Misconceptions About The Lindbergh Kidnapping

In the still of the night in Hopewell, New Jersey, the Lindbergh family discovered a tragedy. Their precious baby boy was kidnapped from their two-story home. The child’s nurse, Betty Grow, discovered the missing child. As the crime of the century was taking place, the Lindbergh family were devastated that their sweet baby was missing. The police suspected an “inside job,” since the kidnapper knew exactly where the nursery was while the Lindbergh’s baby was peacefully asleep (Perloff 1). On the crisp breezy night of March 1, 1932, history was made. The only thing found in the nursery was a ransom note and muddy footprints on the floor. While there are misconceptions about The Lindbergh Kidnapping, it is important that the public knows the truth.

was taken from his peaceful nursery on the second floor of their mansion. Betty Gow, the pediatric nurse for Charles Jr., went to check on him and noticed he was gone. “As the largest manhunt in American history began, police and reporters swarmed the Lindbergh estate in Hopewell, New Jersey” (Perloff 1). Lying on the nursery window sill was a ransom note demanding $50,000 (Perloff 1). The family decided to meet any demands the ransom note stated. The police and press started to put secret codes and messages in the newspapers so the kidnapper would know the Lindbergh family would do anything to get their son back home. A second ransom note was received by Lindbergh only five days after the disappearance. The money demand increased $20,000 dollars and a police conference was then called to discuss the master plan. The next two days were filled with mystery and wonder. The attorney for Lindbergh family received a third letter that demanded for a letter to be put in the local

Even though the coded letters in the newspaper articles seems to be working well with the kidnapper, Charles A. Lindbergh Jr’s body was found on the side of the road (Perloff 1). “On May 12, about four miles from the Lindbergh’s house, the baby’s corpse was found in roadside woods by a trucker who’d stopped for a call of nature” (Perloff 1). The baby died from a fractured skull due to external violence (Swayze 1). Lindbergh Jr’s body was badly decomposed. His left leg, right forearm, and all organs except liver were missing from his body. “He had been dead, it seemed, since the night of March 1” (Waller 102). The Autopsy indicated that the body had been kept some place warmer, the left as a “present” for Lindbergh. When it was time to identify the child, they asked Lindbergh’s wife if there were anyone else who knew the baby as well as his parents and she said the nurse, Betty Gow (Waller 103). “Betty Gow was led to the autopsy table. She looked down, then put her hand to her eyes and turned her face away. No, she said when she was able to speak, there had not been any mistake” (Waller 103). On May 12, 1932, the search for Charles A. Lindbergh