The ransom note

[tumble]

What has always struck me as extremely odd in the ransom note was why Patsy, who was the wife of a millionaire who could have raised up to ten million dollars for ransom, would put that ridiculously low $118,000 sum in the note.

Leopold&Loeb demanded $10000 in 1924. If she had that in her mind maybe she thought $118000 could be a plausible amount in 1996.
And I think you are right that it was meant to deceive.

 

[Camper]

My thought process about the bonus amount took several paths.

My initial thought took me to PR being chastised for spending so much money on JonBenet for the costumes. John could have thought it was way over the top in spending. My thinking was that in the trauma of the actual death and the note writing, it was a reaction to the 'stop spending so much for this activity' and feeling righteous indignation over the 'budget' cutting.

Another thought was that the older son had wanted something that was very costly, and the father refused the expenditure for it. A son of any RICH father who had remarried and had more children, could have been made angry over the denial, particularly when he had watched the money sailing out for the contests, costumes etc. An older son ordinarilly should have or could have rightfully ascended into a position of 'Apple of his fathers eye, status.' Appears not so in this case. His name is hardly mentioned in DOI.

He was most likely not receiving support money from his father, (he was 20 at the time, as I recall someone correct me if I err here) and would he not then ask dad for something that he knew his dad could afford, and expect to get it, or?


Why would an 11 year old boy write this specific amount into a note if he wrote it as BlueCrab had once surmised?

An unwrinkled note is the biggest clue here. Could an intruder write the note AFTER killing?

IF as the R's wanted us to believe, the killer hid in the home and wrote the note, where was the note kept prior to middle of the night and then getting it out and onto the stairs? Where did he put the big wad of missing sheets of the legal pad?

Better yet where did he hide until they all went to bed and fell asleep?

.

 

[tumble]

An unwrinkled note is the biggest clue here. Could an intruder write the note AFTER killing?

The not could definitely be written after the fact, this is what I think happened.
But actually the note could have been written a long time before the killing, even by an intuder. This is not likely though.

IF as the R's wanted us to believe, the killer hid in the home and wrote the note, where was the note kept prior to middle of the night and then getting it out and onto the stairs? Where did he put the big wad of missing sheets of the legal pad?

I think they wanted to make it look like the perp did the writing in their kitchen on a pad they found by the phone with a pen nearby. This is why they left the flashlight in the kitchen.
The missing sheets should be found in the pocket of the intruder. Where they are for real..., somewhere the BPD didn't look.

The amount of 118' I think was chosen to give the BPD somewhere to direct their intruder efforts at.

 

[BBB167893]

"The amount of 118' I think was chosen to give the BPD somewhere to direct their intruder efforts at."

Completely agree. The writer threw a whole mess of stuff in there in the hope that some would stick. The figure was designed to point to an employee.

"JUST HOW smart do WE all think the writer of the JonBenet Ramblingsome note IS/WAS?"

Generally intelligent, but in over her head. There's an old saying: it's better to be lucky than good. (Having a lawyer who owns half the state can't hurt!)

"IF as the R's wanted us to believe, the killer hid in the home and wrote the note, where was the note kept prior to middle of the night and then getting it out and onto the stairs? Where did he put the big wad of missing sheets of the legal pad? Better yet where did he hide until they all went to bed and fell asleep?"

Where indeed.

 

[Toltec]

I never noticed that, Tumble. Good catch.

This is just a guess...maybe he called home.

Patsy was in the den when Fleet called....didn't someone say she just sat there when everyone else bolted to the living room?

 

[narlacat]

"The amount of 118' I think was chosen to give the BPD somewhere to direct their intruder efforts at."

Completely agree. The writer threw a whole mess of stuff in there in the hope that some would stick. The figure was designed to point to an employee.

"JUST HOW smart do WE all think the writer of the JonBenet Ramblingsome note IS/WAS?"

Generally intelligent, but in over her head. There's an old saying: it's better to be lucky than good. (Having a lawyer who owns half the state can't hurt!)

"IF as the R's wanted us to believe, the killer hid in the home and wrote the note, where was the note kept prior to middle of the night and then getting it out and onto the stairs? Where did he put the big wad of missing sheets of the legal pad? Better yet where did he hide until they all went to bed and fell asleep?"

Where indeed.

In what used to be JAR's room according to IDI theorists.
That ruffle being ruffled is surely suspect

 

[BBB167893]

Yeah, but not the fibers in her panties!

 

[RedChief]

A quite interesting discussion of the ransom note.

Although there is much about the note-where it was supposedly found, how it was displayed, and it's pristine condition, etc., that raises eyebrows, isn't it nevertheless possible that an unknown subject, wrote it after the murder hoping to collect $118,000, a "small amount" as in the movie Ransom, by secreting the body in the wine cellar? What are the odds? Was there any other room in the house that would have better served his purpose? Might John have been more willing to part with this paltry sum than with, say, two million?

John was directed to withdraw the money from an account, presumably in a local bank. Did John not have such an account? Does it surprise you that John didn't opt for direct deposit? Interestingly, the husband of the abductee in Ruthless People was advised, at one point, that he could withdraw the ransom money from his retirement account. Another parallel?

So it just now occurs to me that some naive person, lacking in life experience and relying on "knowledge" gained from various books and movies, who may have discovered a check stub with the bonus amount on it, as John has opined, mistakenly believed the money was in a local account and could be easily accessed. Wouldn't Patsy have known better? Who would demand that the ransom money be withdrawn from an account?? Further, doesn't it seem, as John Douglas has pointed out, that an insecure/unconfident/inexperienced and therefore probably young person wrote the note, considering that it is boisterous and full of unnecessary threats? A college kid, possibly a journalism student?

As for "I will call you...tomorrow" and "..I advise you to be rested."; tomorrow is the 27th and John might get the money "early"-on the 26th, so it all makes perfect sense.

To sleep, perchance to dream....

 

[Rupert]

Anyone else that sees a connection to the Leopold&Loeb ransom note.

In the Ramsey note the kidnappers feel the need to tell who they are and what they feel about JR. Also it is very personal at the end but...

other than that the notes are quite similar.
1. Describing in detail how the money should be delivered and in what values.
2. What will happen if the notes instructions is not followed.
3. They will call the next day for further instructions
4. The wording "at present"(L&L) and "at this time"(R) in the beginning of the note is similar and appears at about the same place.
5. To follow instrunctions 'to the letter'
6. A meaningless signature
7. Both victims were dead by the time the parents got the RN.

I think that the L&L note could have lingered in the mind of the writer. Did any of the R's know about L&L?
As the L&L note was written in a case where the victims was planned to be killed the writer may have thought that note was a good blueprint as he/she was faced with the same situation.

A nice twist to this is that the Loeb's actually had a country estate in Charlevoix too.

And of course the biggest difference is that L&L actually called the day after even though the body of the victim had been found.

When I was onto the IDI kick, I wondered about the guy that left his cowboy boots in JonBenet's Charlevoix bedroom. Did this fellow see her at the Charlevoix summer pageant and become infatuated then? Did this fellow live in Charlevoix and thus know about Leopold and Loeb? Or was this fellow visiting Charlevoix because he was studying the history of L&L? We do know the RN writer was atleast a little fixated on the kidnap crime movie thing. Maybe he had a hate problem as well or maybe he was trying to be smart like Leopold.

I also realized that Patsy might have heard about the L&L connection to Charlevoix. The L&L crime was basically solved by some journalists. I learned later that their crime has been taught in Journalism schools. After all it was news. It wouldn't have surprised me if we found out also that Janet McReynolds studied L&L.

I also was aware that the cowboy boots was an after the fact so so; not legal evidence collected by the police, a bit like the Helgoth episode.

 

[narlacat]

A quite interesting discussion of the ransom note.

Although there is much about the note-where it was supposedly found, how it was displayed, and it's pristine condition, etc., that raises eyebrows, isn't it nevertheless possible that an unknown subject, wrote it after the murder hoping to collect $118,000, a "small amount" as in the movie Ransom, by secreting the body in the wine cellar? What are the odds? Was there any other room in the house that would have better served his purpose? Might John have been more willing to part with this paltry sum than with, say, two million?

John was directed to withdraw the money from an account, presumably in a local bank. Did John not have such an account? Does it surprise you that John didn't opt for direct deposit? Interestingly, the husband of the abductee in Ruthless People was advised, at one point, that he could withdraw the ransom money from his retirement account. Another parallel?

So it just now occurs to me that some naive person, lacking in life experience and relying on "knowledge" gained from various books and movies, who may have discovered a check stub with the bonus amount on it, as John has opined, mistakenly believed the money was in a local account and could be easily accessed. Wouldn't Patsy have known better? Who would demand that the ransom money be withdrawn from an account?? Further, doesn't it seem, as John Douglas has pointed out, that an insecure/unconfident/inexperienced and therefore probably young person wrote the note, considering that it is boisterous and full of unnecessary threats? A college kid, possibly a journalism student?

As for "I will call you...tomorrow" and "..I advise you to be rested."; tomorrow is the 27th and John might get the money "early"-on the 26th, so it all makes perfect sense.

