Reliving The Lindbergh Case (1989 documentary)

An excellent examination of the 1932 kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. and the subsequent trial of Bruno Hauptmann.
Edwin Newman narrates this documentary which features arguments for and against Hauptmann's guilt.
Interviews with:
Anna Hauptmann (Bruno's widow); Anthony Scaduto (author of "Scapegoat"); Sgt. Bob Felicio (museum supervisor, NJ State Police); Col. Clinton Pagano (superintendent, NJ State Police); Brendan Byrne (NJ Governor, 1974-1982); Mark Denbeaux (professor of law, Seton Hall Law School); John Genz (retired NJ State Trooper); Claude Patterson (retired NJ State Police Detective); Lydia Keaton (widow of Lt. Arthur "Buster" Keaton, NJ State Police); Daniele Tomasetti (Lindbergh researcher); Robert Bryan (Anna Hauptmann's attorney); Cornel Plebani (former museum supervisor, NJ State Police); Alan Lane (NJ State Police); Hans Kloppenburg (Bruno Hauptmann's best friend); Eugene Sullivan (Assistant Attorney General); Jim Fisher (author of "The Lindbergh Case"); Lewis Bornmann (retired NJ State Police Detective); George Hawke (author of "Trial By Fury"); George Parker (Flemington businessman, he manufactured and sold the souvenir miniature ladders at the trial); Thelma Miller (Lindbergh collector); C. Ryman Herr, Jr. (Flemington attorney, co-creator of 'The Hauptmannville News"); Sol Karrow (Flemington businessman, he benefited from an influx of customers during the trial); Ethel Stockton (Hauptmann juror).

[@Orphen42O]

No fingerprints in baby's room was odd because the parents' and nurses' fingerprints should have been there.

[@keepitsimple4629]

The video just happens to fail to mention that Lindy forbade his wife and nursemaid to check on the baby from 8-10 pm, which was exactly the time he was 'kidnapped'. Lindy was a notorious prankster who shortly before the 'kidnapping' had hidden the baby in a closet and made the women think he was gone. Lindy pulled cruel pranks, once putting kerosene in his roommate's water jug. The roommate almost died. He loved to tease the baby and throw pillows at him when he was trying to walk. He was a mean spirited person. He took command of the 'kidnapping' from the start, and refused FBI help. He was a terrible person, but was treated with kid gloves because of his renown. He should've been #1 suspect.

[@mickharrison9004]

Very well said and same old story with rich people ,who are virtually untouchable playing there vile games .

[@Goodiesfanful]

And why did he forbid his wife and nursemaid to check on the baby during those two hours in the first place? Anyway, it seems too much of a coincidence that the kidnapping happened during those two hours or Bruno Hauptmann happened to pull off the kidnapping during that time. Surely Bruno couldn't have known about Lindbergh not allowing the baby to be checked during that period.

[@Goodiesfanful]

Could it be that one of his nasty pranks went too far and he unwittingly caused the death of the baby? He had almost killed someone already with his kerosene stunt.

[@WilliamBuckley-db9ih]

And who would pull a kidnapping between 8pm and 10pm? People are still awake, right? 3am would’ve been a smarter choice. I don’t believe Bruno did this, I believe it was a Lindbergh prank gone wrong. But I can’t answer how they found the money in Bruno’s garage. Planted? 🤔

[@suejuede525]

My grandfather was a very intelligent man...he never believed Hauptmann kidnapped and killed the Lundberg baby. What a beautiful little baby boy

[@bethryan9077]

The investigators & prosecutors were very intelligent men & the judge too. Hauptmann had $14,000 of the The ransom money. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out where he got it from.

[@Goodiesfanful]

@@bethryan9077 Hauptmann said a man Isidor Fisch charged him with looking after a package and he didn't know it contained the money until it was accidentally opened. If it's true, he was a mug left to carry the can.

[@charlessteenburgen]

​@@bethryan9077 ISADORE FISCH

[@charlessteenburgen]

HAUPTMANN WAS A SCAPEGOAT

[@bethryan9077]

@@Goodiesfanful I am very well aware of that made up nonsense thanx. How about you transfer $14,000 into Today's dollars. Would you leave that huge sum with an acquaintance? Even for 5 minutes? And BTW, that was what he had Left. He quit his job & paid $400 for a Radio. How many unemployed men owned a car in the mid 1920s. Not everyone is a bona fide dafty lovey. You should study this case, he hung because he was Guilty. Maybe Fisch was involved because there were two sets of footprints at the ladder that led away towards the road.

[@margaretbanks8969]

As someone with cataracts I can see to read but the chances of identifying someone seen briefly far away I couldn't.

[@barbaraiverson2035]

About 1/3 of the way into this the man who tested the hair said somthing very odd. In the middle of his explanation he said that there were hairs taken from the room prior to the kidnapping. Why would anyone take hairs from that room when they did not know prior to the kidnapping that it was going to happen. In another docu it was reported that Charles sr. helped in the initial search and went back to the nursery and "found" a note in the window sill next to the crib. Why didn't he see the envelop in the inital search?

[@davidhollingsworth1723]

You know that New Jersey is/was not about to reinvestigate this trial or listen to Mrs. Hauptmann's pleas. This reminds me of the railroading of Hurricane Carter in the 1960s(?) He was lucky. He got off and the State of New Jersey appealed but lost. Whatever happened to David Willens?

[@Goodiesfanful]

Even back then there were sceptics who believed justice had not been done with the conviction of Bruno Hauptmann, he had been the victim of "a courtroom lynching", and his conviction had not met all the questions about the kidnapping. In fact, it had left even more questions unanswered. And because they remain unanswered, the Lindbergh case lingers on even decades later.

[@gingergrant6759]

Why was Lindbergh put in charge of the investigation from day one ? why did Lindbergh keep away the state police?

[@jenniferrevay2378]

It seems like heard that Lindbergh had a secret second family and that he was behind the kidnapping

[@stacytemeyer1680]

If the objective is to receive ransom for a live baby, why put the baby a few miles from home

[@bethryan9077]

Clearly you don't realise how incredibly risky it would have been to try & hide a crying blue-eyed toddler with curly blonde hair. The child was Always going to be killed straight away. They kept a few items as evidence to show the parents & so, they got their money.

[@susanb2015]

The baby fell and died when they were climbing out the window.

[@fan_of_brent_terhune_comedian]

Thank you for posting 👍🏼

[@asclosetocrime]

You're welcome. It's a winner, IMO.

[@fan_of_brent_terhune_comedian]

@@asclosetocrime looking forward to watching it- I saved it to my playlist😊

[@jro6681]

The Court will never admit it was wrong...sadly. That's why the lady on the scales of justice is wearing a blindfold.

[@tpd2031]

Thank you so much for uploading this

[@asclosetocrime]

You're welcome. Thanks for commenting.

[@jenniferrevay2378]

The justice system at its best. None of the footprints were proven

[@paulaguenon1660]

Police and the D.A. offices are not going to admit they executed an innocent man.

[@bethryan9077]

Don't be so Ridiculous.

[@charlessteenburgen]

HAUPTMANN INNOCENT ..PROVEN FACT READ SCAPEGOAT BY ANTHONY SCADUTO

[@barbaraiverson2035]

It is odd that it took 3 families in Europe claiming to be his children asking for their inheritance to get the family to submit DNA samples. Apparently Ann had her own income separate from Chalres'. Unless she knew he had other families. He supported those families. There is a man in L.A. who made the same claim and featured in "People" magazine. In that story, the Lindberg family refused to supply anything for testing. This guy also had the crossed toes. Then again, it all might turn out just like the Romanov case with all of them being found in graves. None of the people claiming to be Anastasia were actually her.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Lindberg himself signed the ransom note by using the US Postal franking sign he was a postman flyer ! I then looked at the memorabilia letters and his handwriting is identical Lindberg wrote his own letter case closed.

[@thomasjungfeld8]

Are you on dope?

[@frederickbowdler8169]

He also paid his own ransom money to his friend in the grave yard and received this money back remember he stayed in the car whilst the money was transferred but he doubled back and hid the money to be collected later.

[@bethryan9077]

@@frederickbowdler8169 Yeah & Hauptmann got over $14,000 from the Tooth Fairy.

[@bethryan9077]

A##wipes put up Fake documents on your TV screen & in books of BS deary, don't be soo gullible.

[@feistyjerseygirl]

You are a handwriting expert.

