Was JonBenet Strangled to cause Death?

K777angel

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My theory on the 'strangulation' of JonBenet has basically been that it was not an act to kill her - but an act of staging after the head blow (which left NO visible sign to explain why she was dead). Thinking that the head blow had indeed caused JonBenet to die, the perp/stager HAD to concoct a VISIBLE reason why she was dead. He/she did not realize that there was just enough life left in JonBenet to cause petechiae and stop the ebbing life out her.
It has always been important to note that this was not a brutal and violent strangulation, but has been termed a 'gentle' one. The hyoid bone was not damaged nor was there any damage to the strap muscles.

I just finished one of Ann Rule's fairly recent books titled: "The End of The Dream." In a short true crime story in the back of the book she chronicles the murder of a young woman. I found what she had to say quite interesting:

"Kay Owens had apparently died of strangulation by ligature. The characteristic petechiae (small hemorrages in the eyes, heart, larynx) were present, although the hyoid bone at the back of her throat was intact.
Her killer had probably not been very strong; strangulation often crushes they hyoid bone and causes deep bleeding into the strap muscles of the neck.
The minimal damage to Kay Owens' throat also indicated that she had either been asleep or unconscious when the killer choked her. Had she fought,
much more pressure would have been necessary." Pg. 447
The killer turned out to be a teenaged boy.

I think this is also a good point to note when it comes to JonBenet.
Had she FOUGHT during the cord being put and pulled around her neck - there most certainly would have been more damage. Not to mention there would have been physical indications on the duct tape on her mouth that she was conscious. There was not.
The search warrant also notes something about JonBenet that has always made me sad. It notes that she had dried tan mucous that streaked the side of her face. This makes me think she had been aware and crying during some part of her trauma. Most likely IMO - the sexual molestation. She couldn't have cried after the head blow and she was most likely unconscious after the cord pulled tight around her neck.

One other interesting observation Ann Rule makes in another case in her book.
She says regarding the murder victim: "They noted that someone had piled
pillows taken from the Master bedroom beside Vera English's body. This kind of attempt to make the body "comfortable" usually indicated that the killer
had been someone close to the victim. " pg.502
It was. It was her 14 yr. old stepson.
 
Today, my 4 year old asked me "What are these" and when I turned around, she had a container of cable ties in her arms. I quickly took them from her and put them up out of her reach. They are lethal! We had a talk about them at school because apparently there have been several accidental strangulations with them and other cases where kids have tightened them around their limbs and been unable to get them off again - losing hands and feet in the process.

My cable ties are narrower than those at school - probably about 1/8 inch wide and I thought how this must have been about the width of the cord which strangled JonBenet. Then I considered that if one had been accidentally tightened around someone's neck - what would the marks be like trying to get it off again. I think that instinctively, we would try to lever something underneath it but really, only cutting with a knife or scissors would do the trick. By the time one has found these, it would probably be too late.
 
My point on the last murder case example of Ann Rule's was that in JonBenet's case there were also indications that whoever was involved in the crime cared about her and was therefore someone close to her.
She was wiped down after her sexual molestation; perp took the time to pull her pants back up; a blanket or two was laid down to place her on; perp took the time to wrap her up in another blanket; her favorite Barbie nightie was placed close to her.

Not the work of a stranger.
 
K777angel said:
One other interesting observation Ann Rule makes in another case in her book.
She says regarding the murder victim: "They noted that someone had piled
pillows taken from the Master bedroom beside Vera English's body. This kind of attempt to make the body "comfortable" usually indicated that the killer
had been someone close to the victim. " pg.502
It was. It was her 14 yr. old stepson.

So how does that apply here?

Jonbenet was wrapped, but not a 'signature' wrapping so to speak, by a parent.
 
A white blanket was placed over JonBenet's body, and one of her favorite nightgowns was found on the floor close by.

LHP said she thought that both the blanket and nightgown had come from a dryer in the Ramseys' house. The nightgown may have stuck to the blanket via static cling, but how would an intruder know to search the dryer/s for a blanket...and why would an intruder want to place a blanket on the body in the first place? The blanket on JonBenet's body is a sign that the person who put it there was trying to care for her, even after death.
 
In response to the thread title...

I don't think JonBenet's death was intentional. I think she and Burke were engaged in sexual play that involved the cord being placed around JonBenet's neck, maybe as a lead-the-prisoner leash, or maybe as an EA device. When Burke inserted the broken paint stick into her vagina and hurt her, she may have screamed and tried to flee. Burke panicked and yanked the cord to stop her (perhaps he was afraid she might wake J&P and blurt out what happened), and then, in a knee-jerk reaction, he grabbed up the Maglite and struck her on the head, while yanking the cord hard again.

It's obvious that the tape on JonBenet's mouth was placed there as part of the staging. Maybe the wrist cords were too. Patsy's jacket fibers could have been caught in the garrote knot if she tried to remove the cord from JonBenet's neck when she and John found JonBenet's body (or were led to it by Burke).

