The Last Christmas of JonBenet Ramsey II: A Freakish Accident, Murderous Cover-Up, And a Shameless Plea-Bargain.

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Chapter 1

An alleged intruder as

murderer

Surreptitious entrance * Base of operations

established *A long wait while a family slept

* Intruder leaves death in his wake

* Day breaks tragically for Ramsey family

Author’s note: [For convenience purposes, instead of always referring to an alleged intruder I will merely state, ’the intruder’, keeping in mind that this is an imaginatively created hypothetical scenario.]

It is Christmas day in the all American city of Boulder, Colorado. Snow is lightly falling. Neighborhood streets where the Ramsey’s live are filled with Christmas carolers, with Christmas decorations adorning the affluent homes. In the distance, the rugged outline of the majestic Flatirons mountain range can be seen. This sublimely picturesque setting could be a Norman Rockwell painting, while at the same time making one think how Biblical Eden might have looked in winter. It is around 4 pm, with about 2 more hours of daylight left before dusk will gradually descend on this remarkable setting.

Somewhere among the people celebrating this most joyous of all Christian holidays walks a stranger to this neighborhood and its inhabitants. This male stranger is an interloper, to be sure. He is feigning the celebration that others are so vigorously partaking in, for he is here on a diabolical mission: that is, to abduct and/or kill JonBenet Ramsey, the 6-year old celebrity girl known to most people in this tightly knit neighborhood. This atmosphere of human civility that this stranger has placed himself in may be the last he will ever experience.

This man, perhaps born of a lesser God, is soon to embark on a mission that will live in infamy in the hearts and minds of this community. The nation will be shocked! This stranger in the midst of the neighborhood carolers has taken great pains to blend in with them. He is quite unassuming, lest someone strike up a conversion with him. He is more bundled up than the rest of the carolers; this, to cover up his face to avoid anyone being able to describe him at some later time. A face, that will only be fully seen by JonBenet in all too short a time.

The stranger has been in the Ramsey neighborhood since early afternoon, having earlier observed the Ramsey dog frolicking in the yard of the Barnhills, just across the street from the Ramsey mansion. He now observes the Ramsey family leaving their house. John Ramsey is walking in front of wife, striding ever so proudly with his 9-year old son, Burke. Patsy Ramsey is clutching the tiny hand of her little celebrity daughter JonBenet. This stranger must be thinking that this is a typical rich family. He stares briefly at JonBenet from some vantage point close by.

Her eyes don’t catch his glance, as she is looking in the direction of her dad and brother, in front of her. At this time there are approximately 8-10 hours left in her life. This interloper is thinking, soon she will be under his control, to either abduct and/or murder. Looking at his watch, the stranger sees that it is shortly after 4 pm. He must make the remaining daylight hours his ally, using this time efficiently as possible, as darkness will soon become his adversary.

With skilled nonchalance he separates himself from the carolers. Walking very casually but briskly, he strides up the walk leading to the Ramsey front door, allowing himself a short but hard glance at the street-level basement window down and to his left. The window’s glass is still partially broken, just as he had previously observed in his prior surveillance trips to the house. John Ramsey, told Boulder Detectives, that a couple months prior he had locked himself out of the house.

And had broken the basement window in order to gain entrance into his house, never repairing it afterwards. He reaffirms to himself that the basement window will indeed be used as his exit route out of the house later on, with or without JonBenet. Continuing his path to the Ramsey front door, he then glances around at the nearby neighborhood yards while also taking in a view of the street in both directions. There are no eyes focused in his direction. The Christmas carolers are several houses away from the Ramsey house. Still, he goes through the motions of knocking on the Ramsey door.

In this very trusting and closely-knit neighborhood, the Ramsey’s have given out 9 or more copies of the front door key. Recipients included; domestic help, babysitters, and very close friends. Using his cunning and people skills, the stranger has somehow managed to obtain a copy of the Ramsey front door key, possibly pickpocketing a key from a Ramsey household worker.

[Intruder gains entrance into the Ramsey House]

Wearing tight fitting leather driving-type gloves, he turns a copy of the Ramsey door key into the lock, quickly pushing open the door. Just as quickly, he steps behind the door to avoid a last second glance from anyone on the street. Pushing the door closed, he now finds himself in the immense foyer of the Ramsey mansion. He notices an alarm system wired around the door with a security code box on the wall next to it.

He has of course anticipated an alarm system. Waiting patiently for about 10-20 seconds to see if he is prompted to enter a code, he is prepared to walk out the door immediately if prompted to enter one and then later attempt his entrance through the broken basement window. Lo and behold, he is not prompted to enter a code. He muses, the Ramsey’s must have purposely or accidentally left the alarm off when leaving earlier. With a huge sigh of relief, his heart beat lessens as he regains his composure.

[Let’s briefly pause here to reflect on why an intruder would have only entered through the Ramsey front door]

With the number of Christmas carolers in the streets around the Ramsey home around 4 pm and continuing into the early night, the intruder surely isn’t going to walk over to where the window is located and then lift up the outside grating that covers a 3-4 foot window well, then step down into it and reach his arms through the hole in the window to reach the latch 2 feet to the left of the hole, unlatching it - while the large grating outside showing it had been moved.

The front entrance of the Ramsey house is clearly visible from three directions, so any strange appearing movement by him around window could certainly be noticed by any of the neighbors or the carolers. He would have to think that the risk of being seen and also getting severely cut by shards of broken glass, are far too great. Considering the number of house keys that the Ramsey’s had given to various people, one would wonder when John supposedly had locked himself out of his house, he simply hadn’t contacted any one of these people before creating a security risk to his house by breaking a window?

Furthermore, why wasn’t this unsightly broken window given top priority for being repaired, especially given the security it risk it certainly posed?

[Returning to an intruder now inside the Ramsey home]

With the intruder now inside of the Ramsey house, his task is now to orientate himself to the inside layout of this massive 15- room mansion, a house he has probably never been in before. Remember! John Ramsey only invited very close friends into his home, and business associates were virtually excluded. Although, they had recently held a Christmas open house for neighbors and friends. The Ramsey’s would later intimate that the alleged intruder may have been at the open house, skillfully managing to blend in.

The intruder knows that he can expect to be in the house at least for the next 8-10 hours. He must become familiar as possible with it, as the waning hours of sunlight are upon him. His top priorities are to locate the various bedrooms, especially the one of JonBenet. The Securing a base of operations is also very important to him.

Standing in the foyer of this huge mansion, he pauses to observe the kitchen area to his left, which is deeply set back and can’t be seen through the windows facing the street. To his right, he sees a large staircase that leads to the 2nd and 3rd floors, that includes the various bedrooms. Glancing at his watch, it is around 4:42 pm. He walks into the house and proceeds to climb the staircase to the 2nd floor. Immediately he comes upon a seemingly unlived-in bedroom.

It belongs to John Andrew Ramsey, the oldest son of John Ramsey by a previous marriage, and currently a student at the University of Colorado. After gazing at the pictures adorning the dressers and walls, he exits this very male-looking bedroom. It has to be assumed that the intruder knows who the family members are, either by having researched them or by having the information given to him if, in fact, someone may have hired him, for example an disgruntled business associate.

Leaving the bedroom of John Andrew Ramsey, he enters a hallway that leads to another bedroom. Entering this bedroom, he sees toys and clothing that obviously belong to a young boy, soon realizing that this must be Burke Ramsey’s room, whom he had just seen leaving the house with his parents about a half hour ago. He quickly exits the bedroom.

Directly off in the distance, he sees a children’s playroom. His curiosity somewhat piqued, he enters it and looks around at the mixture of boys’ and girls’ toys. At the back of the playroom, he views a hallway opening. Entering the hallway, he comes head-on to yet another bedroom. This one is dominated by colors of pink hues.

There is no mistaking that this is JonBenet’s bedroom. Slowly walking into her bedroom, he glances around at the walls, in the process studying the entire room very carefully. If he is a masculine type of man, one wonders if he becomes uneasy by the overdone girlishness that is so much in evidence. When he returns to this room later on, darkness of night will totally engulf him. Exiting JonBenet’s bedroom, the intruder sees another bedroom that is located behind her room.

It is female in appearance, though an obviously older female. Noticing that room appears to be unlived-in, he thinks it might belong to a part time live-in maid, forgetting that in actuality this room belongs to Melinda Ramsey, the 25 year-old daughter from John Ramsey’s first marriage to Lucinda Johnson, now working as a nurse in Georgia. Just ahead are the stairs leading to the 3rd floor. Having looked around the entire 2nd floor, the intruder realizes that the bedroom of John and Patsy Ramsey must be on the 3rd floor.

He muses, how strange that the parents sleep like royalty on another floor of the house, away from their very young children. Is this the arrogance and ego of the affluent class, he wonders, so rigid in defining class structures. Reaching the 3rd floor landing, he finds himself at the far end of the Ramsey bedroom. Observing that the bed is set deeply back in the room, he realizes that John and Patsy do not sleep directly over JonBenet’s bedroom.

One has to wonder if Ramsey’s ever gave serious thought to the possible down side of having their bedrooms on a different floor than their children, not only for security purposes, but in case one of the children got sick during the night. Evidently, the planning of the Ramsey bedroom placed parental comfort over the security of their children, and having easy access to them in case of sickness. Looking at the huge king-size Ramsey bed that appears almost a football field away from the bedroom entrance, he is awed by the opulence within his vision. The intruder walks to within 8-10 feet of the Ramsey bed and stops.

Psychologically, he fears that if he walks closer to their bed, he will be subconsciously drawn into a shared intimacy with the Ramsey’s. Surveying the room, he sees an open Bible on the dresser. He wonders, if it belongs to John or Patsy? Within his surveying view, there are pictures all over the walls of the Ramsey family in either a blissful state, or in a setting of achievement.

Looking off to his right from the foot of the Ramsey bed, he notices a hallway. It must lead to more rooms, he figures. Entering the hallway, his eyes scan the expanse of yet another very large room. Within this room there is a very large closet to his right, and also in the back of the room. He notices the elegant benches which is where Patsy prepares herself and probably makes her facial makeup selection for the day.

Walking back through the master bedroom to exit, a bedroom that occupies a good portion of the third floor, he is again reminded of the opulent lifestyle of the very wealthy, akin almost to foreign royalty. He knows that luxury like this will never be experienced or enjoyed by him. A not too subtle feeling of ambivalence comes over him as he muses, no one should be allowed to live like this unless he can as well. The intruder has seen enough.

He is confident that he will be able to navigate his way to JonBenet’s bedroom later this night, knowing the upstairs of the house well enough now that he will be able to recognize where various sounds come from should he hear any noise when he comes back later to snatch JonBenet from her bed. Now descending the 3rd and 2nd floor staircases, he must look for a base of operations in the basement.

Walking back through the house, passing the door and foyer area where he entered, he notices to his right the very large kitchen area. The kitchen is set lengthwise in the middle of the first floor. His eyes scan all the major appliances as he walks into the middle of the kitchen. In the rear, he notices a hallway that must lead to another room.

Walking through this hallway, he finds himself in a very large library-type study room. This room is filled with large sofa chairs and couches. There is a stereo system along one wall and an enormously large screen television set in the middle of the room. This room must be the exclusive domain of John and Patsy, as it is very orderly in personalized-like fashion. In the far corner is a moderate-size bar and liquor cabinet. Brandy snifter glasses hang from an overhead bar rack. The intruder admires the casual opulence. Yet, in his heart, he is quite envious.

Walking over the plush carpeting of the library, he now exits, reentering the hallway that leads to the kitchen which he enters again. He looks thoroughly at the various appliances and clocks. This, so he will be able to recognize the various unique sounds that come from the kitchen when he is hidden away later on in the night. As he walks through the kitchen, en route to exiting, he notices the counter area that has many types of knick-knacks.

Also on the counter he sees a cup with a sharpie pen and other types of pens, along with a large white stationary pad of paper conveniently nearby. Looking closer at the pad, he notices the words ‘Mr. & Mrs. Ramsey’ written on the top sheet. He figures that John or Patsy must have started to write some type of letter. He decides to take the pad of paper, along with one of the sharpie pens, thinking that with the time left before the Ramsey’s return home, he can rewrite the folded-up ransom note that he brought with him.

He also sees a flashlight on the counter that he takes, to use as a backup to his own pocket flashlight. Exiting the kitchen, he heads toward the stairs leading to the basement while thinking about finding the best location in the basement to prepare for his mission (whatever it is).

[Intruder establishes base of operations

in Ramsey basement.]

Entering the basement, he views the many rooms that appear on both sides of the long corridor.

This is, indeed a very large basement he thinks to himself, but all the better to find a premium hiding place. Immediately to his right, he sees a large laundry room. He knows that any location he chooses to secrete himself must be one that has the lowest probability of being visited by a Ramsey family member after they return home later in the evening. Directly adjacent to the right of the laundry room, he sees a cluttered storage room.

It doesn’t afford him much space to conceal himself – especially if a family member should decide to use the laundry room later and perhaps wander into the storage area. Walking further into the basement, he observes the dirty boiler room which is on his left. To his right, he glances at what appears to be a very large hobby room that has an elaborate toy train set situated near the far end. His attention is drawn to a softball size hole in the large 6-pane window at the very top.

He recognizes the window from having just seen it earlier when outside and from one of his earlier surveillance trips to the Ramsey residence. The intruder realizes that it is big enough for him to exit from should he need to abandon his mission plan at some point – along with being big enough to pull JonBenet through, alive or dead. Although, she would have to be in some state of unconsciousness so that she would be motionless, as it might be quite difficult to pull a struggling child through this window.

Surveying the hobby room, he notices a small suitcase sort of off by itself. Staring at it, he realizes that it can be used to step up on to help vault himself out the window, which appears to be 5-6 feet from the floor. He reflects on the possibility of one of the Ramsey children, or even John Ramsey, coming into this room upon returning home. Adjacent to the hobby room, he notices yet another storage-type room.

This one is fairly clean, though if anyone entered the hobby room he could be trapped and forced to move in stealth like fashion to another room. The intruder has only brought a stun gun with him to aid in whatever his mission is regarding JonBenet.

Evidently, he thinks that is all he will need to render her helpless when he abducts her. This would appear that his only objective is to kidnap her. He Continues through the basement and comes upon the windowless wine cellar room. It is in total disarray with boxes strewn all about, with several empty six feet high wine cabinets along the wall, evidently not being used anymore he muses. Situated this far into the basement he has to realize that he would not be able to easily monitor the activity of any Ramsey family members who might come down to the basement for whatever reason.

Additionally, from this wine room it would be difficult to quickly exit from the house if required. He walks back to the storage room that has the large window he can exit through. The intruder must understand that no matter what room he chooses to operate from, he must be prepared to deftly move to another room if any Ramsey family member enters a specific area of the basement. With this in mind he decides that this storage room is best for him to hide in after all, as it is close to an exit point and requires just a short jaunt down the corridor to the basement entrance door, where he will be in earshot to hear and monitor activities when the Ramsey’s arrive back home.

[Intruder orientates himself to the basement]

It is just before 5 pm as the intruder checks his watch. He can be fairly relaxed for now, expecting the Ramsey’s not to return for at least another 3 or 4 hours. Does he ever wonder what would happen if they returned quickly? Would he be thoroughly prepared mentally and physically? With the Ramsey dog at the Barnhill residence as he observed earlier, surely this must foretell to him of a trip being planned very soon.

He can only surmise that the parent’s will want to have Burke and JonBenet in bed early? Although, John Ramsey would later tell police that they didn’t return home until 10: pm.

The intruder could be confident they would not be returning home for at least a few more hours, as would have seen them leave around 4:00 pm if he had the house under surveillance. Or, maybe he was just psychic when it came to the Ramsey’s coming and goings. He casually goes from one room to another, familiarizing himself further with each room in case he may have to move quickly if a Ramsey family member enters a room near where he is.

Now finding; the artists bench that Patsy uses, he pulls from his jacket pocket the pre-written ransom letter he has brought with him. Keeping the winter leather gloves on that he wore upon arriving at the Ramsey’s, he proceeds to rewrite the ransom letter onto the notepad that he previously removed from the Ramsey kitchen. Is he re-writing the ransom note because he wasn’t satisfied with the original one that he brought with him, or does he want to disguise the handwriting by wearing a glove?

As he starts rewriting the ransom letter, the intruder must realize that the content regarding the reason for the abduction of JonBenet is quite ambiguous. How could he not think so? Or perhaps he has been told by the ‘foreign faction’ whom may have hired him, (per the ransom note reference) that John Ramsey will know or understand the cause and reasons for the abduction. Or, Perhaps, he wants the ransom letter purposely to be ambiguous so it will serve to be an diversionary element, if his real mission is not a kidnapping for ransom.

Author’s note: Given how JonBenet’s body was over-staged to project a sexual predator, the intruder can only be in the Ramsey home to either send a message to John Ramsey regarding his business dealings, or because he is acting on his own pursuit to achieve some form of profane gratification that doesn‘t include kidnapping her for ransom.

Now, if the intruder was previously wronged by John he would see his actions as being justified.

Or, If he was hired by someone who is seeking revenge on John Ramsey, then his monetary gain justifies his actions. To do a crime this personal in nature and knowing the legal price that he will pay if caught, he has to truly believe that his planned actions are justified on at least one major level, including: He will have scared John into altering his business dealings, received an acceptable monetary reward for a successful kidnapping, or attained some profane gratification if he is a thrill killer or adrenalin driven criminal.

Let’s keep in mind: whether the intruder was; an hired professional assassin, trained to kill without knowing the causes behind the hired contract, was on a solo kidnapping mission, a thrill killer, adrenalin driven, or even a pedophile, the abduction or killing of a child is a highly personal act. The killer has to touch the child while looking into the child’s eyes, knowing the child could have done nothing to warrant being killed – the most porous motive of revenge on a parent notwithstanding. Only an improbable thrill killer would have been immune to feeling empathy for killing JonBenet.

The intruder finishes the copying of the pre-written ransom letter. Gazing around the room, he notices a plaque showing John Ramsey at the Subic Bay Military Naval Base. In what had to be an act of total improvisation, he then decides to add a salutation to the ransom letter: namely, Victory! S.B.T.C. What would ever possess him to do this is, of course, hard to fathom. If the intruder was acting on his own on this mission, what possible message was this salutation supposed to convey to John?

Considering that the intruder was supposed to be part of some foreign faction, according to the ransom letter, what possibly would be the connection to Subic Bay? Perhaps the intruder was trying to humiliate John in some other way, e.g., a former Naval officer now in a helpless and desperate state. The obvious question becomes, regardless of what the intruder’s mission is - how would John know or surmise what connection to make to this salutation?

Now, on the other improbable hand, if the intruder had been hired by someone, they certainly might be very angered by this unauthorized free-thinking on his part, in that he might unwittingly point responsibility without realizing it. For example, the person(s) who hired him might have been at Subic Bay with John Ramsey. So then, why does this ‘professional’ killer take this impulsive action? Mystifying at best! Of course, a family member wanting to reveal themselves to John might be inclined to use this salutation, hoping he would make the appropriate connection with this personal knowledge.

Tucking the newly copied ransom letter inside the back of the notepad, the intruder proceeds to remove his gloves. His hands are sweaty as he jams the gloves into his jean pockets. The use of gloves would account later on for why there were no fingerprints on the ransom letter when retrieved eventually by police, in addition to the awkward looking writing. Looking at his watch, the time is around 7:15 pm. Starting to get somewhat nervous, he wonders how much longer it will be before the Ramsey’s return home.

Evening has fully settled in over Boulder, leaving this huge mansion in near total darkness. The basement is the darkest area in the house, having only one window that is located high off the ground floor. Sitting alone in the basement, he is drenched in total darkness. Barely audible to him are the sounds of appliances that come from the kitchen. He recognizes the sound that comes from the boiler room just down the corridor. The basement setting would have left him with a very eerie feeling.

Walking over to the high basement window, he looks up to see only snow covered lawns and streets. The carolers have dispersed, having gone to their homes or to the cozy homes of close friends. They are now exchanging gifts, and enjoying champagne cocktails or other liquid refreshments. Everyone in this neighborhood is enjoying the company of loved ones or friends. Fireplaces are glowing brightly, giving profusion that adds to the tone of subtle civility on this very special night.

On this night, two different worlds exist – at least for the intruder. There is the world of seeming civility overhead and beyond the Ramsey mansion walls. Then there is the world that he has created for himself in the Ramsey basement where, shut off from the world outside, he has imposed upon himself an almost prison-like existence in this dungeon-like setting. How great his mission must be for him that he can tolerate this isolation, and the not so subtle loneliness that is now so pervasive for him.

Is he having second thoughts about his planned actions (whatever they may be)? Has he resigned himself to whatever destiny awaits his actions, be it success or failure? Pacing back and forth in deliberate fashion, he walks from one end of the basement to the other, rechecking his watch every so often and the materials strapped around his waist, additionally checking his stun gun to see that it is secured properly in its holster. He next checks the Ramsey flashlight he obtained earlier that he has attached to his belt, turning it off and on, it is working fine.

Walking back towards the broken window where the glow from outside Christmas lights allows him to see the hands on his watch, he sees that it now showing 8:47 pm. He is now in an excited but controlled state of mind, thinking it can’t be much longer before the Ramsey’s return home. Pulling a Snickers candy bar from inside a jacket pocket, he proceeds to eat it completely, hoping to get renewed energy as well as fending off possible hunger later on, then stuffing the wrapper in his jean pocket so it won‘t be left behind with his DNA on it.

Consuming the candy bar seems to have a calming effect on him as well. Walking through the basement corridor to the steps that lead to the first floor, he kneels down in a crouched position as he starts to listen intently for the Ramsey’s to turn the key in the front door, their arrival back home should be imminent. Lately, seconds have been passing like hours for him. Suddenly, he thinks that he hears voices directly outside.

They are coming from the direction of the front door. Breaking the silence of the night now are two voices. One is that of an adult female that he realizes must be Patsy. The other voice is that of an adult male that must belong to John Ramsey. Soon, he hears the front door opening. In a matter of seconds, someone has turned on the hallway light. There is no mistaking. The Ramsey’s are home!

Listening very intently, the intruder hears the sound of shoes that could only belong to Patsy, walking across the floor, heading towards the light switch on the wall near the kitchen, which he had observed earlier. Soon, the first floor is completely illuminated with light. He hears John telling Burke to take the packages he must be carrying upstairs to his room. Burke is heard to reply, Okay Dad.

The intruder soon realizes that John and Burke must be wearing sneakers, or very soft rubber-soled shoes, for he can’t hear their steps as they walk through the house. This is somewhat disturbing to him, as it will be difficult to track their movements in the house later on, prior to their going to bed. Noticing, that John and Patsy appear to be talking in hushed tones, he wonders if this isn’t because JonBenet may be asleep, probably in the arms of her father, seeing as it was Patsy who earlier strode quickly to the kitchen area to turn the house lights on.

Additionally, because he hasn’t heard JonBenet’s voice. Soon, his thoughts are affirmed, as he hears John telling Patsy that he is taking a drowsy JonBenet straight to her bedroom, and hopes she doesn’t wake up before he can get her into bed. This observation by the intruder brings some relief to him, believing that his mission might go a little easier if she is asleep by the time he comes to get her later. He notices that the main light in the house has been left on as he detects the Ramsey’s heading upstairs.

This foretells that John or Patsy plan on returning to the main floor, perhaps going to the kitchen for a snack before going to bed. The powerful light from the first floor filters down to the basement stairs where not too far away, is the intruder.

Heading back now to the rear of the basement, he turns around and can still see rays of light barely illuminating the corridor entry to the main area of the basement. Checking his watch again, it is close to 9:17 pm. This basement setting that he has chosen for his base of operations has to be quite uncomfortable for him, as he has imprisoned himself in a most secluded location within this huge mansion. Does he ever think that he is now unwittingly at the mercy of its inhabitants?

After all, the Ramsey’s can all come and go as they please. He cannot! The pressure and anxiety is starting to build on him even more, realizing that he must now wait until he is sure the Ramsey’s are in bed. The minutes are ticking away agonizingly slow. The ray of light coming through the basement entrance is suddenly broken. The form of Burke Ramsey emerges. He is heading swiftly towards the hobby room, where his train sets are located. Immediately after Burke turns on the hobby room lights, the intruder hears the toy trains whirring around their tracks.

He can only hope that Burke will quickly tire of playing with his trains. About fifteen minutes later, another form breaks the spectrum of light along the basement corridor. It is John Ramsey. He is striding quickly towards the hobby room. After just a few words to Burke that are unintelligible to the intruder, the hobby room lights have been turned off. John evidently has come to fetch Burke and whisk him off to bed.

This greatly relieves the intruder. Everything seems to foretell that the family is at last going to bed for the night. After leaving the basement with son Burke in tow, John Ramsey has turned off the main light on the first floor. Once again, the basement is drenched in absolute darkness. Nervously now, the intruder turns the larger flashlight on and off. It is working fine. Shining it on his watch, he sees that it is 9:48 pm. Since arriving at the Ramsey home shortly after 4 pm, he has experienced many mental and physiological changes.

