$100,000 explained

Plenum7

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One thing that requires an explanation is the ransom sum of $118,000. This is a very specific but very odd amount. There are numerous theories to explain it. Most commonly people point to JR's Christmas bonus of around $118,000 suggesting that the note's author must have known he received this amount. Others, less plausibly, see a sinister allusion to Psalm 118. I'd like to contribute another point of view here. It may have been put forward before - I'm new to this case.

The clue is in the subsequent division of the sum into $100,000 in $100 notes and $18,000 into $20. Why this requirement from the so-called "kidnappers"? The answer is this - the actual ransom amount is $100,000, and on top of this is money for "expenses" or "spending money". The $100,000 is to be stashed while the $18,000 in easily disposable, inconspicuous $20 notes is to be spent, probably on the task of stashing the $100,000 somewhere safe and on the kidnapper's get-away. That is why the money is to be broken up into those amounts.

Moreover, the sum of $18,000 is for *three* people. Why 18,000? Because 18 is divisible by three. The note reports three people - the author and the "two gentlemen". Each of these three require $6000 in $20 notes as immediate cash. That is the calculation that is implicit in the ransom note. The kidnappers, it says, want $100,000 plus $6000 each = $118,000. This is how that odd amount has been calculated.

I don't think the sum the "kidnappers" demand has anything to do with JR's bonus that year - or Psalm 118. But it may have something to do with the fact that the Ramsey's offered exactly $100,000 as a reward. That is, they offered what the note actually demanded, $100,000, ignoring the $18,000 additional cash.

I don't believe this is a forensics or a DNA case. The evidence is too meager and too contaminated. I'm inclined to think we have to use good old-fashioned detective techniques and start with the solid evidence we have. We have the ransom note and the body. I'm concentrating on the ransom note and the autoposy report. Both solid facts. The ransom note in particular is a gold-mine. The War-and-Peace of all ransom notes as someone said. Three whole pages in which the author has time to give themselves away. And the first thing I want to say about the ransom note is that the amount of $118,000 goes with the claim that there are three people involved. They want $100,000. And they need an extra $6000 each in spending money.

That's how I read it. Anyone care to exchange views on the ransom note in this thread?

New here. Hi to all. Plenum7.
 
Hi Plenum7,

Welcome to Websleuths.

You have posed some interesting ideas.

The whole ransom note thing has always bugged me. It sounds like a teenager wrote it or somebody seriously mentally unbalanced. But then again, to sexually assault and murder a child is obviously mentally unbalanced to begin with.

Anyway, interesting thoughts, and good to have you around! :)
 
Plenum7 said:
One thing that requires an explanation is the ransom sum of $118,000. This is a very specific but very odd amount. There are numerous theories to explain it. Most commonly people point to JR's Christmas bonus of around $118,000 suggesting that the note's author must have known he received this amount. Others, less plausibly, see a sinister allusion to Psalm 118. I'd like to contribute another point of view here. It may have been put forward before - I'm new to this case.

The clue is in the subsequent division of the sum into $100,000 in $100 notes and $18,000 into $20. Why this requirement from the so-called "kidnappers"? The answer is this - the actual ransom amount is $100,000, and on top of this is money for "expenses" or "spending money". The $100,000 is to be stashed while the $18,000 in easily disposable, inconspicuous $20 notes is to be spent, probably on the task of stashing the $100,000 somewhere safe and on the kidnapper's get-away. That is why the money is to be broken up into those amounts.

Moreover, the sum of $18,000 is for *three* people. Why 18,000? Because 18 is divisible by three. The note reports three people - the author and the "two gentlemen". Each of these three require $6000 in $20 notes as immediate cash. That is the calculation that is implicit in the ransom note. The kidnappers, it says, want $100,000 plus $6000 each = $118,000. This is how that odd amount has been calculated.

I don't think the sum the "kidnappers" demand has anything to do with JR's bonus that year - or Psalm 118. But it may have something to do with the fact that the Ramsey's offered exactly $100,000 as a reward. That is, they offered what the note actually demanded, $100,000, ignoring the $18,000 additional cash.

I don't believe this is a forensics or a DNA case. The evidence is too meager and too contaminated. I'm inclined to think we have to use good old-fashioned detective techniques and start with the solid evidence we have. We have the ransom note and the body. I'm concentrating on the ransom note and the autoposy report. Both solid facts. The ransom note in particular is a gold-mine. The War-and-Peace of all ransom notes as someone said. Three whole pages in which the author has time to give themselves away. And the first thing I want to say about the ransom note is that the amount of $118,000 goes with the claim that there are three people involved. They want $100,000. And they need an extra $6000 each in spending money.

That's how I read it. Anyone care to exchange views on the ransom note in this thread?

New here. Hi to all. Plenum7.
Hi I think the RN was a ruse written by PR.And perhaps JR dicated some of it to her.I do think the amount was in reference to his bonus, in order to cast suspicion on his coworkers.And especially since ransom is about money, they wanted to make it appear to be someone that knew them and would know how much his bonus was that year.
 
JMO8778 said:
Hi I think the RN was a ruse written by PR.And perhaps JR dicated some of it to her.I do think the amount was in reference to his bonus, in order to cast suspicion on his coworkers.And especially since ransom is about money, they wanted to make it appear to be someone that knew them and would know how much his bonus was that year.


This is what I am calling into question. It is widely believed that the RN "wanted to make it appear to be someone that knew them and would know how much his bonus was that year." But I don't believe that to be the case. It is a coincidence. More interesting to me is the division of the amount into two portions. If the figure $118,000 alludes to JR's bonus, why do the so-called "kidnappers" want it in two portions? I think there is another explanation. Namely, $118,000 = $100,00 + ($6000 x 3). This is the calculation I find implicit in the note - leaving aside the question of who wrote it. I am simply looking at what the note says, assuming nothing.

Good to join the forum. Thanks for the welcome.
 
It is of considerable interest to me that the Ramseys offered $100,000 reward. This is the amount demanded in the RN, plus the extra $18,000 in $20 notes. I wonder, as does everyone, why the ransom was for such a small amount. But then I'd like to ask why the reward offered was also so small and, coincidentally, the same as the ransom amount?

This matter was of interest to the authorities too:

Q. (By Mr. Kane) Mr. Ramsey, page
23 266 and 267 of your book, you quote a letter
24 you sent to Alex Hunter.
25 A. Okay.
0032
1 Q. The last full paragraph of that,
2 finally I am willing, it's on 267, I am
3 willing and able to put up a substantial
4 reward, $1 million, through the help of
5 friends if this would help drive the
6 investigation.
7 Now, did you ever put up $1
8 million reward?
9 A. No. I was advised that it
10 wouldn't make any difference.
11 Q. Who was it that advised you of
12 that?
13 A. My attorneys. That $100,000 was
14 a significant amount of money. And I didn't
15 have a million dollars at that point. I
16 would have had to gone to friends for help.
17 And if it wasn't significant, I wasn't going
18 to approach my friends for that kind of
19 help.
20 Q. Did you talk to anybody else
21 about whether the amount of money offered
22 would have any bearing?
23 A. Well, I never got a response from
24 Alex on that, but I don't remember that I
25 did, no.
0033
1 Q. Was there something about, in your
2 attorney's experience, that they cited --
3 MR. WOOD: I don't want to go
4 into anything further on that, about
5 attorneys. The things they cited to him,
6 would go into the privilege.
7 MR. KANE: Fine. No problem.
8 Q. (By Mr. Kane) What did you
9 think? What did your instinct tell you
10 about a million versus 100,000?
11 A. Well, in the beginning, I thought
12 that that would drive information. At the
13 beginning we couldn't get the police to even
14 acknowledge or participate in announcing a
15 reward. It was very frustrating.
16 And so we, you know --
17 Q. Do you have a reward outstanding
18 right now?
19 A. Yes. As far as I am concerned,
20 we do.
21 Q. I am sorry?
22 A. As far as I'm concerned, we do,
23 yeah.
24 Q. Is it publicized anywhere?
25 A. It is publicized on our internet
0034
1 site, I believe.
2 Q. Who maintains that?
3 A. Ollie and I guess -- you can do
4 that yourself and have an internet service.
5 Q. You understand there is a reward
6 that is listed on your internet site?
7 A. (Witness nodded head
8 affirmatively).
9 Q. Is that that ramseyfamily.com?
10 A. It was originally. We changed
11 the number. I guess that is still how you
12 access it. I think you access it both ways,
13 don't you? Ramseyfamily.com, and we also set
14 up a JonBenetinfo@AOL.com.
15 Q. JonBenetinfo --
16 A. -- @AOL.com. That's not a
17 website.
18 Q. That is an e-mail?
19 A. Right.
 
