545 lines
27 KiB
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545 lines
27 KiB
Plaintext
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Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 7 Num. 78
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======================================
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("Quid coniuratio est?")
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THE KIDNAPPING OF THE LINDBERG BABY
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The following article first appeared in CN's previous
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incarnation, "Conspiracy for the Day", on January 14, 1994. Note
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that Carol Wallace's e-mail address (below) may or may not still
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be current.
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Today's "Conspiracy for the Day" (CfD) was written especially for
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the readers of CfD by Carol Wallace. The subject today deals
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with the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby back in the 1930s.
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Carol Wallace is an expert on the subject, having written her
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master's thesis on the Lindbergh kidnapping as well as being
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widely read in the history of that era. Wallace wrote her
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doctoral dissertation on the Fatty Arbuckle scandal of 1921. She
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teaches Mass Media Law, with a special interest in notorious
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trials and publicity. Regarding the kidnapping of the Lindbergh
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baby, she says, "I love this topic, and am glad to discuss it
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anywhere." She can be reached at Wallacec1@jaguar.uofs.edu
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The Kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby
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by Carol Wallace
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Copyright (c) 1994 by Carol Wallace
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All Rights Reserved
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EXCLUSIVE to "Conspiracy for the Day"
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"...comparisons between Lindbergh and Hauptmann --that the two
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men were very similar in an unbelievable number of ways,
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physically, through life and family history, etc. ...it was as
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though Hauptmann was the dark side of Lindbergh. But, if the
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latest theories have any validity at all, it seems as though
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Lindbergh was the real dark side."
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+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
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On March 1, 1932, Ollie Whateley, butler at the Charles Lindbergh
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home in Hopewell, New Jersey, called the local police to report
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that the Lindbergh's infant son had been stolen. Within hours,
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local and state police, plus press and ordinary sensation seekers
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were all over the grounds. While local police saw a crude
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ladder, built in sections, lying near the window from which it
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appeared the baby had been taken, and two grooves where the
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ladder had rested, most other footprints and possible clues were
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obliterated in the rush to investigate the rain-soaked grounds.
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Lindbergh, hailed as the great American hero after his historic
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New York to Paris flight in 1927, took charge of the
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investigation himself. He refused to allow other members of the
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household to be questioned. According to him, the child was
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discovered missing when his nursemaid, Betty Gow, went in to
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check on him and found the crib empty. She reported this first
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to Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the child's mother, then they went to
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Colonel Lindbergh's room.
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"Do you have the baby?" asked Anne. Lindbergh denied having the
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child, and accompanied his wife to the nursery.
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The crib was empty. Lindbergh turned to his wife. "Anne," he
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said. "They have stolen our baby."
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Instructing his wife and Betty Gow to remain where they were,
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Lindbergh shouted to the butler to phone the police, grabbed a
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rifle, and raced outdoors. When the butler came to report, he
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found Lindbergh sitting in his car. Lindbergh asked the butler
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to drive into town and buy a flashlight, so that he could
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investigate. But before Whateley could do so, the police
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arrived.
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Lindbergh led them straight to the window under the child's room,
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pointed out the discarded ladder, and led them to the prints
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which the ladder had left, and a footprint. According to police
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reports, he was very calm and collected.
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He then led the police upstairs to the nursery, where he pointed
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to an envelope resting against the window. He told police that
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he had ordered that it not be touched until a fingerprint expert
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could be summoned.
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The envelope was opened in the presence of the police.
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Anonymous, it bore an elaborate coded symbol as a signature, and
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claimed that the writer and associates were holding the child for
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ransom and would communicate the particulars later. The letter
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appeared to have been written by someone foreign, probably
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Germanic.
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The fingerprint expert found no prints on the envelope or letter.
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Nor did he find any on the window, or the child's crib. He
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didn't even find Lindbergh's prints, or those of the nursemaid or
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Anne Lindbergh, who had searched the room before police arrival
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(incidentally, failing to notice the ransom note .)
