In Search of the Lindbergh Baby

by Theon Wright

Book Overview

Paperback claims Lindbergh baby was alive as of 1980. 303 pages. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0505516314
• ISBN13: 9780505516312
• Release Date: March 1981
• Publisher: Tower Books
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Review of the Lindbergh Case

The author covered the original trial as a journalist and felt that the true story was never told. This book has pictures but lacks an index and table of contents. "History ... consists of events and facts, and sooner or later the truth emerges." Theon Wright believes the conviction and execution of Bruno Hauptmann was a miscarriage of justice. Wright first believed Hauptmann was guilty, until he found gaps in the prosecution's story (p.6). Wright met Harold Olson, who amassed records of the case and believes he is the lost Lindbergh child. Public opinion is not as inflamed as it was during the trial. In Chapter 1 we learn what Harold Olson was told about his parents. Young Olson's pictures are compared to the Lindbergh baby, but we see no pictures of his parents. [The Lindbergh baby seems to have a cleft in his chin, Olson does not.] Wright's oldest daughter, a newspaper reporter, discovered this news, and referred them to her father. Chapter 2 tells of the kidnapping and discovery of the body. There is a question of overlapping toes, and the length of the corpse. Part One has the many stories of the people connected to the case. Chapter 7 quotes the legal journal 'Forum' to question the conviction of Hauptmann. Part Two tells of the investigation that went on for two years. Many false leads were followed. Chapter 10 has many interesting observations, but some may have been taken out of context (Condon's quotes). Part Three covers the trial. Chapter 12 tells about the eyewitnesses. Are eyewitnesses reliable when there is no corroborating evidence? No fingerprints matching Hauptmann were found on the ladder, in the nursery, or on ransom notes (Chapter 13). What happened to the records of the Lindbergh baby's fingerprints? Was Rail 16 tampered with? Who tampered with the shelf that contained the shoebox (Chapter 14)? Wright says the police records needed by the defense were withheld, "too late to help Hauptmann" (Chapter 15). Part Four covers post-trial investigations, and "unanswered questions" in Chapter 16. Two important things stand out: Hauptmann had an alibi for that night, and there was a discrepancy in the height of the body. Either would clear him of the kidnapping. Chapter 17 explains the background of Gov. Hoffman's interview with Hauptmann: important people questioned the verdict. Did Reilly take a pay-off to sell out his client? Chapter 18 has questions about the case. Gov. Hoffman had police records that were not made public. Hauptmann was guilty of extortion, the evidence was insufficient for kidnapping and murder. Page 215 summarizes the mysteries of this crime. Chapter 19 tells of the Paul Wendel confession (he was a lawyer who once represented Isidor Fisch). Part Five deals with the question of identity of the body found. If Harold Olson is the lost Lindbergh baby, what then? Fingerprints (or DNA evidence) could resolve this question. Would a psychic then or a profiler now help at all (Chapter 20). What happened to the Lindber