Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. Kidnapping “Kidnapping: Whenever a person is taken or detained against his or her will, including hostage situations, whether or not the victim is moved.
Kidnapping is not limited to the acts of strangers but can be committed by acquaintances, by romantic partners, and, as has been increasingly true in recent years, by parents who are involved in acrimonious custody disputes. Kidnapping involves both short-term and short-distance displacements, acts common to many sexual assaults and robberies. ” (“Missing Children Statistics,” 2008)Kidnapping only makes up about 2% of all violent crimes against juveniles, but that does not make it any less of a crime. In the year 2000, 876,213 people were reported missing, and of that about 90% were juveniles under the age of 18. (“Missing Children Statistics,” 2008) With so many kidnapping cases each year, only a select few will make national news. One of the most notorious kidnapping cases was the Charles A.
Lindbergh Jr. Kidnapping in 1932. What made this case so much more important then all the rest? There was nothing unusual about this case, but the one factor that made this national news was that Charles Lindbergh Jr. as the Twenty-Month old son of the Famous Aviator, Charles Lindbergh.
On March 1, 1932, baby Charles was put to bed at around 7:30 PM by his mother Anne Lindbergh and his Nurse, Betty Gow. About 3 hours later, when checking on the baby, Gow made a horrible discovery, baby Charles was not in his crib. The only thing that was out of place was an envelope on the window sill. The envelope contained a badly written ransom note that read: Dear Sir, Have 50,000$ redy 25000$ in 20$ bills 15000$ in 10$ bills and 10000$ in 5$ bills. After 2-4 days will inform you were to deliver the Mony.We warn you for making anyding public or for notify the Polise the child is in gut care.
Indication for all letters are singnature and 3 holds . (“The American Experience,” 2004-2006) Over a period of a month more then a dozen ransom notes were delivered to the Lindbergh’s. Upon the initial search of the crime scene, mud was found in the nursery and immeasurable muddy footprints were found outside of the nursery. Also a two section ladder was found outside of the house, leaning against the house leading to the nursery window. The ladder was broken in a place were the two section met.No other evidence was found.
The second ransom note came on March 6, 1932 which said the ransom amount had been raised to $70,000. The Lindbergh’s attorney received the third ransom note on March 8 instructing them to put a note in the newspaper. That day, John F. Condon published a letter in the Bronx Home News offering to be the go-between for the kidnapper and the Lindbergh’s, and offering an extra $1,000 ransom. The next day Condon received the forth ransom note stating that Condon was accepted as the go-between. On March 10 Condon began negotiations for payment through newspaper columns.
He used the code name “Jafsie. ” The fifth note was received on March 12, sending instruction on where to find another note. As indicated, the sixth note was found by Condon beneath a stone by a vacant stand outside of a subway station. This note instructed Condon to meet a man who called himself “John” in a graveyard where they would discuss payment. “John” agreed to show something indicating the baby’s identity.
On March 16, the baby’s sleeping suit and a seventh ransom note were received. The eighth ransom note was given to Condon on March 21.This note asked for complete compliance and also stated that the kidnapping had been planned for year. On March 30, the ninth note was found, stating that the kidnappers were threatening to raise the ransom to $100,000. On April 1, Condon received the tenth ransom note demanding him to have the money ready for the next night.
The eleventh note was received on April 2, instructing them as to the whereabouts of the twelfth note. The twelfth note instructed Condon to meet “John” in the graveyard again, where Condon gave him the ransom of $50,000 and in return he was given a receipt and a thirteenth note.This note gave the location of baby Charles. The note said the baby could be found on a boat called “Nellie” near Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The search for the baby came up unsuccessful, they had been double-crossed. But then on May 12 the badly decomposed body of Charles Lindbergh Jr.
was found about 4 ? miles from the Lindbergh home. The baby’s head and skull had been crushed. Examinations showed that the baby had been beaten for two months and died from a blow to the head. For two years after the kidnapping, the New York Police had been tracing and racking down the bills of the ransom. On September 18, 1934, one bill was used at a gas station in Manhattan.
The gas stations attendant had recognized the man from a flier warning people of these certain bills and wrote down the mans license plate number and called the police. The police later found that the owner of the vehicle was Bruno Hauptmann, a carpenter and a German immigrant who had a criminal record in Germany. The police arrested Hauptmann on September 22, 1934. A search of his home produced $14,000 of the ransom money. The money was hidden in and under the garage.
Hauptmann insisted that he was holding the money for a friend, Isidore Fisch, who later returned to Germany and had died, and he had no connection to the kidnapping and that he had no knowledge that the money had come from the ransom. Further investigations produced more evidence that linked Hauptmann to the kidnapping and the murder of baby Charles. During the trial, evidence was introduced showing a similarity of Hauptmann’s handwriting and the handwriting on the ransom notes. Other evidence included that of the ladder.
It showed that the ladder was fixed by somebody who knew wood and would know how to fix it.Splinters of the wood used to fix the ladder were analyzed and found the wood to match perfectly with the wood of Hauptmann’s attic. Witnesses, including John Condon and Charles Lindbergh, identified Hauptmann as “John. ” The defense of this case is very strong; therefore, I believe Hauptmann was not alone in planning this kidnapping. He needed someone who was on the inside, someone who knew the family and most importantly, the baby. I believe that the Nurse, Betty Gow, was involved in the crime.
