The Crime of the Century: The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping In the early 1930’s, the entire world was captivated by the story of a kidnapped toddler, Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., in a rural New Jersey town. Charles Lindbergh, a renowned aviator, discovered his 20-month-old son was missing from his upstairs nursery. May 1st the baby was kidnapped, and on May 12th the child’s corpse was found four miles from the Lindbergh house. Bruno Richard Hauptmann, a Bronx resident, was put to death for the kidnapping and murder in 1936. Many theories circulate about what truly happened ranging from Social Darwinism to an accident, although some facts line up with these theories, and others don’t. In a case as large as this, the facts can easily be distorted.…show more content… The police became aware of him because he used a bill from the ransom money-every dollar had been recorded. The police found $14,000 of ransom money in Hauptmann’s possession. He claimed to be keeping the money for a friend. In addition, the wood of the ladder matched the wood of his apartment, his chisel was missing from his personal set, John Condon’s address and phone number were found written in his closet, and eye witnesses placed him at the Lindberghs. His lawyer, Edward Reilly, was his only chance because his wife, Anna Hauptmann, couldn’t afford a lawyer. A newspaper paid for the attorney in exchange for interviews. Reilly openly spoke against Hauptmann, put no effort into the case, reportedly met with the opposing counsel, was an alcoholic, and was hospitalized two years later. The chisel was eventually discovered in storage at New Jersey State Police headquarters. A detective lived in the Hauptmann’s apartment because the New Jersey State police had taken over the lease. The detective, Lewis Bornmann, suddenly discovered a missing floorboard in the attic. This was the wood claimed to be used in the ladder. This missing board had never been noticed by any other police during various searches and it doesn’t seem logical to build a ladder using wood from a person’s own home. Hauptmann’s shoes didn’t match either of the two prints found at the Lindberghs. No prints were found at the scene therefore Hauptmann’s prints weren’t found at the scene of the crime. A reporter admitted to writing the phone number and address in his closet in order to have an interesting story. Initially, the handwriting expert said that Hauptmann’s handwriting didn’t match the ransom note and Condon didn’t identify him as Cemetery John because of multiple physical differences. Both changed their testimony due to threats and money. Witnesses placing him near the scene of the crime are easily
