1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: I'm to bling a chalk reboarding and I'm sair Down. 4 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,799 Speaker 1: And the topic that we're going to talk about in 5 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: this podcast has been requested repeatedly by listeners and hopefully 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,759 Speaker 1: you all can stomach a really sad podcast because the 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: story of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping really doesn't have any 8 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: upbeat moments to speak of. It involves the kidnapping of 9 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: twenty month old Charles Augustus Lindberg Jr. From his home 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,880 Speaker 1: near Hopewell, New Jersey, in what was called the crime 11 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: of the century. Yeah, and it really is tragic, not 12 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: just because of the kidnapping of a small child, but 13 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: the baby was not found alive and in the end 14 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: a guy was convicted and executed for the crime. But 15 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: there's still some uncertainty hanging around the whole thing, and 16 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: that's probably why people are still interested in it today, 17 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: because the guy never con us to the crime even 18 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: though he was killed for it. That's right, And it 19 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 1: also spread fear and grief all across the nation as 20 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: people identified with and really mourned for the two parents, 21 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: and they were celebrated aviator Charles Lindbergh of course, and 22 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: his wife Anne, and their notoriety really made the trial 23 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: interesting too, because it was an early example of a 24 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: major celebrity trial that consumed the public's attention during the time. 25 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: And you often see it compared to another trial that 26 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: I think most people will be familiar with. I hope 27 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: so at least otherwise I'll feel really really old, um, 28 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: and that's the O. J. Simpson trial. Um, just in 29 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: terms of the amount of public interests that it generated. 30 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: So you can tell by that comparison that is definitely 31 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:43,480 Speaker 1: among one of the most famous trials of the century. Yeah, 32 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: it is one of the crimes of the century. It's 33 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: hard to pick just one. We were talking about that 34 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: when we were titling this podcast. Actually they're they're ironically 35 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: several crimes of the century. But this is up there. 36 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: So we're gonna take a look at the kidnapping, the investigation, 37 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: the trial, and then try to understand why it counted 38 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: as a as a crime a possible crime of the century, 39 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: to why it captivated people so much. But before we 40 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: get into that, we need to talk a little bit 41 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: about Charles Lindberg, the famous aviator. Yeah. Absolutely. He was 42 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: famous for making the first solo flight across the Atlantic 43 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: from New York to Paris on May twenty one and nine. 44 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: And he did this to compete for a dollar prize 45 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,799 Speaker 1: that was offered to whoever could pull this great feet off. 46 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: And he made the flight in thirty three point five 47 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:33,919 Speaker 1: hours on this tiny silver mono plane called the Spirit 48 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: of St. Louis. And pretty much from the moment he 49 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,919 Speaker 1: landed in Paris, he was an immediate celebrity. I mean, 50 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: that's the part I guess that's really significant to our 51 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: story here, is that he became uber famous in that moment, 52 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: and some people even refer to him as a hero 53 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,639 Speaker 1: of folk hero at the young age of five. But 54 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: Lindberg really was an aviator. That's the kind of thing 55 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: he was interested in flying planes. He was not out 56 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,799 Speaker 1: looking to be a super famous celebrity like he camp became, 57 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: and he was really quite uncomfortable with a lot of 58 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: the trappings of celebrity. He was uncomfortable being in the limelight. 59 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 1: And that's partly because he was just kind of a 60 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: regular guy. At least before he made that amazing transatlantic trip. 61 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: He was born in Detroit on February fourth, nineteen o two, 62 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: and he spent most of his childhood in Little Falls, 63 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: Minnesota and Washington, d C. He went to the University 64 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 1: of Wisconsin and Madison, but left during his second year 65 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: of college because he did really want to fly and 66 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: went to flight school and studied aviation after that, and 67 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: before he made that famous trans atlantic flight, he had 68 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: just been working as an airmail pilot, flying between St. 69 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: Louis and Chicago. Yeah, but as we said, after he 70 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: crossed the Atlantic, though, his life totally changed. People started 71 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: offering him money for speaking engagements and endorsements, so no 72 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: more flying airmail planes for him. He was a star. 73 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: He was out on the forefront