Lindbergh Kidnapping

The nursery is found empty

Betty Gow found the nursery empty at about 10 p.m. A letter on the window sill demanded $50,000, and a damaged sectional ladder was found outside the house.

1. The child was put to bed in the upstairs nursery. His parents and household staff were elsewhere in the house.
2. Investigators estimated that the child was removed from the nursery around 9 p.m.
3. Betty Gow returned to the nursery and could not find him. The parents were alerted and the household searched the house.
4. A letter on the nursery window sill demanded $50,000. A homemade sectional ladder was found outside, with a damaged section; mud and indistinct footprints were recorded.
5. Local police were contacted, followed by the New Jersey State Police. The early search and the arrival of people at the estate complicated preservation of the scene.

William Allen finds the child's remains

Allen discovered a child's remains in woodland near Mount Rose, roughly four and a half miles southeast of Highfields. The examination attributed death to head injuries and indicated death well before the ransom payment.

Identification and cremation follow the discovery

The remains were identified as Charles Jr. and cremated in Trenton. The identification and medical examination were later presented in the murder prosecution.

The nursery is found empty

Betty Gow found the nursery empty at about 10 p.m. A letter on the window sill demanded $50,000, and a damaged sectional ladder was found outside the house.

1. The child was put to bed in the upstairs nursery. His parents and household staff were elsewhere in the house.
2. Investigators estimated that the child was removed from the nursery around 9 p.m.
3. Betty Gow returned to the nursery and could not find him. The parents were alerted and the household searched the house.
4. A letter on the nursery window sill demanded $50,000. A homemade sectional ladder was found outside, with a damaged section; mud and indistinct footprints were recorded.
5. Local police were contacted, followed by the New Jersey State Police. The early search and the arrival of people at the estate complicated preservation of the scene.

A second letter raises the demand to $70,000

A letter postmarked March 4 in Brooklyn increased the sum demanded. Officials and the family's advisers pursued competing channels of contact while investigators tried to distinguish genuine messages from hoaxes.

The letter writer accepts “Jafsie”

A reply accepted Condon's offer. Lindbergh approved the arrangement, and Condon began communicating through newspaper notices under the name Jafsie.

The child's sleeping suit arrives

Condon received a sleeping suit with another ransom letter. The Lindbergh family identified it as their son’s clothing.

The family pays $50,000; the child is not returned

Condon delivered $50,000 in the St. Raymond’s Cemetery area of the Bronx. The recipient gave him instructions claiming that the child was aboard a boat near Martha’s Vineyard.

1. A message directed Condon to another note beneath a stone outside a greenhouse on East Tremont Avenue.
2. Condon met the man he knew as John and negotiated payment of $50,000. The banknotes' serial numbers had been recorded so recovered notes could later be identified.
3. The man exchanged the money for instructions claiming the child was on a boat called Nellie near Martha's Vineyard. The family received no child at the exchange.
4. The recipient left with the money. Lindbergh arranged a search for the boat named in the instructions.

The search for “Nellie” fails

A search near Martha's Vineyard found neither the child nor the promised boat. Further checks of boats and registries also failed to substantiate the instruction.

Identification and cremation follow the discovery

The remains were identified as Charles Jr. and cremated in Trenton. The identification and medical examination were later presented in the murder prosecution.

Curtis's maritime negotiations are exposed as a hoax

Authorities announced that John Hughes Curtis had invented his contacts with a supposed seaborne kidnapping gang. His claims had led Lindbergh and investigators on a separate maritime search.

The nursery is found empty

Betty Gow found the nursery empty at about 10 p.m. A letter on the window sill demanded $50,000, and a damaged sectional ladder was found outside the house.

1. The child was put to bed in the upstairs nursery. His parents and household staff were elsewhere in the house.
2. Investigators estimated that the child was removed from the nursery around 9 p.m.
3. Betty Gow returned to the nursery and could not find him. The parents were alerted and the household searched the house.
4. A letter on the nursery window sill demanded $50,000. A homemade sectional ladder was found outside, with a damaged section; mud and indistinct footprints were recorded.
5. Local police were contacted, followed by the New Jersey State Police. The early search and the arrival of people at the estate complicated preservation of the scene.

