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One of the most famous cases of kidnapping in the files
of the FBI is the kidnapping of Charles Augustus
Lindbergh Jr. the twenty-month-old son of the famous
aviator Col Lindbergh. He was kidnapped at about 9 pm on
March 1, 1932. The child's nurse, Betty Gow, discovered
him missing one hour later and reported it to his
parents who were then at home. A search of the premises
was made immediately and a ransom note demanding $50,000
was found on the nursery window sill. The New York State
Police was notified. During the search at the scene of kidnapping,
traces of
mud were found on the floor of the nursery. Two sections
of a ladder used in reaching the window were found. One
of the two sections was split or broken where it joined
the other, indicating that the ladder had broken during
the ascent or descent.
Household and estate employees were questioned and
investigated. Meanwhile, two more ransom notes were
received through the post and the ransom demand was
raised to $70,000. The notes requested for
an
independent intermediary to be appointed. A retired
school principal, Dr John Condon, from Bronx, New York
volunteered and a note was placed in the newspaper.
On the 12th of March, after receiving an anonymous
telephone call, Dr Condon received another ransom note,
delivered by a taxi driver, Joseph Perrone. He was paid
to deliver the note by an unidentified stranger.
Following instructions therein, Dr Condon met an
unidentified man who called himself `John'. They
discussed payment of the ransom money and a token of the
baby's identity was requested.
A baby's sleeping suit and a note was received by Dr
Condon on 16 March. It was sent to Col Lindbergh and
identified. Condon continued his negotiation through the
newspaper columns. On 2nd April, Dr Condon met `John'
and handed him $50,000 in exchange for a note containing
instructions to the effect that the kidnapped child
would be found on a boat at Martha's Vineyard,
Massachusetts. An unsuccessful search was then made.
On 12 May, 1932, the body of the kidnapped baby was
accidentally found, partly buried and badly decomposed,
about four and a half miles southeast of the Lindbergh
home. The head was crushed and there was a hole in the
skull. The baby had been dead for about two months.
The FBI informed the banks in New York to look out for
the ransom money. No leads were obtained until 20 Aug.
1934 when the notes started to surface in the vicinity
of Harlem. On 15 Sept, an alert petrol attendant
recorded down the number of a car of which he was
suspicious of. It turned out that the driver had paid
for his petrol using the ransom money. The license
number was issued to a Bruno Richard Hauptmann.
Hauptmann, 35 years old, was a native of Saxony,
Germany. He had a criminal record for robbery and had
spent time in jail. He arrived in the port of New York
in 1923 as a stowaway and successfully made an illegal
entry. He was a carpenter.
The trial of Hauptmann began on 3 Jan, 1935 and lasted
five weeks. The case against him was based on
circumstantial evidence. Toolmarks on the ladder matched
tools owned by Hauptmann. Dr Condon's telephone number
and address were found scrawled on a doorframe inside a
closet. Handwriting on the ransom notes matched samples
of his writing. He was found guilty and sentenced to
death. |
