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The Lindbergh Kidnapping

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On the evening of March 1st, 1932, famous aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh put their 20 month old baby, Charles “Charlie” Augustus Lindbergh Jr to bed on the second floor of the Lindbergh home near Hopewell, New Jersey. When the child’s nurse, Betty Gow, went to check on Charlie, he was gone. Gow then reported the child’s absence to his parents. The police were contacted immediately and the search for the baby began. While trying to get in touch with the suspect who was leaving handwritten notes, the Lindbergh’s were very close to receiving their precious child. On May 12th, 1932, 72 days after the kidnapping, a decomposed body of a baby was found in the woods near the Lindbergh house. The child was dead and was predicted to have died on the night of the kidnapping as a result of a fractured skull. Charles Lindbergh was able to identify the baby as his own. Now the kidnapping had also become an immoral murder. Bruno Hauptmann is proven guilty through physical evidence, some which is found at the crime scene, his own physical features, and his handwriting. Additionally, his residency and money, specifically gold certificates assist in determining his innocence. Lastly, the testimonies at Hauptmann’s trial lead to one clear statement at last. Through an examination of physical evidence and case details, it can be concluded that Bruno Richard Hauptmann was responsible for the kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh.

The most crucial evidence found to help in investigating is at the crime scene. Numerous fragments are exposed to prove Bruno Richard Hauptmann as guilty. One of the many pieces of evidence used against Hauptmann was a ladder that was left at the crime scene. As one of the investigators p...

... middle of paper ...

...1935, Hauptmann was convicted and sentenced to death by Judge Trenchard.

Works Cited

Levy, Barry. “Cracking The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case. (Cover Story).” American History 40.2 (2005): 32. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
Linder, Douglas. “The Trial of Richard "Bruno" Hauptmann: An Account.” UMKC School of Law.
Douglas Linder, 2005. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
Linder, Douglas. “The Trial of Bruno Hauptmann.” Jurist Law. Jurist, 2002. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. Oxford, Edward. "The Other Trial Of The Century." American History 30.3 (1995):
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Scott Berg, A. Lindbergh. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1998. Print.
Sellers, Clark. “Handwriting Evidence Against Hauptmann.” Scholarly Commons. Northwestern
University School of Law (1937): 882. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
Zorn, Robert. Cemetry John. New York: The Overlook Press, 2012. Print.
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