Posted on 08/19/2006 9:22:16 AM PDT by beaversmom
HAMILTON, Ala. - Tara Estes was almost breathless with excitement because she thought one of the more mysterious elements of the JonBenet Ramsey ransom note finally had been revealed.
She climbed the steps to Jeff Brown's rickety porch, brushed aside an orange wasp and sat down on a dirty ice cooler.
"Shall be the conqueror," she said Friday afternoon to a couple of quizzical looks. "S.B.T.C."
Ah, yes. The ransom note that asked John Ramsey to turn over $118,000 for the safe return of 6-year-old JonBenet has been analyzed over and over for nearly a decade.
The long, rambling ransom note ends with the word, "Victory!" and then "S.B.T.C" below it.
But no one knows what the initials mean.
Estes had just gotten off the phone with a friend in South Carolina who was a classmate of John Mark Karr, the man who has said he killed JonBenet on Dec. 26, 1996.
The friend had her yearbook from the early 1980s, and in it Karr signed a lengthy missive filled with the usual teenage angst.
Teresa Alligood had been watching the arrest this week of Karr on television in South Carolina and decided to do a little Googling with her yearbook near the computer. She stumbled on the page Karr had signed and stared at the message.
Alligood then tracked down the ransom note on the Internet and saw "S.B.T.C" at the bottom. She looked back at the yearbook and saw one of the last parts Karr had written:
"Sometimes, so blurred by my own eyes, I've seen the best things come and go simultaneously; Though deep in the future, maybe I shall be the conquerer (sic) and live in multiple peace."
Alligood said she called her family immediately. She also called Fox News and the Boulder district attorney's office Wednesday to alert them. The next day, she talked at length with a Boulder investigator. He assured her they were taking it seriously. However, they hadn't requested her yearbook yet.
Boulder County officials could not be reached for comment Friday.
Estes said the revelation was enough to convince her that Karr did what he said he did. But sitting on Brown's porch, childhood friend Gary Spear had a tougher time reconciling that idea.
Spear, nicknamed "Wolfman," leaned back in his chair and said he couldn't imagine Karr doing anything like that. Back then, he said, Karr was interested in his music - even having a sound studio inside the home where he lived with his grandmother.
Spear said that Karr was smart, generous and easy to get along with - especially because he had the only red DeLorean sports car around. He painted it.
"Nobody had a DeLorean," he said. "But he said he was going to get one after seeing Back to the Future. And damn if he didn't."
Brown, also a high school friend, thought it was a stretch to think that Karr could have killed JonBenet. Brown said Karr was friendly, funny and had instant popularity when he got the sports car.
So neither seemed to be enthralled with the "S.B.T.C" explanation - although in deference to Estes, Brown appeared interested in the theory.
For almost 10 years, there have been theories on what those initials meant. Some said it was "Saved by the Cross," a reference to the Ramsey's Christian faith. Others have suggested it references the Subic Bay Training Center where Ramsey served at the U.S. Naval base in the Philippines.
But on the porch, on this hot, muggy Friday, Alligood's theory was new. Fresh. And after two days of speculation - something people here seemed weary of - it was something to talk about.
Good observation.A real collector would not touch one that has been painted.He more than likely got it for a song.I had a friend who owned one and insisted I take a ride with him.It had some junky four banger in it,and was a real dog.I was not that impressed with it.But,it had not been painted!
http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/cars/main.html?sec=1&car=1
Maybe he used Rust-Eze so it would look like this.
That's true, it wouldn't eliminate him but it would incriminate him if it happened to be a match. Personally, though, from the start i was skeptical about him having done this particular crime and i remain so.
Well, great. Taiwan..Thailand...same place right? Thailand?
That crossed my mind too--I'm sure they have ways of figuring that out though so she's gonna be in trouble if she did.
(See Daily Camera) Dec. 21, 1996 article. IMPORTANT Tie -ins
Ramsey had some warehouses in California at the time and many more Calif connections.
My thoughts exactly.
SBTC= Sick Bastard Touches Children
But do they have the will to carry it out? It's one thing to have it and another thing to use it.
I've been asking that for days. He couldn't hold a job as a sub teacher. Had three children to support. Where did they get their money to live on/ go to college/ by expensive car/ travel. Was he selling something...possibly over the net?
S.B.T.C = Santa Bear Teddy Claus
Makes about as much sense as anything else in this case.
Where are his employment records? His Tax records? His bank records? His phone records? Where's the damn paper trail on this guy??
Answer: It'll come. They're going after the "tough" stuff first; DNA, palm print, finger prints to get "probable cause" for warrants.
Started to think about the holidays....Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Sometimes my son came in for Thanksgiving....Sometimes for Christmas.....but which years?? and which holidays.Sometimes....right after the real holiday. No way I can remember. One year he was even out of the country but I can't remember which year.
We didn't date them back then. When I look at the pictures, only the background or the clothing tells me when...or about when.
The brother said he had to check. That means he wasn't there EVERY Christmas. Because of the Southern connection, did they even talk about the case. The Karr family has gone silent on us. Be patient.
I think most mothers of young children would remember when their father WASN'T home on Christmas. That's why I think she would come out and say he was home - not that she has concrete proof he was home.
I, myself, am trying to see how easy it would be for me to recall where I was for Christmas 10 years ago. Actually, I just did! I was working at the office on December 25th 1996 and being paid holiday overtime here in Texas - so I'm cleared. My proof is the copy of my time sheet for the last two weeks of 1996.
I suppose theoretically I could work my shift then hop on a plane to Colorado and get to Boulder just in time to commit the murder and be back in time for work the next day but, if so, wouldn't there be a flight manifest somewhere to prove that happened?
BTW, it's not uncommon for me to work on Christmas or Thanksgiving each year because I'm single and all my family live out of state so I usually work one holiday or the other so other employees with families can spend those days with their kids.
I think the Thai authorities were holding him for us because of the sex charges in California. He was to begin teaching the next day, and I think authorities felt like they had to move to avoid any risk to other children. I don't think they were quite ready to arrest him for this case yet.
Does anyone know if he's officially been charged yet?
Were they ever able to test DNA of that worker against what was found on JonBenet?
I think they are waiting to get him back here to the states. My guess is they will take him to Colorado and if nothing pans out for Colorado, off to California he goes to face his 5 child porn offensives and possibly more.
He has not been charged.
They wouldn't do it in absentia, since they know where he is and plan on getting him back.
In addition, they are still investigating this like crazy, apparently. Any delay in charging might give them time to firm up the case...or watch the case fall apart - whatever.
If she thinks she needs to cover her bases in case it is a match, then she's not certain.
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