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Feb 18, 2016akirakato rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is a 2013 documentary about the world-famous kidnap case, originally boroadcast as a NOVA television program. The ladder used in the kidnapping was made from wood that had previously been part of Hauptmann's attic. Three forensic document examiners, Grant Sperry, Gideon Epstein, and Peter E. Baier, PhD, worked independently of each other. Sperry concluded that it was "highly probable" that the kidnapper's notes were written by Hauptmann. Epstein concluded that "there was overwhelming evidence that the notes were written by one person and that one person was Richard Bruno Hauptmann." Baier wrote that Hauptmann "probably" wrote the notes, but Baier said, "Looking at all these findings, no definite and unambiguous conclusion can be drawn." Hauptmann was indeed guilty but many questions remained, such as how he could have known that the Lindberghs would be remaining home during the week. Alternate theories of the case are nothing new. Several authors have suggested that Charles Lindbergh, the father, was responsible for the kidnapping. The baby was physically disabled and Charles Lindbergh wanted to have someone else raise the child in Germany. Another theory goes that Hauptmann was the foot soldier in a conspiracy with two other German-born men, John and Walter Knoll. It is a really intriguing documentary.