahnoid means “spider-likeâ€, and is so-named because of the interwoven fibers within the arachnoid layer.

 

Thank you otg for this very impressive post. It will take a long time to work my way through it and hopefully understand some of it. You younger ones amaze me with all these diagrams and graphics. Thank you one and all for your efforts. It is all for trying to find out who killed young JonBenét Ramsey, and I hope with all your efforts we will find out more information to solve this case.

 

These tabloids have no conscience when they print personal information of crimes, DeeDee. I never heard of this before.

l'll keep a lookout for the dvd of this Robin Williams movie.

 

When reading the opinions of forensic specialists like Spitz, Wecht and Lee- we have to remember that NONE of them actually saw the body or witnessed the autopsy. They had access to the same written report that we do, and probably had access to lab reports, etc that we do not. None of them likely ever spoke to the coroner (Mayer) or the anyone else present during the autopsy.
Nothing in any report that we have seen indicates the displaces piece of bone that was punched from her skull was hinged (still connected to the skull) rather than punched clean away. Mayer did not state that it was still connected. He called it displaced. And in the photos, the piece is missing. There is surely a photo of the piece, but it was not among the photos that are available to the public. Ideally, the piece should have been photographed next to the skull portion from which it was displaced.
Wecht also stated that he felt the head bash was AFTER she was strangled- an opinion shared by none of the others. It was determined that it was the strangulation that actually ended her life- though the head bash would have done so on its own if there had been no strangulation. Had she been already dead, there would not have been any swelling, however mild, in the brain, nor the bleeding that was seen.

 

I agree with everything you said, DeeDee. None of these so-called “experts†were present at the autopsy (including Dr. Lucy). Some of them did though have access to things we don’t. That’s why I can’t imagine how Dr. Spitz could say what he did about the shape of the fracture and the displaced bone. Everything Spitz claimed about it is disputed in the AR by Dr. Meyer.

Spitz says he was “consulted by the Boulder police investigating the murder,†and that, “he reviewed more than 100 autopsy photos which have never been released to the public.â€

About the fracture, Spitz said, “it was perfectly rectangular. That piece of bone that was knocked out, remained attached on a hinge, and was bendable.†About the Maglite he said, “It doesn't fit into the defect where it leaves some area to play with. It fits perfectly.†(This was while he was going around demonstrating him holding the bulb end of the Maglite at an angle to a Styrofoam wig head.)

Don’t they teach basic geometry to doctors at all? How could Dr. Meyer and Dr. Spitz both look at that hole and call it a rectangle? And why would Spitz say it was a single piece of knocked out bone that “remained attached on a hinge?†(Give me a break!)

But then, in the same interview, Spitz also said this about the genital injuries:

I’m getting mad again now thinking about Spitz. I’m gonna have to change my avatar back to the one I use at WS for a while.

All of the above quotes can be found here:
http://thewebsafe.tripod.com/03172000spitzondiscovery.htm

 

I'm not taking up for Spitz but photos distort things. I can see a rectangle in the missing shape but it lies on the diagonal. Add to that the displacement is on a convex shape and maybe the displacement if seen in three dimensions would look differently than in a two-dimensional photograph????

 

Oh, DeeDee...DO NOT GET ME STARTED on Dr. Spitz! :banghead:

"Doctor" (I use the term loosely with this scandalously bad fraud) Spitz SEVERELY DIS-INFORMED a jury of the truth in the Anthony trial: a jury so incapable of independently understanding forensics and medical information which was clearly presented by the actual doctor who did the autopsy of Caylee Anthony, that Spitz easily confused them so profoundly they let Casey Anthony WALK. Seeing his abysmal performance in that case, I will NEVER even consider anything that QUACK ever said or says again.

On the witness stand for the defense in that case, the damned idiot was A DISGRACE to forensic medical examiners everywhere.

Which perfectly explains how that MAJOR AZZHAT got the details of evidence so wrong in this case! :hood:

Okay, sorry DeeDee, I just had a moment there.... :wave:

 

Oh, I see you beat me to the rundown on Dr. Schlitz! The man is a FRAUD and a CHARLATAN. I'd slap him and challenge him to a duel in another life!