CRIME OF THE CENTURY: Lindbergh Kidnapper Brought to Justice | History's Greatest Mysteries: Solved

in the early 1930s aviator charles lindbergh  was one of the most famous men in the world   so when lindbergh's infant son was kidnapped and  murdered the press was quick to dub it the crime   of the century despite the media attention  the police investigation quickly stalled for   over two years the identity of the lindbergh baby  kidnapper was one of history's greatest mysteries new york city 1927 as the world watches charles  lindbergh readies himself for a feat never before   achieved by mankind a solo flight from the united  states to europe lindbergh's whole life has led   to this moment dropping out of college to  become a stunt pilot and then enlisting   in the u.s army to join flight school he opts  for a single engine plane without a parachute   or radio so he can store more gasoline and the  newspapers call him the flying fool nevertheless   lindbergh takes off from roosevelt field in  long island beginning his long voyage to paris   almost 34 hours later lindbergh safely touches  down in paris to a crowd of 100 000 adoring fans his newfound fame sends him on speaking  tours around the world as an aviation icon   and on december 21 1927 toward the end of his  victory tour lindbergh meets and spencer morrow   the two get married and travel the globe together  on june 22 1930 they welcomed their first child   into the world charles lindbergh jr while  many americans struggle to cope with the   great depression lindbergh's immense fame and  financial success allow the family to opt for   quiet life out of the public spotlight the couple  moves to a large estate in hopewell new jersey   ready to raise young charles jr  without the media fanfare of their past but within a year the lindbergh's would experience  one of the most severe media frenzies in history a   story that would capture the attention of a nation  and haunt the couple for the rest of their lives   march 1st 1932 p.m charles lindbergh his  wife and their wily terrier wagoosh relax   in their home as 20 month old charles jr  sleeps soundly in the nursery upstairs   but outside the safety of the lindbergh home in  the darkness of their 600-acre estate lurks a   clandestine figure he uses a makeshift ladder  to enter the infant's second floor nursery   and snatches charles jr from his crib unseen  by the baby's parents the houseworkers and the   family dog the mysterious kidnapper vanishes into  the cold damp night with a 20-month old son of   america's biggest celebrity he leaves behind only  traces of mud a broken ladder and a handwritten   ransom note demanding fifty thousand dollars in  exchange for the safe return of charles junior   by 10 pm the baby's nurse discovers  the empty crib and alerts the lindbergh   30 minutes later law enforcement detectives and  the media arrive at the estate and before midnight   the nation is transfixed as the manhunt for  the lindbergh kidnapper begins an egregious   act immediately dubbed the crime of the century  the sweeping media coverage informs the kidnapper   of his stolen assets value just three days after  the crime is committed the lindbergh's receive a   new ransom note wrought with misspellings  demanding an increased sum to be paid of   seventy thousand dollars or an inflation adjusted  one million dollars eager to help retired school   principal dr john condon volunteers to act as the  intermediary between the family and the kidnapper   the kidnapper and lindbergh agree and dr condon  becomes the conduit one month and 12 ransom notes   after the kidnapping kondin finally sets up a  meeting to exchange the money for information   detailing the child's whereabouts the kidnapper  identifies himself as john and does little to hide   his appearance from condon dr condon hands over a  bag of bills and gold notes and receives a letter   in return pointing authorities to a boat named  nelly near martha's vineyard in massachusetts   the stranger departs but condon remains  confident that he could identify the kidnapper   if he were to ever see him again but the  nelly is never found near martha's vineyard   and neither is the baby one year after the  kidnapping charles jr is found dead and decomposed   less than five miles from the lindbergh home skull  bruises indicate death by trauma to the head a   family and a nation mourns but becomes resolved to  locating the murderer and bringing him to justice so how does a criminal incapable of writing a  literate ransom note stage a kidnapping that   fools a nation with both lindbergh parents awake  and a house full of staff relatively unknown to   the couple the notion of an inside job remains a  possibility the broken ladder left at the scene of   the crime implies the dissent may have gone wrong  resulting in the kidnapper accidentally