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.
Really? Geez, I hear differently. This is why the DA in Boulder and her staff are doing a correct investigation and not the media, lol!
The note is signed "S.B.T.C" There is no period after the letter "C." When writing we end a thought by placing a period at the end of the sentence. Not using a period tells us the writer intentionally stopped writing. There may be conflict at this point in the story. The writer may have more information that was purposely withheld. There has been a lot of speculation as to what the letters S.B.T.C. mean. The one that makes some sense to me is "Saved By The Cross." This is because the Ramseys profess to have faith in God and because word "Victory" precedes the initials S.B.T.C. As all Christians know, it is through Christ's sacrifice on the cross that we have "victory" over death.
Maybe she's covering all the bases, in case the dna does match? Strange that one day she's "certain" and now it's more like a "maybe."
A person could get whiplash trying to keep up with the fact changes!
Do you really think the Ramsey's murdered their daughter?
Determined devil, isn't he. Just makes up his twisted mind to something and makes certain it happens.
I'd like to know, where does he get the money to live the way he has been living...all over the world, for years. And the matter of getting the car? Anyone in his family rich, who could have been or is still, bankrolling this freak??
Or maybe he has illegal moneymaking activities going on. This would be very possibly a fruitful line of investigation.
why do you think that's impossible? it happens in alot of cases.
Well, we know he deals in child porn, and was convicted for it in CA. Creeps make a lot of money with that sick stuff, so it wouldn't surprise me if that's how he's been supporting himself.
There used to be a red lacquered DeLorean in the used-car lot across from my high school in the early '80s. This guy wasn't the only one to think of this...
Hmmm, that's a phrase that would go will with "Victory!"
Victory and conqueror go together rather well though too.
Hehe beat me to it. Yeah, makes sense.
A poster recently said he could think of NO reasons why she would say this if it isn't true.
I gave him 3 possibilities off the top of my head.
She has 3 sons whose dad has confessed to murdering Jon Benet Ramsey. She would like for that reason alone for it not to be true.
She could be feaful that she actually has known or should have known something about him that she should have told authorities and didn't. If he's really a notorious murderer, and she could have done something to stop him but failed to, she might be an aider and abetter.
She might have a poor memory. Some people do, and in some cases they actually have an illness including metal problems that could affect their memory.
I never heard back from that poster.
Surely you could think of even more possibilities than I have...
Because John and Patsey Ramsey are good people, Christians, and do not fit the profile one little bit. They loved their daughter. Patsey's world revolved around her children, specially Jonbenet.
No, this crime was done by a very sick individual.
to me the only thing interesting about the yearbook is whether the handwriting therein matches the handwriting on the ransom note....
He was charged in CA on 5 counts of child porn, but he disappeared before his first court appearance. They didn't know where he was after that.
But you are so right that this could be a big moneymaker for someone like him.
He is also very computer savvy, from what I understand.
Ooops!
Dumb me. I spelled 'Delorean' wrong. That's why no hits!
Thanks.
Where I live,that is a common sight!I was amused at a show on TV that showed how to repair a plexiglass rear window on a 50's something corvette.I.E.,sanding the scratches out using various degrees of sand paper.It was actually a very informative show as to how to do it.What amazed me the most was,they have this rare and expensive top that was used to demonstrate the procedure.Being as it would be difficult to remove the plexiglass rear window[finding the chrome moulding around the window is hard to do],they sanded with numerous papers,and never bothered to tape the chrome mouldings!Sanded right over them!
Really?
Handwriting can be an affectation. If you're trying to disguise your identity...If you're pretending to be someone else whose writing you are trying to replicate...if you're a young person writing in a yearbook you often embellish your writing or choose an unusual style for it, due to knowing it's for posterity and you're trying to make a big impression.
Through the years some people play around with their writing and end up with quite a few changes. Some people don't do that. It depends on the person and the situation.
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