FBI Files: Charles Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping Case

Description

A total of 487 pages of documents have been obtained from the FBI Headquarters located in Washington, D.C., which pertain to the infamous kidnapping case involving Charles Lindbergh’s baby.

The documents primarily include a comprehensive 405-page report that was authored in 1934. This report encapsulates the vast amount of information—approximately 28,500 pages—accumulated by the FBI throughout their investigation into this high-profile case. Additionally, there is a 30-page summary report that was created after the apprehension of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was charged with the kidnapping and subsequent murder of the child.

Within these reports, there is a detailed overview as well as a chronological timeline outlining the events of the case. The documentation encompasses various aspects such as details about Lindbergh’s staff, physical evidence collected during the investigation, the ransom notes and the money involved, and profiles of both known and unidentified suspects, which even includes the notorious gangster Al Capone. Hauptmann was found guilty of the crime on February 13, 1935, and he faced execution on April 3, 1936

 

Lindbergh Kidnapping Timeline

1930:

• June 22: Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (“Charlie”) is born to Charles and Anne Lindbergh.

1932:

• March 1:Around 9:00 PM: 20-month-old Charlie is kidnapped from his nursery on the second floor of the Lindbergh home in Hopewell, New Jersey. A ladder is found outside the window and a ransom note demanding $50,000 is discovered.
• Around 10:00 PM: Nurse Betty Gow discovers Charlie is missing and alerts the Lindberghs.
• March 2:The kidnapping makes national news.
• FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover offers the FBI’s assistance to the New Jersey State Police.
• March 4: Con man Gaston B. Means convinces Evalyn Walsh McLean to give him $100,000 for ransom, claiming he can contact the kidnappers.
• March 6: A second ransom note, increasing the demand to $70,000, is received by Charles Lindbergh.
• March 8: A third ransom note arrives, rejecting the Lindberghs’ chosen intermediary and requesting a newspaper ad. Dr. John F. Condon (“Jafsie”) publishes an offer in the Bronx Home News to act as intermediary and adds $1,000 to the ransom.
• March 9: A fourth ransom note confirms Dr. Condon as an acceptable intermediary.
• March 12: Dr. Condon meets with “John,” the supposed kidnapper, in a cemetery and gives him a $1,000 down payment on the ransom.
• March 16: Dr. Condon receives a baby’s sleeping suit (later identified as Charlie’s) and a seventh ransom note.
• April 2: Dr. Condon pays the $70,000 ransom to “John” in a cemetery. Charles Lindbergh waits nearby. “John” gives Condon a note with misleading information about the baby’s location.
• May 12: Charlie’s decomposed body is discovered in woods near the Lindbergh home. He is believed to have died from a fractured skull on the night of the kidnapping.
• May 13: President Herbert Hoover directs the FBI to serve as the coordinating agency for all investigations in the case.
• June 10: Violet Sharpe, a maid at the Morrow home, commits suicide while under suspicion. Her involvement is later ruled out.
• September: President Franklin D. Roosevelt centralizes the investigation under the Department of Justice, giving the FBI primary responsibility.

1933:

• May 2: 297 gold certificates from the ransom are discovered at a New York bank.

1934:

• September 18: A gas station attendant writes down Bruno Richard Hauptmann’s license plate number after he pays with a gold certificate from the ransom.
• September 19:Hauptmann is arrested. A $20 gold certificate from the ransom is found on him, and over $14,000 is discovered in his garage.
• Police find tools and wood in Hauptmann’s attic that match those used to construct the kidnapping ladder.
• September 24: Hauptmann is indicted for extortion in New York.
• October 8: Hauptmann is indicted for murder in New Jersey.

1935:

• January 2 – February 13: Hauptmann’s trial is held in Flemington, New Jersey.
• February 13: Hauptmann is found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.

1936:

• April 3: Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed by electric chair.

Cast of Characters

Charles Lindbergh: Famous aviator, father of the victim. Played a prominent role in directing the investigation, sometimes hindering official efforts.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Wife of Charles Lindbergh, mother of the victim. Testified at Hauptmann’s trial.

Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (“Charlie”): The 20-month-old victim of the kidnapping and murder.

Betty Gow: The Lindberghs’ nurse, who discovered Charlie missing.

Dr. John F. Condon (“Jafsie”): A retired Bronx teacher who acted as the intermediary between the Lindberghs and the kidnapper.

“John”: The alias used by the person who claimed to be the kidnapper and communicated with Dr. Condon. Police believe this was Bruno Richard Hauptmann.

Bruno Richard Hauptmann: A German immigrant carpenter, arrested and convicted of the kidnapping and murder. He maintained his innocence until his execution.

Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf: Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, officially led the investigation.

Gaston B. Means: A con man who swindled Evalyn Walsh McLean out of $100,000 by claiming to have contacts with the kidnappers.

Evalyn Walsh McLean: A wealthy Washington socialite, who was defrauded by Gaston B. Means.

Violet Sharpe: A maid at the home of Anne Lindbergh’s mother, who committed suicide while under suspicion.

J. Edgar Hoover: Director of the FBI, who initially offered the Bureau’s assistance and later took over the investigation.

President Herbert Hoover: The President of the United States during the kidnapping. He directed the FBI to become more involved in the case.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Succeeded Herbert Hoover as President. He centralized the investigation under the Department of Justice and the FBI.