Charles Lindbergh : The Crime Of The Century

On June 22, 1930, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. was born to the infamous “Lucky Lindy” and his wife, Anne. When he was a mere 20 months old, he was kidnapped from his crib in the house where parents and staff were in the house beneath him. The kidnapping occurred from a second story window in a rainstorm where no one heard a thing! Here in lie the questions that we will discuss in this paper. The police suspected an inside job from the beginning. Whomever carried out the abduction knew the whereabouts of the nursery and the parent’s plans for the particular evening in questions. With the residence being in

On June 12th, 1994, Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman’s bodies were found Nicole’s condominium; the victims had been stabbed to death. The identity of the murderer was unknown up until O.J was suspected to be a suspect. When accused, he was in another state, and was forced to fly back. (Aaseng 1996)

On November 27, 1971, in Portland, Oregon, a man claiming to be “Dan Cooper” bought a ticket for Northwest-Orient Airlines Flight 305 to Seattle, Washington. Dressed in a sharp dark suit with a pearl tiepin, this forty-five year-old man was about six feet tall with black hair (Abacha and Gilmore 233). No one would suspect him of going down in American history as the only man to ever escape capture after hijacking a U.S. plane (Warchol 1).

The investigative details of the Pamela Foddrill case remained very similar to criminal theory in most ways, but not all. In Lyman’s Criminal Investigations, there are eight steps detailed

The police came quickly to the big mansion, and the investigation of the kidnapping was started. It was known to be the crime of the century.

On Saturday, December 1, 1900, a man named John Hossack was killed in his sleep with a hatchet by his wife, Margaret Hossack. The story told by Margaret was that she had heard what sounded like two boards banging together and by that time the attacker had fled and she didn’t catch a glimpse of him. The next thing she saw was her extremely wounded husband, John, who had a five-inch cut into his head and a fractured skull. A doctor, who came and examined John, and said there was no hope and John died the next morning. As an investigation started, a burglary was thought of as the first motive but the idea flawed because nothing was stolen so the idea was quickly abandoned. In the 4 days between the murder and the funeral, the police talked to

When this Central park case was made public, the New York Police Department and District Attorney office’s main focus was to solve the case as quickly as possible. When the five teenagers were found “wilding” in the park the night of the women’s death, the police believed they had found the suspects. The police were so confident of the teenager’s guiltiness, the five boys were interrogated of their involvement in the crime. The police used their authority and persuasion to get the boys to confess and promise them that they would go home if they talked. Through strenuous and intense interrogation, the five boys confessed to the killing and rape of the young women on videotape. These confessions were given even though

The research paper I am conducting is on Lizzie Borden who was accused of murdering her father and stepmother in 1892 with a hatchet. Due to failed investigation and lack of technology at the time, Lizzie was released and acquitted of all charges. In this paper I will point out what the police did not do properly during the investigation, as well as what I would have done differently.

In the 1960s a murder was taken place, the Egan murders. This included Peter, Barbara, and Gerald Egan. The finally verdict ended being that their prime suspect and accused (Jo Leone) was found innocent, primary due to the jury receiving personal threats as well as the prosecutor, who didn’t seem to press hard enough on the defendant.

The child was confirmed to have to have been that of the Lindbergh family, and his body was already rotting and mutilated. During the case, there were various ransom notes with similar handwritings which were used to convict Hauptmann, the case relied on a “tremendous amount of evidence [which included] depositions from eight handwriting experts” (Phelan). By having a tremendous amount of evidence rely merely on handwriting comparisons raises doubts towards the rest of the case’s affirmations. Help was provided from the public as “the Lindbergh Kidnapping case became a sensational media event.... authorities launched an extensive manhunt” (“Bruno Hauptmann”). With the media buzzing, there was going to be publicity and attention to those involved, decreasing the chances of authentic evidence. With the public involved, there were higher chances that more people would report false materials (which did happen). Not many had been skeptical of any findings until more materials arose, and the legitimacy of officials and their findings were questioned. As remorseful as it is, only after Hauptmann’s death was there doubt that began to pass through the minds of the public.

During his career, He made more enemies. Hoffa was known to be one of the most powerful men in the country at the time and still. Of course because of his union leadership, many working Americans considered Hoffa as their hero. But it is believed that one of his enemies may have had something to do with his disappearance in 1975. During that year on July 30th. Hoffa left Detroit for a meeting with a local crime figure and a mob-connected union leader that was from New Jersey. The met at a restaurant in Bloomfield Township. They met up so they could try settling a feud. But Hoffa was the only person who showed up. The people don’t know what happen to the Mob boss. But his car was found in the restaurant 's parking lot. But there also were no clues to Hoffa 's whereabouts. Years later, Hoffa was declared legally dead in 1982.

14 year old Steven Truscott gave his classmate Lynne Harper a ride on his bicycle on June 9, 1959. Truscott had dropped her off before they parted ways. Lynne was reported missing later that night, and two days later, her body was found on a nearby farm. She was sexually assaulted and strangled to death. The community was horrified by what happened to this young girl and everyone was determined to find the killer. Immediately, investigators became fixated on Truscott as the prime suspect since he was the last person to see Lynne. They didn’t consider any other suspects, even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the murder. He was arrested 24 hours later, and stood trial as an adult. (Steven Truscott |

When they were planning the murder the said they would choose anyone, even their fathers and brothers. That day, May 21 1924, the boys drove around the Harvard School for boys looking for someone to murder. The passed by one or two before the choose Bobby Franks, 14 year old cousin of Loeb (Jerome 143). They invited him to get a ride to his home nearby to theirs. One of them bashed the boy on the head with the handle of a chisel and he died. They took the body to a culvert on Wolf Lake, poured a chemical compound not unlike hydrochloric acid, and stuck him in it. Later, a man walking towards Chicago passed by the lake and noticed two human feet poking out of the ground. Police were contacted and they found not just the body but special glasses and a sock (Rompalske 26). The glasses were owned by Leopold and he was brought in for questioning. Later both boys were prosecuted for murder and kidnapping. An intense battle proceded. Clarence Darrow, a famous defense lawyer that saved many from the death penalty and avid opponent of it, was hired by the families of Leopold and Loeb. The rest America watched and waited, during the trial the press had full coverage, calling it the “Crime of the Century” (Rompalske 26). This quote was coined by the press of the trial and was made to show the uniqueness and brutality of the murder. They were given life plus ninety-nine

On September 11, 2001 four passenger commercial jet airliners were hijacked and as a result approximately 3,000 human lives were lost. When asked about 9/11, many can recall exactly what they were doing when they heard the news that a plane crashed into one of the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings and many Americans can tell you how it all unfolded and the reason behind such a travesty. The “official story” provided by officials, and restated by Sofia Shafquat, producer of “9/11 Mysteries: Demolitions” say that “four passenger planes were hijacked and taken radically off course, within an hour, two of the planes had flown into the enormous steel towers of the World Trade Center, creating fires and eventually toppling them” (Shafquat).

Did you know that the kidnapping of a toddler was once considered the “Crime of the Century?” Charles Lindbergh was an aviator well known for his transatlantic flight in 1927. He and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, lost the life of their son Charles Lindbergh Jr. Due to the Lindbergh’s baby being taken, “the next four weeks witnessed the most massive and publicized manhunt in American History” (Campbell 254). The abduction and death of the young Lindbergh baby singlehandedly helped make kidnapping a federal crime.