Lindbergh baby kidnapping
| Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
June 22, 1930 Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | March 2, 1932 (aged 1) Hopewell Township, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Blow to the head (crushed skull) |
| Body discovered | May 12, 1932, in Hopewell, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Resting place | Ashes scattered in the Atlantic Ocean |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Kidnap victim |
On the evening of March 1, 1932 Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., eldest son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was abducted from the family home town of Highfields, in East Amwell, New Jersey. On May 12 the body of the 20-month-old boy, killed by a massive skull fracture, was discovered nearby.
In September 1934 Richard Hauptmann was arrested and, in a trial lasting from January 2 to February 13, 1935, found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death. He was executed by electric chair at the New Jersey State Prison on April 3, 1936, protesting his innocence to the end.
Newspaper writer H. L. Mencken called the kidnapping and trial "the biggest story since the Resurrection." Legal scholars have referred to the trial as one of the "trials of the century". The crime spurred Congress to pass the Federal Kidnapping Act, commonly called the "Lindbergh Law," which made transporting a kidnapping victim across state lines a federal crime.
At 9:00 p.m. on March 1, 1932, family nurse Betty Gow put 20-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr. in his crib. Around 9:30 pm Charles Lindbergh, who was in the library just below the baby's room, heard a noise which he imagined to be slats breaking off a full crate in the kitchen. At 10:00 pm Gow discovered the crib empty. Finding the baby was not with his mother Anne Lindbergh, who had just left a bath, Gow alerted Charles Lindbergh, who went immediately to the child's room, where he found a note in an envelope on the windowsill, then took a gun and went around the house looking for intruders.
Within twenty minutes police were enroute to the home, along with reporters and the family lawyer. Later that night a tire print was discovered in the mud and, in a bush, three pieces of a ladder that appeared intelligently designed but crudely constructed.
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Wikipedia