The child's sleeping suit arrives

Condon received a sleeping suit with another ransom letter. The Lindbergh family identified it as their son’s clothing.

A bank flags the certificate and police trace the car

A Corn Exchange Bank report connected the marked note with a Lexington Avenue gas station. The plate led to Hauptmann's Bronx address, which investigators placed under surveillance overnight.

Police arrest Hauptmann outside his Bronx home

Officers arrested Hauptmann after tracing the license plate written on a ransom certificate to his car. A ransom gold certificate was found on him.

1. Officers stopped Hauptmann after he left his house and approached his car. A ransom gold certificate was found on him.
2. Investigators compared his appearance with descriptions of the money passer and the man involved in the ransom contacts.
3. Taxi driver Joseph Perrone identified Hauptmann as the man who had given him a ransom message to deliver. Investigators arranged further searches and examinations.

Searches recover a large cache of ransom money

Investigators recovered more than $13,000 in ransom certificates concealed in Hauptmann's garage. He attributed possession of the money to Isidor Fisch, an associate who had died in Germany.

Wood, handwriting, and a telephone notation add links

After the arrest, investigators compared Hauptmann's writing with the ransom letters, examined his tools and attic flooring, and recorded Condon's contact details written in the house. The prosecution treated these as mutually reinforcing connections.

New York indicts Hauptmann for extortion

A Bronx indictment addressed the ransom transaction. The New Jersey homicide investigation proceeded separately, reflecting the case's two-state geography.

Hunterdon County indicts Hauptmann for murder

The New Jersey indictment charged the child's killing. Extradition litigation followed before Hauptmann could be brought to the state for trial.

Hauptmann is transferred to New Jersey

New York surrendered Hauptmann to New Jersey and he was held at the Hunterdon County jail adjoining the historic courthouse.

The murder trial opens in Flemington

Jury selection began at the historic courthouse under Justice Thomas Trenchard, with intense public and press attention. The state's case would combine the currency trail with physical comparisons and identifications.

The jury hears the forensic and identification evidence

Condon identified Hauptmann as the ransom recipient. Wood and handwriting experts offered their comparisons, while the defense challenged the reliability of witnesses and argued that money possession did not prove the kidnapping.

The jury convicts Hauptmann of first-degree murder

The jury returned a guilty verdict without a recommendation of life imprisonment, resulting in a death sentence. Hauptmann continued to deny guilt and pursued appellate review.

New Jersey's highest court affirms the conviction

The New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals upheld the conviction after considering the evidence, jury instructions and allegations of trial error.

U.S. Supreme Court review is denied

The unsuccessful request for federal review left the New Jersey judgment in force. Remaining efforts focused on clemency, reprieves, and challenges to the investigation.

Governor Hoffman grants a temporary reprieve

Governor Harold Hoffman granted a temporary reprieve while criticism of the investigation and additional claims were examined.

Hauptmann is executed in Trenton

Hauptmann was executed at New Jersey State Prison after his appeals and clemency efforts failed.

The nursery is found empty

Betty Gow found the nursery empty at about 10 p.m. A letter on the window sill demanded $50,000, and a damaged sectional ladder was found outside the house.

1. The child was put to bed in the upstairs nursery. His parents and household staff were elsewhere in the house.
2. Investigators estimated that the child was removed from the nursery around 9 p.m.
3. Betty Gow returned to the nursery and could not find him. The parents were alerted and the household searched the house.
4. A letter on the nursery window sill demanded $50,000. A homemade sectional ladder was found outside, with a damaged section; mud and indistinct footprints were recorded.
5. Local police were contacted, followed by the New Jersey State Police. The early search and the arrival of people at the estate complicated preservation of the scene.

Gow finds the child's thumb guard

Betty Gow found the child’s thumb guard near the entrance to the Highfields estate.

Condon offers to act as intermediary

Retired principal John Condon published an offer in the Bronx Home News to add $1,000 and serve as a go-between. Another ransom communication rejected the family's own choice of intermediary.

The letter writer accepts “Jafsie”

A reply accepted Condon's offer. Lindbergh approved the arrangement, and Condon began communicating through newspaper notices under the name Jafsie.

Condon meets “John” near Woodlawn Cemetery

Ransom instructions led John Condon to the Woodlawn Cemetery area, where he spoke with a man who called himself John.

1. After an anonymous telephone call, a taxi driver delivered a letter instructing Condon to collect another message from a concealed spot.
2. The next instructions took Condon to the Woodlawn Cemetery area, near Jerome Avenue and 233rd Street. He spoke with a stranger who called himself John.
3. Condon asked for an item proving that the stranger had access to the child. The man agreed to send one.

The child's sleeping suit arrives

Condon received a sleeping suit with another ransom letter. The Lindbergh family identified it as their son’s clothing.

The family pays $50,000; the child is not returned

Condon delivered $50,000 in the St. Raymond’s Cemetery area of the Bronx. The recipient gave him instructions claiming that the child was aboard a boat near Martha’s Vineyard.

1. A message directed Condon to another note beneath a stone outside a greenhouse on East Tremont Avenue.
2. Condon met the man he knew as John and negotiated payment of $50,000. The banknotes' serial numbers had been recorded so recovered notes could later be identified.
3. The man exchanged the money for instructions claiming the child was on a boat called Nellie near Martha's Vineyard. The family received no child at the exchange.
4. The recipient left with the money. Lindbergh arranged a search for the boat named in the instructions.

Wood, handwriting, and a telephone notation add links

After the arrest, investigators compared Hauptmann's writing with the ransom letters, examined his tools and attic flooring, and recorded Condon's contact details written in the house. The prosecution treated these as mutually reinforcing connections.

The jury hears the forensic and identification evidence

Condon identified Hauptmann as the ransom recipient. Wood and handwriting experts offered their comparisons, while the defense challenged the reliability of witnesses and argued that money possession did not prove the kidnapping.

Federal investigators offer assistance

J. Edgar Hoover offered federal resources to New Jersey's state-led investigation. Federal agents initially assisted without having direct federal jurisdiction over this abduction.

Curtis's maritime negotiations are exposed as a hoax

Authorities announced that John Hughes Curtis had invented his contacts with a supposed seaborne kidnapping gang. His claims had led Lindbergh and investigators on a separate maritime search.

A second letter raises the demand to $70,000

A letter postmarked March 4 in Brooklyn increased the sum demanded. Officials and the family's advisers pursued competing channels of contact while investigators tried to distinguish genuine messages from hoaxes.

Condon offers to act as intermediary

Retired principal John Condon published an offer in the Bronx Home News to add $1,000 and serve as a go-between. Another ransom communication rejected the family's own choice of intermediary.

Koehler reconstructs the ladder's lumber history

Wood specialist Arthur Koehler examined species, manufacturing marks, wear, and old nail holes. His work traced the ladder's materials before any comparison with Hauptmann's property became possible.

Wood, handwriting, and a telephone notation add links

After the arrest, investigators compared Hauptmann's writing with the ransom letters, examined his tools and attic flooring, and recorded Condon's contact details written in the house. The prosecution treated these as mutually reinforcing connections.

The jury hears the forensic and identification evidence

Condon identified Hauptmann as the ransom recipient. Wood and handwriting experts offered their comparisons, while the defense challenged the reliability of witnesses and argued that money possession did not prove the kidnapping.

Wood, handwriting, and a telephone notation add links

After the arrest, investigators compared Hauptmann's writing with the ransom letters, examined his tools and attic flooring, and recorded Condon's contact details written in the house. The prosecution treated these as mutually reinforcing connections.

The jury hears the forensic and identification evidence

Condon identified Hauptmann as the ransom recipient. Wood and handwriting experts offered their comparisons, while the defense challenged the reliability of witnesses and argued that money possession did not prove the kidnapping.

A gas-station payment leaves a license-plate clue

An attendant accepted a $10 gold certificate for gasoline and wrote the driver's plate number on it. The certificate later matched the ransom list, giving investigators a specific car to trace.

A bank flags the certificate and police trace the car

A Corn Exchange Bank report connected the marked note with a Lexington Avenue gas station. The plate led to Hauptmann's Bronx address, which investigators placed under surveillance overnight.

William Allen finds the child's remains

Allen discovered a child's remains in woodland near Mount Rose, roughly four and a half miles southeast of Highfields. The examination attributed death to head injuries and indicated death well before the ransom payment.

Condon meets “John” near Woodlawn Cemetery

Ransom instructions led John Condon to the Woodlawn Cemetery area, where he spoke with a man who called himself John.

1. After an anonymous telephone call, a taxi driver delivered a letter instructing Condon to collect another message from a concealed spot.
2. The next instructions took Condon to the Woodlawn Cemetery area, near Jerome Avenue and 233rd Street. He spoke with a stranger who called himself John.
3. Condon asked for an item proving that the stranger had access to the child. The man agreed to send one.

Police arrest Hauptmann outside his Bronx home

Officers arrested Hauptmann after tracing the license plate written on a ransom certificate to his car. A ransom gold certificate was found on him.

1. Officers stopped Hauptmann after he left his house and approached his car. A ransom gold certificate was found on him.
2. Investigators compared his appearance with descriptions of the money passer and the man involved in the ransom contacts.
3. Taxi driver Joseph Perrone identified Hauptmann as the man who had given him a ransom message to deliver. Investigators arranged further searches and examinations.

Hunterdon County indicts Hauptmann for murder

The New Jersey indictment charged the child's killing. Extradition litigation followed before Hauptmann could be brought to the state for trial.

The murder trial opens in Flemington

Jury selection began at the historic courthouse under Justice Thomas Trenchard, with intense public and press attention. The state's case would combine the currency trail with physical comparisons and identifications.

The jury hears the forensic and identification evidence

Condon identified Hauptmann as the ransom recipient. Wood and handwriting experts offered their comparisons, while the defense challenged the reliability of witnesses and argued that money possession did not prove the kidnapping.

The murder trial opens in Flemington

Jury selection began at the historic courthouse under Justice Thomas Trenchard, with intense public and press attention. The state's case would combine the currency trail with physical comparisons and identifications.

The jury hears the forensic and identification evidence

Condon identified Hauptmann as the ransom recipient. Wood and handwriting experts offered their comparisons, while the defense challenged the reliability of witnesses and argued that money possession did not prove the kidnapping.

The murder trial opens in Flemington

Jury selection began at the historic courthouse under Justice Thomas Trenchard, with intense public and press attention. The state's case would combine the currency trail with physical comparisons and identifications.

The jury convicts Hauptmann of first-degree murder

The jury returned a guilty verdict without a recommendation of life imprisonment, resulting in a death sentence. Hauptmann continued to deny guilt and pursued appellate review.

Searches recover a large cache of ransom money

Investigators recovered more than $13,000 in ransom certificates concealed in Hauptmann's garage. He attributed possession of the money to Isidor Fisch, an associate who had died in Germany.

Violet Sharpe dies during the inquiry

Violet Sharpe died by suicide while being questioned in the investigation. Investigators subsequently verified her alibi and excluded her involvement.

Governor Hoffman grants a temporary reprieve

Governor Harold Hoffman granted a temporary reprieve while criticism of the investigation and additional claims were examined.

An appellate court rejects a request to compel DNA sampling

The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed dismissal of researcher Sudhakar’s challenge concerning proposed DNA sampling of preserved ransom envelopes and stamps. The court addressed access to historical records and permission to alter them for testing.

Curtis's maritime negotiations are exposed as a hoax

Authorities announced that John Hughes Curtis had invented his contacts with a supposed seaborne kidnapping gang. His claims had led Lindbergh and investigators on a separate maritime search.