It seemed like a nice, peaceful night in the Lindbergh’s home, as their child slept upstairs. However, this seemingly-normal night turned into a parents’ worst nightmare.
Their baby boy, Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was taken from his crib at 9:00 pm on March 1st, 1932 by a kidnapper who used a ladder to climb through his window. The baby’s nanny discovered him missing from his crib about an hour after the tragedy occurred. Shortly after he was taken, the kidnapper began demanding money in return for the child through ransom notes.
Investigators couldn’t contact the kidnapper, but a retired teacher from New York, known as John F. Condon, placed an advertisement in the Bronx newspaper, supposedly offering his services as an intermediary between the Lindberghs and the kidnapper, “John”. Apparently, through his negotiations and exchange for the ransom money, Condon learned that the baby was being held on a ship called the “Nelly”. After searching ships in the area, the baby was nowhere to be found.
As the investigation was still going on, it suddenly took a dark turn: someone had accidentally found the baby. The body of Charles Lindbergh Jr. was found in the woods only miles from his home, partially buried. It appeared he suffered from a gun wound and had been dead for nearly two months.
The ladder that the kidnapper used to climb into the child’s room was also found not too far away from the home and there were footprints discovered on the side of the house leading to the woods from when he was abducted. John, who was faking identity, was actually known as Bruno Hauptmann. Hauptmann was finally caught and found with all of the ransom money from the Lindberghs.
Throughout the trial, Hauptmann maintained his innocence. However, he was convicted due to the evidence. On April 3rd, 1936, he was executed by the electric chair. Because of this case, kidnapping has become a federal offense.
If this case itself isn’t odd enough, recent speculation has brought Charles Lindbergh Sr.’s own involvement in his son’s death into question. Led by Hauptmann’s relatives, there is a request to utilize modern technology, such as DNA evidence, to analyze the case and perhaps clear Hauptmann’s name.
It is yet to be determined whether the case will be reopened, but with such a high profile crime, internet sleuths and investigators alike anxiously await to see the outcome of this bizarre tragedy.
