Editing Killing of JonBenét Ramsey (section)

===Ransom note===
Patsy Ramsey reported that she found a two-and-a-half-page handwritten [[ransom]] note on the kitchen staircase in their home. The note demanded {{US$|118000}} for JonBenét's return.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 21, 1997 |title=Police drop some potential suspects in Ramsey killing |website=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9701/21/ramsey.update/index.html |url-status=dead |access-date=June 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305225815/http://www.cnn.com/US/9701/21/ramsey.update/index.html |archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref> John pointed out to police first on the scene that the amount was nearly identical to his Christmas bonus of the prior year, which suggested that someone who would have access to that information would be involved in the crime. Investigators looked at several theories behind the dollar amount demanded, considering employees at Access Graphics who may have known the amount of John's prior bonus. They also considered the possibility that the ransom demand was a reference to [[Psalm 118]] and spoke to religious sources to determine possible relevance.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schiller |first=Lawrence |url=http://archive.org/details/perfectmurderper00schi |title=Perfect murder, perfect town |date=1999 |publisher=New York, NY : HarperCollins |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-06-019153-5 |page=447}}</ref>

The ransom note appears to echo film dialogue. The films ''[[Ruthless People]]'', ''[[Ransom (1996 film)|Ransom]]'', ''[[Escape from New York]]'', ''[[Speed (1994 film)|Speed]]''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jerome |first=Richard |date=2021 |title=True Crime Unsolved Mysteries |page=11 |work=Special People Edition}}</ref> and ''[[Dirty Harry]]''<ref>{{Cite web |last=McClish |first=Mark |date=2016 |title=JonBenet Ramsey Murder - The Ransom Note |url=https://www.statementanalysis.com/jonbenet-ramsey-murder/ransom-note/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=Statement Analysis}}</ref> are considered to be potential sources.

The ransom note was unusually long. The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) told the police that it was very unusual for such a note to be written at the crime scene.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://fox2now.com/2015/02/26/jonbenet-ramsey-case-10-things-the-ex-police-chief-just-revealed/ |title=JonBenet Ramsey case: 9 things the ex-police chief just revealed |agency=CNN Wires |work=Fox2News |date=February 26, 2015 | access-date=October 2, 2016 | archive-date=August 6, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806190603/https://fox2now.com/2015/02/26/jonbenet-ramsey-case-10-things-the-ex-police-chief-just-revealed/ | url-status=live}}</ref> The police believed that the note was staged, because it did not have any fingerprints except for Patsy's and authorities who had handled it,<ref name="Time Inc.">{{cite book |title=True Crimes: Cases That Shocked America |isbn=978-1-68330-516-3 |publisher=[[Time Inc. Books]] |year=2016 |pages=9–11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heSiDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|access-date=August 27, 2019|archive-date=September 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909161341/https://books.google.com/books?id=heSiDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|url-status=live}}</ref> and because it included an unusual use of exclamation marks and initialisms.<ref name="Expers dissect">{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/9271998-experts-dissect-jonbenet-ramsey-ransom-note-29249678 |title=Experts Dissect JonBenet Ramsey Ransom Note |date=September 27, 1998 |work=ABC News | access-date=October 2, 2016 | archive-date=October 3, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003103032/http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/9271998-experts-dissect-jonbenet-ramsey-ransom-note-29249678 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Stanley |first=Deb |date=February 25, 2015 |title=JonBenet Ramsey case: Former Boulder police chief Mark Beckner says police botched initial handling |url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/front-range/boulder/jonbenet-ramsey-case-former-boulder-police-chief-mark-beckner-says-police-botched-initial-handling |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080750/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/front-range/boulder/jonbenet-ramsey-case-former-boulder-police-chief-mark-beckner-says-police-botched-initial-handling |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |access-date=October 2, 2016 |work=KMGH-TV |publisher=ABC |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The note and a practice draft were written with a pen and notepad from the Ramsey home.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/05/us/bungled-jonbenet-case-bursts-a-city-s-majesty.html |title=Bungled JonBenét Case Bursts a City's Majesty |date=December 5, 1997 |work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 13, 2016|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308152251/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/05/us/bungled-jonbenet-case-bursts-a-city-s-majesty.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/09/us/report-tells-of-draft-note-for-ransom.html |title=Report Tells Of Draft Note For Ransom |date=January 9, 1997 |work=The New York Times|access-date= September 13, 2016|archive-date= November 12, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031422/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/09/us/report-tells-of-draft-note-for-ransom.html|url-status= live}}</ref> According to a [[Colorado Bureau of Investigation]] (CBI) report, there were "indications that the author of the ransom note is Patricia Ramsey." However, the evidence fell short of a definitive conclusion.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=875&dat=19970904&id=SdQLAAAAIBAJ&pg=6638,205639 |title=Patricia Ramsey's handwriting 'set off bells' |date=September 4, 1997 |work=Today's News-Herald |page=5|access-date=December 23, 2010 |location=Denver|archive-date=June 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602023953/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=875&dat=19970904&id=SdQLAAAAIBAJ&pg=6638%2C205639|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Michael Baden]], a board-certified [[forensic pathology|forensic pathologist]], who had consulted with both sides of the case, said he had never seen a note like it in his 60-year experience and that he did not think it was written by an outside stranger.<ref name="Time Inc." />

A federal court ruled it highly unlikely that Patsy wrote the note, citing six certified handwriting experts. The court lamented the existence of self-proclaimed experts—without credentials—trying to enter the case by accusing Patsy without scientific basis.<ref name=Wolf-v-Ramsey-2003>{{Cite web |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/253/1323/2567726/ |title=Wolf v. Ramsey, 253 F. Supp. 2d 1323 (N.D. Ga. 2003) |access-date=August 26, 2019 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111191944/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/253/1323/2567726/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2021}}

{{Quote box |width= |bgcolor=#c6dbf7 |align=left |title= Text of the ransom note |quote= Mr. Ramsey,<br /><br />Listen carefully! We are a group of individuals that represent a small foreign faction. We <s>do</s> respect your {{sic|bus|siness}} but not the country that it serves. At this time we have your daughter in our {{sic|po|session}}. She is safe and unharmed and if you want her to see 1997, you must follow our instructions to the letter.<br /><br />You will withdraw $118,000.00 from your account. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills. Make sure that you bring an adequate size {{sic|hide=y|attache|expected=attaché}} to the bank. When you get home you will put the money in a brown paper bag. I will call you between 8 and 10 am tomorrow to instruct you on delivery. The delivery will be exhausting so I advise you to be rested. If we monitor you getting the money early, we might call you early to arrange an earlier delivery of the money and hence a {{sic}} earlier <s>delivery</s> pick-up of your daughter.<br /><br />Any deviation of my instructions will result in the immediate execution of your daughter. You will also be denied her remains for proper burial. The two gentlemen watching over your daughter do <sup>not</sup> particularly like you so I advise you not to provoke them. Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as Police, F.B.I., etc., will result in your daughter being beheaded. If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. If you alert bank authorities, she dies. If the money is in any way marked or tampered with, she dies. You will be scanned for electronic devices and if any are found, she dies. You can try to deceive us but be warned that we are familiar with law enforcement countermeasures and tactics. You stand a 99% chance of killing your daughter if you try to out smart {{sic}} us. Follow our instructions and you stand a 100% chance of getting her back.<br /><br />You and your family are under constant scrutiny as well as the authorities. Don't try to grow a brain John. You are not the only fat cat around so don't think that killing will be difficult. Don't underestimate us John. Use that good southern common sense of yours. It is up to you now John!<br /><br />Victory!<br /><br />S.B.T.C<!-- |source=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061208031500/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/2006/0818/9699449.jpg Original text] -->}}
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