The Trial of the Lindbergh Baby Murderer

The infamous trial of the man suspected of kidnapping and killing the son of an American icon.

The Kidnapping and Murder of the Lindbergh Baby

On the evening of March 1, 1932, Betty Gow, a child nurse, went to the nursery on the second floor of the Lindbergh home near Hopewell, New Jersey, to check on Charles Lindbergh Jr. after he went to sleep hours earlier. After approaching the baby's crib, she was shocked to find him gone. Gow quickly alerted Charles Lindbergh Sr. and Anne Lindbergh, a wealthy couple who gained their fortune due to Charles' illustrious aviation career. A search of the premises was immediately made, and a ransom note demanding $50,000 was found on the nursery window sill. After a comprehensive examination of the scene, traces of mud were found on the nursery floor. In addition, footprints, impossible to measure, were found under the nursery window.

Additionally, a ladder from the Lindbergh estate was found outside the nursery window, with evidence indicating that the ladder had broken during the ascent or descent. After a series of ransom notes that raised and descended the ransom amounts that the kidnappers wished for, the Lindbergh family delivered a $50,000 ransom payment in cash. Then, on May 12, 1932, the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr. was accidentally found by truck driver William Allen, an assistant to Orville Wilson, the truck driver at the time. The body was partly buried, badly decomposed, the head was crushed, a hole in the skull, and some of the body members were missing. Allen discovered the body about four and a half miles southeast of the Lindbergh home, 45 feet from the highway, near Mount Rose, New Jersey. The body was positively identified and cremated after a report by the coroner showed that the child had been dead for about two months and that death was caused by a blow on the head. Finally, on September 15, 1934, a bank teller realized that the serial number on a $10 gold certificate deposited into the bank by a gas station matched one on the Lindbergh ransom bills list. Quickly, the attendant wrote down the license plate number of the customer's car on the bill's margin. After calling the authorities, they found that the license plate was registered to a man named Richard Hauptmann. The police immediately focused on Hauptmann and placed him under strict surveillance. On September 19, Richard Hauptmann realized he was being watched by the FBI and local law enforcement. This prompted him to attempt an escape, speeding and running through red lights on the busy New York roads. But Hauptmann would be caught and arrested, then charged with felony murder.

The Trial of Richard Hauptmann

The trial of Richard Hauptmann began on January 3, 1935. Media networks heavily covered the case as they dubbed Hauptmann "The most hated man in the world." The prosecution wished to convict based on evidence that included: $14,600 of the ransom money found in his garage; testimony from experts alleging handwriting and spelling similarities to that found on the ransom notes; testimony that lumber used in constructing the ladder probably originated in Hauptmann's house; and what appeared to be a hand-drawn sketch of a ladder found in one of Hauptmann's notebooks. Witnesses identified Hauptmann as the man who took the ransom money. Additionally, further testimonies revealed that witnesses saw Hauptmann near the Lindbergh home on the day of the kidnapping. The defense was led by Edward J. Reilly, who argued that the evidence against Hauptmann was entirely circumstantial, as no reliable and direct witness had placed Hauptmann at the crime scene.

Furthermore, he stated how Hauptmann's fingerprints were not found on the ladder, the ransom notes, or anywhere in the nursery. But the arguments failed to plant reasonable doubt in the eye of the jury because on February 13, 1935, after 11 hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict, and Richard Hauptmann was sentenced to death. A series of appeals were filed to overturn Hauptmann's conviction. Ultimately, the Supreme Court rejected a clemency bid on March 30, 1936. On April 3, 1936, Richard Hauptmann was executed by the electric chair; even on the day of his death, Hauptmann denied involvement with the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr.