Inside the Mysterious Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping and Trial

Americans’ obsession with true crime and unsolved mysteries has led to an entire industry’s worth of documentaries, TV networks, hit podcasts, and a massive library of magazines and books about high-profile and very grizzly crimes. This fanaticism was built on a number of cultural, technological, and media-related factors, which first came together in the early 1930s when famed aviator Charles Lindbergh’s toddler son was kidnapped in 1932. The ensuing national manhunt led to the first “Trial of the Century.”Lindbergh’s son was kidnapped while asleep in his cribIn 1927, Lindbergh became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean without taking a single stop, guiding his single-engine plane from New York to Paris and his name into the history books. Although he would become controversial as the 1930s wore on, Lindbergh was still considered an American hero in March 1932. That made his son’s kidnapping a front-page story from the outset.Charles Augustus Limbergh Jr. was taken from his crib at the family home in Hopewell, New Jersey, by a home invader at around 9 p.m. on March 1. Lindbergh and his wife, Anne, were home at the time, relaxing downstairs under the assumption that their son was fast asleep. At about 10 p.m., the child’s nurse discovered that Charlie Jr. was missing from his crib, then frantically alerted Charles and Anne. A window next to the crib had been left open, with a ransom note left resting on the windowsill.The poorly written letter provided a list of demands:Dear Sir,Have 50,000$ redy 25000$ in 20$ bills 15000$ in 10$ bills and 10000$ in 5$ bills. After 2-4 days will inform you were to deliver the Mony.We warn you for making anyding public or for notify the Polise the child is in gut care.Indication for all letters are singnature and 3 holds.Get Biography.com sent straight to your inbox with our free