The level of stress and anxiety he has already experienced is more than many people experience in a lifetime. He still has time and the ability to abandon his mission. He could easily go upstairs to the front door and briskly walk out, especially knowing that the Ramsey bedroom is way up on the 3rd floor, and that there is no way John could catch him if he somehow heard the front door open, which would be quite unlikely.

Or, he could leave by maneuvering himself through the broken basement window. However, he has no intentions of leaving now, or aborting his mission. He must be very tough mentally along with being quite bold, evidently being driven by extreme motivation. Including; perhaps, the large monetary reward awaiting him if he indeed was hired by someone who is a business competitor of John Ramsey.

Notwithstanding, whether he is acting solely on his own, and feeling satisfied in what he is doing, including his rationale for this mission. He has already previously decided that he will give the Ramsey’s at least two hours of sleep before taking his planned action against JonBenet. The flurry of activity in the last hour with the arrival home of the Ramsey’s, has greatly increased his heartbeat and adrenalin level, though still confident that he is in control of his situation.

Having cordoned himself off deep in the bowels of this huge mansion, he still maintains a total conviction to his mission. Does he ever reflect upon the possible consequences that he is tempting by taking on such a high-risk mission, or adventure if he is a thrill killer? Have thoughts of prison, being shot by police during capture, or the electric chair ever crossed his mind?

Or has he remained in denial about these factors possibly occurring, overriding any these types of thoughts with an arrogant confidence that he will be able to pull his mission off? Again, whatever it may be. Checking the time on his watch again, he sees that it is now about 12:26 am, on December 26th.

To his astonishment, time is no longer passing like sand through an hourglass. Rather, disappearing quickly. His heart is gradually starting to beat quicker, pulsating in almost dramatic, climatic fashion. He will soon be leaving for JonBenet’s bedroom. Unlike a bank robbery type of crime, where the action can be fast and furious, this type of crime allows the criminal to make adjustments with minimum pressure, including regrouping mentally.

The intruder is extremely aware of not leaving anything behind in the basement before going up to the 2nd floor, to abduct JonBenet, knowing all too well that a simple clue left for authorities could easily betray him. He now takes a final walk from where he has been holed up, down the length of the cavernous basement to the stairs leading upstairs to the second floor.

Walking slowly, he savors this walk, gaining a sense of calmness while he reviews in his mind what he is going to do – including what he will do if any unplanned variables occur, or if some confrontational situation develops. He reassures himself that he will be able to handle any situation he may encounter, including having to outrun John Ramsey out of the house in case John were to happen upon him. Arriving slowly at the front part of the basement, a quick glance at his watch reveals that it is now 12:37 am.

Time has now ceased being his ally. It is now time to act! There is an obvious eerie feeling to the house now, at least for him. Yet, in stark contrast, a family sleeps upstairs feeling oh so very secure, albeit a false sense of security on this night. Donning his ski mask and then his tight fitting leather gloves, the intruder puts his flashlight on low beam and begins walking up the basement stairs. Reaching the first floor landing, he immediately crouches down. Surveying the large foyer area to his right, his eyes search for and finds the staircase that leads to the 2nd floor bedrooms.

Looking into the vast darkness that imposes itself in an ominous-like fashion, there is a pervasively suspenseful-type quiet that abounds.

He barely hears the faint humming of the various kitchen appliances. How thankful the intruder must be that the Ramsey’s evidently have no cats that could screech out or suddenly appear out of the darkness to unsettle him. Taking the notepad that contains his rewritten ransom letter; he heads quickly over to the kitchen.

Removing the rewritten letter from the pad, he tosses the blank pad back on the kitchen counter, along with the Ramsey’s flashlight as he doesn’t want it on him he leaves. He’ll rely on his pocket flashlight. He now heads toward the staircase that leads to the upstairs bedrooms. For whatever unlikely reason, he chooses to lay out the 3-page ransom letter horizontally across the third step of the staircase. Anyone coming down this staircase will be able to view them as they approach.

