The Lindbergh Kidnapping

Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., the 20-month-old son of the famous aviator and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped between 9:00 – 9:30 p.m., on March 1, 1932, from the second floor of the Lindbergh’s nursery. Betty Gow, the child’s nurse, discovered that the baby was missing around 10:00 p.m. when she went to check on him. She reported that she put the baby to bed at 7:30 p.m. After reporting him missing, Charles Lindbergh, who was downstairs in his library, a search by Lindbergh, with the help of his butler, Olly Whateley, ensued and a ransom note demanding $50,000 was isolated on the nursery windowsill. Whateley immediately called the Hopewell Borough Police department. Lindbergh immediately contacted his attorney, Henry Breckinridge, who was also one of his friends, and it is believed that he also contacted the New Jersey State Police who ultimately had jurisdiction over the investigation.

According to the police records, during the search at the crime scene, the baby’s blanket, mud traces, footprints, and pieces of a wooden ladder were found beneath the nursery window. One odd thing struck the investigators – one of the two sections of the ladder had split which indicated that the ladder had been broken; most likely during the kidnapping. Another finding was that there was no evidence of blood in or around the nursery and zero evidence of fingerprints were isolated with the exception of the baby’s.

The ransom note was replete with errors, both spelling and grammatical. The note said:

Dear Sir!
Have 50.000$ redy 25 000$ in
20$ bills 15000$ in 10$ bills and
10000$ in 5$ bills After 2–4 days
we will inform you were to deliver
the mony.

We warn you for making
anyding public or for notify the Police
The child is in gut care.
Indication for all letters are
Singnature
and 3 hohls

One of the Ransom Notes - Notice the Signature

Because word spread quickly of the kidnapping, hundreds of people flocked to the crime scene which destroyed any chance of obtaining evidence from the footprints. An expert, the first known case to use forensic evidence, was called in who analyzed the handwriting and the wood of the ladder.

The morning after the kidnapping, President Herbert Hoover was notified and immediately arranged for the Department of Justice to intervene in the investigation. During this time, kidnapping was a state crime and not federal; therefore, this was not an ordinary procedure. However, because it was a high profile case, President Hoover thought it best.

Distraught over the kidnapping, Colonel Lindbergh asked his influential friends to intervene and to make widespread appeals to contact the kidnappers. He left no stone unturned including using known mobsters such as Mickey Rosner, Al Capone, Willie Moretti, and Abner Zwellman. Mrs. Lindbergh even published the baby’s diet hoping that the kidnappers would take care of her son until he was returned.

On March 8, 1932, the third ransom note was received by Breckinridge that they would not accept an intermediary and that the Lindberghs must place a note in the newspaper to make contact.

That same day, a retired school principal, Dr. John F. Condon, published an offer to act as the go-between and offered $1,000 on top of the ransom demand. The next day, the fourth ransom note was received by Dr. Condon informing him he was an acceptable go-between. Colonel Lindbergh provided Dr. Condon with the $70,000 in cash, and as a result, the retired principal started negotiations for payment using a newspaper column under the code name, “Jafsie.”

On the evening of March 12, 1932, around 8:30 p.m., Dr. Condon received a note delivered by Joshep Perrone, a taxicab driver. He could not identify who gave the note. This note was not a ransom note but contained the message where he fifth ransom note would be located – 100 feet from a subway station. Once that note was obtained, Dr. Condon followed the directions and met with an unidentified man, “John,” at Woodlawn Cemetery where they discussed payment of the ransom. It was during this meeting that “John” agreed to provide proof that he had the baby, which ultimately came in the mail along with another ransom note. To prove the baby’s identity, the kidnapper sent on March 16, 1932, one of the baby’s nightgowns which was verified by the Lindberghs. 

As promised, Condon continued to place advertisements in the newspaper and on March 21, 1932, another ransom note was received by him which stated that compliance was necessary. Along with that information, the note suggested that the kidnapping had been planned for a year.

Days passed as the Lindbergh’s continued their search. Finally, on March 29, 1932, the nurse, Betty Gow, located the baby’s thumb guard at the entrance of the Lindbergh estate.

The ninth ransom note was received by Dr. Condon on March 30, 1932, whereby the kidnappers threatened to increase the ransom to $100,000. They also refused to use the code in the newspaper columns. Then on April 1, 1932, he received the tenth ransom demand instructing him to have the money ready for the next night. To acknowledge compliance, Dr. Condon placed another ad in the paper. Another note was delivered by an unidentified taxi driver and later Dr. Condon found the twelfth ransom note under a stone, located at 3225 East Tremont Avenue, Bronx, New York. That same evening met with “John” again to reduce the demand to $50,000. Dr. Condon handed “John” the $50,000 cash and in exchange received a thirteenth, not with the location of the child. According to records, the Lindbergh baby could be found on a boat named Nellie docked near Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The search the next day proved fruitless as the baby was not found. The next day, the search was continued by the authorities.

Weeks passed as no answers were provided to the Lindberghs. Then On May 12, 1932, about four and a half miles from the Lindbergh’s estate, William Allen, an assistant on a truck, and the truck driver, Orville Wilson, pulled over to go to the restroom. They discovered an infant’s body about 45 feet from the highway in Mercer County. The body was extremely decomposed, the head had been crushed, and the skull bore a hole. One fatal clue as to the identity of the baby was missing – several body parts were removed including the deformed foot of the Lindbergh baby. The death certificate listed that the infant’s died from a blow to the head. The infant’s body was immediately cremated leaving no chance for DNA evidence.

 

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THE LINDBERGH KIDNAPPING REVISITED

I am Kevin a. Lindbergh, the biological son of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. Yes, that is my father’s name, and he believes that he is the biological son of Charles A. Lindbergh, Sr., the famous aviator known to the world as “Lucky Lindy.”

There are many conspiracies over the years that exist regarding the kidnapping and death of the Lindbergh baby in 1932 – the crime of the century, one of which that Hauptmann was tried, convicted, and executed. Some of the most damning evidence was a piece of lumber from a broken ladder and him spending several of the gold money certificates from the ransom money. Yet, my father lived an extraordinary life, married, and had children, always believing that he was the Lindbergh baby up until his death. How can this possibly be true?

This book is my father’s story collected from his journals, letters, and memoirs. He passed before he could publish this book, so to honor him, I share with you his truth. That is all he ever wanted.

READ MY FATHER'S STORY

 

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