Review of "A Talent To Deceive: The Search for the Real Killer of the Lindbergh Baby" by William Norris

In this book, author William Norris makes the case that the wrong man was convicted for the infamous kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby.



Charles Lindbergh was a military officer, inventor, and aviator who made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris in 1927.


Charles Lindbergh

Lindbergh's daring trip made him an instant celebrity, and the aviator became an American hero who was fêted around the world.


Charles Lindbergh was famous around the world

Lindbergh then married Anne Morrow - of the immensely wealthy and powerful Morrow family - and the duo became 'the couple of the age.'


Anne Morrow


Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne became the couple of the age

In 1932, the Lindbergh's 20-month-old baby, Charles Lindbergh Jr., was kidnapped, and the incident was immediately dubbed 'the crime of the century.'


Charles Lindbergh Jr.



The abduction resulted in the arrest, conviction, and execution of German national Bruno Richard Hauptmann, but author William Norris is among the many people who believe Hauptmann was innocent.


Bruno Richard Hauptmann

According to Norris, Lindbergh, who was worshipped in the law enforcement community, was permitted to control the kidnap investigation. Thus Lindbergh destroyed evidence, withheld information, and misled the police.


Charles Lindbergh controlled the kidnap investigation

Lindbergh ostensibly did this because HE (AND HIS WIFE) KNEW the real kidnapper was Anne Morrow's illegitimate half-brother Dwight Morrow Jr., who was unacknowledged by the Morrow family. Needing money, and being denied funds by the Morrows, Dwight Jr. took the baby so he could demand a ransom. Lindbergh expected to pay the ransom and get the baby back, and he wanted to spare the Morrow family humiliation and scandal. Thus he 'covered up' the crime.


Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne purportedly knew the kidnapper was her illegitimate half-brother Dwight Morrow, Jr.

There were indeed ransom demands, and the ensuing 'negotiations' took months and involved many people, including gangsters, conmen, and self-aggrandizing narcissists. Eventually, the authorities came to suspect the kidnapping and the extortion were separate crimes.






There were many ransom notes

Throughout, Lindbergh held off the FBI (kidnapping wasn't a federal crime at that time) and demanded the police not monitor any ransom drop sites or arrest any pick-up men. (How suspicious is that!? Right?)

Sadly, the baby's body was finally discovered, and the authorities determined little Charles Jr. was dead from the beginning, probably due to an accident.


The Lindbergh baby's body was found

At this point the entire world went crazy, demanding someone pay the penalty for the horrific crime.

Enter Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who - because of an unfortunate set of circumstances - was actually in possession of some of the ransom money. Hauptmann in fact was at work at the time of the kidnapping - where many people saw him - but nefarious police and prosecutors, as well as the Lindbergh and Morrow families, conspired to falsify evidence, bribe and intimidate witnesses, suborn perjury, and so on. This, and the fact that the jury was in awe of Lindbergh, ensured that Hauptmann was executed for killing the Lindbergh baby.


Hauptmann was convicted and electrocuted for kidnapping the Lindbergh baby

There WERE righteous men, including New Jersey Governor Harold G. Hoffman, who tried to prove Hauptmann's innocence....to no avail.


New Jersey Governor Harold Hoffman believed Hauptmann was innocent

The horror of electrocuting an innocent man was heightened by the fact that Hauptmann had a loyal wife and baby, and a loving mother in Germany, all of whom were devastated by the proceedings. Mrs. Hauptmann went on trying to clear her husband's name for years, but most ears were closed to her pleas.


Mrs. Bruno Richard Hauptmann tried to exonerate her husband for years

Norris makes an excellent case for Hauptmann's innocence, and gives Lindbergh and his collaborators a huge black eye in my opinion. Moreover, Lindbergh's star has dimmed considerably since the 1930s, because he was exposed as a serial adulterer and Nazi sympathizer.


Charles Lindbergh was a Nazi sympathizer

I had heard of the Lindbergh kidnapping, but had no idea about the subsequent shenanigans. This is a well-researched, fascinating book, highly recommended to fans of true crime.

Thanks to Netgalley, William Norris, and SynergEbooks for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars