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The Lindbergh baby kidnapping March 1, 1932

The kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's 20-month-old child on March 1, 1932, was dubbed the
crime of the century at the time.
In 1927, Lindbergh was the first man to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, from New York to
Paris. He subsequently received the $25,000 Orteig Prize, the French Lgion d'Honneur, and the
US' Medal of Honor. He was widely viewed as an American hero.
This explains the shock and coverage the kidnapping of his young son received in 1932. The boy
disappeared from his crib on the second floor of the family house in New Jersey, where a ransom
note demanding $50,000 was found. The note said the child was in good care. The family
immediately called the state police.
A few days later, a new note upped the ransom by $20,000. What followed was a weird string of
events including a retired teacher who volunteered to be a go-between and met twice with the
alleged kidnapper. During the second meeting, the teacher handed over the ransom and was told
to look for the child in a boat off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
But the child was nowhere to be found.
A little over two months after the kidnapping, the body of the child was found in the woods close
to the Lindberghs home in New Jersey. The New York Times reported that there was a "strong
possibility that he had been killed on the very night of the kidnapping."
The FBI then started to investigate the matter, and on September 19, 1934, arrested Bruno
Richard Hauptmann. The German-born man was hiding $13,750 of the ransom in his garage. He
was indicted on charges of extortion and later murder and kidnapping. His trial began in January
1935, and a jury found him guilty on February 13. He was electrocuted to death on April 3, 1936.
Many conspiracy theories have surfaced around the kidnapping, including that the child's nanny
was involved and that the retired teacher was also to blame. Many also maintain that Hauptmann
did not get a fair trial because of Lindbergh's status and fame.

REFERENCE
Lockie, B. T. (2015, November 20). 13 of the most notorious crimes in American history.
Retrieved February 08, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/notorious-crimes-slideshow-
2015-10/#the-lindbergh-baby-kidnapping--march-1-1932-4

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