The Lindbergh Baby

 

You've heard the name but do you know the case? Today we take a look into the Lindbergh baby. The day that the 20-month-old was taken from his crib, and the horrific days to follow.  

For most families the evening of March 1st, 1932 went like any other night. But, in a new mansion, in Hopewell, New Jersey it was becoming a parent's worst nightmare. At about 9 PM, someone quietly climbed a ladder to enter the second-story nursery window, stealing Charles Lindbergh Jr. straight from his crib and leaving a $50,000 ransom note. 

It was an hour later when the child's nanny Betty Gow noticed the child was missing when she realized he wasn't with his mother. She alerted Charles and Ann, and it was Ann who found the ransom note. With its unique symbol signature which seemed coded. The Lindbergh's called the local police, and it was them who brought in the State police. 

A search of the room revealed the ransom note sitting on the window sill, and muddy footprints on the floor. A search outside the home discovered a broken ladder that had been used to enter the bedroom, and footprint's going into the nearby woods. Word of the kidnapping spread quickly because Charles Lindbergh used his influence. Because of this, they contacted, Mickey Rosner. Rosner was rumored to have ties to the mob. Rosner contacted two Speakeasy owners by the names of Salvatore "Salvy" Spitale and Irving Bitz. Lindbergh accepted their help and appointed them to deal with the mob. This lead to several organized crime figures offering help. This included Al Capone who offered assistance in exchange for his release. This of course was denied. 

The morning after the kidnapping police informed President Hoover of the crime. For the first time, the FBI was authorized to investigate the kidnapping case. While the US Coast Guard, US Customs Service, and the US Immigration Service were put on standby. 

The New Jersey officials posted a $25,000 reward for the child's safe return. The Lindberg's added to that another $50,000. The total sum of $75,000 was a great sum of money as this took place during the great depression. 

On March 6th, a new ransom note was sent to the family. It was dated March 4th and was postmarked in Brooklyn. The letter had the same unique coded signature as the ransom note. It indicated that the ransom had been raised to $70,000. A third note, also postmarked from Brooklyn, stated that a man by the name of John Condon should be an intermediary between the Lindberghs and the kidnappers. The note held instructions for the size of the box that the money should come in as well as a warning not to call the police. 

Upon listening to their instructions, Condon put out an ad in the Newspaper: "The money is ready- Jasfie". It wasn't long and there was a meeting between Jafsie and the kidnappers. They met late one evening at Woodlawn cemetery that was located in the Bronx. The man was said to sound foreign but stayed in the shadows. Condon wasn't able to see his face at all. The man claimed that his name was John and he was a Scandinavian sailor, and part of a larger group of three men and two women. He claimed that the baby was being held on a boat and was unharmed, but would only remain that way if they received the ransom. Condon denied having proof that this man had the baby, the stranger promised that he would send proof real soon. He then went on to ask: "Would I burn if the package were dead?" When Condon questioned this odd question, the man assured him that the baby was indeed alive. 

It would be March 16th, before Condon received the baby's sleeping suit, and after confirming this with the Lindbergh's Condon placed a second ad in the paper: "Money is ready. No cops. No secret service. I come alone, like last time." It wasn't until April 1st, that Condon would receive word that it was time to drop off the ransom. 

It was April 2nd, when Condon with Lindbergh waiting in a nearby car, met with the man named John again. This time in St. Raymond's Cemetery also located in the Bronx. Condon said he negotiated with John, and got him to agree to take the original $50,000. (The ransom money was placed in a custom-made wooden box, the ransom money included gold certificates, and the bills were not marked but their serial numbers copied, all done in hopes to catch the kidnapper). Condon said he would give John the $50,000 in exchange for the location of the Lindbergh baby. John agreed, and he gave Condon a note stating that the baby was safe aboard a boat called the Nelly, near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and in the care of two innocent women. 

Lindbergh himself led the search, but to his dismay, the boat nor the child could be found. They had gotten absolutely nothing for the ransom. Where was the child?

It wasn't until May 12th, 1932, that things took a dark turn. A truck driver, Orville Wilson, and his assistant William Allen had pulled over to the shoulder of the road, about 4.5 miles from the Lindbergh home. When William Allen went into the bushes to urinate, he found the remains of the toddler. The skull had been fractured, the body decomposing, and there had been evidence of animals chewing on the body. The area also showed that a hasty burial had been attempted. The nanny identified the baby, by overlapping toes and a shirt she had made. 

By June authorities began to suspect that this kidnapping and murder has been committed by someone the Lindbergh's knew. One of the suspects, a woman by the name of  Violet Sharp, was a British servant of the Marrow home. She was unable to give a clear understanding of her whereabouts on the night that the kidnapping occurred. She also appeared nervous and very suspicious when questioned by police. She committed suicide on June 10th, 1932 by drinking a bottle of silver polish that contained cyanide. Because this suicide happened just before a fourth questioning, the police were criticized for heavy-handedness. Condon was also questioned and his home searched. Charles Lindberg stood by John the entire time. Even though Condon's actions were flamboyant. There was one time that Condon swore he saw a suspect in the street while riding the bus. Condon jumped up, declared his "secret identity" and demanded that the bus stop. Condon chased the suspect, but they got away. Others believe that Condon's intentions were to exploit, owing to the fact he had appeared in a vaudeville act, that happened to be about the kidnapping. 

With the investigation at a standstill, police turned to track the ransom money, with hopes it would lead them to the kidnapper/killer of Charles Lindbergh Jr. They had a few hits of the bills scattered some as far away as Chicago and Minneapolis, but of course, no spender could be found. However, they had a bit better luck with the gold certificates, which matched the ones given to the kidnapper. The spender stated their name was JJ Faulkner and provided an address. However, this too turned into a bust, when Jane Faulkner who lived at the address that was provided twenty years previous, denied involvement in the case. 

However, another gold certificate was used at a service station in New York. The attendant marked down the license plate number belonging to the man. Both the feds and local authorities tracked this license plate to the Bronx. More importantly, to the residence of a German Carpenter who matched the physical description of John. On September 19th, 1934,  Bruno Hauptmann was arrested and much to authorities' delight, he was found with a $20 gold certificate that came from the ransom money. Once the home was searched, they found a large chunk of the ransom money. However, when he was questioned Hauptmann had said a friend had given him the money and that he had no connection in the case. However, a quick handwriting analysis showed that Hauptmann had written the ransom note and the other letters as well. He was also identified by Condon as John. 

Several things pointed to Hauptmann, this included tool marks that were used on the ladder had matched tools belonging to Hauptmann, and the ladder used a piece of floorboard from Hauptmann's attic. Interestingly enough, Condon's telephone number was found written on a closet doorframe in the home. It was also confirmed that the baby died resulting in a fall when the makeshift ladder broke. Hauptmann was executed in 1936.