To sleep, perchance to dream....

According to PR she didn't know anything about the bonus on the morning of the 26th.
I'm sure she knew damn well where his money was and how much he had.
I don't quite understand what you are getting at RedChief.
He must have kept his money in an account as is the norm, where else would it be?

 

[Camper]

I, Camper will comment, on Ruperts quoted post, in Red right after his or her point.

When I was onto the IDI kick, I wondered about the guy that left his cowboy boots in JonBenet's Charlevoix bedroom. WE donut know if they were male or female boots, and sometimes women wear mens boots) Did this fellow see her at the Charlevoix summer pageant and become infatuated then? Did this fellow live in Charlevoix and thus know about Leopold and Loeb? Or was this fellow again WE donut know if male or female)visiting Charlevoix because he was studying the history of L&L? We do know the RN writer was atleast a little fixated on the kidnap crime movie thing. Maybe he had a hate problem as well or maybe he was trying to be smart like Leopold. Wellll Loeb was smart too, why not him - who actually dictated/thought or actually typed the ransom note Leopold or Loeb - WE donut know do WE?

I also realized that Patsy might have heard about the L&L connection to Charlevoix. The L&L crime was basically solved by some journalists. I learned later that their crime has been taught in Journalism schools. After all it was news. It wouldn't have surprised me if we found out also that Janet McReynolds studied L&L. This case has become a classic, L&L case is only one of a tiny handful of kidnap cases in American history.

I also was aware that the cowboy boots was 'were'inserted here for grammatical correctness an after the fact so so; not legal evidence collected by the police, a bit like the Helgoth episode.

The Helgoth 'episode' came after the Ramsey murder, no connection with the case was ever firmly established.

 

[Camper]

I, Camper will comment in purple, right after RedChiefs points.

A quite interesting discussion of the ransom note.

Although there is much about the note-where it was supposedly found, how it was displayed, and it's pristine condition, etc., that raises eyebrows, isn't it nevertheless possible that an unknown subject, wrote it after the murder hoping to collect $118,000, a "small amount" as in the movie Ransom, by secreting the body in the wine cellar? What are the odds? Was there any other room in the house that would have better served his purpose? Might John have been more willing to part with this paltry sum than with, say, two million? One might believe that John would not have a 'problem' with $118,000 rather than 1,2,3,4,5 or whatever millions that could have but was not asked for in the note. I have a big problem with the fact that John did not openly question or ask aloud WHY DIDN'T THE KIDNAPPER CALL? EVEN the BPD expected the call on the 26th. John did not even speculate OR vocalize to the BPD that the 'kidnapper' might be calling on the next day - the 27th. In the movie Ruthless People, Beth Midler was kidnapped but her husband did NOT want her back, yet he anxiously awaited the kidnappers call/s.

John was directed to withdraw the money from an account, presumably in a local bank. Did John not have such an account? Does it surprise you that John didn't opt for direct deposit? WE meaning WS'ers do not know that information. Someone correct me if that has been in our collection of information. Interestingly, the husband of the abductee in Ruthless People was advised, at one point, that he could withdraw the ransom money from his retirement account. Another parallel?

So it just now occurs to me that some naive person, lacking in life experience and relying on "knowledge" gained from various books and movies, who may have discovered a check stub with the bonus amount on it, as John has opined, mistakenly believed the money was in a local account and could be easily accessed. Wouldn't Patsy have known better? Who would demand that the ransom money be withdrawn from an account?? Well someone who knew that the R's did not keep their cash buried in a tin can in the back yard Further, doesn't it seem, as John Douglas has pointed out, that an insecure/unconfident/inexperienced and therefore probably young person wrote the note, considering that it is boisterous and full of unnecessary threats? A college kid, possibly a journalism student?
In previous posts I have already placed PR at the top of my list on this one, along with her artistic talent, ambidextrous ability, creativity, and strong control under the gun.

As for "I will call you...tomorrow" and "..I advise you to be rested."; tomorrow is the 27th and John might get the money "early"-on the 26th, so it all makes perfect sense.I covered this above

To sleep, perchance to dream....

 

[BBB167893]

"Although there is much about the note-where it was supposedly found, how it was displayed, and it's pristine condition, etc., that raises eyebrows, isn't it nevertheless possible that an unknown subject, wrote it after the murder hoping to collect $118,000, a "small amount" as in the movie Ransom, by secreting the body in the wine cellar? What are the odds?"

According to the FBI, the odds were not good. Sexual predators and ransom kidnappers are two separate animals, Chief. One is motivated by lust, the other by greed. They never co-exist. Not only that, but if he was hoping to collect, he wouldn't have left the body, even if she was dead.