Shelayne said:
Hi Plenum7,

Welcome to Websleuths.

You have posed some interesting ideas.

The whole ransom note thing has always bugged me. It sounds like a teenager wrote it or somebody seriously mentally unbalanced. But then again, to sexually assault and murder a child is obviously mentally unbalanced to begin with.

Anyway, interesting thoughts, and good to have you around! :)

Thanks foir the welcome Shelayne. I am new to this case. I honestly had never heard of it before the media blitz about Karr. I don't quite live on another planet, but Australia is near enough to it. So I am just getting into this case thanks to the WWW. And the first thing that grabs my attention is the ransom note. The question to ask, always, is "What is peculiar and unusual here?" Unfortunately, murdered children is not peculiar and unusual. It happens. But the ransom note is unprecedented. It is a very strange document. Peculiar and unusual. I suspect, therefore, that it will provide keys to this case. It is a good place to start. It is a solid, tangible, revealing item of evidence. I hope to look at it with fresh eyes and no assumptions. It is clearly enough a ruse of some sort by someone for some purpose but otherwise I am not beginning with any assumptions.
 
>>>>"I am simply looking at what the note says, assuming nothing."<<<<

:waitasec:
You're looking at what one small portion of the note says that by itself is insignificant. What any one small portion of the note says means nothing without taking into account the totality of the note. What in the world is the point to playing around with one small portion of the note and plugging it into a calculator without any purpose? The whole point to the note and examing it for any reason is to find out who wrote it and why. We already know who wrote it and have a pretty darn good idea as to why.

Clearly, your intension of pointing out that $11800 can be split 3 ways equally suggests that you believe there is any truth to this note being written by an actual "group of individuals" representing a "foreign faction". There is no group of individuals, and Patsy wrote the note. The End.
 
Plenum7 said:
"What is peculiar and unusual here?" Unfortunately, murdered children is not peculiar and unusual. It happens. But the ransom note is unprecedented.
Yes, the RN is one of a kind, funny thing it's not the only unprecedented thing in this case. Take a look at the so called garrote, first of it's kind.
 
Plenum--it is not a"coincidence"--when detectives hear the word "coincidence",it raises an immediate red flag---the figure was a cheap attempt to steer investigators to a co-worker of JR--and notice the ransom note says "we" and then "I" and then "we" again--brilliant--lol--read the links DrDetect gave you comparing Patsy's writing to the ransom note---and real kidnappers don't leave practice notes
 
PagingDrDetect said:
>>>>"I am simply looking at what the note says, assuming nothing."<<<<

:waitasec:
You're looking at what one small portion of the note says that by itself is insignificant. What any one small portion of the note says means nothing without taking into account the totality of the note. What in the world is the point to playing around with one small portion of the note and plugging it into a calculator without any purpose? The whole point to the note and examing it for any reason is to find out who wrote it and why. We already know who wrote it and have a pretty darn good idea as to why.

Clearly, your intension of pointing out that $11800 can be split 3 ways equally suggests that you believe there is any truth to this note being written by an actual "group of individuals" representing a "foreign faction". There is no group of individuals, and Patsy wrote the note. The End.

I have no such belief. All I know is that something very odd is going on in this case and since no convincing solution has presented itself in all this time it is best to assume nothing and to look for the peculiar and unusual features of the case. But I am pointing out that the RN is internally cogent in this way. I am working my way through the RN and trying to explain every peculiarity. What I don't believe is that the $118,000 alludes to JR's bonus, because that does not provide an explanation for why the amount is divided into two portions - and that is a peculiarity i am trying to explain along with the others. Whereas the formula $118,000 = 100,000 + (3 x 6000) fits the document entirely and explains more of the peculiarities. The author of the note wants us to think there is a group of three (or more) and the maths of the ransom amount conforms to this. I make no judgements about this fact on its own.