Cyril Wecht said there was nothing about JonBenet's injuries that a boy Burke's age at the time couldn't have caused. Michael Baden said that Burke needs to be looked at. I agree.

Edited to add: I think the head blow is what ultimately killed JonBenet, but that even if she hadn't been struck on the head, she would have died from asphixiation if the neck cord hadn't been loosened immediately.
 
Ivy said:
A white blanket was placed over JonBenet's body, and one of her favorite nightgowns was found on the floor close by.

LHP said she thought that both the blanket and nightgown had come from a dryer in the Ramseys' house. The nightgown may have stuck to the blanket via static cling, but how would an intruder know to search the dryer/s for a blanket...and why would an intruder want to place a blanket on the body in the first place? The blanket on JonBenet's body is a sign that the person who put it there was trying to care for her, even after death.


If a blanket is simply laid across the victim, that is not the same thing. The only way I see teh nightgown having any signifigance is if she had been wearing it, or if it had come out of the dryer, like you said.

After reading LHP's views on *advertiser censored*, I don't think her a viable witness. She seemed to preoccupied with the whole thing.
 
little1, I think it is the same thing. Whether a blanket is laid on the victim, or the victim is wrapped in it, both show that whoever did it cared about the victim.

You don't have to believe LHP to accept the fact that the blanket belonged to the Ramseys and the nightgown was JonBenet's. Regardless of where the intruder found the blanket (and the nightgown if it wasn't sticking to the blanket), why would he go to the trouble of finding a blanket and placing the blanket on the body--or wrapping the body in it, as has often been reported? That was a loving thing to do, not the act of a murderous stranger.
 
Ivy said:
little1, I think it is the same thing. Whether a blanket is laid on the victim, or the victim is wrapped in it, both show that whoever did it cared about the victim.

You don't have to believe LHP to accept the fact that the blanket belonged to the Ramseys and the nightgown was JonBenet's. Regardless of where the intruder found the blanket (and the nightgown if it wasn't sticking to the blanket), why would he go to the trouble of finding a blanket and placing the blanket on the body--or wrapping the body in it, as has often been reported? That was a loving thing to do, not the act of a murderous stranger.


From the most credible reports, JonBenet was WRAPPED in the blanket -- an indication that a family member likely placed the white blanket around her. That family member was probably John or Patsy and was done during the staging phase of the coverup. That's how Patsy's fibers got all over everything even though she didn't kill JonBenet.

Since JonBenet ate pineapple about 1 1/2 to 2 hours before she died, she had to have come downstairs voluntarily on her own. And since it was very cold that night (9 degrees outside) JonBenet likely WORE the Barbie nightgwn downstairs in addition to carrying the white blanket. IMO she secretly came downstairs to play games with Burke and, perhaps, Burke's friend.

Just my opinion.

BlueCrab
 
Many of the actions of the perp and/or stager in JonBenet's killing show a type of concern that does not indicate that of a stranger. Particularly a stranger who would be anxious to HIGH TAIL it out of that house before he was discovered.

Wiping down the body area of JonBenet, pulling her pants back up (why would a stranger even care?) laying blankets down to lay her on, covering her up and wrapping her in a blanket, placing her nightgown near her, and then taking the time to TURN AROUND and latch the door to the room she lay in.
The cord around the wrists were described by the coroner as "loose."
The tape over her mouth was not for practical purposes but for staging. There were no tongue imprints on the duct tape. And no skin marks from the duct tape indicating that she was already dead when it was applied.

The cord pulled around her neck was not meant to "kill" her as the perp IMO already thought she was dead. It was for staging purposes - just as the cord tied around her wrists was.

I believe the whole crime started with the sexual molestation. It does not fit that it was part of the staging - as the stager then tried to HIDE the fact that she was molested by wiping her down thoroughly and pulling her pants back up and wrapping her up. The staging efforts were purposely made VISIBLE by the stager. Of course. That is the whole point. The cord around the neck and wrists and the note. Visible. Not hidden. Hidden like the molestation and head wound.
The stager tried to hide the 2 original assaults that were the trigger and cause of JonBenet's death: The molestation and the following head blow to silence her. The rest is the attempted cover up.
 
I'm a BDIer all the way, which means I believe that Burke, and he alone, was responsible for all the signs of trauma found on JonBenet's body, including the vaginal injury, the strangulation, and the skull fracture. I do not believe that John or Patsy defiled JonBenet's body in any way, before or after her death. They applied the mouth tape to the body and probably the wrist cords, but imo, that's all they did to it besides wiping it down, redressing it, moving it, and wrapping it caringly in the blanket. I don't believe they were even aware of the skull fracture. I doubt that Burke was either, even though imo he's the one who caused it.
 

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