[@desertwildflower2294]

This is so good. I love your channel!

[@asclosetocrime]

Thanks. I'm delighted to share this documentary. It's 33 years old but still stands up, IMO.

[@katherinea.williams3044]

@@asclosetocrime I’ve seen several of your videos now and I’m definitely subscribing! Just to give you some context, I had my now 22 year old son very young, so I had to drop out of school and didn’t graduate until 2008, with an M.A. in the Science of Modern History, so anything of recent history is fascinating to me. I’m 44 and my ex husband and I used to debate the Warren Commission- FOR FUN! Thank you so very much for your efforts! I certainly appreciate them! Love & Light from Miami Shores🦚 Stay safe mate✌🏼🌎

[@katherinea.williams3044]

@@asclosetocrime I’m sorry, I can’t subscribe- I already have!

[@asclosetocrime]

@@katherinea.williams3044 - thanks for the compliment and the laugh: debating the Warren Commission for fun!

[@susannahughes1683]

I think they executed the wrong person. I think Charles Lindbergh had something to do with the baby missing. This story is still missing a lot of facts.

[@Duckiemomma1205]

We need those handwriting experts to look at the jonbenet ransom letter

[@evelynenders3144]

Would the case have been taken to court today, Anna Hauptmann would have been prosecuted as an accomplice!

[@dmmedic34]

I studied under Jim Fisher at Edinboro back in the 80s. I was in his office one day, and a lady called him. It was Mrs Hauptmann. She was berating him about his book The Lindbergh Case. He hung up on her after 5 minutes. Bruno was guilty as sin- but I doubt his wife had any knowledge of his deed or assisted or covered for him in any way. Her only sin was gullibility under her husband.

[@ritafoster8625]

I never heard much about this case before now. I remember about in 1970 my .other said she didnt think Huffman did it. I now think she was right

[@suejuede525]

It was said that Lundberg did not like his baby..that Lundberg would torment the baby, throw toys at the baby's head and face, and make the baby cry it's possible Lindberg could got too rough, accidentally killed the baby then covered it up .to avoid scandal.

[@RedheadLondon]

The kid had rickets so his toes were deformed. It did say he once hid him in a cupboard and said he was kidnapped, so the dad does appear to be a character.

[@RedheadLondon]

If the German man did not do it, why not come clean and confess to accomplices? He was offered not to have the death penalty if he would admit to the others involved, so why be executed to save someone else's skin? If the kid's dad recruited him, why not shop him?

[@jstrawse]

maybe now that Lindy isn't such a hero , we can get to the truth !

[@sandranorman5469]

Especially since they know about Lindbergh 3 (???) families over in Germany. You know to spread his Aryan genes and make sure that every child was covered.

[@manda.watching.YouTube]

@@sandranorman5469 right. Four families, thirteen children. Seems the other three women kept silent all the way to death.

[@KathleenCalhoun-em6ys]

It is hard to say what culpability Bruno Hauptmann had in this case with so much conflicting testimony, but the evidence presented (the ladder, the handwriting matches of the ransom letters, the gold certificates having the recorded serial numbers in his.possession) condemn him more than help him. Even if he didn't actually kidnap or murder the Lindbergh baby as he stated, I think he was implicated in some way, maybe as an accomplice, helping the Mr.Fish character he mentioned. I got the impression he wasn't being entirely forthcoming about things. Still, there are some loose ends to this story.

[@stanhankins3175]

This baby was not kidnapped.

[@bethparker1500]

Could it have been good buddy Leo Fisch? Did he really run to Germany for things to cool? Maybe Leo was stateside writting the ransome notes?

[@Mike20216]

No way was this the work of one man

[@laurajenkins5367]

Correct

[@margaretbanks8969]

I'm only speculating.

[@margaretbanks8969]

So someone wrote ransom note was someone whose 1st language isn't English. German? But there was quiet a large German American community.

[@Tornado1994]

Hauptmann. They Had the Right Guy the Whole Time. What remains a Mystery is whether or not he acted alone.

[@RedheadLondon]

Why not shop the others then? @@Tornado1994

[@Orphen42O]

What caused the nodes on the hair?

[@thuaug4417]

Did Lindy get away with moiderin’ his own kid? Say it ain’t so, Chuck!

