The Lindbergh Conspiracies | Post Mortem

The initial investigation into the Lindbergh kidnapping was severely flawed. Local police, overwhelmed and inexperienced, allowed the crime scene to be trampled by journalists, destroying vital evidence like footprints. Critically, Charles Lindbergh, the victim's father and a national hero, was permitted to manage the investigation, leading to questionable decisions such as involving mobsters and dictating police actions, which further compromised the search for the kidnapper.

The grounds had been trampled to death by journalists. Somebody had leaked the fact that the Lindbergh baby had been kidnapped, and journalists just swarmed all over the place. Norman Schwarzkopf, who ran the New Jersey state police, worshiped Lindbergh and let him manage the investigation of his own child.

Bruno Hauptmann, arrested two years after the kidnapping due to a marked ransom bill, did not receive a fair trial. The prosecution manipulated evidence, such as forcing Hauptmann to copy the ransom note's specific misspellings and curvatures, then presenting it as proof of matching handwriting. His defense lawyer was ineffective, and the prosecutor introduced a new, unsubstantiated theory of how the baby died during closing arguments, violating legal standards.

Hauptmann was told to write the ransom note 'exactly the same way' with 'same spelling, same curvatures.' The prosecutor, David Wilentz, introduced a new allegation in his closing statement about Hauptmann hitting the baby with an instrument, despite no prior testimony to that effect.

Beyond his heroic aviator image, Charles Lindbergh was a deeply controversial figure. He was a believer in eugenics and became a prominent voice in the anti-Semitic America First movement before WWII. Years after his death, it was revealed he had fathered seven children with three different women in Germany, none of whom were his wife, further complicating his legacy.

He was a believer in eugenics, made trips to Germany before the war, received a medal, and became part of the America First movement, which was anti-Semitic. Years later, it came out that he had fathered seven children in Germany with three different women, confirmed by DNA testing.

The Lindbergh kidnapping continues to generate conspiracy theories, with a growing number of people believing Lindbergh or an insider was involved rather than Hauptmann acting alone. This reflects a broader societal trend of distrust in institutions and government, fueled by later events like the Kennedy assassination. The case's ambiguities and the trial's unfairness contribute to its ongoing status as an 'unsolved' mystery.

One person in our podcast said, 'I think more people today believe Lindbergh has something to do with it than think Hauptmann had something to do with it.' This is connected to America becoming 'more conspiratorial' and losing faith in institutions since the late '70s and early '80s.