telling a story. He 74 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: went on a nationwide tour promoting aviation, and it was 75 00:03:57,720 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: on a good World tour to Mexico that he met 76 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: his future wife, Anne Morrow, who at the time was 77 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: twenty one years old and she was the daughter of 78 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: the U. S Ambassador there, and they ended up getting 79 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: married on May nine after a pretty short courtship. Yeah, 80 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: but that really just made him even more famous and 81 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: pulled her into that fame bubble too, because after they 82 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,039 Speaker 1: got married, the couple was just constantly dogged by the media, 83 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: and it said that sometimes they would wear disguises just 84 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: so they could venture out in public without getting hassled. Yeah, 85 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: it was so bad that it even affected the birth 86 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: of their child. They had their first child, Charles Augustus 87 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 1: Lindberg Jr. On June nine thirty and the baby was 88 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,359 Speaker 1: apparently delivered at home because Anne was so afraid that 89 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: the hospital wouldn't be private or safe enough for for 90 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:45,119 Speaker 1: them to do it there. Yeah, so that's really saying 91 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: something if you go, if you go to that level 92 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 1: to to keep your privacy. But they worked on it 93 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: full time too, with their living arrangements. Even they lived 94 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: in this remote isolated spot acres near Hopewell, New Jersey, 95 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: to to maintain that sense of privacy. And by the 96 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 1: time baby Charles was about twenty months old, they were 97 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: splitting their time between that house on the weekends and 98 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: and parents house in Englewood, New Jersey during the week 99 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:16,160 Speaker 1: so just kind of trying to go back and forth, 100 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: keep people on their toes and and be as away 101 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: from it as much as they could. Definitely they did 102 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: change up that pattern though. On the last weekend of 103 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: February ninety two, and that's kind of where the heart 104 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: of our story begins. Baby Charles was sick that particular weekend, 105 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: so they decided to stay at their country home rather 106 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: than make him travel when he was sick. And they 107 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: were going to make that work during the week even 108 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: though Charles Senior had to go to New York on 109 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: business through Tuesday night. So what and did as she 110 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: sent for her baby nurse to come stay with them 111 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 1: at their country home. Betty Gal, who was their baby nurse, 112 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: she was in Inglewood at the time, so she came 113 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,600 Speaker 1: to where they were. So Tuesday, March first is when 114 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: all the action starts to happen. And we'll just give 115 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: you a few of the rundown of the events of 116 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 1: that day. I should say they remembered happening. What they 117 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,479 Speaker 1: remembered happening. Baby Charles seemed to be feeling a little better, 118 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: so at seven thirty pm, the two women rubbed mentholated 119 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: lotion on his chest and put him to bed. They 120 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: then pinned blankets stand around him so that they wouldn't 121 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,359 Speaker 1: come off during the night as he slept. Yeah, and 122 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: then they both left him to go to sleep, and 123 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: Anne went downstairs and Gal went to do some chores 124 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,039 Speaker 1: around the house, and she went in to check on 125 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: the baby at about eight pm. He was fine, he 126 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: was asleep, everything was good, and so she left the 127 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,919 Speaker 1: room again. Yeah, and then Charles Sr. Came home. He 128 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: rolled up in his car around eight twenty, washed his 129 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: hands in the bathroom next to the nursery, and joined 130 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: his wife for dinner by eight thirty five. Now, just 131 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:45,919 Speaker 1: as an aside, during dinner, he did recall later hearing 132 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: something that sounded like someone dropping a wooden box in 133 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: the kitchen. So he heard something, but otherwise uneventful. Yeah, 134 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: So nothing much happens for a little bit until Gal 135 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: looked in on the baby again at ten pm. He 136 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: wasn't there anymore, and the blankets were still pinned down 137 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: where they should be, but there was no baby in 138 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 1: the crib, and so she rushed to check with both 139 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: parents to see if maybe one of them had had 140 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: picked him up and taken him somewhere. But they had 141 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: and so Charles Senior rushes out into the rain with 142 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: his rifle, finds a broken ladder outside of the nursery window, 143 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,239 Speaker 1: and at that point they called the New Jersey State Police. 