"The Bruno Richard Hauptmann jury passes through crowd toward the courthouse...An estimated 5,000 people were outside the courthouse that day." 1935, Daily News
Hauptmann's trial began on January 2, 1935 in Flemington, N.J. and lasted for five weeks. Considered to be the "Trial of the Century", it was followed by over 700 reporters.
The jury at the Hauptmann trial, Flemington, NJ, 1935. Daily News
“Our conclusion is that the verdict is not only not contrary to the weight of the evidence, but one to which the evidence inescapably led. From three different and, in the main, unrelated sources the proofs point unerringly to guilt, viz.:
(a) Possession and use of the ransom money; (b) Handwriting of the ransom notes; and the (c) Wood used in the construction of the ladder.” -Court of Errors and Appeals of the State of New Jersey, 1935
Police ropes containing the crowd. 1935, Courier Post
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Lindbergh takes the witness stand during the 1935 trial of Hauptmann in Flemington, New Jersey." Library of Congress.
“The most brilliant performances in the witness chair should be credited to the handwriting experts and the wood specialist. Their testimony was a treat to the jury. The question as to which side of the case they were on disappeared. The perfection of their work submerged both prosecution and defense. Eight handwriting experts of national reputation were introduced and all were interesting. The way they testified showed they were masters of their craft.”
-Hauptmann juror, after trial
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Hauptmann was convicted of murder on February 14th, 1935. |
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New York Daily News coverage of the Bruno Richard Hauptmann murder trial in 1935.
Trial Souvenirs
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execution
On April 3, 1936, Hauptmann was executed by electric chair.
April 4, 1936. The New York Times
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Bruno Richard Hauptmann in Electric Chair. Taken by John Wolters 1936. Metropolitan Museum of Art
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