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Over the next several months, Lindbergh continued to spearhead a
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most unusual investigation. He rejected the FBI's offer of
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assistance, but called in Morris Rosner, a member of the
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underworld. Claiming that he was convinced that the kidnapping
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was the work of organized crime leaders, he asked Rosner to
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circulate the ransom note and see if he could get any information
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from his underworld connections.
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Soon after, Lindbergh received a call from Dr. John F. Condon of
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the Bronx. Condon had placed an ad in the Bronx Home News
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offering to add his $1000 life savings to the ransom money if the
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child would be safely returned. Condon told Lindbergh that he
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had received a note from the kidnappers, appointing him the go-
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between for the ransom negotiations. Lindbergh accepted this,
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and it was Condon, operating under the code name of Jafsie, who
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went to the cemetery where the transfer of money was supposed to
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take place. Condon, on his second visit, turned a wooden box
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containing $50,000 in gold certificates to a man whom he called
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"Cemetery John."
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John, he claimed, was of medium build, with a pointy face, high
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cheekbones, slanted, dark, almost "oriental eyes", and a cough.
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His accent sounded either German or Slavic, although Jafsie
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claimed that he attempted some German, but "John" did not appear
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to understand.
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Although the money was delivered as instructed, the child was not
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returned. Instead, Jafsie was given a letter which gave
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directions to the childs supposed location on "boad Nellie" (the
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allegedly Germanic spelling of "boat.") A determined sweep of the
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area where boad Nellie was supposed to be found nothing.
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The search for the child ended on May, 12, 1932, when a truck
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driver, stopping to relieve himself in the woods about two miles
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from the Lindbergh home, found the decomposed body of an infant
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partially buried in a pile of leaves. The child's sexual organs
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had been eaten away, but there was evidence of a skull fracture,
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as though the child had been dropped from a ladder. Although the
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Lindbergh family physician could not make a positive
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identification, Lindbergh, after a 90 second inspection where he
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counted the corpse's teeth, identified the body as that of his
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son. The kidnapping had now officially become a murder.
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The search for the criminal continued for two years. Then a
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German-born carpenter named Bruno Richard Hauptmann , with high
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cheekbones and a pointy face, but fair and blue-eyed, was caught
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passing one of the bills from the ransom money. Hauptmann was
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arrested and charged with the kidnapping.
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In what has since been termed the Trial of the Century, Hauptmann
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was convicted, and sentenced to the electric chair, where he died
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proclaiming his complete innocence.
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The fact that $18,000 of the ransom money was found in
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Hauptmann's garage acted strongly against him. Hauptmann claimed
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that he found the money in a package left with him by his
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business partner, Isador Fisch, before Fisch left on a trip to
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Germany. Fisch died there, of tuberculosis. While cleaning a
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leaking closet, Hauptmann rediscovered the box, and discovered
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that it was full of waterlogged bills. He claimed that he took
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these to his garage and began to dry them, hiding each bundle as
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it dried. Fisch, he said, owed him $7,000, so he felt entitled
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to keep and use that portion of the money in the box. Police and
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reporters labeled this "the Fisch story."
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Many legal experts and researchers believed Hauptmann, but could
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not save him from the electric chair. There were too many holes
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in the case, too many unanswered questions. But in the 60 years
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since then, four major theories have emerged about what really
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happened in Hopewell New Jersey that day in 1931.
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The first is that Hauptmann was guilty. A variation of that was
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that he was guilty, but had not acted alone.
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The last two theories are more startling. In 1993, two books
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came out claiming that there never had been a kidnapping; that
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Lindbergh and his family were actually covering up a killing.
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The premise that the kidnap was a coverup appears to answer many
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of the questions that the arrest and execution of Hauptmann
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raised. Much of the evidence against Hauptmann was
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unsatisfactory; much of it was plainly manufactured. And much of
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Lindbergh's conduct during the trial is, in hindsight, very
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peculiar. A quick review of the basic questions answered and
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left open, will demonstrate this.
