Bruno Hauptmann

Bruno Richard Hauptmann (November 26, 1899 – April 3, 1936) was a German carpenter and criminal, sentenced to death and executed for the Lindbergh kidnapping, the abduction and murder of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., the 20-month old son of famous pilot Charles Lindbergh.

Hauptmann's Guilt Questioned

In recent years, the case against Hauptmann has come under scrutiny. Sceptics point to several alleged inconsistencies in the case against Hauptmann. For instance, one item of evidence at his trial was a scrawled phone number on a board in his closet, which turned out to be the number of the man who delivered the ransom. A juror at the trial said this was the one item of evidence that convinced her the most, but a reporter later admitted he had written the number himself. It is also alleged that the eyewitnesses who placed Hauptmann at the Libdbergh estate near the time of the crime were untrustworthy, and that neither Lindbergh nor the go-between who delivered the ransom initially identified Hauptmann. It has also been alleged that the police beat Hauptmann and intimidated other witnesses, and some claim that the police planted or doctored evidence such as the ladder.

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