Who Ordered an American Girl Doll, in the Name of JonBenet, on January 1st 1997?

I can't imagine that the rope inside the doll was as long as the rope used for the garrotte, and I do remember several sources saying the rope was flat, not round.

This is what the autopsy report says:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/jonbenet3.html

Page 3 - "Extending rom the knot on the posterior aspect of the neck are two tails of the knot, one measuring 4 inches in length and having a frayed end, and the other measuring 17 inches in length with the end tied in multiple oops around a length of a round tan-brown wooden stick.."

 

I've been lurking on this forum since finding it in a google search after the 48 Hours "Ramsey Infomercial". Reading this thread yesterday was what made me decide to register so I could add some information.
I was always curious about why the American Girls doll were removed from the house. I think this thread is on to something.
Between my 2 daughters and I, we have a total of 6 American Girls dolls.

My first thought on reading this thread was that the duct tape theory fit, but no way would the string be long enough. So, yesterday, I looked at our dolls and I planned to come back here to ask just how long the crime scene string was. (So, thank you for posting it before I asked.)
Here's what I found:

• None of our dolls have strings that look like the doll picture posted on this site. The original strings on our dolls are not as thick and are much softer/more flexible looking.
• 3 of our dolls have a flat string that looks more like the murder photo string. All the strings appear to be cotton. Some have a more "loosely woven" look. I almost dropped the doll I was holding when I pullled her clothes away and saw what it looked like.
• The tails of the strings that hang below the knots that hold the head on the doll are much longer than the doll picture posted here. The tails go almost to the doll's butt.
• The tails of string on the dolls belonging to my oldest daughter are not even in length. I know some of the tails on our dolls were trimmed to make them more even. Here are the lenghts of the tails:
  * 8 inches and 4 inches
  * 8 inches and 5 inches
  * 5.5 inches and 4.75 inches (this is one my daughter trimmed)
  * 7.5 inches and 5 inches
  * both 6.25 inches (trimmed by me)
  * both 7 inches (trimmed by me)
• I couldn't measure the string inside the neck, but the outside of the neck is about 6.25 to 6.5 inches.
• The string that most closely matched the crime photo string was on my Molly doll - a string I know I cut; the uncut tails are each 7 inches. That means that if I untied the knots and removed the string from the doll, the remaining string in my Molly doll is around 20 inches long (plus several knots at the neck).
• The outfit Molly comes includes a dark blue wool skirt and a red and blue argyle sweater (I think acrylic).

The string might not be long enough, but I think we have a close match and a reason for removing the dolls from the house.

 

I have always found Jahazafat's story very intriguing.

It's the fact that the doll was ordered on Jan 1, and the original dolls were collected (WHY?) and the fibers that interest me as well.

I have always found the statement "no empty roll of duct tape or cord found in the house" therefore it HAS to be an intruder very lame. It would not be unusual to have cord around without a package. Just think how cord comes packaged when purchased new-- it may have a paper sleeve -- that's it. It comes in various lengths. It's possible this cord was used for something else a long time ago and 2 or 3 feet which was used for the garote of an original 6 foot bundle was lying around the basement or garage with other miscellaneous stuff. This would NOT be unusual. I bet some of us have cord lying around without a package.

The duct tape is interesting as well. If the same duct tape that was used on JonBenet was previously on the doll, it should have had some of the doll or unidentified fibers on it. I don't know if there were unidentified fibers on the actual duct tape. But we do know that JonBenet had unidentified fibers on her body which oddly match the colors of the clothing of the doll.

I did not realize Jahazafat's father is an attorney. I think they should provide all of this information to Tom Bennett-- he is now the lead investigator. Her Dad would be the best person to contact him, since his opinion of tipsters is poor due to a few mentally unbalanced individuals.

Something which reaches out and screams to me "NOT RIGHT" is the doll order. It can also be looked at that the "intruder" may have purchased the doll and sent it as a calling card. I cannot imagine that the Ramseys' would not have told the police if an unknown doll, identical to one JonBenet owned appeared at John's office and they did not know who ordered it, especially since it could have been from "the killer"....

 

I agree Sabrina. What Jahazafat has brought to the table here is a very credible theory about the tape. Add to that a possible explination for some of the fibers. We know there were dolls in the home that may be the source of both. We know this from the Ramsey's and their own family's words.

Little

 

Wow

This is a fascinating thread.

Per Sue "# the remaining string in my Molly doll is around 20 inches long (plus several knots at the neck)."

