In 1927, Americans were in desperate need of a hero. Our nation was suffering through the moral and political corruption
brought about by prohibition and the exploits of organized crime. Charles A. Lindbergh never planned to be a hero when he
decided to accept the challenge of a French businessman named Raymond Orteig. On May 20, 1927, Lindbergh flew "The Spirit of
St. Louis" alone, non-stop, across the Atlantic Ocean for 33 1/2 hours landing at Le Bourget Field in Paris.
Following his famous flight, Lindbergh made many "good-will" flights to set new records and advance the cause of aviation.
While in Mexico on one such tour, he met Anne Morrow, daughter of the United States Ambassador to Mexico, Dwight Morrow.
Charles and Anne were married on May 27, 1929. Their first child, a son, was born on Anne's 24th birthday, June 22, 1930.
They named him Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr.
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In the winter of 1932, the young family had not quite settled in their newly built home near Hopewell, New Jersey when
their lives would change forever. On the evening of March 1, 1932, Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr. was kidnapped as he slept in
his nursery crib. Several clues were left behind including a ransom note, a home-made three-section ladder and a chisel.
That night the New Jersey State Police began their investigation into the crime that shocked and outraged America and the
world.
An intermediary, John F. Condon, entered the case after offering his assistance through a newspaper ad and met with the
kidnapper on two occasions. In all, 15 ransom notes were received during the course of the negotiations. Lindbergh insisted
on paying the $50,000 ransom demanded in the original ransom note, believing this was the only way to get his son back.
Following the instructions of the kidnapper, the ransom was handed over by Condon on April 2, 1932, in a Bronx cemetery.
The serial numbers of these bills, some of which were gold certificates, were carefully listed, although this fact was not
made public. The baby's body, however, was discovered on May 12, 1932 several miles from his Hopewell home.
Investigators from the New Jersey State Police, United States Department of Justice (now, the FBI) and the United States
Treasury Department were busy pursuing every possible lead.
In September 1934, at a New York service station, a man paid for his gasoline with a $10.00 gold certificate. Because the
US had officially gone off the gold standard in 1933, the station attendant wrote the purchaser's license number on the
$10.00 bill. This lead broke the case when an alert bank teller notified the authorities of the gold certificate. The serial
number matched with one that appeared on the list of Lindbergh ransom money serial numbers. The license number was traced to
Bruno Richard Hauptmann who was arrested on September 19, 1934 at which time another ransom bill was found in his wallet.
The following day $13,760 of the ransom money was found in Hauptmann's garage. A floorboard in Hauptmann's attic was found to
match the wood used for one of the rails in the kidnap ladder. Handwriting samples were taken from Hauptmann and found by
experts to match the writing of the ransom notes. He was extradited from New York to New Jersey to be tried in the state and
county in which the crime occurred.
Hauptmann's trial began January 2, 1935 in Flemington, New Jersey. Physical evidence, as well as expert and eyewitness
testimony directly connected him to the ladder, the handwriting in the ransom notes, and possession of the ransom money. The
evidence and testimony presented at the six-week trial led to Hauptmann's conviction of murder during the commission of a
felony. The sentence was death by electrocution.
Following unsuccessful appeals and controversial intervention by the Governor, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was executed in
Trenton, New Jersey on April 3, 1936.