dropping   the baby suspicion quickly falls on violet  sharp a housekeeper at the lindbergh estate   sharp's shifting alibis an uncooperative attitude  towards police make her a prime suspect one year   later after the discovery of the baby's body  sharp is brought in for questioning after a   series of potentially incriminating answers  she's asked to return for another interview   including the detailing of her bank accounts  but a day before the hearing she commits suicide   however according to fbi reports her movements on  the night of the kidnapping were carefully checked   and it was determined that sharp had no connection  with the abduction so if not sharp who is the   kidnapper with every failed identification  and over a year of false leads the window   for justice diminishes dr condon's description of  the man known as john has proven unhelpful without   further clues and local law enforcement requires  more aid to have a chance at finding the killer   on march 2nd 1932 spurred on by public demand fbi  director j edgar hoover announces the full backing   of the investigative agency and the department  of justice pledging any and all of the federal   bureau's resources to find the murderer along with  federal support experts spanning across industries   share their knowledge to help find the killer  handwriting specialists examine the ransom notes   and judge the writer to be of german nationality  re-examinations of dr condon's meetings with   the man calling himself john corroborate these  claims and dialect teams analyze condon's attempt   to mimic jon's accent to further narrow down  potential matches even woodwork aficionados chip   in to help solve the mystery arthur kohler of the  united states department of agriculture examines   the latter left at the scene of the kidnapping  allowing officials to narrow down suspects even   further to those with access to specific types  of wood and carpentry tools even with an army   of experts in the full backing of the fbi the  kidnapper remains at large in order to catch him   he must make a mistake and just as the crime  was founded in greed the same vice exposes the   killer to risk he looks to cash in his ransom  money the fbi notifies all banks and shops in   the area to closely track serial numbers on  the gold notes involved in the ransom payment   gold notes represent ownership in gold  guaranteed by banks and can be redeemed for cash   and for months no gold certificates come to light  but then the reports start rolling in gas station   attendance grocery store cashiers insurance agents  and bankers alike all meticulously cross-reference   the certificate numbers provided by the fbi and  report the transactions to the bureau as matching   serial numbers pop up the fbi pins the location  on a map slowly but surely indicating the movement   of the money and perhaps the individual or  individuals responsible for the crime on september   18 1934 a banker phones the new york city bureau  about a deposit involving a 10 gold certificate   matching one used in the ransom authorities  quickly jumped to track the gold note's path to   the bank and trace it to a gas station on 127th in  lexington the attendant provides the bureau with   a license plate number of the purchaser noting  it after suspicions that his appearance matches   the description of the infamous kidnapper the  license plate is registered to a german carpenter   richard hauptmann the authorities immediately  investigate and the evidence is damning hautman   perfectly matches dr condon's description  of the kidnapper and his recent transactions   are dominated by 10 and 20 gold certificates gold  certificates are discovered in his home and in his   pockets and writing samples match the illegible  and broken english content of the ransom letter   finally after two years the lindbergh kidnapper  and murderer of 20 month old charles jr is caught in 1935 bruno richard huffman was convicted of one  count of murder in the first degree the following   year he was executed thanks to the combined  efforts of local state and federal investigators   the crime of the century had been cracked  providing an answer to one of history's greatest mysteries you

Channel: HISTORY

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Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, history's greatest mysteries, history full episodes, mystery clips, mysteries, mystery video, history clips, lawrence fishburne, the history channel, documentary history channel, history documentary, history channel full episodes, documentaries, history channel documentaries, Historys Greatest Mysteries clips, Historys Greatest Mysteries, Historys Greatest Mysteries videos, Greatest Mysteries, CRIME OF THE CENTURY

Id: 8M6y8vXisiI

Length: 10min 56sec (656 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 18 2020