Isn't it amazing! One of the longest ransom notes in the history of kidnapping, handwritten, and nobody can figure out who wrote it!
Some say it's a little masterpiece; others the war and peace of ransom notes. Some say it was obviously written by a genteel, educated adult; others say it was the work of a youngster. Some say it's author was intelligent and clever. Others say it's goofy and awkward. Some say it displays hatred and ruthlessness; others say it's Hollywoodized nonsense. Some say it's an obvious fake; others say it's genuine. Some say it was written in a panic after her death; others say it was carefully and deliberately crafted prior to her death. Some say it shows familiarity with John and might have been written by Patsy. Others say neither of the Ramseys would use self-incriminatory phrases and information. Some say the writer was inexperienced (as a kidnapper) and insecure. Others say he was clever enough to not use language that could be attributed to him. Whom are we to believe?
Is there anything about the ransom note that more than one or two of us can agree on?
How about this for starters: many of the lines were from movies, and there was little in the way of novelty or original thinking as regards the particulars--get the money, put it in a bag, stand by for a call, don't alert the authorities, blah, blah, blah, or she dies; it was about kidnapping through and through and contained a lot of threats. The language was mostly borrowed, which helped to disguise the authorship; but, there were a few exceptions, and maybe it is these exceptions that will prove to be important clues.
My impression was that the author was paraphrasing quite a lot--remembering the scripts from the movies and putting them into his own words, for the most part; exceptions to this too. He thought that to be convincing (got this from movies=GTFM) you had to specify a container for the money to take with you to the bank. But, he hadn't done the math and been as specific as brand name and model number, so he did the next best thing--he specified "an adequate size attache". Does this show careful planning, or suggest naievete? Do you think John would show up at the bank with a coin purse? He thought you had to instruct that the money be transferred to yet another container for transporting to the drop site GTFM, so he hit upon the "brown paper bag". Wow, real professional, and he didn't bother to specify the size, nor to doubt that there was such a bag in the Ramsey home. You'll need an adequate size attache but any old bag'll do. "I will call you..." GTFM "The delivery will be exhausting...." GTFM. "...I advise you to be rested." GTFM I, we, I, we. "Any deviation...execution" GTFM "Stray dog..." GTFM "..money is in any way marked.." GTFM "...law enforcement countermeasures.." GTFM "Speaking to anyone...Police or FBI" GTFM "...scanned for electronic devices..." GTFM "..under constant scrutiny.." GTFM "..grow a brain..." GTFM "...killing will be difficult." GTFM Get the picture?
What this author didn't realize, owing to his youth and inexperience, is that a truly convincing ransom note is short and to the point; shall we say, terse.
There are a few lines in the note that depart from movie script; they are superfluous to the nth degree: "We respect your business..." Huh? "..see 1997..." "..withdraw...from your account." "If we monitor you getting the money early....and hence.....of your daughter." "...deviation OF...instructions..." "... denied her remains..." "The two gentlemen watching over your daughter do not particularly like you so I advise you not to provoke them." Huh? "...alert bank authorities..." "You can try to deceive us...be warned..." "....stand a 99% chance....stand a 100% chance.." "...fat cat..." "Use that good Southern common sense of yours." "It is up to you now John." "Victory" "SBTC"
And then there is the exact, unrounded and paltry amount of $118,000 that is in some account.
Thoughts: Author seemed to respect Patsy; abandoned a note which included her as an addressee. Seemed to fear John (be in awe of him); consider him a tough customer; someone hard to convince. Seemed to have a fairly good command of English; maybe a college student or a bright teenager (an overachiever?). Note was fairly business-like. Author had no problem conceiving of a group who could respect John's business on the one hand and threaten to kill his daughter on the other. I can see young people at work here; discussing this note; going over it; editing it; pefecting it. I can't see an adult writing this; composing this, unless someone extremely NAIVE! And look what happened--not only were they unable to extract the girl from the residence, they ended up killing her.
Who's protecting whom?
Some say it's a little masterpiece; others the war and peace of ransom notes. Some say it was obviously written by a genteel, educated adult; others say it was the work of a youngster. Some say it's author was intelligent and clever. Others say it's goofy and awkward. Some say it displays hatred and ruthlessness; others say it's Hollywoodized nonsense. Some say it's an obvious fake; others say it's genuine. Some say it was written in a panic after her death; others say it was carefully and deliberately crafted prior to her death. Some say it shows familiarity with John and might have been written by Patsy. Others say neither of the Ramseys would use self-incriminatory phrases and information. Some say the writer was inexperienced (as a kidnapper) and insecure. Others say he was clever enough to not use language that could be attributed to him. Whom are we to believe?
Is there anything about the ransom note that more than one or two of us can agree on?
How about this for starters: many of the lines were from movies, and there was little in the way of novelty or original thinking as regards the particulars--get the money, put it in a bag, stand by for a call, don't alert the authorities, blah, blah, blah, or she dies; it was about kidnapping through and through and contained a lot of threats. The language was mostly borrowed, which helped to disguise the authorship; but, there were a few exceptions, and maybe it is these exceptions that will prove to be important clues.
My impression was that the author was paraphrasing quite a lot--remembering the scripts from the movies and putting them into his own words, for the most part; exceptions to this too. He thought that to be convincing (got this from movies=GTFM) you had to specify a container for the money to take with you to the bank. But, he hadn't done the math and been as specific as brand name and model number, so he did the next best thing--he specified "an adequate size attache". Does this show careful planning, or suggest naievete? Do you think John would show up at the bank with a coin purse? He thought you had to instruct that the money be transferred to yet another container for transporting to the drop site GTFM, so he hit upon the "brown paper bag". Wow, real professional, and he didn't bother to specify the size, nor to doubt that there was such a bag in the Ramsey home. You'll need an adequate size attache but any old bag'll do. "I will call you..." GTFM "The delivery will be exhausting...." GTFM. "...I advise you to be rested." GTFM I, we, I, we. "Any deviation...execution" GTFM "Stray dog..." GTFM "..money is in any way marked.." GTFM "...law enforcement countermeasures.." GTFM "Speaking to anyone...Police or FBI" GTFM "...scanned for electronic devices..." GTFM "..under constant scrutiny.." GTFM "..grow a brain..." GTFM "...killing will be difficult." GTFM Get the picture?
What this author didn't realize, owing to his youth and inexperience, is that a truly convincing ransom note is short and to the point; shall we say, terse.
There are a few lines in the note that depart from movie script; they are superfluous to the nth degree: "We respect your business..." Huh? "..see 1997..." "..withdraw...from your account." "If we monitor you getting the money early....and hence.....of your daughter." "...deviation OF...instructions..." "... denied her remains..." "The two gentlemen watching over your daughter do not particularly like you so I advise you not to provoke them." Huh? "...alert bank authorities..." "You can try to deceive us...be warned..." "....stand a 99% chance....stand a 100% chance.." "...fat cat..." "Use that good Southern common sense of yours." "It is up to you now John." "Victory" "SBTC"
And then there is the exact, unrounded and paltry amount of $118,000 that is in some account.
Thoughts: Author seemed to respect Patsy; abandoned a note which included her as an addressee. Seemed to fear John (be in awe of him); consider him a tough customer; someone hard to convince. Seemed to have a fairly good command of English; maybe a college student or a bright teenager (an overachiever?). Note was fairly business-like. Author had no problem conceiving of a group who could respect John's business on the one hand and threaten to kill his daughter on the other. I can see young people at work here; discussing this note; going over it; editing it; pefecting it. I can't see an adult writing this; composing this, unless someone extremely NAIVE! And look what happened--not only were they unable to extract the girl from the residence, they ended up killing her.
Who's protecting whom?