Curiously, the amount in the note is $118,000.00. Note - no cents. Who says, "Follow our instructions to the letter. We want one hundred and eighteen thousands dollars and no cents." ??? Another peculiarity.
 
Plenum7 said:
It is of considerable interest to me that the Ramseys offered $100,000 reward. This is the amount demanded in the RN, plus the extra $18,000 in $20 notes. I wonder, as does everyone, why the ransom was for such a small amount.
Again, I think this was a ruse employed by Patsy, to make the police believe that surely if the Ramseys had written the note themselves, they would have put in a far larger sum because they were multimillionaires. Quite clever.
Interesting to note that it was Patsy who at once (at the time when the police still believed that JB had been kidnapped), pointed out the too small amount in the RN to the police ...
 
If they wanted an amount easily divisible by 3, why didn't they choose $15,000, or $21,000? Why $18,000?
 
Why leave a ransom note for a child that is already dead. The ransom note was to point suspicion to anyone but the Ramsey's.

Nothing the R's did made any sense. John moved the body. The crime scene was immediately contaminated.

They immediately called their friends to come to the house - more contamination of the crime scene.

Patsy's clothing fibers were found all over the body, and in the rope around JB's neck.

This crime will never be solved unless a new independent investigation team is brought in.
 
Darlene733510 said:
This crime will never be solved unless a new independent investigation team is brought in.
I was thinking this crime has been solved, and that BPD needs to grow some and press charges against the Ramseys.
 
With regard to the original post, I personally don't find any significance in the number theory presented, but I applaud Plenum7 for looking at things in a fresh, new, different way. That's what it is going to take to solve this case, i.e., new perspectives, assuming nothing, looking at the crime from every angle, forming theories based on hard facts, not opinion. No disrespect intended, but contrary to what PagingDrDirect and others have stated above and elsewhere, it is not FACT that Patsy wrote the ransom note, no matter how many websites one posts as evidence. It is my belief that the handwriting evidence I have seen thus far has been made to fit a particular theory, i.e., the PR wrote it theory. Maybe Patsy did write it, but you cannot shape the evidence, pay attention to details that support a theory while ignoring those that don't, in order to arrive at truth. No need to go into a long discussion about this particular point as so many other posts exist (and, yes, I have read many if not most of them on this site and others), the FACT remains that there is no absolute proof or admission that Patsy wrote the note. This case will never be solved if people keep perpetuating non-facts such as this as solid truth. I firmly support a special investigator appointment to this case to re-examine every shred of evidence with no RDI/IDI predisposition in mind, and, while waiting for this to happen (if indeed it ever does), its going to take people like you and me, Plenum7 and PagingDrDirect included, to sort through the evidence, separate fact from opinion, and toss up different ideas and rebuttles until justice is found for JonBenet. There is no need to slap down someone's brainstorming of possibilities based on someone else's so called presentation of fact when it really isn't fact at all. Again, bravo to Plenum 7 for at least trying to look at things in a different light.
 
leighl said:
With regard to the original post, I personally don't find any significance in the number theory presented, but I applaud Plenum7 for looking at things in a fresh, new, different way. That's what it is going to take to solve this case, i.e., new perspectives, assuming nothing, looking at the crime from every angle, forming theories based on hard facts, not opinion. No disrespect intended, but contrary to what PagingDrDirect and others have stated above and elsewhere, it is not FACT that Patsy wrote the ransom note, no matter how many websites one posts as evidence. It is my belief that the handwriting evidence I have seen thus far has been made to fit a particular theory, i.e., the PR wrote it theory. Maybe Patsy did write it, but you cannot shape the evidence, pay attention to details that support a theory while ignoring those that don't, in order to arrive at truth. No need to go into a long discussion about this particular point as so many other posts exist (and, yes, I have read many if not most of them on this site and others), the FACT remains that there is no absolute proof or admission that Patsy wrote the note. This case will never be solved if people keep perpetuating non-facts such as this as solid truth. I firmly support a special investigator appointment to this case to re-examine every shred of evidence with no RDI/IDI predisposition in mind, and, while waiting for this to happen (if indeed it ever does), its going to take people like you and me, Plenum7 and PagingDrDirect included, to sort through the evidence, separate fact from opinion, and toss up different ideas and rebuttles until justice is found for JonBenet. There is no need to slap down someone's brainstorming of possibilities based on someone else's so called presentation of fact when it really isn't fact at all. Again, bravo to Plenum 7 for at least trying to look at things in a different light.

