Final Paper Due

New Jersey v. Bruno Hauptmann

Bruno Hauptmann born 1889 in Germany. Hauptmann, stowaway to America from Germany had a military and criminal background in Germany. In 1936, he was found guilty of the kidnaping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. Although he was found guilty, Hauptmann has maintained his innocence throughout the trial. Is it possible he was innocent? I will be examining evidence and statements of many parties involved not to determine guilt but proper procedure. Hauptmann had too much evidence against him to be guilty of some crimes, but not enough substantial evidence to be guilty of what he was convicted of.

Incident Summary

On the evening of March 1, 1932, Charles Lindbergh Jr. was abducted. The kidnapper/kidnappers, using a ladder, climbed into the second story nursery room windows, of the Lindbergh’s East Amwell, New Jersey home, taking Charles Lindbergh Jr. Charles Lindbergh Jr. was discovered missing the same evening by the Bessie Goway, the nanny. The Lindbergh’s then notified the local authorities, who then turned the investigation over to the New Jersey State Police.

The Autopsy

The autopsy was supposed to be performed by a county physician Dr. Charles Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell, who suffered from suffered from arthritis guided the county coroner Walter Swayze through the procedure in witness of Dr. Ingen, the child’s pediatrician. The medical examiner concluded that Charles Lindbergh Jr. died from a blow to the head so he could have been murdered in his room or dropped being carried down the ladder. The Autopsy report also determined the child had been dead for two to three months.

The Investigation

H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., superintendent of the New Jersey state police led the investigations. Although in charge Charles Lindbergh Sr., used his fame in power to become the authority in the kidnapping case of his son, interfering with investigative procedures of the New Jersey State Troopers. Investigation of the crime scene turned up the ransom note on an open window sill, muddy footprints in the nursery, a broken ladder some distance from the property, and more footprints leading into the woods, nearby the property. Five days later a second ransom note came through mail demanding 20, 000 more dollars added to the original ransom making it a total of 70,000 dollars. The second ransom note was postmarked from Brooklyn, New York. Further communication was done by newspaper add, and an intermediate was chosen by letter sent to the intermediate directly. The intermediate Dr. John F. Condon received 10 more letters of instructions with multiple delivery methods, negotiations of up to 100,000 dollars. After multiple meetings with the alleged kidnapper, the original 50,000 dollar ransom, mostly of gold certificate money, was handed over and a location to find Charles Lindbergh Jr. was given. The location near Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, which turned up an empty search, Charles Lindbergh Jr. was not found. On May 13, 1932, a little over two months later Charles Lindbergh Jr.’s body was found a few miles from his home in a shallow grave in the woods by a trucker pulled over for a break.

Ten days later the Department of Justice extended all resources and affiliated organizations to the New Jersey State Police. The investigation continued for two years with many cold trails and fraud cases to collect rewards. Until President Roosevelt’s Proclamation requiring the return of all gold and gold certificate money’s to the U.S. Treasury. The most prevalent lead for the case was to follow the money as the ransom money gold certificates were circulating in certain parts of New York City. Dr. Condon the intermediate was bought to have a sketch drawn to of the perpetrator. Also to record events of their conversations and a description of his dialect.

The passing of the gold certificates gave the authorities the big in the case. The New York City Bureau Office got a call from a manager at Corn Exchange Bank. A gold certificate was deposited and the deposit came from a local gas station. The gas station attendant suspicious of the gold certificate wrote down the license plate number of the vehicle on the bill. The license plate number was registered to Bruno R. Hauptmann.

Arrest

Hauptman’s home was staked out the night of September 18, 1934, and the next morning he was taken into custody. With 20 dollars gold certificate on his person.

Arraignment

On Richard Hauptmann was arraigned on charges of Extortion, brought by the New York State District Attorney, Samuel J. Foley, informed by Judge Lester W. Patterson. The plea of not guilty was entered by Hauptmann’s attorney, James M. Fawcett. Bail is set at 100,000 dollars.

Extradition

On October 9, 1934, A New Jersey Grand Jury indicts Bruno Hauptmann for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. Hauptmann’s attorney filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus, which is an order to the court to produce valid reason to extradite Mr. Hauptmann on the given charges. The grounds to dismiss the extradition were based on Hauptmann’s employment timesheet giving him an alibi of being at work at the time of the kidnapping. The Management team for which Hauptmann worked, with a threat of contempt of court for ignoring subpoena, committed perjury and Hauptmann’s loses the hearing.

Extradition Appeal

The appeal was also denied, separating the matter of evidence and the demand of extradition that the Governor conceded to. The matter of the conflicting evidence is to be sorted out during the trial and the order to extradite stands. On October 19, 1934, Bruno Hauptman was moved to Hunterdon County Jail, were he awaited trial on the kidnapping and murder charges.

Trial

The trial began on January 2, 1935. Bruno Hauptmann was denied bail and charged with felony murder, burglary. Because kidnapping was not punishable by it was made burglary because the child and its clothing were stolen, and because it caused a murder it was punishable by death. The District Attorney Wilentz only sought the death penalty. Wilentz convinced the jury with mainly inculpatory evidence that Hauptmann was guilty and executed these crimes alone. One of the most important pieces of evidence is the ransom notes. There were 13 ransom notes in total. 8 different handwriting experts were called to testify to the similarities of Hauptman’s handwriting and matching literacy skills. The second most influential piece of evidence is the ladder used to climb the child’s nursery window. Apart of the ladder allegedly came from a lumber store from the Bronx, near Hauptmann’s place of residence, coincidently matching the flooring of his attic. A wood expert was called to testify to the probability that the wood actually came from the attic. While his home was being searched the police found a Dr. Condon, the ransom intermediate, also one of the men who identified Hauptmann as the man who collected the ransom. Multiple eye witnesses testified to seeing Hauptmann around the Lindbergh property with a ladder in the vehicle, most of them being discredited by the defense as fame or fortune seekers. The most concrete form of evidence was the fact that Hauptmann had the money, and his financial history, as well as his criminal history. Back in Germany, where Hauptmann originates, he was convicted for a burglary, executed by climbing into a second story window by ladder. All matters provide motive and evidence.

Hauptmann’s only credible alibi was the he was working during the time of the kidnapping and ransom money exchange. The issue was brought up during the extradition hearing, but the evidence, received by the police disappeared. Still no evidence of his presence at the Lindbergh home, no witness of the murder of the child exists. With the circumstantial evidence stacked against him, Hauptmann would be found guilty and sentenced to die by electrocution.

Appeal

Attorneys for Bruno Hauptmann appealed in June 1935, to Court of Errors and Appeals of New Jersey. With 16 points to argue against the decision, but the decision stood, all Justices affirmed the Decision by October 9, 1935. The United States Supreme Court denied the second appeal December 9, 1935.

Punishment

Bruno Hauptmann dies by electrocution April 3, 1936.

Sources

Aiuto, R. (n.d.). CRIME OF THE CENTURY. Retrieved November 17, 2018, from https://crimeofthecentury.weebly.com/body-found.html

Robbins, A. (1935). THE HAUPTMANN TRIAL IN THE LIGHT OF ENGLISH CRIMINAL PROCEDURE. American Bar Association Journal, 21(5), 301-305. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25711826

"Bruno Richard Hauptmann Trial: 1935." Great American Trials. . Retrieved November 04, 2018 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/law-magazines/bruno-richard-hauptmann-trial-1935

Hernandez, P. (2017, September 19). Who Was Detective X? Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.nist.gov/featured-stories/who-was-detective-x

Coggins, W. (n.d.). Excerpts from the Trial Transcript: The Trial of Bruno Hauptmann. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from http://www.famous-trials.com/hauptmann/1400-excerpts

 . (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.nj.gov/state/archives/sintr003.html