The Lindbergh
Kidnapping
Presentation created by Robert Martinez
Primary Content Source: True Crime by Nick Yapp
Images as cited.
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg
In 1927 Charles A. Lindbergh became a
national hero in the United States. At the
age of 25, he had been the first person to
make a solo flight across the Atlantic
Ocean.
“The Lone Eagle”, as the press dubbed
him, was modest, charming, and goodlooking, and his fame lasted.
http://judicial-inc.biz/Lindbe2.jpg
Three years later, he and his wife Anne
Morrow Lindbergh were America’s golden
couple, to such an extent that they felt
compelled to flee from the public.
http://judicial-inc.biz/Lindbe2.jpg
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg
They built a house on a remote tract of
land in New Jersey near the little town of
Hopewell, and here, on June 22, 1930, their
first child was born.
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg
“The Eaglet”, as the child came to be
known, lived for less than two years.
http://www.trutv.com/graphics/photos/notorious_murders/classics/brooke_hart/1-1-Charles-Lindbergh-Jr.jpg
On the cold, rainy night of May 1, 1932,
somewhere between 8 and 10 p.m., the
little boy was kidnapped.
Ladder found at
the nursery window.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/graphics/photos/notorious_murders/famous/lindberg/Ladder(200).jpg
Lindbergh was out hunting with his
Springfield rifle for signs of the kidnapper
when the State Police arrived, headed by
their chief, H. Norman Schwarzkopf (father
of General “Stormin” Norman Schwarzkopf
of Desert Storm).
H. Norman
Schwarzkopf
Police Chief
General Norman Schwarzkopf
Desert Storm
http://www.lindberghkidnappinghoax.com/hnorman.jpg
Lindbergh had already found an envelope.
Inside they found a ransom note in blue ink
demanding $50,000. Details of where to
place the money would follow.
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg
The police were not to be informed. Three
days later another note arrived, raising the
ransom to $70,000.
Lindbergh was prepared to do whatever
was asked for the return of his child.
A meeting was arranged at the Woodlawn
Cemetery in the Bronx (New York City) with
a man who called himself “Cemetery John”,
following which the child’s sleeping suit was
mailed to Lindbergh.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/louis_z_bickett_ii/3420775605/
A second meeting was arranged, attended
by both Condon and Lindbergh. The heard
Cemetery John call them in a strong
German accent.
Police Sketches of “Cemetery John”
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg
Lindbergh handed over $50,000 in “goldnotes”, and received a note allegedly
telling him where to find the victim. It was
now over a month since the little boy had
been taken.
http://www.lindberghkidnappinghoax.com/rancash.jpg
The note was worthless. Another month
was to pass before the body of Charles Jr.
was found, just four miles from home.
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg
It was little more than a skeleton, hidden in
a heap of rotting vegetation. The left leg,
left hand, and right arm were missing. The
cause of death was a massive fracture of
the skull.
http://www.celebritymorgue.com/lindbergh-baby/lindbergh-baby.jpg
At first, one of the Lindbergh’s servants was
suspected of the crime. The poor woman
was so upset by such an accusation that
she killed herself, swallowing silver polish
that contained arsenic.
http://www.lindberghkidnappinghoax.com/weirdviolet.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001/265661079/
And then, almost a year after the discovery
of the body, some of the ransom money
turned up at a gas station in the Bronx.
http://wnyheritagepress.org/photosofweek/fillmore_william_gas_detail.jpg
The gas station manager thought it odd
that a customer should pay for 98 cents of
gas with a $10 bill, and noted the license
plate number on the car.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/08822/Apr2211.jpg
It turned out to be registered to a man
named Bruno Hauptmann, a German who
had entered the States illegally in 1923.
Hauptmann’s trial was held in Fleming,
New Jersey. Hauptmann was found guilty.
Charles Lindbergh testifying in court.
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg
In the little time between sentence and
execution, he was vilified in the press, but
later doubts were voiced as to the justice of
his trial and sentence.
http://charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/linddead.jpg
For 60 years, up to her death in 1994, his
widow Anna persisted that he had been
innocent.
http://www.capitalcentury.com/thechair.jpg
As for the Lindberghs, they had another
son, and left the United States to settle in
Europe, where the “Lone Eagle” sadly
became an early supporter of the Hitler
Nazi Regime. But that’s another story.
http://history.sandiego.edu/cdr2/WW2Pics/12244.jpg
After the Lindbergh kidnapping “baby” monitors
became extremely popular for apprehensive parents.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raimist/317515181/