I've noticed several ironic contrasts in this crime.

A child, a symbol of purity and innocence, murdered with a garotte and blunt force trauma on the night after Christmas.

The child wrapped in a pure white blanket on a moldy floor with black duct tape covering her mouth.

John Ramsey required to place his money in a common paper sack.

John Ramsey raising money for a ransom demand while his daughter lie dead in the house.

Was the offender speaking through symbolism? Irony?

Any other contrasts?

pretty generic, and wouldn't draw any attention if left somewhere, like a garbage can. It might mean this was an extortion plan in the beginning---at least when the note was written, with the thought being the brown paper bag would conceal the money---an attache in a dumpster might draw attention. You can see through plastic.

JonBenet was the daughter of a wealthy man, whose wealth had recently been highlighted in the paper.....I think that had more to do with the idea for choosing the victim than anything else....and if the perp didn't know she was a little beauty pageant winner, he could have determined that once he got into the house---it was evident she was a much doted upon daughter. The blanket being white, IMO, is just because it happened to be the one on the bed.

I think the key word here is, irony. The offender used both verbal and cosmic irony in this crime scene. The verbal irony in saying one thing but meaning another, and, Cosmic irony, in that he acted as a God who created false hope only to tragically dash them.

Type, irony, into a google search, and the first entry is for role playing games...coincidence?

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar,,, and sometimes it reall is more.

One certain theme that is present in the case is 'futility'. An unused rope, a less than sturdy sack, a stun gun used but twice, a bondage set-up that wouldn't titillate a PG audience, a session by the phone when there will be no phone call, preparations for the ransom when there will be no delivery, resting for an ordeal when the real ordeal will begin upon discoveries to be made in the basement, a tape that offers hope but is in fact covering the mouth of a corpse. Futility. Hopelessness. I think every element of that night's activities was well planned in advance and therefore this crime was not about getting some perverted sex and then enjoying disposing of the witness. Anyone who is that complex about all the futility involved is not going to have simple motives like sex and sadism.

You know, at first I was unwilling to give the offender in the Ramsey case any credit for being anything but stupid. Maybe he did make things appear what they were not purely by accident, or, what was by design is being made far more complex by the viewer.

But...cosmic irony is all about futility. Man striving toward his worthwhile goal only to have his hopes and dreams dashed by forces beyond his control. Forces that derive enjoyment from the act because it demonstrates a power over insignificant man. "There are plenty of fat cats around, so don't think killing will be difficult."

Whether totally by design (which I doubt), or, a demonstration of how he thinks ( more likely), looking at the themes can tell us more about who the offender is.

I think he was above average intelligence. I don't think the irony of the situation escaped him in any way, and the posing of the child tells me he thinks in the abstract. He took pains to create the imagery he wanted in the mind of John Ramsey, and he took the time to create an image upon discovery of the child. I don't want to give him any more credit than I have to, but, at the same time, I don't want to underestimate him.

I think he had an image he wanted to create before he entered the home. Images revolving around themes of revenge, irony, contrasts between purity and defilement, etc. I think he is a more complex individual than I originally thought, and I think he was trying to convey the symbolism and irony, but wasn't entirely successful in doing so.

JBR's neck? He apparently took the time to wipe JBR.......so why wouldn't he remove the garrote and take it with him, like the duct tape and stun gun?

I think the perp was quite proud of the note----tying in all those movie lines and themes....with a crime perhaps based on Ransom and Ricochet. Role-playing is still a possibility, IMO....and don't forget some of the video games give points for killing with a garrote.

>so why wouldn't he remove the garrote and take it
>with him, like the duct tape and stun gun?

Simple. John Ramsey would not be particularly upset if he fails to see a roll of duct tape or if he does see a roll of duct tape, but that cord embedded so deeply into his daughter's tiny neck, now there is a sight! So why would he ruin that by taking the garrote with him?
That was a major part of the fun.

"why wouldn't he remove the garrote and take it with him, like the duct tape and stun gun?"

That's a good question. One of the hallmarks of a disorganized offender is to leave the murder weapons at the scene and on the body. In this instance, he left one. Was he being disorganized, or, did he pose the body in such a way to appear as if she were still alive, but once the blanket is pulled back, all hope is dashed?