Capture of a Suspect
After a while, the New York police were able to track down many ransom bills that were being sent throughout New York City. Detective Finn kept track of each bill, and noticed that many of the bills were passed through the Lexington Avenue subway.
On September 18, 1934, Detective Finn was given a gold certificate from the ransom money. The certificate was discovered by a teller of the Corn Exchange Bank, and the bill had a license plate number written on it which helped detectives trace the bill back to a Manhattan gas station. The station
manager, Walter Lyle, had written down the license plate number because he felt as if the costumer was acting suspicious and could possibly be a forger.
It was found that the license plate owner was Bruno Richard Hauptmann,
and he had a criminal record in his homeland of Germany. When Hauptmann was
arrested, police found a $20 gold certificate in his pocket. Detectives then further searched his apartment, and they found $1,830 of the gold certificates hidden behind a board. They also found $11,930 in a can near a garage window.
Hauptmann told police that all of the ransom money had been left with him
by a friend that had died a few months earlier, and he took the money because he
claimed that his friend owed him the money due to a business deal.
When police began to search Hauptmann’s apartment, they found even more
evidence that he was involved with the kidnapping. They located a notebook which
had a sketch inside of it with the construction of a ladder, similar to the one found outside the Lindbergh home. They also found John Condon’s telephone number and address written on a closet wall. When they checked the attic, it was eventually determined that there was the exact match of the wood used to make the ladder at the Lindbergh house.
About three weeks later, Hauptmann was entered into Hunterdon County Jail
in New Jersey for the murder of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr.
On September 18, 1934, Detective Finn was given a gold certificate from the ransom money. The certificate was discovered by a teller of the Corn Exchange Bank, and the bill had a license plate number written on it which helped detectives trace the bill back to a Manhattan gas station. The station
manager, Walter Lyle, had written down the license plate number because he felt as if the costumer was acting suspicious and could possibly be a forger.
It was found that the license plate owner was Bruno Richard Hauptmann,
and he had a criminal record in his homeland of Germany. When Hauptmann was
arrested, police found a $20 gold certificate in his pocket. Detectives then further searched his apartment, and they found $1,830 of the gold certificates hidden behind a board. They also found $11,930 in a can near a garage window.
Hauptmann told police that all of the ransom money had been left with him
by a friend that had died a few months earlier, and he took the money because he
claimed that his friend owed him the money due to a business deal.
When police began to search Hauptmann’s apartment, they found even more
evidence that he was involved with the kidnapping. They located a notebook which
had a sketch inside of it with the construction of a ladder, similar to the one found outside the Lindbergh home. They also found John Condon’s telephone number and address written on a closet wall. When they checked the attic, it was eventually determined that there was the exact match of the wood used to make the ladder at the Lindbergh house.
About three weeks later, Hauptmann was entered into Hunterdon County Jail
in New Jersey for the murder of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr.