An excellent analyzes of the ransom note is at the link above. But this particular section, lines 13 -16, is the most condemning IMHO. Notice the kidnapper has cross outs in the ransom note. I sure most kidnappers take time out to correct their grammar and word usage! :
8. You will withdraw $118,000.00 from your account.
$100,000 will be
9. in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills.
Make sure
10. that you bring an adequate size attache to the bank.
When you get
11. home you will put the money in a brown paper bag. I
will call you
12. between 8 and 10 am tomorrow to instruct you on
on delivery.
13. The delivery will be exhausting so I advise you to be
rested. If we
14. monitor you getting the money early, we might call
you early to
15. arrange an earlier delivery of the money and hence
a earlier
16. delivery pickup of your daughter
In lines #13 - 16, the writer states, "If we monitor you getting the money early, we might call you early to arrange an earlier delivery of the money and hence a earlier pickup of your daughter." The word "hence" is a formal way of saying "therefore." The writer starts out the ransom note misspelling words giving the appearance he is uneducated. However, his educational level begins to show when he uses words such as "hence."
The word "hence" is not a very common word. When was the last time you used that word in a sentence? Chances are you have not used it this week. We should look to see if this word appears in any writings of John or Patsy Ramsey. Well, it does. On December 14, 1997, the First United Methodist Church in Boulder, Colorado held a memorial service for JonBenet. In the program, there was "A Christmas Message from the Ramsey Family." This message was also posted on the Ramsey family's web site. In the message, we find the statement, "Had there been no birth of Christ, there would be no hope of eternal life, and, hence, no hope of ever being with our loved ones again."
7. The word "hence" is a transition word. You do not have to use the word "and" with it. For example, "The arcade was closed, hence, I spent my money at the mall." The writer of the ransom note used the phrase "and hence." In their Christmas Message, the Ramseys used this exact same phrase. "Had there been no birth of Christ, there would be no hope of eternal life, and, hence, no hope of ever being with our loved ones again."
In their book, The Death of Innocence, Patsy Ramsey addresses the use of the phrase "and hence."
"Actually, I have no idea why we used that phrase. Maybe we'd seen it so many times in reading the ransom note - and having to write it over and over again for the police - that it became a part of our subconscious vocabulary. Who Knows? Then again, maybe people everywhere use the phrase ‘and hence' everyday of the week, because it's a normal part of the English language."
Like I said, when was the last time you used that phrase? It is not part of the normal English vocabulary. Patsy Ramsey does not tell us why they used that phrase. She only says "maybe" it is because they saw it in the ransom note and had to write it several times for the police. She then asked a question, "Who knows?" She is trying to sweep this under the carpet as if it is no big deal. However, this is a very big deal. We have the same phrase that is in the ransom note, appearing in their writings.
On October 12, 2000, the Ramsey's did a webcast interview with Newseum (www.newsuem.org). In the interview, John Ramsey makes the following statement:
"The justice system is a government organization. And hence, should be looked at with some degree of skepticism."
8. Many Ramsey supporters believe the Ramseys did subconsciously adopt the phrase "and hence" found in the ransom note. Okay. I will admit it is possible. But lets take a closer look at the phrase "and hence." When we look at the original ransom note we find the writer had crossed out a word.
13. delivery will be exhausting so I advise you to be rested. If we
14. monitor you getting the money early, we might call you early to
15. arrange an earlier delivery of the money and hence a earlier
16. delivery pickup of your daughter.
The writer started to say that upon receiving the money he would "deliver" JonBenet to her parents. He then realized that a kidnapper would not deliver the hostage but would tell the authorities where she could be found. Therefore, he changed it to "pick-up." It is doubtful that a kidnapper would make this mistake.
More importantly, an examination of the author's writing style shows us that whatever comes before the phrase "and hence" comes after the phrase "and hence."
13. delivery will be exhausting so I advise you to be rested. If we
14. monitor you getting the money early, we might call you early to
15. arrange an earlier delivery of the money and hence a earlier
16. delivery pickup of your daughter.
We see the same writing style in the Ramsey's Christmas message.
"Had there been no birth of Christ, there would be no hope of eternal life, and hence, no hope of ever being with our loved ones again."
So, the Ramsey supporters would have us believe that the Ramsey's not only adopted the word "hence" they also adopted the phrase "and hence" and they also adopted the killer's writing style! Possible but not probable.
The use of "attache" is striking as well.
What house painter or construction worker calls a briefcase or suitcase an "attache"?
I agree the note is pretty damning. I honestly didn't give that case much thought at the time, other than to remark on what a tragedy this little girl's entire short, sad life had been.
Don't know if this is your personal analysis or not, but it is very enlightening.
I wish that you, and Rte66, would share your ideas/theories about what happened, why and who was responsible.
Kind of a stretch, but interesting.
My question, based on the ransom note, is:
Did the Ramseys receive the phone call promised therein?
"So, the Ramsey supporters would have us believe that the Ramsey's not only adopted the word "hence" they also adopted the phrase "and hence" and they also adopted the killer's writing style! Possible but not probable".
That note was written by Patsy, and you don't have to be a handwriting analyst to see the incredible similarity in penmanship.
Wow! Great post. Hopefully, the killer is now roasting in Hell.