[@bethryan9077]

He would hardly set up an elaborate kidnapping plot with Others just to kill his toddler.

[@thuaug4417]

@@bethryan9077 Of course he would. There never was a kidnapping. There was a cover-up.

[@bethryan9077]

@@thuaug4417 Wake up to yourself.

[@Nephthys-ness]

@@thuaug4417 Has a bit of a Ramsey McCann stink to it. complete w Foreign Factions - step 1: pick the current XYZ out of favor

[@laurajenkins5367]

Daddy did it

[@Estoverax]

37:00 Freddie Mercury in law enforcement!

[@margaretbanks8969]

Maybe lindberg intended to hide his son outside as a joke and dropped the baby and he dropped the child.

[@margaretbanks8969]

NowDays they were have DNA. Also maybe fingerprints were wiped.

[@shadrach6299]

If Lindbergh killed the baby, I don’t think he would have dumped the body so close to his house.

[@notperfectandneverwillbe4825]

They had searched that area when it first happened then a few months later the body was found. They claimed the baby was partially buried the pictures don't look that way to me. And supposedly his homemade undershirt was still intact. Again I don't see any clothing on the body in the woods plus they had pictures of the undershirt still looking white and very big and didn't look like it had buried for over 4 months.

[@margaretbanks8969]

Maybe we're meant to think that Lindbergh wouldn't dump the body so close to home. More importantly perhaps that's what everyone at time was meant to think.

[@addie_is_me]

If it was an accident, let’s say and they did not have time to plan, they might bury it where it was eventually found. It seems like kidnappers would definitely take the baby much farther. Idk maybe getting rid of it fast was just the most important thing to anyone who committed the crime.

[@Nephthys-ness]

​@@notperfectandneverwillbe4825 Yes, and. So, homemade shirt was proof of possession - the shirt-proof handover was 1.5? weeks after kidnapping. Payment was done 5 weeks after Kidnap. Corpse found 10 weeks after kidnapping. Did someone hand the shirt back to the "kidnappers"? How did they SEND a shirt that was verified and then have the baby FOUND in the same shirt? The baby that was pictured in this docu did look decomposed. They gave the shirt ( newly made by the nurse-maid for the evening's sickness, w distinctive blue threads*), before they gave the (false x2: no baby no boat) location. Location Discovered: I do think they 'had to' (or could) pick an area that had been searched. Better able to blame a botched investigation..?. And, Lucky was done with the mess, he got $50,000 paid by X to Y - who then paid off some other peeps, secured his fall guy, & washed his hands of the whole thing. Lucky made another baby, (wo the leg, foot oddities), for his US family, paid off some pressing debts and sat back to watch for the SS -rise- Demise.

[@Tornado1994]

It was HAUPTMANN. But Qanon Folk live in Denial.

[@tinaluma9254]

Lindburg done I

[@Orphen42O]

Lindbergh was a jerk but I doubt he would deliberately kill his son.

[@bethryan9077]

Hauptman & at least one other, 'done' it.

[@arrivagabry]

how did he fly 33 hours nonstop alone without refueling, pooping or urinating?

[@mickharrison9004]

Good question 😂

[@doorguru168888]

Lindbergh explained that in his airplane his chair was made of wicker and there was a hole in it. And there was a funnel below that hole. And his waste, whenever nature called, would go down through there into sort of an aluminum can. And so he explained that and said that rather than show up with it in Le Bourget, the airport that he landed in, that he just dropped it over France.

[@doorguru168888]

He was flying a huge fuel tank with wings. He stripped out everything that wasn’t absolutely essential and filled the plane with temporary fuel tanks. He had a seat, a control yoke, a compass and that was about it. Everything else was fuel tanks. He even went so far as to put tanks in front of himself with the result that he couldn’t see out the front window. All he had was a small periscope-like device that he could use on takeoff and landing.

[@ronaldschultenover8137]

Hauptmann was killled be cause he was German

[@crystalawen]

What ? The baby was never found

[@staceywooddell3181]

🙏🌻👶🏼🌹💔💦🥀🖤🌿🌹🕊🤍👼🏼🪶🦅☮💙♾💫BabyCharlesA.Linburgh,jr.

[@charlessteenburgen]

Hauptmann was innocent and railroaded...Fact and case closed