It can only be assumed, that the intruder chooses these stairs to leave the ransom letter on because he believes that every family member has to come down them. Although, he is aware of the third floor staircase that John and Patsy use, but doesn’t want to risk leaving it there lest either of them just happen to be up and about for any reason. For him apparently, this most impractical place to leave the ransom letter is where he believes is the best place to leave it.

The timing and placement of the ransom letter must have been a major decision for him. Unless, he was instructed to leave it there by someone who may have hired him. Although, the possibility of his being hired for this mission is somewhat farfetched at best. Regardless, of how he came to make the placement decision, his depositing it on the stairs either, before or after abducting JonBenet, is more than logic defying in every conceivable sense.

[Leave us now pause briefly to reflect on the timing and

placement of the ransom letter. Returning then to

the abduction in progress.]

Why does the intruder leave the ransom letter on the first floor stairs, and ‘before’ he has abducted JonBenet? He certainly would not come back up from the basement later when leaving, to leave the ransom letter while carrying her with him. He of course could leave her tied up in the basement before leaving, and then come back upstairs to leave it on the stairs, but he would be running the risk in the process, of a family member perhaps getting up to get a snack from the kitchen, and seeing him.

Leaving the ransom letter on the stair step before abducting her certainly is unbelievably risky and reckless. After all, what would happen if JonBenet was not in her room upon his reaching her 2nd floor bedroom? Perhaps she is in her parents’ bedroom on the 3rd floor, for whatever the reason. She could also be in Burke’s bedroom down the hall from hers where she often goes to play with his toys. Can we picture the intruder standing in JonBenet’s bedroom as he views an empty bed, while his ransom letter is lying on the staircase step below in full sight?

Conversely, what if either parent awoke during the night, deciding to either check on JonBenet or just going to the kitchen, then discovering the ransom letter on the stairs ‘after’ he had abducted her and taken her to the basement. He certainly wouldn’t be aware of this, located in the far reaches of the basement. This would certainly put him in an extremely vulnerable position, including possibly being surprised by a gun-toting John Ramsey who may enter the basement looking for her?

There are many other similar type scenarios involving any family member possibly discovering the ransom letter while the intruder is in the basement, any one of them putting the intruder in a trapped and/or precarious position, likely forcing him to escape from the house and abandoning his mission in the process. If the idea of placing the ransom letter in clear view while the abduction is in progress seems absurd, how equally absurd would it be for him to re-enter the first floor area to leave it ‘after’ completing his mission in the basement, and preparing to leave through the basement window? It goes without saying that the timing and especially the placement of the ransom letter is more than mystifying. It simply makes no sense at all. If he indeed is acting on his own in this mission, it would seem to indicate his having a modest intellect, including being devoid of a real criminal mindset. If he is acting under the direction of someone who hired him, albeit quite improbable, the same could be said for that person.

What would John’s or Patsy’s reaction be if coming upon the ransom letter during the night, perhaps on a late-night raid of the refrigerator on the first floor, while he is still in the basement? Neither of them could possibly think it had been left by a friend or neighbor as some form of joke, especially knowing that no one had come to the house since they returned home earlier.

That the intruder would leave a ransom letter lying in the open before the actual abduction has taken place, not knowing if he may have to abandon his mission, is akin to his leaving a calling card behind. Or, a bank robber mailing in his holdup note prior to entering the bank. In a criminal venture of this type, a criminal having only an average intellect and/or criminal savvy, has to be smart enough to realize the importance of buying as much time as possible prior to the expected discovery of his crime. In this case, whatever lack of criminal savvy is possessed by the intruder, it was somehow miraculously overcome by extraordinary luck.

[Returning now to the abduction progress.]

The intruder now carefully steps over the 3rd step of the staircase, where he has spread the 3-page ransom letter in horizontal fashion. Walking along the staircase railing, he reaches the 2nd floor landing, his heartbeat increasing ever so dramatically, its beat is like an incessant pounding of a drum within his body.

His adrenalin level can now be likened to an athlete about to engage an adversary, where skills must be blended with an intense determination to achieve victory, avoiding defeat at all cost, Or, in the intruder’s case, the abduction mission that is so fraught with potential danger. Notwithstanding, the criminal justice consequences if failure is met.

He now enters the hallway leading to the children’s playroom. Turning quickly to his right, away from Burke’s bedroom, he is walking in almost a three-quarter upright stance, as he is