I have the impression that RDIs have sorted through the evidence far more than IDIs. Have you really gone through the links in the #3 post?
Well put.....leighl. Stay with the FACTS
Staying with facts is indeed crucial. For example, it is a fact that Patsy Ramsey could not be excluded by the CBI as the writer of the RN.
 
That's an interesting new look at the ransom amount, Plenum7.

From my fence post, it's something new to think about. :cool:
 
I'd like to reserve judgement on who wrote this ransom note, or suspend any such question, as well as leaving aside the handwriting for the time being. I'm just interested in what the note actually says. Here we have 3 pages of writing from someone directly involved in the crime. In the first instance we should listen to what they say because even if they are trying to lead us astray (which certainly seems to be the case) they will be revealing all the same. I'm of the opinion that the note is significant and shouldn't be quickly dismissed as a completely empty ruse by Patsy.

Yes, I admit a wealth of evidence points in Patsy's direction, but as a method and as an exercise in thoroughness I want to consider the ransom note aside from that evidence. No doubt it is "staging" but it will be revealing all the same. No one in such circumstances could write a three page tome without revealing things about themselves and about what went on that resulted in the girl's death. And since so much other evidence is compromised or disputed the note is a solid item of evidence the perp was kind enough to supply.

I am not dismissing the importance of handwriting studies and other evidence, but I'm doing some textual analysis on the contents of the note. Perhaps some don't see the point. Methodologically I think it makes sense. Some of the studies of the note I have seen are very thin and off the mark imo. I think the note could do with a fresh appraisal - it is such an extraordinary ransom note. The author is very generous. They supply way too much information about almost everything. the note is a good place to start.

And personally, I am troubled by the fact that the "staging" in the note (small foreign faction etc. etc.) is quite different than the "staging" of the body. For example, there is not a single hint of any sexual elements in the note whereas, arguably, the staging of the body in the winecellar has overtones of an attempted sexual assault by a stranger - hence the recent fiasco with Karr. Another example: the note threatens (politically motivated) "execution" but the staging of the body doesn't attempt to suggest an execution in any way. Why not? The staging strategy followed in the note and the staging given to the body don't square, imo. Why not?

Obviously the parents must be prime suspects here, but I'm keeping my mind wide open to all possibilities.

Leaving aside any Patsy-wrote-it assumptions and leaving aside the obvious fact that it is dissimulating and deceiving and is most likely a fiction designed to lead us astray, the scenario suggested by the RN is as follows:

It is addressed to JR. The motive is said to be politics and money but it is also to get at JR. It is his daughter, his family, his business. The note is all about JR. It has real anti-JR animosity.

A group of three, the author and "two gentlemen" - want $100,000 (plus spending money for three) from him. The person writing the note is less hostile to JR than the "two gentlemen" who apparently despise him. The child is with these "two gentlemen". The author gets more personal as the note goes on.

The note is so long because the author is impressing upon JR how important it is to meet their demands, because the "gentlemen" are serious and will not hesitate to kill the child and find another "fat cat". The author seems excessively anxious that JR does not set a foot wrong (or talk to a stray dog). Warning after warning.

There are many possible scenarios. I am already wondering why everyone is polarized into IDI and RDI camps. Might it not be a combination of both? Namely, Patsy *and others* did it, for example?

The note says three people are involved - author and two gentlemen. Maybe. Probably not but I'm interested in looking at whatever the note suggests to look at.
 

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