The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping

[Hatchett]

Quite some years ago I remember seeing a TV programme about the kidnapping. At the end there was an old guy on it who believed that he in fact was the Linberg baby, or indeed had been. He had evidence to show that when he was an infant he had undergone plastic surgery, for a reason he didnt know .... then. Now (or at the time of the programme) he was convinced it was to hide his features.

[RavenDarkendale]

Given the circumstances, I'd have to wonder if the possibility of grave robbery didn't play a role in their decision.

Good point. Morbid people have always been with us...

[Ginger]

The cremation of the baby was described as "unusual".

Given the circumstances, I'd have to wonder if the possibility of grave robbery didn't play a role in their decision.

[RavenDarkendale]

I also think I may have read somewhere that the cremation of the baby's remains was carried out quasi-legally, before a full investigation and a proper post-mortem had taken place. Anyone else know anything about this particular aspect?

Graham

The cremation of the baby was described as "unusual". Cremation wasn't what most people in those days would have chosen, especially the rich and famous. Burial was the norm

It could have been the simply condition of the body:



It could have been because cremation was cheaper than a casket and funeral, Lindbergh had lost the total amount of the ransom after all.

It could have been to spare Ann Morrow Lindbergh's feelings.

Off course every nutcase that has claimed to be the Lindbergh baby has stated that the cremation was to cover up that the body was NOT Charles Lindbergh, Jr.

[RivkahChaya]

Blueprints for buildings are a matter of public record, and a carpenter like Hauptmann would have known that. Moreover, if he had requested a copy of the blueprints for the house, it probably wouldn't have raised suspicion-- and I don't know whether copies of such requests were kept, nor whether it was possible simply to go to the county recorder's office and view the blueprints, without requesting a copy, and not have to state a reason. If Hauptmann had some kind of carpenter's union card, even a falsified one, that probably would have been good enough, as people were a lot less guarded about such things back then.

At any rate, the child's room would probably be labeled "nursery," as opposed to simply "bedroom," but even if it wasn't labeled "nursery," it still wouldn't be hard to guess which room was the child's, since master bedrooms were nearly always on the main floor, and servants' quarters (labeled such, at any rate) usually either in the attic, or below the main level.

Further, that window was opened, and I don't know that another second floor window was. I feel pretty certain that Hauptmann did know it was the child's room, but even if he didn't, he may just have put the ladder up to the only opened window, and gotten lucky that it was the child's room, and he didn't have to go through it, looking for the kid.

It was a March evening, in New Jersey. I don't know what kind of heat the house had-- it probably had a furnace, but these were people who had grown up with fireplaces, and people tended to gather in one room in the evening, and heat that room with a fire, and that would even include "higher up" servants, like the child's nurse, who probably was something of a companion to Mrs. Lindbergh, since her husband was away frequently.

If there was smoke coming from the chimney, but it was after dusk, Hauptmann could be fairly certain that the baby was in bed, and everyone else was downstairs.

As far as Violet Sharpe's suicide: people don't generally commit suicide over a single setback. The loss of the baby no doubt had a profound effect on her, but she was probably already depressed, or had something else going on.

I doubt that she was a genuine conspirator, although it's possible that she may have talked to a reporter for money at some point, and told people the Lindbergh's schedule (that they were staying in Hopewell), of discussed the location of the house, or it's layout. They were all things that could have been found out other ways, but if she was already depressed, or suffering from some kind of anxiety disorder, it might have become big in her mind; she may have thought she could be arrested, or that she was somehow responsible.

[Graham]

Not to mention the fact that an outsider knew exactly which window was the child's nursery!

I still think that it's odd and significant that the abductor of the baby knew which window to place his ladder against - this obviously smacks of inside information. Violet Sharpe?

I wrote this some weeks ago (Post 96?). By no means have I read every available book on the Lindbergh Case, but I can't recall much being made of this in the books that I have read. It just strikes me as being a huge coincidence that a member of the Morrow Family's staff should have killed herself so soon after the kidnap. Whether the police ever thoroughly investigated this facet of the case, I honestly don't know. As the ladder seemed to be tailor-made for that particular window, then either inside collusion or prior reconnaissance or both would be suggested.

The other aspect that's always stuck in my craw about this case is the way Charles Lindbergh all but took over the investigation, virtually telling the police what to do if Ludovic Kennedy has it right. Why? Had he no confidence in New Jersey's finest, or was there another reason he didn't let the authorised upholders of the law get on with it as best they knew? I also think I may have read somewhere that the cremation of the baby's remains was carried out quasi-legally, before a full investigation and a proper post-mortem had taken place. Anyone else know anything about this particular aspect?

Graham

[RavenDarkendale]

It did seem to be custom-built for reaching the child's bedroom window, so I think it's reasonable to infer some kind of reconnaissance. Since the house wasn't entirely finished, and the Lindberghs didn't stay there all the time, there were plenty of evenings or weekends when someone could have driven out and measured, and if anyone saw him, the witness would probably assume it was a construction worker of some sort.

