Lindbergh Abduction

Lindbergh Abduction

Purdue University Global

Charles Lindbergh an American hero who could do a nonstop flight across the Atlantic from New York City to Paris. Charles married Anna; they soon welcomed Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr into the world on June 1930. Charles Jr was kidnapped from his nursery window the night of March 1932. The child’s nurse Betty Gow put Charles in bed the night of the abduction, Anna was upstairs with a cold, Charles Senior was downstairs in the study right below the nursery.

After a quick search around the home, all the family and house staff found was a ransom note demanding $50,000. The Police was notified at 11:30pm that the baby had been kidnapped. The State Police arrived and investigated but it was raining, so no footprints were visible. A few smeared tracks were on the nursery floor, some scratches showing a ladder was used to gain entry to the window. No leads were found after three days of searching.

Another ransom note came requesting $70,000. Over the next three months approximately 12 notes were left regarding ransom. The Lindbergh’s paid the ransom of $50,000 with agreement from the abductor (John) and Dr. Condon, who used the newspaper to determine terms on the situation at hand. “John” gave the family a location of a boat named “Nellie” that was located near Maratha’s Vineyard. The baby wasn’t found. Dr. Condon knew he would recognize “John” if he ever seen him again.

May 1932 baby remains were found, partially buried and decomposed about 4 miles from the Lindbergh Home. Body parts were missing, the head crushed, and there was a hole in the skull. The body was identified as Charles Lindbergh Jr. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, the coroner confirmed the child was dead for two months.

Multiple agencies were investigating the kidnapping. A close watch for ransom money was requested. They contacted banks and local stores of every kind and shared pamphlets regarding the serial numbers pertaining to the gold certificates that was used in the ransom exchange.

September 1934, a bill was received from a gas station located in New York City. The attendant thought quickly and wrote down the license plate of the car driven by the person who paid for the gas. This later lead to Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Hauptmann’s home was under surveillance by federal and local authorities.

They were a few suspects the police investigated, first the Lindbergh’s, which seemed innocent and shaken by the disappearance of their child Next, Miss Gow the baby’s nurse who was last to see the baby. Her boyfriend Renry who was seen with a baby bottle in the back seat of his car. Elisabeth Marrow, Anne’s sister. Who was mentally and physically ill. Lastly, we have “John” who’s later identified as Bruno Richard Hauptman.

“John” was a splitting image of Bruno Hauptmann, who was later arrested. Hauptmann’s handwriting matched, which was circumstantial evidence. Hauptmann had tools that matched the tools used for the ladder, his ladder was broken, as well as him having the same flooring in his attic that was used to make the ladder. Dr. Condon’s name and address was etched into a closet trim inside his home. Hauptmann was indicted on September 26, 1934 for extortion, several days later indicted for murder. He was shortly removed from jail to await trail. The trail lasted only five weeks. February 1935, Hauptmann was found guilty and sentenced to death by electrocution. His lawyer applied for an appeal, which was denied. Hauptmann was sentenced to be electrocuted March 30, 1936, clemency was denied. On April 3, 1936 Burno Hauptmann was electrocuted for the kidnapping, extortion, and murder of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr.

The three components of the justice system played a huge role in the Lindbergh case. The police and agencies never gave up until they put the suspect behind bars. They fault for years trying to track down this man and finally all their hard work and dedication paid off. The court system held Burno accountable for his actions and prosecuted him accordingly. They denied all retrials, clemency, and appeals, by upholding the laws, and imposed a sentence against him. The correctional agencies assisted in carrying out the sentence created by the courts. This way the public was finally safe from one man who had ill intentions. All three components were fair, professional, and impartial during all stages of the process.

First appearance in this case was a packed court room, in Hunterdon County Courthouse in New Jersey. The judge read out the charges and decided to retain Hauptmann in jail for the time being. The preliminary hearing refers to the proceedings after complaint has been filed with the prosecutor to decide if they’re enough evidence to require a trail. Hauptmann’s lawyer tried to make the evidence look circumstantial. The court was convinced that the evidence was partial to the cause and decided to continue. Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against the defendant. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea.(Wikipedia) In the Lindbergh Abduction case the accused was charged with murder and kidnapping. The accused plead “not guilty” to all charges.

Adjudication is the legal process in a court room where an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and arguments from both sides. The judge finally comes to a decision involving the accused person. In the case of the Lindbergh’s; on February 1935, the accused was found guilty.

Sentencing means that a decision has been rendered, and the accused must stand in front of the judge and jury again. In the Lindbergh case the accused stood before the and was sentenced to death by execution, that was occur during the week of March 30, 1936. Shortly after the defending lawyer applied for clemency on the bases of circumstantial evidence, this petition was denied by the court of the State of New Jersey.

Corrections are imposed after sentencing is rendered. Burno Hauptmann stayed in prison for 456 days for the murder and kidnapping of the child. Where he was execution by electrocution.

References:

FBI. (2016, May 18) Lindbergh Kidnapping. Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/lindbergh-kidnapping

Encyclopedia Britannica. Michael Ray. (2010, February, 12). Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/Lindbergh-baby-kidnapping/The-trial-of-the-century

Wikipedia. (2007, February, 1) Lindbergh Kidnapping. Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_kidnapping#Trial_and_executionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_kidnapping#Trial_and_execution

Lindbergh kidnapping. (2020, January 12). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_kidnapping#Trial_and_executionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_kidnapping#Trial_and_execution.

Wikipedia. Simon J Kissane. (2001, October, 4). Retrieved From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arraignment

Wikipedia. Alex756. (2003, May, 2) Adjudication. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjudication