History Of The Lindbergh Kidnapping

Thousands of children are kidnapped each year. However, one of the most famous kidnappings was the Lindbergh Kidnapping in 1932. The kidnapping was called, “The Crime of the Century”. After much hard work, detectives were able to find the kidnapper, Bruno Hauptmann. Evidence of ransom notes, possession of ransom money, and access to tools make Bruno Hauptmann guilty in the Lindbergh Kidnapping. The kidnapping shocked the nation. Charles Lindbergh was a famous pilot who just recently completed a non-stop flight across the Atlantic. Looking for peace and quiet from the media, he and his wife, Anne, settled in Hopewell, New Jersey. Everything was going well until March 1, 1932 when their baby was kidnapped from the nursery. The Kidnapper left

When the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped, a ransom note demanding $50,000 was left behind. Based on the use of German idioms, detectives were able to concluded that the note was written by a German. Notably, Bruno Hauptmann was an immigrant from Germany. He had been living in the United States for 13 years (Smith). Under those circumstances, authorities were able to come to the conclusion that Hauptmann wrote the note and kidnapped the Lindbergh baby. Although there were many of Germans living in the United States during this time, detectives were able to match Hauptmann’s handwriting to the handwriting on the ransom note. By writing the ransom, Hauptmann is guilty in the Lindbergh

Bruno Hauptmann became a suspect in the investigation when Hauptmann cashed a 10-dollar ransom certificate at a gas station. The gas attendant recognize the certificate and wrote down the license plate number. Thus, authorities were able to trace the license place back to Hauptman (FBI 100: The Lindbergh Kidnapping). Prior to the gas station incident, the Lindberghs complied to the ransom demand. Doctor Condon was sent to met with a man named "John" and gave him the money. Detectives hoped to trace the money back to the kidnapper. As a result, they were successful. When checking for weapons, detectives found a $20 gold certificate in Hauptmann's pocket. Accordingly, when questioned about about the certificate, Hauptmann defended himself by claiming that he has been holding on to gold certificates for years because he feared inflation. However, the detectives were still suspicious and searched Hauptmann's apartment. Surprisingly, detectives found $13,750 of the Lindbergh ransom. The money was stashed in the floor and in the walls of the garage, which was heavily protected with solidly built door and padlock (Smith). Consequently, because of his possession of the ransom money, Hauptmann is guilty in the Lindbergh Kidnapping. There is no other explanation on why Hauptmann would have all of this money and why he would be hiding it. In addition, when searching Hauptmann's