Not to mention the fact that an outsider knew exactly which window was the child's nursery!

[RivkahChaya]

Oh. I thought maybe it was something specific, like that it was unfinished, and that's why it cracked.

I realize the wide rungs probably contributed to the child's death, assuming that he was dropped, or hit his head when the kidnapper slipped on the broken rung, and couldn't catch himself on the next one. IIRC, one of the MEs who examined the body thought the child had been killed with a chisel inside the bedroom, but I suppose that could have been a fiction, designed to set up an eventual suspect up for a 1st degree murder charge, as opposed to a felony murder charge, even though both carried the death sentence.

We don't actually know that the broken rung contributed to the child being dropped, although I agree that it's a pretty reasonable assumption, even if the rung broke on the way up.

I always assumed the wide rungs were because the ladder's builder didn't have access to enough wood to make more of them, although there are other reasons-- IIRC, fire ladders used to be built that way, back when they were made of steel, partly for speed-- fewer rungs to climb-- and partly to make them lighter. The ladder was probably pretty heavy, and fewer rungs meant it would be lighter.

It did seem to be custom-built for reaching the child's bedroom window, so I think it's reasonable to infer some kind of reconnaissance. Since the house wasn't entirely finished, and the Lindberghs didn't stay there all the time, there were plenty of evenings or weekends when someone could have driven out and measured, and if anyone saw him, the witness would probably assume it was a construction worker of some sort.

[Hatchett]

Maybe Hauptman was referring to the fact that the ladder was obviously not upto the job because it broke. You would have thought that building something fit for purpose would have been the main preoccupation of a craftsman.

Just a thought.

Best wishes.

[RavenDarkendale]

What exactly was it about the ladder that was so unprofessional? I thought the way it folded for easy carriage, then hooked together, was sort of clever. Was it the rungs being far apart? That was probably economy, although it may also have been the reason one failed rung was such a disaster. I wonder if guilt was behind the denial.

I think it was the rungs, yes. Spaced as they were, the ladder would have been difficult to climb, pretty much impossible with a child in arm. The ladder was cleverly made in three parts that easily fitted together. As I said, Hauptmann could have been just showing bravado. Guilt could be a factor, a wanting to distance himself from the ladder, probably because it was the major factor in the child's death.

[RivkahChaya]

I always thought it interesting in regards to the ladder that Hauptman always sneered at it and stated that he was a carpenter, and such a ladder was not the work of a carpenter.

But then many guilty people show a lot of bravado...

What exactly was it about the ladder that was so unprofessional? I thought the way it folded for easy carriage, then hooked together, was sort of clever. Was it the rungs being far apart? That was probably economy, although it may also have been the reason one failed rung was such a disaster. I wonder if guilt was behind the denial.

[RavenDarkendale]

I always thought it interesting in regards to the ladder that Hauptman always sneered at it and stated that he was a carpenter, and such a ladder was not the work of a carpenter.

But then many guilty people show a lot of bravado...

[sdreid]

I just noticed today that Harold Hoffman, the Governor of New Jersey who tried to halt Hauptmann's execution, was one of the original panelists on the What's My Line TV game show in 1950 along with Dorothy Kilgallen of Kennedy Assassination fame.

[Ginger]

Really? Hopewell is offshore, and Hauptmann was all the way in the Bronx. This was before the highway system, so it was probably more than two hours. Now, I'm guessing it would take maybe 90 minutes, probably on I-95. I have no idea what roads existed then, though.

Here's the relevant map from the 1930 Rand/McNally: http://www.mapsofpa.com/art9pics/1930-3350-2.jpg

The main roads are marked in red. Assuming Hauptmann (or someone from the NYC area) to have been the kidnapper, there'd be a choice of two main roads southwest from Elizabeth, NJ - US 1*, and NJ 27, which run parallel to Trenton. Eleven miles before Trenton, one could go north on NJ 31, another main road, and then some five miles on, turn west onto an 'improved' (gravel, stone or seashell, per the map) road which leads some six or seven miles from Blawenburg through Hopewell, probably the modern Franklin Turnpike. For all except the last few miles, then, there'd have been a paved, well-maintained two lane (or wider) road.

* For non-Americans, federal highways are marked with the symbol of a shield. For motoring (or kidnapping) purposes, they're functionally identical to state and local highways, same traffic rules, state and local police patrol them, etc.

[RivkahChaya]

Surprised distance was nearly 80 miles from Hauptmann house to Lindberghs

Really? Hopewell is offshore, and Hauptmann was all the way in the Bronx. This was before the highway system, so it was probably more than two hours. Now, I'm guessing it would take maybe 90 minutes, probably on I-95. I have no idea what roads existed then, though.