She knew the family’s schedule as well as the layout of the Lindbergh home. She is the perfect accessory. Mr.Edward Reilly was the Defense Attorney for this case. His defense stated that Hauptmann would have no way of knowing that the Lindbergh’s were to stay in their house another night because the baby had a cold, stating that the family normally stayed until Sunday night or Monday morning. The only people who knew that they were staying an extra night would have been the household staff, the Lindbergh’s themselves and Betty Gow, the baby’s nurse.
They called for Gow to come and help with the baby. Who says that Gow had not had contact with Hauptmann after she got the call? Another point of defense was that the family had a dog.When dogs sense a stranger they normally bark. The dog would have barked if someone he did no know, like Hauptmann, would have been on the property. Gow could have gotten Hauptmann into the house one day while the rest of the family was away. This would explain why the dog did not bark when Hauptmann was on the grounds, because the dog knew him.
The defense stated that Hauptmann would have had to know the layout of the house and the room as well as where the furniture was placed as to not knock over anything while climbing through the window. In addition, the baby would have cried if he had not known the man.Defense also stated that any man would not have been able to get back out of the window, baby in arm and back onto the ladder without falling. This is easily explained.
Gow may have informed Hauptmann of the layout of the room. Perhaps Hauptmann may have never set foot into the nursery at all. Gow could have come into the room and picked up the baby, which the baby knew her and therefore would not cry. She then handed the baby out the window to Hauptmann who was waiting on the ladder.
After Gow handed him the baby, she shut the window and laid the ransom note on the window sill.Another explanation would be that Gow cam into the nursery, placed the ransom note, and then delivered the baby to Hauptmann through the front door. One Ransom note stated that the kidnapping had been planned for over a year. Hauptmann probably found a way to get inside information of the family during that time. As I stated above, I have a suspicion that the baby’s nurse, Betty Gow, was somehow involved.
I believe that Hauptmann and Gow were acquainted. Perhaps Hauptmann had done his research about the family and found out that Gow was the baby’s nurse and made it a point to know her.It may be that Hauptmann had coerced Gow into helping him with the kidnapping. He may have agreed to give her some of the ransom money when it was all said and done. Since the country was in a depression, she may have been desperate for more money.
If Hauptmann had been planning this for a year, he would have had to do his research. He would have had to find a wealthy family. He would have picked the Lindbergh family because of Charles Lindbergh’s reputation and Anne Lindbergh was the daughter of a diplomat. After Hauptmann had found the perfect family, he would have had to get on the inside.He would have to find someone who regularly was with the baby.
He probably had to watch the family and that is when he would have decided to use the nurse. He would have had to watch the nurse and find the perfect time to approach her. Once he approached her, he would have to basically talk her into helping him. After she agreed to help him, he would have to get the information on the house and the family from her. Once he got the information, it was time to plan the kidnapping.
Many people did not believe that Hauptmann had been involved in the kidnapping. There were many attempts at appeals, but they were all denied.Hauptmann was convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. and was sentenced to death.
He was executed on April 3, 1936. Criminology is made up of many theories that can explain why crime is committed, or why it is not committed. One theory that can explain why Bruno Hauptman kidnapped baby Charles is the Anomie theory. Anomie was first introduced by a French sociologist by the name of Emile Durkheim.
Durkheim first introduced Anomie when he was working on his study of suicide. Anomie comes from the Greek words, an- meaning absence of, and nomos meaning name, law, order and structure.Anomie can be an individual disorder or a social disorder. As an individual disorder, Anomie is “describes a condition or malaise in individuals, characterized by an absence or diminution of standards or values, and an associated feeling of alienation and purposelessness.
Anomie is remarkably common when the surrounding society has undergone significant changes in economic fortunes, whether for better or for worse and more generally when there is a significant discrepancy between the ideological theories and values commonly professed and the practice of everyday life. (“Anomie,” 1999-2003) As a Social disorder Anomie “has also been used to apply to societies or groups of people within a society, who suffer from chaos due to lack of commonly recognized explicit or implicit rules of good conduct, or worse, to the reign of rules promoting isolation or even predation rather than cooperation (consider the Ik tribe). Friedrich Hayek notably uses the word anomy with this meaning. Anomy as social disorder is not to be confused with anarchy. The word 'anarchy' denotes lack of rulers, hierarchy, command, whereas 'anomy' denotes lack of rules, structure, organization.
Many opponents of anarchism claim that anarchy necessarily leads to anomy; however, many anarchists will argue that hierarchical command actually creates chaos, rather than order (e. g. , see the Law of Eristic Escalation). As an older variant, the Webster 1913 reports use of the word anomy as meaning "disregard or violation of the law". ” (“Anomie,” 1999-2003) Anomie can also be explained as the gap between the American dream and the means of getting this American dream.
This makes the norms and the social institutions weak which can cause high crime rates.An Example of this is when a man feels he is the head of a household and feels he is responsible for the money that is brought into the house, and the well-being of his family, the man will normally find a well paying job so he can support his family. When the society begins to weaken and the economy begins to fail, that man may get a pay cut or may even lose his job. When the economy is in this state, new jobs are few and far between.
This man will begin to worry about how he is going to support his family in this time of economic crisis.When the strain becomes too much to handle this man will turn to unconventional ways of making money for his family, a lot of times not caring about the consequences. This man may turn to illegal actions such as selling drugs, male prostitution or maybe kidnapping with a ransom request. This could explain why Bruno Hauptmann kidnapped Charles Lindbergh Jr. on the night of March 1, 1932.
Research of that time period would show that the United States was in a state of depression at that time. The depression started shortly after the stock market crash of October 1929, and was at its worse in 1932.
