User:Hannah.Line/Lindbergh kidnapping

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The Investigation

Hopewell Borough police and New Jersey State Police officers conducted an extensive search of the home and its surrounding area.

After midnight, a fingerprint expert examined the ransom note and ladder; no usable fingerprints or footprints were found, leading experts to conclude that the kidnapper(s) wore gloves and had some type of cloth on the soles of their shoes. No adult fingerprints were found in the baby's room, including in areas witnesses admitted to touching, such as the window, but the baby's fingerprints were found.

The brief, handwritten ransom note had many spelling and grammar irregularities:"Dear Sir! Have 50.000$ redy 25 000$ in 20$ bills 15000$ in 10$ bills and 10000$ in 5$ bills After 2–4 days we will inform you were to deliver the mony. We warn you for making anyding public or for notify the Police the child is in gut care. Indication for all letters are Singnature and 3 hohls."At the bottom of the note were two interconnected blue circles surrounding a red circle, with a hole punched through the red circle and two more holes to the left and right.

On further examination of the ransom note by professionals they found that it was all written by the same person. They determined because of the odd english that the writer must have been German and had spent some, but little time in America. The FBI then found a sketch artist to make a portrait of the man that they believed to be the kidnapper.

Another attempt on identifying the kidnapper was looking at the ladder that was used in the crime to abduct the child. Police realized that the ladder was not built correctly but was built by someone who knew how to construct with wood and had prior experience in building. The ladder was examined for fingerprints, but none were found. Even, slivers of the ladder had been examined, the police believed that the examination of this evidence would lead to the kidnapper. They had a professional see how may different types of wood was used, pattern made by the nail holes and if it was made indoors or outdoors. This would later be a key element in the trial of the man who kidnapped the Lindbergh baby.

On March 2, 1932 J. Edgar Hoover, the Attorney General and FBI director got in contact with the Trenton New Jersey Police Department. He told the New Jersey police that they could contact the FBI or any resources and would provide any assistance if needed. The FBI did not have federal jurisdiction, until on May 13, 1932 the President declared that the FBI was at the disposal of the New Jersey Police Department and that the FBI should coordinate and conduct the investigation.

The New Jersey State police proclaimed that they would give a $25,000 reward to anyone who could provide them with information pertaining to the case. This suggests that someone who personally aided in the apprehension of the kidnapper would be given this reward. Violet Sharpe who was suspected as a conspirator committed suicide on June 10, 1932 by swallowing a bottle of pills. This is before she was supposed to go in for re-questioning, so there were suspicions that she could have had something to go with the kidnapping. It was later ruled out because she had an alibi for the the night of March 1, 1932.

On March 4, 1932 a man by the name of Gaston B. Means had a discussion with Evalyn Walsh McLean and told her that he would be of great importance in retrieving the Lindbergh baby. Means told McLean that he could find these kidnappers because he was approached weeks before the abduction about participating in a "big kidnapping" and he claimed that his friend was the kidnapper of the Lindbergh child. The following day Means tells McLean that he has made contact with the person who has the Lindbergh child. He then convinced Mrs. McLean to hand him $100,00 to obtain the child because the ransom money had doubled. McLean obliges because she believed that Means really knew where the child was. She waits for the child's return every single day until she finally asks Means for her money back. He refuses, but Mrs. McLean reports him to the police and he gets sentenced to fifteen years in prison on embezzlement charges.

Later, in September 1933 the investigation was still in process. This is when Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation would have full jurisdiction over this case. It became official in October of 1933.

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