Infamous Lindbergh Baby Case Takes a Dark Turn

It was, at the time, the "crime of the century"—the 1932 kidnapping and murder of 20-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr., son of the famed pilot. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was eventually executed for the 1932 crime, but as the New York Times reports, many continue to believe he was innocent. The story looks at two new fronts in the case: a push to apply modern DNA testing to evidence, and a jarring theory put forth in a book that points the finger at the child's celebrity father.

• DNA: The question of whether DNA tests should be conducted on ransom envelopes is working its way through the New Jersey courts. Advocates say other things should be tested as well, including the ladder left against the house. The state attorney general's office argues the tests are unnecessary and will "permanently alter and damage" historical items. But two of Hauptmann's relatives have provided DNA samples in case they're needed. "I personally don't think he did it," says great-great-niece Cezanne Love. But either way, she says she would like to know the truth.

• New theory: If Hauptmann is innocent, then who killed the child? The Times recounts a doozy of a theory put forth by retired California judge Lise Pearlman in a 2020 book, The Lindbergh Kidnapping Suspect No. 1: The Man Who Got Away. In it, she makes the case that Lindbergh himself might have killed his son, as part of research he was conducting with Nobel winner and organ-transplant pioneer Dr. Alexis Carrel. "She has concluded that there was a 'horrendous probability' that the men removed his organs in hope of achieving a medical breakthrough that might help Lindbergh's sister-in-law, who had a damaged heart valve," writes the Times' Tracey Tully.

Read the full story. (More DNA test stories.)