The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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!

[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

[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.

[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.

[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]

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...

[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.

[Graham]

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.

A man called Harold Olsen claimed he was the Lindbergh baby and that he had lived with gangsters until adopted by a couple called Olsen. Don't think he mentioned plastic surgery, though, so could be a different guy. There were probably dozens of men over the years who claimed to be the Lindbergh baby....

Graham

[Hatchett]

Yes, I think that could be the one. Thinking back, and it was a long time ago, I am not too sure whether it was him or whether it was the narrator that mentioned the plastic surgery, and showed what was purported to be signs of plastic surgery.

I remember thinking at the time that instead of trying to disguise his features, perhaps plastic surgery to identify him more with the Linbergh baby was more plausible.

[RivkahChaya]

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

Anne Morrow's family had a lot of money. If that had been a problem, I'm sure her family would have stepped up. Not to mention, that an adoring public probably would have made donations. He probably could have gotten a plot and a casket free, or at cost.

But, I think he scattered that ashes, and yes, I think it was to prevent gawkers, funeral crashers, and for the grave becoming a shrine. Even if people were sort of venerating the grave out of good intentions, or genuine grief, you can see how parents who have lost a young child who was not famous in his own right wouldn't want that. Suppose every time you wanted a private moment at your child's graveside, some stranger was there?

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.

There's a guy who has a website now, and he's quite loony. He claims that the living Lindbergh children won't submit to DNA tests, because they think he wants money, but considering that they willingly submitted to tests to prove the paternity of the people in Germany who were their father's children through adultery (albeit, after their mother's death, to spare her feelings), I think they would submit to testing in his case, if there were any reasonable chance he was their brother. They probably have had detectives check him out, in case they ever need a restraining order.

I'm sure the reason they don't go ahead and have tests is that loons are never satisfied. If the tests were negative, he would probably come up with some other claim, for example, that he was Anne Morrow's only child by Lindbergh, and after that, she cheated on him as well, or that the tests were falsified or doctored. It's referred to as "goalpost moving." When your conspiracy theory doesn't pan out, instead of abandoning it, you just revise it a little, like people who thought mercury in MMR vaccines caused autism, and when the mercury was removed, and the autism rate did not change, they went on to blame the vaccine itself. When that was shown to be wrong, they started claiming that children are being given too many vaccines at once (anyone who claims the last knows nothing about the structure of virons, or how the immune system works).

[Graham]

It seems to me that the unseemly haste with which Lindbergh had the child's remains cremated suggest that once he and Betty Gow had 'identified' the body he wanted all forensic evidence removed once and for all. The body was not only badly decomposed, but also incomplete, being minus one leg and both hands, and the skull was badly fractured. I believe that Lindbergh and Gow 'identified' the body by means of a "crossed-over toe" on one or both feet. I also recall reading that Lindbergh's removal and rapid cremation of the remains was possibly illegal, as a proper post-morten examination was not carried out. The impression I have is that for whatever reason Lindbergh wanted the forensic evidence destroyed once and for all. Why he should want this, I do not know, unless of course he had knowledge of the crime that a close examination of the remains might reveal, and which might reflect adversely upon himself. Pure speculation here, of course.

Violet Sharp was interrogated, and I understand she was unable to prove her whereabouts on the night of the kidnapping, but that her alibi was later proved after her death. How, and by whom?

Lindbergh's later life, when examined, is hardly that of the classic American Hero, and I do wonder if, even at the time of his son's abduction, he was aware that he stood the risk of being exposed as a sham, or at best a part-sham, and someone unworthy of being the Lone Eagle. Don't know, probably never will.

Great case, as I've often said.

Graham

[RivkahChaya]

It seems to me that the unseemly haste with which Lindbergh had the child's remains cremated suggest that once he and Betty Gow had 'identified' the body he wanted all forensic evidence removed once and for all.... I also recall reading that Lindbergh's removal and rapid cremation of the remains was possibly illegal, as a proper post-morten examination was not carried out.

"Unseemly" seems to me to be judging the past in present terms. Generally, it was accepted that people could not travel far for funerals, so they were not held up while families gathered, and were done as quickly as possible. It wasn't just a matter of the body decomposing-- embalming was pretty good then: travel was cumbersome and time consuming. Just for comparison, almost every soldier who died in Vietnam was sent home for burial; only one's whose bodies could not be safely retrieved, or who were lost in fires, or plane crashes in unknown areas, were not retrieved. But during WWII, most Americans who died in Europe were buried there, at least, the ones who died on battlefields. Those who died in base or civilian hospitals were still sent home, usually. That depended on logistics, and luck.

People don't like to wait for post-mortem examinations even now, and in the 1930s, the evidence gathering aspect was very poorly understood by the public-- not only that, though, it really wasn't as intensive as it is now. They now do things like screening for toxins with a mass spectrometer, and sifting the area around the body for even the smallest thing that might be processed for DNA, fibers, or latent fingerprints. Back then, DNA was unknown, so were latent fingerprints, and fiber analysis had never been used as evidence in court.

I don't think the body would have been considered to be of much evidentiary value, once the head wound had been documented, especially when there was a plan established to track the kidnappers through the ransom money-- a plan which did in fact, work, even though it took a lot longer than was expected.

What possible motive could Lindbergh have for purposefully misidentifying the body, then trying to cover up his misidentification with a hasty funeral? I am at a loss to understand what you think Lindbergh's motive was, other than to get a painful episode into the past, and move on. It was probably terrible to think of that little body in the morgue. If they were religious people, they may even have thought that that he really needed a religious funeral ritual to be at rest, and that couldn't happen while the body was in the morgue.

Plus, there may have been gawkers and photojournalists rutting around the morgue. The best way to get rid of them was to get the body buried-- or cremated.

Even if you think Lindbergh was somehow responsible for the crime and Hauptmann was innocent, I don't see how it benefits Lindbergh to rush the autopsy, if it is such unusual behavior that it might bring suspicion. If Lindbergh was somehow responsible, than I really, really fail to see how misidentifying another body as his son helps him in any way.

You probably read that the rapid removal and disposal of the remains would be illegal today, when there are standards of procedure. Back then there were not such stringent rules. In many places, coroners were not doctors; it was an elected position; in other places, small towns, the coroner was the director of the town's only funeral home, trained as a mortician, but nothing more.