Mr. Cruel Lower Plenty victim "Jill" and Jonbenet Ramsey case linkage analysis

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ATTACK ON THE 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL

Mr Cruel removed a window pane in the lounge room of a Lower Plenty home about 4am on August 22, 1987, to gain entry.

The 11-year-old girl, who we will call Jill (not her real name), was asleep in her bedroom. Her eight-year-old brother was asleep in another bedroom and her parents were asleep in their bedroom.

Mr Cruel was wearing a balaclava, was armed with a handgun, kitchen knife, handcuffs and nylon cord and was carrying a small bag.

He went to the main bedroom first, forced the parents onto their stomachs and handcuffed their hands and ankles.

Mr Cruel then went to the children’s rooms, woke them up and took them to the parents’ bedroom.

He told them he was going to rob them.

The parents were uncuffed and then restrained around the hands and ankles with nylon cord, which Mr Cruel expertly tied using knots commonly used by sailors and those familiar with using rope to secure loads.

Jill’s brother was tied to the bed and Jill’s hands were tied with the cord.

All the victims were then gagged with electrical tape and the children were blindfolded with surgical tape.

Mr Cruel asked Jill her name, was told it, but later wrongly and repeatedly referred to her as Kate (not her real name).

He also asked the father’s clothes size, saying he was about the same size.

He demanded cash and a first aid kit and said he needed some clothes, a shower, some food and wanted to shave.

Mr Cruel then removed various items from the wardrobe and forced both parents inside it and put a bed blanket over them.

He used the bedroom phone, but did not make a connection.

Mr Cruel then went to other rooms in the house before returning to the main bedroom.

He then made another call, this time connecting, and made threats into the phone. The word “bozo” was used.

Mr Cruel then shut the wardrobe door and locked it.

He left the room and returned soon after with a radio and turned it to 3KZ loudly to drown out the sounds of him assaulting Jill in the bathroom.

He made Jill clean her teeth and bathe.

Mr Cruel led Jill into the kitchen, where he ate some cold lamb, biscuits, milk and orange juice.

With his hunger satisfied, Mr Cruel then led Jill to the lounge room, where he assaulted her again before dumping her in a lounge chair.

He left the room for about 10 minutes, during which he checked on the welfare of the parents and Jill’s brother.

Mr Cruel returned to the lounge and led the terrified Jill to a seat in the spare room. He left her there for a short time before returning and tying her ankles together with nylon cord.

He told Jill he was leaving and that she should count to 100 before freeing herself and her family.

Jill later told police she heard the front door close and she then released herself and then freed her parents and brother.

It is possible Mr Cruel chose Jill as his victim after seeing her photograph in a local newspaper which carried an article about her and her family.

Jill was attacked just a few days after the article was published.

THINGS MR CRUEL SAID DURING THE LOWER PLENTY ATTACK

To Jill’s parents: “Be quiet and don’t move or I’ll hurt someone.”

And: “Get into the wardrobe and sit down. Get into the closet and kneel down.”

And: “All I want is money, food and clothes. How much money is in the house?”

To Jill: “What’s your name? How old are you?”

And: “Clean your teeth.”

And: “I’m going out now so count to 100 slowly then you can free your parents.”

A COMPOSITE DESCRIPTION OF MR CRUEL FROM INFORMATION PROVIDED BY JILL AND HER FAMILY

Australian. 178cm to 183cm tall, of slim to medium build with brown, greyish/white hair with white spots in it. He possibly had dandruff and his hair was protruding from beneath his balaclava.

Greyish/white bushy eyebrows.

Aged in his mid 20s.

Had a gruff voice, deepish/nervous/uneducated.

Suffered from bad breath (musty smell).

Was unshaven, with a couple of days growth.

Oval face, soft hands, possibly right handed.

Wearing blue denim jeans, good condition, close fitting, a brown tweed sports jacket, possibly rust coloured, a blue nylon waterproofed zip up jacket, blue runners with white flashes down the side, white soles in good condition and white cotton socks.

His balaclava was navy blue with an open face and some type of material covering the eye area.

His gloves were light in colour, possibly yellow and were of the dishwashing or surgical type.

ITEMS TAKEN BY MR CRUEL DURING THE ATTACK ON JILL

A tartan shirt, men’s size in red, black and yellow. $250 cash.

A gold engagement ring of 18 carat yellow gold with a single white diamond. The diamond was on a gold mounting with four claws and had the number 4132 stamped inside and was worth $2500 in 1987.

A gent’s dark blue cotton parka with a fake black fur collar. It was slightly padded with a distinctive zip in the left arm. The parka was made in Ecuador and was branded Ecuadorean Shirt Company.

A pair of men’s trousers, 82cm-85cm, possibly Roger David brand. Light blue/grey with a small check and of straight leg design.

A Gillette safety razor in a blue plastic box with a clear lid.

A dark brown vinyl bag.

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT USED DURING THE ATTACK ON JILL

Small black handgun, pistol type.

Knife, kitchen, black handle, silver blade about 20cm long.

At least four sets of handcuffs.

Nylon coated cord, white and red/white.

Electrical tape, adhesive, roll of red, roll of green and roll of blue.

Elastoplast.

Material bag, dark bluish/grey or light grey colour, similar to school library bag.

Electrical tape, adhesive, roll of red, roll of green and roll of blue.

John Ramsey Testimony
How Tape Found

   John Ramsey found this piece of tape covering JBR's mouth when he first found JBR; he removed it before taking her upstairs.
   Fleet White picked up this tape and examined it.
   No Photos of Tape on Mouth. For this reason, there are no photos of this tape on JBR's mouth. Instead, the only photos are of the tape on a blanket found with JBR.


Physical Characteristics

According to John Ramsey's account over several interviews (excerpted at Starting Over-JonBenet), some key points about the duct tape are:

   Color. The duct tape was black, a point JR makes repeatedly. At one point he states "it was like black. It wasn't electrical tape. It was kind of white, black, unusual tape, I thought." It appears that "wide" may have been incorrectly transcribed as "white" in this statement since there are repeated other instances in which he refers to the tape as black. Crime scene photos make the tape appear gray, but this may be due to a reflection of light off the black tape. Internet poster Shill has provided a photo showing that the sticky side of a certain kind of duct tape is gray.
   Size. The tape is described as wider than electrical tape but not as wide as duct tape; JR appears quite certain on this point. He had previously used tape of a similar size that was white for sailing, but had never seen that type of tape in black previously. Note the Carnes opinion below indicates it was duct tape despite John's insistence it was not that wide (in the interviews, John is surprised by how wide the tape appears in crime-scene photos since it does not square his recollection).
   Cut or Torn? JR also several times notes the smooth edges of the tape, asserting that it has been cut with a knife and NOT torn by hand as one might normally do with duct tape. Note the Carnes opinion below indicates both ends were torn.
   Loose or Firm? JR reported the tape adhered all the way to JBR's mouth, i.e., it was not just loose on her lips. Internet posters Jameson (see 11/10/06:8:43pm) and Mame (see 11/10/06:10:47pm) have each done experiments with similar tape and found them to be very non-adhesive.


Carnes Opinion

   Lip Prints on Tape. Plaintiff also notes that the strip of duct tape found on JonBenet's mouth had a bloody mucous on it and a "perfect set of child's lip prints, which did not indicate a tongue impression or resistance." (PSDMF 53.)(Carnes 2003:15).
   Both Ends Torn. "Both ends of the duct tape found on her were torn, indicating that it came from a roll of tape that had been used before. (SMF P 171; PSMF P 171.) (Carnes 2003:18).
   Animal Hair. "Animal hair, alleged to be from a beaver, was found on the duct tape. (SMF 183; PSMF 183.) Yet, nothing in defendants' home matches the hair (SMF 183; PSMF 183.), thereby suggesting either that the duct tape had been obtained from outside the home or that it had been carried outside the home at some point." (Carnes 2003:71).


FBI Findings

   Date Manufactured. "The FBI had determined that the tape .... had first been manufactured in November 1996 under the brand name Suretape. The tape had a 40 percent calcium filler in the adhesive, and its yarn/scrim count of 20/10 helped pinpoint that Bron was the tape’s distributor" (Schiller 1999a:499).


Source of Tape

   Not Sourced to Ramseys. "The black duct tape used on JonBenet's mouth has also not been sourced to defendants. (SMF P 170; PSMF P 170.)...No similar duct tape was found in the house, nor is there evidence that defendants ever used or owned such duct tape. (SMF P 172; PSMF P 172.)" (Carnes 2003:18).
   Not From Picture Frame. "BPD detective Byfield had located two paintings in the home, one of which was hung in JonBenet’s bedroom, that had black tape attached to the rear of the frames. There was no match with the strip of tape found in the windowless room, however. It was later determined that Better Light Photography Studio had placed these pieces of tape on the frames in 1993" (Schiller 1999a:106; quote and source reported by Internet poster Braveheart). Internet poster WhyNut has done a screen capture from a report by Trip DeMuth showing that black duct tape was found on some Ramsey pictures, but that this tape was from a different production run than the tape found on JBR.

Nylon coated cord, white and red/white.

Nature of Cord. "The white cord is flattened and measures approximately 1/4 inch in width. It appears to be made of a white synthetic material."
Cords on Wrist. "Tied loosely around the right wrist, overlying the sleeve of the shirt is a white cord. At the knot there is one tail end which measures 5.5 inches in length with a frayed end. The other tail of the knot measures 15.5 inches in length and ends in a double loop knot. This end of the cord is also frayed." (clear photo; less clear photo).
Cord Around Neck. "Wrapped around the neck with a double knot in the midline of the posterior neck is a length of white cord similar to that described as being tied around the right wrist." (photo)
Removal of Cord by Coroner. "This ligature cord is cut on the right side of the neck and removed. A single black ink mark is placed on the left side of the cut and a double black ink mark on the right side of the cut. The posterior knot is left intact."
Wooden Stick at End of Cord. "Extending from the knot on the posterior aspect of the neck are two tails of the knot, one measuring 4 inches in length and having a frayed end, and the other measuring 17 inches in length with the end tied in multiple loops around a length of a round tan-brown wooden stick which measures 4.5 inches in length." (photo)
"This wooden stick is irregularly broken at both ends and there are several colors of paint and apparent glistening varnish on the surface. Printed in gold letters on one end of the wooden stick is the word "Korea." The tail end of another word extends from beneath the loops of the cord tied around the stick and is not able to be interpreted."
Hair Entangled in Neck Knot. "Blonde hair is entwined in the knot on the posterior aspect of the neck as well as in the cord wrapped around the wooden stick."


Non-Autopsy Findings

Judge Carnes Decision.

Complicated Knots. "JonBenet's body was bound with complicated rope slipknots and a garrotte attached to her body. (Defs.' Br. In Supp. Of Summ. J. 67 at 19; SMF P 163; PSMF P 163.)" (Carnes 2003:17).
Garrote Handle from Paintbrush. "The garrote consisted of a wooden handle fashioned from the middle of a paintbrush, found in the paint tray in the boiler room. The end of a nylon cord was tied to this wooden handle and, on the other end, was a loop with a slipknot, with JonBenet's neck within the loop. (SMF PP 157-158; PSMF PP 157-158.)" (Carnes 2003:17).
Missing Paintbrush End. "The end portion of the paintbrush used to construct the garrote was never found. (SMF P 159; PSMF P 159.)" (Carnes 2003:18).
Cord Fibers in JBR Bed. "Further, fibers consistent with those of the cord used to make the slip knots and garrote were found on JonBenet's bed. (SMF P 168; PSMF P 168.)

John Van Tassel, a forensic knot analyst and corporal in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, gave expert advice on the knots to BPD, but it is unknown what his findings were except for those leaked in Steve Thomas's book.

Where Did Cord Come From?

Never Sourced to Ramsey Home. "sources for the....cord used in the crime were never located, nor sourced, to defendants' home." (Carnes 2003:10).
Stansport Cord.

Description. The cord used was traced to Stansport; it comes in 50' and 100' lengths (item #N-50). According to Internet poster heymom it is also known as "Coghlan's Cord."

To Jill’s parents: “Be quiet and don’t move or I’ll hurt someone.”

And: “Get into the wardrobe and sit down. Get into the closet and kneel down.”

And: “All I want is money, food and clothes. How much money is in the house?”

He made Jill clean her teeth and bathe.

Mr Cruel led Jill into the kitchen, where he ate some cold lamb, biscuits, milk and orange juice.

It is possible Mr Cruel chose Jill as his victim after seeing her photograph in a local newspaper which carried an article about her and her family.

Mr Cruel removed a window pane in the lounge room of a Lower Plenty home about 4am on August 22, 1987, to gain entry.

The parents were uncuffed and then restrained around the hands and ankles with nylon cord, which Mr Cruel expertly tied using knots commonly used by sailors and those familiar with using rope to secure loads.

Could Ramseys Tie Such Knots?

No. "No evidence exists that either defendant knew how to tie such knots. (SMF P 162; PSMF P 162.)" (Carnes 2003:18).

Were Knots Sophisticated?

"The slipknots and the garrote are both sophisticated bondage devices designed to give control to the user. (SMF PP 161, 164; PSMF PP 161, 164.)" (Carnes 2003:17). "Evidence from these devices suggests they were made by someone with expertise using rope and cords, which cords could not be found or "sourced" within defendants' home. (SMF P 169; PSMF P 169.)" (Carnes 2003:17).

Mr Cruel asked Jill her name, was told it, but later wrongly and repeatedly referred to her as Kate (not her real name).

He also asked the father’s clothes size, saying he was about the same size.

. 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.