Lindbergh Baby Case Study

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

The body of this paper will examine the case of Pamela Foddrill and compare what happened in that real criminal investigation to the theory of criminal investigation discussed in our course textbook, Criminal Investigation: The Art and the Science. I will first examine the forensics evidence and

Crimes happen all the time. But when it happens to young children who have no way of defending themselves, and hasn’t lived their life to the fullest, it becomes a whole other thing. 
Kids are innocent, and nobody ever wants to see them hurt. That is why it was such a big shock, when the crime of the century was a kidnapping and murder of an infant.

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 first appellant (Bulsey) was placed on a list of suspects who police officer Detective Miles thought should be arrested following a riot on 26th November 2004, where the Palm Island police station was set alight and other buildings were destroyed. The following day, several police officers, not including Detective Miles, and six members of the “Special Emergency Response Team” forcibly entered Bulsey’s home, shouted orders at the seven month pregnant second appellant

Just imagine a baby laughing and playing with their toys. Now imagine that being taken from you. Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Lindbergh were robbed of that pleasure. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was found guilty for this disturbing crime. Although critics would argue that Bruno was innocent, they are incorrect. It is absolutely obvious that Hauptmann was guilty because of the evidence of the ransom money, the ransom note, and the ladder.

In the beginning of the 1930’s wrongful convictions tended to attract quite a bit of attention in the United States, but it mostly focuses on the individual cases. Some have extensively with the more visibility cases such as the Scottsboro boys, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder and more recent cases like the the Randall Dale Adams case in Texas who faced wrongful conviction, imprisonment, and near execution. Some cases have the attention of the public, including the Sam Sheppard case, which had become a television show called “The Fugitive”. The controversy with John Demjanjuk, who was accused of being “Ivan the Terrible,” and the wrongful conviction of Michael and Lindy Chamberlain for the death of their daughter, which attracted

The 1920s was a decade of drastic change in the United States, with many new conflicts, leisure activities, and heroes to worship (Nash 374). Charles Lindbergh was one of these heroes. Born in 1902, he was trained in aviation and worked as an airmail pilot (Bishop). Later, he made history by becoming the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone (Nash 388). On May twenty-first, 1927, Lindbergh traveled from New York to Le Bourget field in Paris in his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis (James). He designed this plane himself, working to make it as small and lightweight as possible (Kessner “Charles Lindbergh, A New Hero”). Known as the “lone eagle”, Lindbergh became one of the biggest celebrities of the era (Chamberlain). His flight caused more excitement than any other event of its time (Nash 388). Approximately 25,000 people were at Le Bourget field to watch Lindbergh land (James). Upon returning to the United States, there were numerous parades and dinners to honor his achievement (“Lindbergh Visit Ends”). Charles Lindbergh was the most influential hero to emerge from the 1920s, making an impact by transforming aviation, as well as acting as a role model for the American public and encouraging a return to the old way of American life.

What was believed to be a kidnapping of 6-year-old, JonBenet Ramsey, ended up to be the discovery of her dead body by her father in the basement, after multiple hours of searching in Ramsey's house (Saferstein, 2015.) A major issue with the case was that the house was not sealed off, and multiple people, including their pastor, were able to go to and from with no complications (Saferstein, 2015.) In defense of the police team, in the beginning, they had believed it to be a kidnapping with a note and all, and in the end, it turned out to be a murder. Of course the media's eyes immediately turned to the parents but one of the theories is, "The current theory stands that an intruder, with possible paedophilic motives, was responsible for her death, and while this has become a widely accepted working theory, there are several pieces of evidence that simply don’t add up" (Team, 2016.) The ransom note was 2 and a half pages long, her body was found in the basement of the families home, the cause of death showed strangulation and a blow to the head an hour or so before, and also pineapple that she had eaten recently with a bowl that led to her brother's fingerprints were all clues that didn't add up (Team, 2016.)

There are three main parts that make up our criminal justice system in America, the police, courts, and corrections. The Lindbergh baby, Charles Lindbergh Jr., was kidnapped from his bed sometime between the hours of 7:30pm and 10pm on March 1, 1932. (www.History.com). He was suffering from a cold and was left to drift off to sleep by his nanny, Betty Gow, with the window open. (www.clickamericana.com). When his father came to check on him and found him gone, he found a note demanding a $50,000 ransom. Three days later, another ransom note was found demanding $70,000. March 9, 1932 a man named John F. Condon, a retired teacher, claimed to have made contact with the kidnappers. He

On an August day in 1993 a mother by the name of Judy Johnson, placed a phone call into the Manhattan Beach, California police department claiming her 2 year old son had been molested at his preschool by employee Raymond Buckey. (Reinhold, 1990) Raymond was placed under arrest, but due to the lack of evidence in the case he was released. Judy Johnson went on to complain in a letter to the state district attorney that her son had been taken to an Armory a possible sadistic type ritual was performed. (Reinhold, 1990) Still with the lack of sufficient evidence the Manhattan

On the night of the murder, the family had gone on an outing, and was preparing to retire for the evening. . In the early morning hours of December 26, 1996, shortly after 5:00 AM, Patsy Ramsey woke up in her Boulder, Colorado home. As she headed for the kitchen she found a ransom note on her kitchen staircase (CNNLawCenter.2006). The child and a ransom note were found hours later. The local police and friends and family soon gathered at the home. The local police’s progress was hampered because there were so many people in the home; the crime scene was not secured which caused chaos with the police investigation because things were cleaned and moved around (Jenkins, 2013). Given the confusion and disarray at the Ramsey home, the crime scene became significantly contaminated. Unfortunately, the police were unable to gather proper evidence and conduct an effective investigation. Furthermore, the murder was sensationalized by the media which tangled the issues even more.

Charles Lindbergh was the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. He did this amazing task on May 20-21, 1927. He was not a fan of U.S. involvement in WW2 until Pearl Harbor. His parents are Charles Augusts Lindbergh, Sr and Evangeline Lodge land. He is from Little Falls, Minn. He enlisted in The US Army to be trained as a pilot. In 191, a hotel owner in New York offered a reward of 25,000 to the first person to fly from New York to Paris nonstop. The task was called the Orteig prize. Lindbergh had the Ryan Aeronautical Company to build his plane. Charles also helped make this design. He tested his design by flying from San Diego to New York. He stopped at St. Louis. He left New York at 7:52 AM and landed at Le Bourget Field near Paris at 5:21 PM New York time. It took him 22 ½ hours. He did this on May 20, 1927. He wrote the book We. He married Anne Spencer Morrow while in Mexico. He also helped invent an artificial heart. Charles Lindbergh’s son was kidnapped on March 1, 1932. His name was Charles Augustus, Jr. They found his body ten weeks later. This made the “Lindbergh law.” It says that kidnapping is a federal offense when the kidnapper goes across state lines. He received the German Medal of Honor. He died of cancer on Aug. 26, 1974.

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.

The relationship between law enforcement and prosecutors, which goes hand-in-hand, can’t be overlooked. Evidence of a crime that detectives and law enforcement discover is as equally important as a good trial on part of the prosecution. If detectives aren’t able to find good solid evidence – that case usually isn’t bothered in being pursued. Several years ago, in the late 80’s, there was a murder case in Southeastern Oklahoma which now serves as a tragic example to the need for honest, constitutional work in the criminal justice system. Disreputable investigative procedures, fraudulent sources, and bad evidence were the foundation of this case that shattered innocent lives.