Lindbergh 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

     In 1947 a UFO was seen near the town of Roswell, New Mexico. It was

Apart from the clues given they still had one more mystery to solve and it was who the boy was. Investigators still wanted to continue with the case so they kept the boy in a morgue. Many people from 10 different stated came to look at the boy to see if he was a missing family member. Unfortunately, nobody claimed him. Foot prints and fingerprints of the boy were taken and compared to hospital records but nothing was found. 400,000 flyers of the boy were sent out and even the AMA sent out a description but nothing came through. The fact that there is no proof that the boy even existed led to many theories of who

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.

On December 26, 1996 Patsy Ramsey made a phone call to 911 and frantically told dispatch that she found a ransom note on the main staircase of her home and that her daughter was taken. Experts from the CBS special reviewing the ransom note determined whoever wrote it was desparately trying to “sell” it too much and used too many words instead of getting right to the point as most ransom notes do. Also, the amount of money that was asked for was the same amount of money that Mr. Ramsey got for his bonus that year. Linguistic experts also matched most of the handwriting to Patsy and said that parts of the note used maternal language, also pointing to Patsy. While reviewing the ransom note, CBS showed experts also looking at the autopsy report.

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.

“Flying,” by Alice Miller is a complex story about a woman named Allie, who reminisces about a time spent when her cousin Mack taught her to fly when she was just a young girl. On different occasions when Mack visited, he would show her how to do new things. As Allie grew up she found herself thinking of the secret that Mack shared with her and how he told her not to tell anyone or she may get hurt. Allie longed for the feeling of flying, if she could just reach out and talk to Mack but too much time had passed. She dreams of flying in her sleep, not for long periods of time, but just enough to embrace that feeling she had years ago. She wonders if many people have experienced flying the way that she has and if she could fly by herself without Mack. One day, Allie tries to fly on her own and succeeds, soaring higher than she did with Mack. Before Allie knew it, she was flying through the clouds and around town. Now that Allie has experienced the feeling of flying again, more than ever she wanted to share with her kids. One night after the children were asleep she wanted to share her secret with her boys but instead chose her daughter. Miller suggests that when a person is afraid of doing something on their own, sometimes it just takes a little bit of courage to step out and let go of the things that could be holding a person back.

“Flying,” by Alice Miller tells the story of woman reminiscing on the time that her cousin taught her how to fly when they were kids. It begins with the main character, Allie, flying in the air with her cousin, Mack, when she was six years old. Allie has many questions and Mack tells her that all boys can fly and instructs her to not tell anyone that she knows this secret. He also tells her not to ever try to fly without him and compares this secret to the myth about Prometheus giving the God’s fire to man and being punished for it. As the years went by, Allie wonders if she would ever fly again and even doubts if the memory was real. She becomes a wife and a mother to two sons and a daughter but still wonders if flying is possible. One night, she decides to test her memory and tries to fly out of her backyard. She slowly ascends just as she did when she was young but even higher. Over the next few days, her urge to fly again grows. One night, she sneaks into her children’s room and picks up her daughter to take her outside and show her how to fly. The story ends with Allie telling her daughter to promise not to tell the boys what she is about to experience and excitement building in Allie for her daughter. The central idea of this story is the pursuit of satisfaction never ends.

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.

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

Condon, totaling to a staggering thirteen notes; some of which the Lindbergh’s provided the ransom money in gold certificates. All of the ransom notes were written in German penmanship and had countless grammar errors. Suspects in the case included: Charles and Anne Lindbergh, Elisabeth Morrow, Betty Gow, Oliver and Elsie Whately, and Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Charles Sr. was a suspect because of his suspicious actions during the night Charles Jr. was taken as well as throughout the investigation. He was in the study directly below his son’s nursery when he was taken and only heard a sound to which he suspected was something dropping in the kitchen. He was also the person who found the first ransom letter, after the police, Anne, and Betty Gow had searched the room for evidence. Anne was a suspect because she was also in the home at the time of the kidnapping. Resting in her room, due to a cold, she did not hear any suspicious noises. Anne’s sister, Elisabeth Morrow, was suspected of the crime as well. She was initially romantically involved with Charles Lindbergh, Sr. until he announced his engagement to Anne. Over time she became both physically and emotionally ill. Fits of violence made her staff believe that she had killed her own dog, and she was not allowed to be alone with Charles Lindbergh, Jr. for fear that she would harm him in one of her fits. Oliver and Elsie Whately were suspects because they were in the home at the time that the crime took place.

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.

According to “The lindbergh baby kidnapping” by James Perloff, Charles Lindbergh, the first American to complete the first nonstop transatlantic trip from New York to France in 1927, married Anne Morrow and had their first child, a little boy, in 1930. For most people their baby being kidnapped and killed is their worst nightmare, and they would never wish it upon anyone, but it happened to Charles and Anne Lindbergh. After searching many sources, I have come to a conclusion as to what happened the night of March 1, 1932, at the Lindbergh’s Hopewell residence. All of the theories seem possible from Violet Sharp and her lie-filled interviews, to Aloysius and the no fingerprints, to Richard Hauptmann and the ransom money. Many people think

Over the next few days dozens of people who had seen Debbie the night of her murder went to the station where they were interviewed, gave blood and hair samples. The investigation seemed promising, but months later leads began drying out and detectives found themselves back at square one.

     Some time in July of 1947, a mysterious flying object zigzagged across the skies of New Mexico. Within twenty-four hours the object disappeared from radar just as mysteriously as it had appeared. It was last seen in a small town in the middle of the Arizona desert, it’s name, Roswell.