Kidnapping of Lindbergh baby
Hauptmann’s trial
Hauptmann was charged with capital murder, which meant that he can be sentenced to death penalty. He pleaded not guilty.
Daily Mirror, in exchange for rights to publish the story in their newspaper, have financed hiring Edward J. Reilly as attorney for Hauptmann. Reilly wasn’t smart choice - although well known and respectable lawyer he worshipped Lindbergh Sr and reportedly has a framed photo of the aviator on his desk.
In addition to Hauptmann’s possession of over $14,000 of the ransom money, the State introduced evidence showing a striking similarity between Hauptmann’s handwriting and the handwriting on the ransom notes. Eight different handwriting experts were called by the prosecution to the witness stand, where they pointed out similarities between words and letters in the ransom notes and in Hauptmann’s writing specimens (which included documents written before he was arrested, such as automobile registration applications). Although Hauptmann’s spelling was very good police forced him to copy the letter with the mistakes and only then it was analyzed.
The State also introduced photographic evidence demonstrating that the wood from the ladder left at the crime scene matched a plank from the floor of Hauptmann’s attic: the type of wood, the direction of tree growth, the milling pattern at the factory, the inside and outside surface of the wood, and the grain on both sides were identical, and two oddly placed nail holes lined up with a joist splice in Hauptmann’s attic. Additionally, the prosecutors noted that Condon’s address and telephone number had been found written in pencil on a closet door in Hauptmann’s home.
Hauptmann himself admitted in a police interview that he had written Condon’s address on the closet door: "I must have read it in the paper about the story. I was a little bit interested and keep a little bit record of it, and maybe I was just on the closet, and was reading the paper and put it down the address". When asked about Condon’s telephone number, he could respond only, "I can’t give you any explanation about the telephone number".
Condon and Lindbergh both testified that Hauptmann was "John", although Condon refused to identify Hauptmann in police line-up. Another witness, Amandus Hochmuth, testified that he saw Hauptmann near the scene of the crime. Hauptmann was ultimately convicted of the crimes and sentenced to death, his appeals were rejected. Hauptmann turned down a large offer from a Hearst newspaper for a confession and refused a last-minute offer to commute his execution to a life sentence in exchange for a confession. He was electrocuted on April 3, 1936, just over four years after the kidnapping.
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