144 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: When the police got there. There were several pieces of 145 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: evidence on the scene, thank goodness. I mean, you would 146 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: want to have something to go by. But some of 147 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: them were helpful, some of them weren't. For example, there 148 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: were footprints leading away from the home and off the property, 149 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: which had some kind of pattern on them, as if 150 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: someone had covered them up with burlap or something, some 151 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: sort of material to make the prints seem less. Yeah, exactly. 152 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: So they knew definitely that someone else had been there, 153 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: but had no way to really track his shoes or 154 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: anything like that. Yeah. Well, and then there was the 155 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: ladder to the broken ladder that Lindbergh Senior found outside, 156 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: and it was uniquely designed to be very portable, made 157 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: of all these odd pieces of wood, so it seemed 158 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: like a good potential clue. It wasn't just something somebody 159 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: had bought at the store. The lowest section, though, had 160 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: been damaged, maybe broken while someone was climbing down the ladder, 161 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: and that might have been the noise that Charles Sor 162 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: heard at dinner. There was also a nine and a 163 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: half inch wood handled chisel there. It was probably used 164 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: to pry the window open. And last, but not least, 165 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 1: there was a ransom note and it was asking for 166 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,679 Speaker 1: fifty thousand dollars, and it offered a lot of clues, 167 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: not so much for the information it contained, but the 168 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: way it was written. And we're going to read it 169 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: to you and then give you a few little extra 170 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: notes on the strange punctuation and the strange spelling. But 171 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: here it goes, dear sir, have fifty thousand dollars ready, 172 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: two thousand, five hundred dollars and twenty dollar bills, fifteen 173 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: thousand and ten dollar bills and ten thousand and five 174 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: dollar bills. After two to four days we will inform 175 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: you were to deliver the money. We warn you for 176 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: making any ding public or for the police. The child 177 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: is in good care. Indication for all letters are signature 178 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: and three holes. So if you look at this note, 179 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 1: and you can probably check it out online, you'll see 180 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: that the positions of the dollar signs are in a 181 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:20,439 Speaker 1: weird place there after the figure after the figure out 182 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: it than before. And the language used in the note 183 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,599 Speaker 1: pointed to someone who was probably European. I mean, you 184 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: can tell was Sarah was reading it, she said goot 185 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,080 Speaker 1: instead of good, And so the police assumed that it 186 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 1: was someone who was of German or Scandinavian descent. Yeah, 187 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:36,839 Speaker 1: and so of course, though even though the note is saying, 188 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: don't make this public, don't get the police involved, the 189 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: news of the kidnapping reaches the public immediately and becomes 190 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: a huge story. There is a man hunt, everybody is 191 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: searching for little Charles Lindberg Jr. And parents with kids 192 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: about the baby's age even report being stopped on the 193 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: street by police in question, you know, to find out 194 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: if this was the kidnapped. Yeah, so every this isn't 195 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 1: big news. Everybody knows about it. And they received two 196 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: more notes from the kidnapper, maybe in reaction to this, 197 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: I'm not sure, in really quick succession. The first one 198 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 1: raised the ransom to seventy thousand dollars, and if you 199 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 1: read that note, you know he says things like, you 200 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: weren't supposed to go to the police, you weren't supposed 201 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:18,599 Speaker 1: to make this public. Now I'm going to have to 202 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: keep the baby until things quiet down. Um. So he 203 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 1: wasn't happy about that attention that they were getting. Yeah, 204 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: and the line Brooks were having trouble though, even though 205 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: these new notes were coming in, they were having trouble contacting, 206 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 1: were communicating with the kidnappers, and then something very strange, 207 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: I mean, definitely unusual happens. An outsider, this random citizen 208 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: steps into help. And it's this guy, DTR John F. Condon, 209 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: And he is a semi retired seventy two year old 210 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: New York City school teacher and Bronx resident. And he's 211 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 1: just kind of this activist sort of guy. He writes 212 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,200 Speaker 1: into the newspaper, frequently writes letters to the editor at 213 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: his local paper, the Bronx Home News, and he's just 214 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 1: the civic advocate of sorts and steps into this super 215 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: huge news story, yeah, in a really interesting way. He 216 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: writes an open letter to kidnappers in the Bronx Home News, 217 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: offering to act as an intermediary in the situation. So 218 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,160 Speaker 1: what he wants to do, or what he's offering to do, 219 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 1: is to facilitate the transfer of the money and keep 220 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,680 Speaker 1: the kidnappers identity secret in the process. He also offered 221 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,080 Speaker 1: to add a thousand dollars of his own cash to 222 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: ensure the safe return of the Lindbergh baby. And this 223 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: was published in the Bronx Home News on March eighth. 