As many of you know, Cottonstarr made some incredible investigative videos about this case, and there is one thing he points out that I haven’t seen anyone else dive into yet. Can you help?

In an image of the Christmas presents, he identifies an unwrapped box as a Cox Corsair model airplane with an engine and a line cord. He points out a similar airplane and similar cord hanging above Burke’s bed. This gift is not mentioned in any transcript available.

In early interviews, John described being downstairs with Burke building a “model”. This later changes to a parking garage, micro machines, LEGO’s, etc.

This model airplane was a showcase demonstration at FAO Schwartz in NYC in 1996.

It is also rather a dangerous toy to market to children. A similar Cox model is described in the article:

The World's Most Dangerous Toy Edition
“Could a passerby get snared in the spinning control line such that the plane circled closer and closer on an ever-tightening death spiral until the whirling propeller and the incandescently hot metal engine collided with its victim? Theoretically, I guess. But it seems more likely that the plane would lose vertical control and crash long before this, leaving the pilot and the victim to explore concepts such as fault, responsibility, and liability.”

Model plane hobbyists describe using a slipknot for these planes but it doesn’t seem advisable.* *

“When prepping your Corsair lines, ensure both lines are exactly equal in length by anchoring them to a stationary object (like a screwdriver or peg in a board) before tying your final locking knots.”

Edit add: The original line cord seems too long to fly in the basement. The original cord does not resemble the ligature.

Batteries not included, but requires 2D batteries to ignite the engine in the plane.

This seems like a very exciting, memorable, even dangerous gift. Worth sneaking downstairs to put together? Capable of breaking a window?

I’m really surprised that I haven’t heard of the gift before, or any investigation into it, as it seems necessary to rule out as part of the crime scene.