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HAUPTMANN
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Hauptmann was convicted basically on 7 points of evidence.
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1. He had $15,000 of the ransom money, and explained it away
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with the "Fisch story." Since Fisch was conveniently dead, there
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didn't appear to be any way to confirm this.
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However: $30,000 of the ransom money remains undiscovered to
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this day. And almost $3,000 in gold certificates were turned
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into the bank when the county went off the gold standard by one
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JJ Faulkner. Faulkner was the known pseudonym of a convicted
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master forger, Jacob Novitsky (a man with a pointed face, dark
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complexion and dark, almost oriental eyes) who bragged to his
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cellmates of his involvement in the extortion of the ransom.
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Just before Hauptmann's execution, Faulkner wrote to New Jersey's
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Governor Hoffman claiming that they had arrested the wrong man.
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2. Police found, at the site of the crime, a 3/4" chisel. When
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they examined the toolbox of Hauptmann, a carpenter, they claimed
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that he had no 3/4" chisel, but that this would be standard
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equipment for any competent worker. Forty years later, crime
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reporter Anthony Scaduto checked the archives of the New York
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police, and found not only the chisel found at the scene of the
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crime, but two more, wrapped in a brown bag labeled "Found in
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Hauptmann's garage."
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3. Two witnesses came forward to say that they had seen
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Hauptmann in the Hopewell area the day of the crime. A foreman
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from the Majestic Corp., for which Hauptmann claimed he was
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employed on that day, brought forth a time card purporting to
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show that he had not been at work. If Hauptmann was working, he
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would not have had time to get to Hopewell within the correct
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time framework to commit the crime.
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a. One of the witnesses who placed Hauptmann at the scene was
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legally blind. In the prosecutor's office, he identified a vase
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of flowers as a woman's hat. Yet he claimed to be able to
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recognize the face of a man going by in a car. The second was a
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known pathological liar who denied categorically that he had seen
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anything unusual until the offer of a reward was announced.
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b. Police had these witnesses pick Hauptmann from a line-up.
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The line-up consisted of the blond, slight Hauptmann, a burly and
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very Irish detective, and a policeman still in uniform.
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Hauptmann was the only one who even resembled the description of
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"cemetery John" given by Jafsie.
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c. On the time card which allegedly showed that Hauptmann had
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not worked that day, all other workers who were absent were
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marked with a line of zeros. Hauptmann's line was marked with
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blots, suggesting that something beneath had been blotted out.
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4. Dr. John F. Condon identified Hauptmann in court as the man
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with whom he negotiated the ransom.
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Until his appearance in the courtroom, Condon refused to identify
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him; at one point, on record, he said that it was definitely not
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"cemetery John."
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5. In court, the prosecution produced a board from Hauptmann's
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closet which had scribbled on it Jafsie's phone number.
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Hauptmann couldn't recall writing it there, but conceded that
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since it was in his closet, maybe he did, because he had been
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interested in following the case.
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A reporter for the New York Daily News later bragged to fellow
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reporters that he had written the number there himself, on a day
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when there was no fresh news in the case and his editors were on
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his back for front page material.
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For those who doubt this, consider two things. Hauptmann had no
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phone. If he was using a pay phone to contact Jafsie, he
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probably would use something more portable than a closet board to
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record the number on. Also, to see the number, one had to remove
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both shelves in the closet and stand in the back using a
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flashlight. Hardly convenient for quick and unobtrusive
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reference.
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6. Police claimed to have found a missing board in Hauptmann's
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attic which matched the wood in the kidnap ladder. This
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"missing" board was discovered after several previous searches.
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And when the board in question was matched against the piece it
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was allegedly cut away from, it proved to be thicker than the
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board still in the attic floor. This caused New Jersey's
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governor, Harold Hoffman, to make an open accusation that the
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evidence had been falsified.
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7. The piece of evidence that apparently carried most weight
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with the jury was Lindbergh's identification of Hauptmann's voice
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as the same one he heard in the cemetery . This was a voice that
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Lindbergh heard, only once, two years earlier, from a distance of
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several hundred feet, shouting only 5-6 syllables -- either "hey,
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Doc! Over hear" or "hey Doctor, over here." Most experts
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expressed great doubt about the validity of this identification,
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but the jury was impressed.
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Another point in Hauptmann's favor was the ladder itself. It was
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very crude, causing most people who knew woodworking to believe
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that no carpenter had ever made it.
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Consider, too. William Randolph Hearst, who instructed his
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reporters to cover the trial in a manner that would light a flame
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of indignation in people everywhere, then paid for Hauptmann's
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defense lawyer, Edward J. Reilly. Reilly was suffering from
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syphilis which caused his institutionalization several months
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later, he routinely had several martinis at lunch during trial,
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and spent less than 40 minutes in consultation with his client.
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He was paid up front, regardless of the outcome of the trial.
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THE "GANG"
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There is clear evidence that more than one person was involved in
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the collection of the ransom. In the files of the Bronx police
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dept., Anthony Scaduto found an FBI document giving Lindbergh's
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description of a dark, swarthy man with a rolling gait who acted
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as lookout for cemetery John.
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This was never brought out at trial. Kidnap notes always
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referred to plural collectors, which may or may not have been a
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rhetorical device to mislead investigators. However, when
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Lindbergh called Morris Rosner in to help the investigation,
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Rosner showed copies of the original note to many members of the
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underworld. Contemporary handwriting experts appear to concur
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that the first ransom note was written by a different person than
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those that followed. (There were people willing to testify to
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that effect during Hauptmann's trial, but they were not permitted
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to testify, since that would have ruined the "lone killer"
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scenario.)
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Jafsie relates that, during one phone conversation with the
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Scandinavian (both Condon and the cabdriver who delivered the
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ransom-collector's note to Condon originally stated that the man
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was Scandinavian, not German) he heard another voice in the
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background shouting "Statto cito" [shut up, in Italian.]
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Given the peculiar construction of the kidnap ladder, it would
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have been impossible for a single person to descend the ladder
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with the child. First, it would not hold more than 160 pounds
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without breaking, according to police tests. The child would add
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an extra 30 pounds. Second, the rungs were so awkwardly spaced
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that it would take all but an extremely tall person two hands to
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descend.
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If Hauptmann (or Fisch) acted alone, where is the rest of the
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ransom money? And how did Jacob Novitsky, alias JJ Faulkner, get
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at least $3000 of that money?
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CONSPIRACY THEORIES
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The latest theories claim that there was no kidnapping at all;
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that the kidnap story was devised as a way to cover-up the guilt
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of a member of the Lindbergh family. In this theory, the ransom
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collection was separate from the death of the child; it was an
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attempt by underworld figures to cash in on the Lindbergh's when
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they were in a vulnerable position.
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Many researchers have questioned Lindbergh's behavior throughout
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the investigation. Burdened by their belief in the original
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premise -- that there was a kidnapper at large who must be
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treated carefully so that he wouldn't harm the child-- they
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explained this behavior as both fear of criminal reprisal and an
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attempt to protect his wife. Scaduto seemed to question this
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protective instinct, despite his apparent acceptance of a
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kidnapping theory. Lindbergh was not the tender protecting type.
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He was given to cruel practical jokes, and was essentially a
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rather cold person. The cover-up theory, however, explains
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Lindbergh's behavior, and a few other questions unanswered by the
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arrest and conviction of Hauptmann.
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1. Why would a kidnapper choose to steal the child during hours
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when household members were still awake and obviously moving
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around the house?
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2. How did the kidnapper get down the ladder carrying a 30 pound
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child? At the time of their original investigation, police
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insisted that the criminals must have exited through the house,
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and initially suspected a member of the household.
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3. Why were there NO fingerprints at all in the child's room?
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Anne Lindbergh and Betty Gow both admited to searching the room
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when they first discovered that the child was missing, but when
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police arrived on the scene, their fingerprints were missing,
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too..
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4. Why did the two women not see the ransom note during their
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search of the room, so that Lindbergh was able to spot it when he
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reentered? And why was it left on the windowsill, when the
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criminal was already burdened with the child, instead of in the
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crib, which would have been the logical place to put it? And, on
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discovering that his child was missing, how could any loving
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father have ordered that the note be left untouched, and leave it
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so for two full hours until a fingerprint expert arrived to open
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and read the note?
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5. Why did the family dog, Whagoosh, prone to barking at the
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slightest disturbance, not bark on the night of the crime? And
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why, when the entire staff and Anne Lindbergh testified that the
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dog always barked at disturbances and at strangers approaching
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the house, did Lindbergh deny this?
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6. Why did Lindbergh refuse the offer of help from the FBI, and
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consistently refuse to allow police to carry out routine
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investigative procedures, then call in members of the underworld
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to help the investigation?
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7. Why, after Lindbergh observed Hauptmann shouting "Hey,
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Doctor" did he wait 10 days before deciding that Hauptmann's was
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the voice he had heard in the cemetery?
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8. Why did Lindbergh refuse to allow police to question his wife
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or household staff following his report that the child had been
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stolen?
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9. How, if he had no flashlight, did Lindbergh manage to lead
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the police straight to the marks left by the ladder in the ground
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beneath the nursery window?
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10. How would an outside criminal know that the Lindberghs were
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at the Hopewell house that Tuesday, when they had never before
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stayed longer than Saturday through Monday?
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11. How did the alleged kidnappers know exactly which window
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were the child's, and of those, which one was warped so that it
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wouldn't latch? This fact could not be determined by routine
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surveillance.
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These questions made many people suspicious, even at the time of
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the investigation. If Lindbergh had not been the superhero of
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his times, they would not have been brushed aside so easily;
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today it is almost certain that he or a family member would have
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led the list of suspects. But, in 1931, Lindbergh symbolized all
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that Americans most claimed to value, so any thought of possible
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conspiracy was dismissed as unthinkable.
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However, there are two theories that appear to answer the above
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questions.
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The first, presented in Noel Behn's "Lindbergh: The Crime", is
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that the child was murdered by Anne's sister, Elizabeth Morrow.
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Charles Lindbergh originally courted Elizabeth, and the press
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reported rumors of an engagement. However, Elizabeth flew to the
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aid of an ailing brother, and when Lindbergh paid a return visit
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to the Morrow home, only Anne was there. They began to court,
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and married. Elizabeth had a mild heart attack following this
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news, and there is some evidence of a nervous breakdown.
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After the birth of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., several disturbing
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incidents led his parents to give strict orders that the child
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was never to be left alone with Elizabeth. Household servants
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all filed affidavits that Elizabeth Morrow killed the family dog,
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and once threw young Charlie out along with the household
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garbage.
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According to Behn's theory, the staff DID leave Elizabeth alone
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with Charlie. And, to avoid further disgrace, further hounding
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of the family by the press, the family spent two days dreaming up
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a way to cover up the crime. The kidnap story was the result;
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the fact that Morris Rossner's display of the kidnap note sparked
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an extortion scheme played right into the plans, since it
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appeared to confirm that there really was a kidnap gang out
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there.
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Elizabeth Morrow was institutionalized soon after the crime.
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Gossip about her possible involvement persisted, at least in low
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key whispers at least through the 50s. However, to accept this
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theory, one must also accept that not only Lindbergh but the
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entire Morrow family, and the staffs of both households were
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involved in the cover-up, and that they all lied on the witness
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stand, knowingly sending an innocent man to his death.
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The second theory, on its face, is even more incredible:
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Lindbergh himself killed the child in the course of a practical
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joke. Lindbergh was known for cruel practical jokes. He often
|
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filled bunkmates beds with lizards and other reptiles; on one
|
|
occasion he put a snake in the bed of a man who was terrified of
|
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them. Asked if the snake had been venomous, Lindbergh replied
|
|
"Yes, but not fatally." He also filled a friend's canteen with
|
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kerosene and watched him drink it; the man was hospitalized for
|
|
severe internal burns. And, only two weeks prior to the reported
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|
kidnapping, Lindbergh hid the child in a closet then ran to his
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wife's room, claiming the child had been stolen. He let the joke
|
|
go on for 20 terrifying minutes before confessing.
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In "Crime of the Century", Ahlgren and Monier theorize that
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|
Lindbergh tried that joke one too many times. In their scenario,
|
|
Lindbergh called home to say he would be late, but actually
|
|
arrived at the usual time. He climbed his makeshift ladder to
|
|
his son's room, planning to spirit the child out and arrive at
|
|
the front door with him in hand, claiming something like "Look
|
|
who I met in New York." Unfortunately, the ladder broke,
|
|
Lindbergh slipped, and the child's head was smashed against the
|
|
side of the house. Lindbergh then hid the body, went home,
|
|
failed to check on his young son even though the child had been
|
|
sick, and spent some time in his study alone before Betty Gow
|
|
reported the child's disappearance. Ahlgren and Monier speculate
|
|
that Lindbergh wrote the original ransom note during this time.
|
|
Most experts agree that the wording of the note was typical of an
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|
English speaking person trying to sound Germanic, rather than of
|
|
a real German.
|
|
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|
To accept this theory, as amazing as it may be, is somewhat
|
|
easier than to believe the charge against Elizabeth Morrow. The
|
|
great American hero was above suspicion. Police would never
|
|
think to check his alibi, to see why he arrived home an hour
|
|
later than usual that night. Nor did they hesitate to follow his
|
|
orders throughout the investigation, although they, not
|
|
Lindbergh, were the trained investigators.
|
|
|
|
An analysis of Lindbergh's character makes this sort of practical
|
|
joke a strong possibility; that he could cover it up so
|
|
successfully can be attributed both to the awe in which he was
|
|
held, and the successful diversion of the ransom note. Much of
|
|
Lindbergh's more peculiar behavior can be attributed to
|
|
understandable moments of panic.
|
|
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|
In the late 1930s, when Lindbergh openly associated with Nazis,
|
|
and made many public statements about the desirability of a
|
|
Master Race here in America, there were some fitful rumors that
|
|
Lindbergh had killed his own child because it was genetically
|
|
defective -- retarded. As war and memory faded, these whispers
|
|
died down. Baby boomers, if they knew much about the case at
|
|
all, tended to hear it from the perspective of Lindbergh, the
|
|
vulnerable hero; his later politics forgotten.
|
|
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|
There is no proof that Lindbergh in fact killed his own child;
|
|
however, the theory answers questions left open by Hauptmann's
|
|
arrest and execution. And in this theory, only one person had to
|
|
keep a dreadful secret and perjure himself. If true, however,
|
|
Lindbergh is guilty not only of the death of his son, but of the
|
|
cold and deliberate murder of Bruno Richard Hauptmann.
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address, send a message in the form "subscribe cn-l My Name" to
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Want to know more about Whitewater, Oklahoma City bombing, etc?
|
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(1) telnet prairienet.org (2) logon as "visitor" (3) go citcom
|
|
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See also: http://www.europa.com/~johnlf/cn.html
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See also: ftp.shout.net pub/users/bigred
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Aperi os tuum muto, et causis omnium filiorum qui pertranseunt.
|
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Aperi os tuum, decerne quod justum est, et judica inopem et
|
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pauperem. -- Liber Proverbiorum XXXI: 8-9
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