"Ricochet". Lots of things I missed, before, but didn't take note of until your posts. The film highlights one of the first trials when Denzel Washington became a prosecutor--a trial he gained notoriety from---it involved a "Night Strangler"---a guy that killed 9 people by strangulation. The front page is highlighted several times. In one scene, Lithgow kills a guy in prison, and the newspaper frontpage is on his chest....the frontpage was on the wall in Lithgow's cell. So your comment about a premeditated and planned killing of JBR by garrotte, if it ties into the movie, could be possible.

Then there is Denzel's friend, that is found hung (murdered by Lithgow). That is the first setup. The friend is forced to write a suicide note, where he makes reference to him and Denzel being involved in child porn and molestation. Child porn magazines were planted in the friend's briefcase. Denzel doesn't believe it, but the DA says the forensic's have matched the handwriting. So...police are misled...and suspicion starts to be cast on Denzel, and the media picks up on it.

Then, shortly after the suicide, Denzel is kidnapped by Lithgow, and shot up with cocaine and heroin over several days----filmed having sex with a prostitute who has a venereal disease (to be used later). There is a scene where Lithgow hand wrestles with Denzel---and he talks about how their lives were similar. They met at the beginning of both of their careers (albeit Lithgow was into criminal activities). Lithgow's was ruined by Denzel, and Lithgow has carried the vendetta for years.

Denzel is then dumped off, and goes to a hospital where he tells his "strange" story that no one believes (except his wife, and she starts having doubts). The cocaine and heroin is found in his blood....and his life starts unravelling. Lithgow has succcessfully set him up. (didn't finish the rest, yet).

Denzel's daughters are highlighted---towards the beginning where Lithgow gets in the house, posing as someone from the electric company, that the babysitter lets in to restore the power (that Lithgow turned off). He drugs them all, and there's some weird scenes where it looks like Lithgow is going to kill the daughters---he carries them upstairs, past the pictures and magazine articles hung on he wall. Killing them would be revenge, but he doesn't kill them....when Denzel and his wife comes home, and find the babysitter stoned on the couch, and she can't remember putting the kids to bed, the parents charge up the stairs to check on them. Lots of drama and then they open the door to the bedroom---a viewer would imagine they would be dead...but are found sleeping.

As you point out, the heart on the hand of JBR..heart around JR's head on the entrepreneur article, could be the tie to the vendetta based on the movie....then you add the other clues, such as the bonus.

"Nick of Time" was shown as 7PM, right? If Lou Smit's theory is right, then he perp would have been in the house during that time---so how could that trigger the plan since he was already in the house? If it ran two hours, then that would have been close to the time the Ramseys came home. That would mean the perp watched it somewhere else, and came in after the Ramseys went to bed, wouldn't it?

I have a hard time trying to understand a long simmering vendetta...unless the resentment was there, and JR's success put him over the edge. Perhaps different scenarios fantacized.....so the idea was there in the perp's brain--he just needed a trigger to set fantasy into motion.