THE CHARLES LINDBERGH CASE

"Murder on The Orient Express" by Agatha Christie is about a kidnapper's murder on a train, which happens to include all the passengers. The story is generally based off the Charles Lindbergh case, where a child is kidnapped and held for ransom, but then found dead.

Charles Lindbergh

• 1st person to cross the Pacific ocean by airplane in 1927
• Married Anna Morrow
• Had 6 children: Charles Jr., Jon, Land, Ann, Scott, and Reeve

Course of Events

• Baby Charles Jr. put to bed
• Kidnapped at about 10:00 p.m., leaving ransom note
• Police notified, 10-week nation-wide search commenced
• Lindberghs pay $50,000 ransom for fake information on the child's whereabouts
• Child's dead body found 6 weeks later near the Lindbergh's home in a forest

Course of Events cont.

• Mrs. Lindbergh's personal maid questioned- out of fear, she poisoned herself- later proclaimed innocent
• Found that butler Aloysius Whatley helped kidnappers
• Congress passes "Lindbergh Law" to make kidnapping a federal crime

The Kidnapper

• Searched for 1 1/2 years to find murderer
• Traced ransom money to Richard Bruno Hauptmann, a German immigrant
• Charged with kidnapping, blackmail and murder- sentenced to death
• Electrocuted at Trenton State Prison

Similarities with "Murder On The Orient Express"

• Both had children kidnapped and found dead
• Both had a questioned maid who committed suicide and was found innocent
• Both cases demanded ransom
• Both ended with the kidnapper being killed in some way

Differences from "Murder on The Orient Express"

• In the Lindbergh case, a boy was kidnapped, but in the Armstrong case, a girl was abducted
• In the Lindbergh case, the kidnapper was electrocuted; in the Armstrong case, they were murdered
• In the Lindbergh case, the ransom is $50,000; in the Armstrong case, the ransom was $20,000
• The Lindbergh kidnap was in 1932; Murder on The Orient Express was written in 1933
• In the Lindbergh case, it was an "inside job"; in the Armstrong case, nobody helped the kidnapper

Bibliography

• mirror.co.uk
• learning.blogs.nytimes.com
• fbi.gov