224 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:37,559 Speaker 1: So big deal, yeah, big development in this whole thing. Yeah, absolutely, 225 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:40,960 Speaker 1: And as still bigger development is the kidnappers contact him 226 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: by the next evening. They actually want to keep take 227 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: him up on this, and they sent him a letter. 228 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,320 Speaker 1: The letter was confirmed to be real because it had 229 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: the same pattern of interlocking circles on it as the 230 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: other letters of the Lindbergh's received did so. At this point, 231 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: the family also gives content their blessing to act as 232 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: an intermediary in the situation. So we see like we 233 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: have a little a plan forming here to get the 234 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: two sides together, and it seems to pick up the 235 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,080 Speaker 1: pace of the whole thing right away. Because Condon had 236 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:10,720 Speaker 1: two meetings with the kidnapper, and he used the code 237 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: name JEFFS, which was kind of a blurring of his 238 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 1: initials John F. Condon, and he used that to communicate 239 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: with the kidnapper through newspaper columns. The kidnapper identified himself 240 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:27,559 Speaker 1: as John and would send notes to Jeffs to various 241 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: meeting points. And so at first they meet, Jeffs and 242 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: John meet at a Bronx cemetery and Jefs tells him 243 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:37,679 Speaker 1: that he needs proof before they proceed with any kind 244 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 1: of exchanging cash or anything. Like that he'd need proof 245 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 1: that Charles Jr. Was alive, And so March sixteenth, Jeffs 246 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:49,640 Speaker 1: receives the babies Pj's in the mail and the kidnappers 247 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 1: demand the cash in two weeks. So it seems like 248 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: something is starting to happen. Yeah, So then they schedule 249 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 1: a second meeting on April twod Jeff c let's John 250 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: know that the money is ready, and and they end 251 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: up meeting the kidnapper and yet another cemetery that seems 252 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:07,079 Speaker 1: to be the place that this kidnapper wants to meet definitely, 253 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:10,439 Speaker 1: and Lindberg is actually waiting nearby in the situation, he's 254 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,559 Speaker 1: waiting nearby in a car, and the money transfer does occur. 255 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,320 Speaker 1: At this point, a kidnapper gives Condon a note telling 256 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:18,959 Speaker 1: him that the baby is on a eight foot boat 257 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,319 Speaker 1: called the Nelly, located off the coast of Massachusetts near 258 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 1: Martha's Vineyard, and so of course people are dispatched to 259 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 1: go and find this boat immediately. Unfortunately, it's never found. 260 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: Baby Charles, though was found. On May twelve, ninety two, 261 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,960 Speaker 1: a man out walking in the woods came across a 262 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: badly decomposed body of a child about only four miles 263 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: from Lindbergh's home, and it seemed that the baby had 264 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: died from a skull fracture, possibly a fracture that occurred 265 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: on the night of his disappearance, and some people believe 266 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: that the kidnappers fall that noise that Lindbergh Senior heard 267 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: while he was eating dinner might have been might have 268 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: been the baby. Yeah, So a tragedy for the family 269 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: for sure, But the story doesn't end there. There was 270 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,199 Speaker 1: eventually an arrest made, mostly because the money that the 271 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 1: kidnapper had received on that day that they made the 272 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: exchange was primarily gold certificates and the Treasury Department had 273 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: recorded the serial numbers on those, so after they couldn't 274 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,520 Speaker 1: find the boat in March nineteen thirty two, those serial 275 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 1: numbers were released to banks and published in major newspapers everywhere. Yeah, 276 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,960 Speaker 1: and so eventually those gold certificates from the ransom payments 277 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 1: started to pop up around the New York area and 278 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: so the police were onto it. But in the meantime, 279 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: US Congress was passing the Federal Kidnapping Act, which is 280 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: known as the Lindberg Law on June twenty, nineteen thirty two, 281 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: and sadly kind of poignantly, that's the day that would 282 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,760 Speaker 1: have been Charles's second birthday. So the law made kidnapping 283 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 1: across state lines a federal crime, and um made it 284 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: punishable by death at that time. And it took a while, 285 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,400 Speaker 1: more than two years, but finally investigators did get a break. 286 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: In this case, a service station attendant New York City 287 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: recorded the license plate number of a man who had 288 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: paid with a ten dollar gold certificate. So they traced 289 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: the license plate to a Bronx resident, Bruno Hauptmann, and 290 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,360 Speaker 1: he was a German carpenter who had entered the us 291 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: I legally in ninety three. He had married a German 292 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,960 Speaker 1: waitress named Anna Shifter had a kid but in the 293 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: spring of nineteen thirty two, suddenly he quit carpentry and 294 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: started investing in the stock market, so very suspicious. Police 295 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: arrested him on September nineteenth at nineteen thirty four and 296 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: found a twenty dollar gold certificate in his wallet, so 297 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: even more suspicious, and there were other incriminating clues as well. Yeah, 298 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 1: he had about twelve thousand to thirteen thousand dollars in 299 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: gold ransom certificates in his garage, so that's pretty suspicious, 300 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: And then he had these sketches of a ladder that 301 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: matched the ladder they had found at the Lindberg home, which, 302 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: as you remember, was kind of a unique contraption. Yeah, 303 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 1: And also concerning that ladder, they're also found a missing 304 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:01,840 Speaker 1: cross beam on the attic flour that was actually one 305 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:04,280 Speaker 1: of the boards used to build the ladder. And the 306 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:07,560 Speaker 1: only tool missing from this carpenter's tool chest was the 307 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 1: chisel found at the crime scene. And when investigators took 308 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 1: the door trim off his son's closet, they found the 309 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,160 Speaker 1: former phone number and address of John Condon written there 310 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: in pencil, so handwriting analysts looked at that scribbled note 311 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 1: and looked at Hopman's penmanship in general, and determined that 312 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: it was stylistically consistent with the ransom notes that had 313 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: been sent by the kidnapper. And then, maybe most incriminating, 314 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 1: Condon later identified him as John who he had met 315 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 1: in the cemetery. Yeah, and in his defense helped him 316 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: said that he was holding the money for a friend 317 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: named is a Doorfish who had returned to Germany in 318 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three and had since died. But that really 319 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 1: didn't help him at all. He was still indicted for 320 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 1: murder in the first degree on October eighth, nineteen thirty four, 321 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: so helped Him's trial began on January two, nine thirty five, 322 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: and Flemington, New Jersey, and it was really highly publicized, 323 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 1: as we talked about in the intro to this podcast, 324 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: the hundreds of press onlookers gathering all around the courthouse 325 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:10,920 Speaker 1: as it was going on. And it lasted for more 326 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: than five weeks, with a jury deliberation at the end 327 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: that lasted for eleven hours. You have to imagine it 328 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,719 Speaker 1: was probably pretty hard for them to find a jury 329 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,440 Speaker 1: in the first place that didn't know about this crime. 330 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 1: But ultimately Haltman was found guilty on February thirteenth, nineteen 331 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: thirty five, and he was sentenced to death. And people 332 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 1: were so wrapped up in this trial. They were so 333 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: interested in the case that there were thousands outside the 334 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 1: courthouse calling for the death penalty during the deliberation, so 335 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,919 Speaker 1: pretty intense. Yeah, everyone was outraged at what had happened 336 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: and they wanted to see what they felt was a 337 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:49,960 Speaker 1: fitting punishment for it. So there was a series of 338 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 1: appeals after that. It went all the way to the 339 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:56,679 Speaker 1: Supreme Court, but they were ultimately unsuccessful, and Haltman was 340 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: executed April third, nineteen thirty six. But if you remember 341 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 1: what we said in the introduction, Haltman himself never confessed 342 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:07,399 Speaker 1: to the crime. No, he said that he had been 343 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,640 Speaker 1: beaten by the police and forced to produce handwriting examples 344 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: that matched the ransom notes. So he kept kind of 345 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: holding to a story up until the end, and there 346 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: were some people who really believed him. Some people believed, 347 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:22,119 Speaker 1: for example, what the defense counsel had argued that content 348 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:24,199 Speaker 1: was somehow involved. I mean, there were there are a 349 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: lot of theories out there, I guess as to what happened, 350 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,679 Speaker 1: Like a lot of big trials, everyone seems to have 351 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: their own theory about what actually happened. But regardless, the 352 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,880 Speaker 1: Lindbergh family seemed ready, if not to put the whole 353 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:37,880 Speaker 1: thing behind them, then at least to get away from 354 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,479 Speaker 1: all the media attention in this situation that they had 355 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 1: been in when they were concerned about another kidnapping, because 356 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: they did go on to have other children, absolutely, so 357 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: they moved to Europe for a while with their son John, 358 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: and they didn't return to the U S until before 359 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,679 Speaker 1: World War Two. Yeah, there's a time International article that 360 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: was written in by Reeve Lindbergh, who was another one 361 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,679 Speaker 1: of the and Berg kids, and she talks about growing 362 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 1: up quote in the studied privacy and anonymity of a 363 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:11,360 Speaker 1: Connecticut suburb with its shaded streets and unmarked mailboxes, and 364 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 1: how even though she didn't know her brother, she felt 365 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 1: his loss in their sort of cloistered Childhood's pretty sad, 366 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:24,400 Speaker 1: sad note to end on, but yeah, definitely, And obviously 367 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 1: the family, or Charles Lindberg Senior at least, kept coming 368 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 1: back into the spotlight at various times throughout his life 369 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: up until he died in the seventies, but they always 370 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 1: kind of sought this private life. And yeah, it's a 371 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,439 Speaker 1: really sad story. Well, we don't want to leave you 372 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:40,720 Speaker 1: on a downer note like that, though, So we have 373 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: some slightly related in a more happy way listener mail. 374 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:52,399 Speaker 1: So this message is from Jamie and she wrote that 375 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: she's been listening to the podcast for a while and 376 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 1: she is currently traveling around South America with her boyfriend 377 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 1: and they've been you know, taking lots of pictures and 378 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:04,680 Speaker 1: seeing the site. So she wrote in I just listened 379 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,600 Speaker 1: to your podcast on Santa ZUBERI and although I've never 380 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,119 Speaker 1: read the Little Print, I do have an interesting fact 381 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: to share with you. A few weeks ago, I was 382 00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 1: hiking in the southern Andes Mountains near Patagonia, Argentina. The 383 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,600 Speaker 1: most famous mountain in this region, which is visible from 384 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,959 Speaker 1: the town itself, is called fitz Roy. The whole series 385 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: of hills and mountains around it is very rocky, and 386 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:29,120 Speaker 1: supposedly fitz Roy itself is one of the top five 387 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: most difficult rock climbing scents in the world. Anyways, while 388 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,919 Speaker 1: on this hike, we came upon a sign that listed 389 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,160 Speaker 1: the names of the different peaks that we could see 390 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,480 Speaker 1: from our vista, and one of them is called Senti Zuberi. 391 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: I happen to find a little blurb in my guide 392 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: book that explained the seeming coincident. Suntic Zuberi supposedly fell 393 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: in love with the forlorn and desolate landscape in Patagonia 394 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,160 Speaker 1: during his many flights while stationed there for the private 395 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: company he worked for. The landscape stuck with him so 396 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 1: much that he even in looted it in his illustrations. 397 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,119 Speaker 1: At the little print, so she she points us to 398 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: the little Prince, and you can look at this mountain 399 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: and compare it to some of the illustrations there are 400 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 1: remarkably similar. I've got to reread that book. Yeah, and 401 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 1: and the book is carefully on the illustration. So I 402 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 1: think that's super cool that his geography would influence not 403 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,640 Speaker 1: only like the desert scene, but the mountains as well. 404 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:28,040 Speaker 1: So thank you for sharing, Jamie. So if you'd like 405 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: to share any of your own travel experiences with us, 406 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: maybe ones that relate to a former podcast or maybe 407 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:35,760 Speaker 1: a future one you'd like us to do, feel free 408 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,440 Speaker 1: to email us at History Podcast at how stuff works 409 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:40,560 Speaker 1: dot com, or you can look us up on Facebook 410 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 1: and we're also on Twitter at Myston History. We also 411 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: have several articles relating to flight on our website. One 412 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: in particular is really interesting. It's what was Man's first 413 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,199 Speaker 1: attempt at flight? And you can look that up on 414 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 1: our homepage at www dot how stuff works dot com. 415 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit 416 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:05,160 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. To learn more about the podcast, 417 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:07,879 Speaker 1: click on the podcast icon in the upper right corner 418 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: of our homepage. The how stuff Works iPhone app has 419 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:18,280 Speaker 1: a ride. Download it today on iTunes. M