Makes sense to me now. Why else would someone order another doll after JonBenet was gone? A calling card? Nah, the doll wouldn't say enough.

Bet someone was covering just in case they were told to turn the doll over..like they were asked to do with their clothing months and months later.

 

More about fibers.
Just as the string on the dolls we have is not all exactly the same, their bodies are not exactly all the same cloth either. Their bodies can all be described as tan woven cloth, but the exact color varies (and I'm not just talking about the African American doll that we have). Some of the Caucasian dolls have darker toned cloth and some is lighter. So, if you turned over a new Molly doll, for example, to the police, the fibers would not necessarily match the fibers on the tape, even if the tape had been used on a Molly doll.

And more about the dolls. The American Girl dolls are sort of upper middle class/upper class keepsake playthings. At that time, the doll itself was $74 and accessory kits included things like an outfit for $22 up to a bed for $60. It's not a subscription thing (which someone mentioned earlier as a possible reason for a doll to arrive after JonBenet's death. You have to order the dolls. Now there are 2 stores that sell them, but at that time, the only way to get them was by phone or mail order. Each doll is set in a particular time period and has stories about her. The accessory kits are historically correct plythings that enter into the story (so most girls want at least some of the accessories).

I don't know this, was it established which doll(s) JonBenet actually had and what clothing she had for the dolls? Patsy doesn't really impress me as the "just order one doll kind". From what I have read about her, she seems like more the type to order quite a bit of the doll's collection.
The Molly doll comes with a blue wool skirt, but her accessory kit (which I expect JonBenet would have had since the doll in the catalog has it on) include a blue wool beret also. One of her accessories is a dark green velvet dress (almost black).
The Kirsten doll, has an accessory/dress kit that includes a black and white wool hand knit sweater, a white cotton shirt and a black wool skirt. Kirsten's nightgown is a white cotton (slightly fuzzy) flannel and you can order a Saint Lucia outfit for Christmas that includes a white cotton dress. One of the items that can be ordered for Kirsten is a pair of grey stuffed cats. I don't know what the cats are made of now, but the ones we have are grey real fur.
The Samanta doll comes in thick black, slightly fuzzy tights. One of her additional outfits is a dark grey wool school dress and you can also order a navy blue and green (so dark it's almost black) cape and gaiters. Samanta also has several outfits of white cotton cloth.

So anyway, more potential fiber sources.

 

Sue

I first became aware of this doll when my daughter was just past the age of wanting one. I thought they were so cute and unique.

With the catalog I received, you could order clothes for your daughter that matched the doll's. I wondered why Patsy didn't order some of them as they were very pretty and for JonBenet, it could have been fun to be dressed like her doll.

Maybe JonBenet wasn't into dolls. I remember hearing that Patsy had ordered her "my twin doll" and JonBenet didn't like it. In seeing her bedroom I was surprised that there weren't a bunch of stuff animals or dolls in it.

Maybe she was just too busy being pretty for mom. I really wonder just what this little girl did like to play with...

 

Sue

Thanks for the very informative posts. Since the length of the strings on the dolls was not uniform, it is altogether possible that there was one in the Ramsey home long enough for the garotte. It is also very likely that there was one or more pristine, unplayed with dolls, where the string length would not have been altered.

Your remarks on the fibers are also very interesting.

I certainly hope CBI or FBI takes another hard look at this case. In light of the information on this thread, a whole new area of investigation should be opened up.

Forget about DA Mary Keenan. She was a member of the Hunter-Wise team. She will never exert herself to solve the JonBenet murder. These goof-offs, who kept and served alcohol on the premises of the Justice Center, could not be trusted to conduct a decent, honest investigation.

Sorry to say, Tom Bennett is just another puppet.

I wonder what Governor Owens did with that petition from hundreds of justice-seekers who asked him to turn the case over to the Attorney General?

 

Glad to help add puzzle pieces.

Now, I guess to be "fair" to the Ramseys, I should point out that they may have had some perfectly legitimate, innocent reason for removing the dolls. Like, maybe they wanted the dolls to be part of a display for her memorial service or they buried one with her. But, if that's the case, there should be some people who can testify (or maybe even some pictures to show) that the doll(s) were present at the memorial service.

 

No Dolls in Coffin

Here is what was buried with JonBenet:

DOI (HB) Page 39

The last time we saw JonBenet was in that funeral home. My mother and dad, Nedra and Don Paugh; my sisters, Pam and Polly; John and I; John Andrew; and Melinda stood around the coffin saying our good-byes. Mother had a special gold bracelet she had saved to give to JonBenet when she was older. Mother reached down and slipped it over her wrist.

Polly put a large gold cross in JonBenet's hands. During the time I had cancer, Father Rol had performed a healing service for me and had given me a cross that had been blessed by Native Americans in South Dakota, where he had formerly pastored a church. Later I had found gold crosses similar to that one at a jewelry store in Boulder and bought those crosses for my mother and sisters. Polly had worn the cross through some difficult times; JonBenet would wear it forever.

Pam had brought JonBenet's Little Miss Christmas Tiara, which she had won during December's pageant competition in Denver. Now Pam bent over and lovely placed the crown on JonBenet's head.

Then it was John turn. He had recently purchased a beautiful silk scarf, and he tucked it around JonBenet as if surrounding her with a final blanket of love.
DOI (HB) Page 40

"Suddenly my friend Priscilla White rushed in. She and Fleet had found Sister Socks, a stuffed kitten that was so dear to JonBenet. I couldn't believe that Priscilla had the gray-a-white cat. I had asked to have the toy brought from the house in Boulder, but the stuffed animal that was given to us earlier was the wrong one. Priscilla knew that, and somehow, even though she was now in Atlanta, she had gotten hold of the right Sister socks, the one with the red ribbon around it's neck. I tucked Sister Socks under JonBenet's right arm."

2000 March 18 - John and Patsy Ramsey book, "Death of Innocence"

This and much more can be found on ACandyRose's website:

http://www.acandyrose.com/crimescene-funeral.htm

 

LE are Idiots

"Then it was John turn. He had recently purchased a beautiful silk scarf, and he tucked it around JonBenet..."

LE are idiots for not exhuming JonBenet's body based on this act alone. WTF? I had forgotten about the scarf. Why would he put in a scarf, especially a new scarf? Why not something more personal?

And what a chilling comment by Patsy:

"...as if surrounding her with a final blanket of love."
DOI (HB) Page 40

Unreal.

 

Vp,

That one always got to me. A scarf??? That was almost like a confession.

 

Possible source for fibers, but. . .

How do we think the fibers from the doll played a part in the actual murder?

By simple transference?

 

Transference

Doll fibers plus Patsy's sweater fibers on the gag tape would indicate Patsy touched the doll (to remove duct tape and possibly cord) and then went about the staging. Just a guess.

 

It's been a long time since I read DOI. I remembered about the stuffed cat, but not the rest.
I had forgotten reading about the scarf. That is a very weird thing to put in the casket with a child. And the "final blanket of love" doesn't sound comforting to me somehow. It sounds ominous and smothering.

 

It doesn't really "fix" the head. The thing is that when the dolls come from American Girl, the cord is hanging down their back. It gets tangled up when you comb the dolls hair and it sticks to the velcro that closes their clothing (I don't know how to explain it, but the cord is sort of mildly fuzzy and it will stick to the rough side of the velcro). It gets in the way, but you can't cut it off short or the knots that fasten the doll's head on would come undone. I personally just taught my daughters to be very careful to tuck the cords into their doll's clothing before combing hair or closing the velcro, but duct tape could be used to hold the cord in place and keep it from tangling.

Since the clothes that PR was wearing that matched the fibers on the tape was the jacket she had worn to the party (at least that's what I understood), i don't think it was usually a jacket she wore around the house. I least, I know I am not in the habit of wearing my party clothes to lounge around the house.

 

• 
  
  Thank you, Sue, for caring enough to join and post the information you have on the American Girl dolls. It is very helpful.
  
  I had wondered if there were different kinds of string (and different lengths) used in the American Girl dolls, and you have answered that question.
  
  From what I've seen of the American Girl doll strings, and how you have described some of them as being extra long down to the doll's rear end, the length is no shorter than that used for the garotte.
  
  Oh, and I'm not in the habit of wearing my party clothes to lounge around in the house either. ;-)

 

Even if these clothes were 'party clothes' , mothers do things and fix things whether they are dressed up to go out or not, it does not matter the purpose of the clothing.

 

I tried to take some digital photos of our dolls, but it was too dreary and they all turned out too "flash-bulby" and then I ran out of power on the camera. I'll try again tomorrow.

 

Website

Did anyone post this link? There are photos of the dolls on their website:

http://www.americangirl.com/

The discussion at the swamp is quite funny. The owner/dictator edited Jahazafat's information, and not only is mixing up My Twinn with American Dolls, but she left out the part about the money order. The tin foil hat posters are insisting that they should have been able to trace the order by the credit card number.