"Was there any other room in the house that would have better served his purpose? Might John have been more willing to part with this paltry sum than with, say, two million?"

That would be the first time a kidnapper ever cared about the financial strain on a victim, Chief! Think about it, if he's just killed their daughter, he's not going to give a damn about John going to the poor house! Besides, ransom kidnappers know that people cave when their kids are involved.

"So it just now occurs to me that some naive person, lacking in life experience and relying on "knowledge" gained from various books and movies, who may have discovered a check stub with the bonus amount on it, as John has opined, mistakenly believed the money was in a local account and could be easily accessed. Wouldn't Patsy have known better?"

She claimed she didn't know at all, Chief. Besides, you forget: this note was full of conflicting motives. He's a pedophile...no, he's a ransom kidnapper...no, he's an employee with a grudge...no, he's an Islamic terrorist...no, he's a left-wing nut! See where this is headed? The person writing this note was just throwing stuff in hoping that some of it might stick. IMO, the amount was specifically chosen to cast suspicion on an employee of Access Graphics.

"Who would demand that the ransom money be withdrawn from an account??"

An amateur.

"Further, doesn't it seem, as John Douglas has pointed out, that an insecure/unconfident/inexperienced and therefore probably young person wrote the note, considering that it is boisterous and full of unnecessary threats? A college kid, possibly a journalism student?"

Well, Douglas's credibility is about zero in regard to this case, Chief. I posted Robert Ressler's interview if you want to listen to it. I recommend you do.

Leaving that aside, ransom notes are kind of an old game.

 

[Camper]

Anyone else that sees a connection to the Leopold&Loeb ransom note.

In the Ramsey note the kidnappers feel the need to tell who they are and what they feel about JR. Also it is very personal at the end but...

other than that the notes are quite similar.
1. Describing in detail how the money should be delivered and in what values.
2. What will happen if the notes instructions is not followed.
3. They will call the next day for further instructions
4. The wording "at present"(L&L) and "at this time"(R) in the beginning of the note is similar and appears at about the same place.
5. To follow instrunctions 'to the letter'
6. A meaningless signature
7. Both victims were dead by the time the parents got the RN.

I think that the L&L note could have lingered in the mind of the writer. Did any of the R's know about L&L?
As the L&L note was written in a case where the victims was planned to be killed the writer may have thought that note was a good blueprint as he/she was faced with the same situation.

A nice twist to this is that the Loeb's actually had a country estate in Charlevoix too.

And of course the biggest difference is that L&L actually called the day after even though the body of the victim had been found.

--->>>HUH, regarding your ----> 7. Both victims were dead by the time the parents got the RN.

What two (both) victims are you referring to?

.

 

[tumble]

What two (both) victims are you referring to?

JBR in the Ramsey case and the Franks boy in the Leopold & Loeb case

 

[rashomon]

--->>>HUH, regarding your ----> 7. Both victims were dead by the time the parents got the RN.

What two (both) victims are you referring to?

Camper, I think Tumble was referring to JonBenet and Bobby Franks.

Tumble: correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a significant discrepancy between the 'Ramsey note' and the L&L note: the L&L note said that in case the police had been notified already, they should be allowed to continue their investigation.

 

[tumble]

Tumble: correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a significant discrepancy between the 'Ramsey note' and the L&L note: the L&L note said that in case the police had been notified already, they should be allowed to continue their investigation.

That is correct. It is interesting that the Ramsey note never considered this. The writer of the Ramsey note knew that the note would be found before JBR was missed which a real kidnapper like L&L could not be sure of.

 

[UKGuy]

Tumble: correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a significant discrepancy between the 'Ramsey note' and the L&L note: the L&L note said that in case the police had been notified already, they should be allowed to continue their investigation.

That is correct. It is interesting that the Ramsey note never considered this. The writer of the Ramsey note knew that the note would be found before JBR was missed which a real kidnapper like L&L could not be sure of.

tumble,

That is an interesting point, kind of strengthens the argument that the ransom note was premeditated staging.

.

 

[Holdontoyourhat]

That is correct. It is interesting that the Ramsey note never considered this. The writer of the Ramsey note knew that the note would be found before JBR was missed which a real kidnapper like L&L could not be sure of.

No he didn't. The RN writer IMO considered that upstairs occupants may come looking for JBR missing from her bed, and find the note on the stairs before finding JBR. Thats why the note was left on the stairs.

 

[Camper]

My mental bubble was having a problem with the verbage of 7.

7. Both victims were dead by the time the parents got the RN. Since it is my belief that PR wrote the note, it was not gotten, but put and 'found'.

.