The
Lindbergh Kidnapping Case is full of baffling aspects, not the least of which
was the timing of the payment of the ransom money. Could the phase of the moon provide some insight into why it took
a month for the ransom to be paid?
When the Lindbergh Baby was
kidnapped on March 1, 1932, a ransom note was left in the nursery demanding
payment of $50,000. It also stated
that, “After 2-4 days we will inform you where to deliver the money.” Because Charles Lindbergh did not open the
note as soon as he found it and instead waited for the police to arrive, it was
too late to heed the instructions of the kidnappers not to make “anyding
public or for notify the Police.”
On March 4th, a second
ransom note arrived at the Lindbergh Estate.
It scolded Lindbergh for not following their instructions: “We have warned you note to make anyding
Public also notify the Police now you have to take the consequences. ths means we will holt the baby untill
everyding is quiet. We can note make
any appointment just now.” It also increased the ransom to $70,000.
The following week, the infamous Bronx blowhard Doctor
John F. Condon, aka Jafsie, was brought
into the story as the intermediary. An
editorial had run in the Bronx Home News
stating that Condon wanted to act as go-between[1]. He received a note from the kidnappers
accepting his offer and instructing him to place advertisements in the
classified section of the newspaper. He
would then receive further instructions through the mail.
A
ransom note was delivered to him on March 12th. It instructed him to meet with a member of
the kidnap gang that evening at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx so that the
ransom could be paid. However, when
Condon met with a man who was later referred to as Cemetery John, Condon refused to pay, instead
demanding further proof that he was in fact dealing with the actual
kidnappers.
A few days later, on Wednesday, March 16th,
Doctor Condon received what was accepted as the baby’s Doctor Denton sleeping
suit. Convinced now that they were
dealing with the actual kidnappers, it was decided to pay the ransom. However, it would be another two weeks
before this was done! Why the delay?
Many people mistakenly accuse Lindbergh as causing the
delay, saying that he refused to pay the ransom until he was convinced to do it
for the sake of his wife’s health or because the kidnappers threatened to
increase the ransom to $100,000. A
closer look reveals the opposite. It
was not Lindbergh that was delaying, but the kidnappers!
The day after the sleeping suit was delivered, Condon
again began placing advertisements in the paper. “Money is ready. No Cops, No Secret Service. No
Press. I come alone like last
time. Please Call. Jafsie.” ran
on March 17th. “I accept.
Money is ready. John your package is delivered and is ok. Direct
me. Jafsie.” ran on the 18th and 19th. Finally, on March 21st, a note
was received from the kidnappers.
However, there are no instructions for delivering the ransom! It was a long note that really said nothing:
Dear Sir: You and
Mr. Lindbergh know
ouer Program. If
you don't accept
den we will wait untill you
agree with ouer Deal, we know
you have to come to us any way
But why shoul'd Mrs. and Mr.
Lindbergh suffer longer as necessary
We will note
communicate with
you or Mr Lindbergh until you write so
in the paper.
We will tell
you again; this kid
naping cace whas prepared for a
yaer already so the Police would
have any look to find us or the child
You only puch
everyding further out
dityou send that
little package to
Mr Lindbergh? it contains
the sleepingsuit from the
the baby is well.
Baby.
(on the other side:)
Mr Lindbergh only waisting
time with hiss search
What
was the point of this note, other than to “remind” Lindbergh that the
kidnappers were still out there? Doctor
Condon continued to place his ads in the paper. Four more, posted on March 22nd through the 25th,
were more extensive than previous ones:
Thanks. That little package you
sent was
immediately
delivered and accepted
as real article.
See my
position. Over 50 years in
business and can
I pay
without seeing
the goods? Common sense
makes me trust
you. Please
understand my
position. Jafsie.
The
plea was met by a lingering silence by the kidnappers. Three more ads were placed on March 26th,
27th and 28th:
Money is
ready. Furnish simple code
for us to use in
paper. Jafsie.
On
March 30th, the kidnappers finally sent another note. But once again, there are no
instructions. The note does, however,
set a time frame for the payment of the ransom. Lindbergh was told that if the ransom was not paid by April 8th,
the ransom would be increased to $100,000.
For
the next two days, March 31st and April 1st, “I accept.
Money is ready. Jafsie” ran in the newspaper. On April 1st, another ransom note arrived, this time
with instructions:
Dear Sir: have
the money redy by saturday
evening. we will
inform you where
and how to deliver it.
have the money
in one bundle we want you to put
it in on a sertain place. Ther is
no fear that somebody els will
tacke it, we watch everything
closely. Pleace
lett us know if
you are agree and ready for action
by saturday evening. --if yes--
put in the paper
Yes
everything O.K.
It is a very simble delivery but we
find out very sun if there is any trapp.
after 8 houers you gett the adr; from
the boy, on the place
you finde two
ladies. there are
innocence.
(on the other side:)
If it is to late to put it in
the New York American for saturday
evening put it in New York Journal.
The ransom was finally paid on Saturday, April 2, 1932 –
just a month from the night of the kidnapping.
Why did the kidnappers delay the payment of the ransom? We may never
know the answer for sure, however one theory could be that it was based on the
phase of the moon.
It is not known for sure why the kidnappers chose March
1932 to commit their crime, but working with the “moon theory” March 1st
was the opportune time to kidnap the child.
Why? It was because the phase of
the moon at that time was a “waning crescent” and only 32% visible making for
an all-important dark night.
With the kidnapping occurring on March 1st,
you can then factor in the “3-4 days” mentioned by the kidnappers in the
Nursery Note as to when instructions for the ransom payment would be
provided. That brings us to Friday
March 4th and Saturday March 5th. The moon at this point is only 8% and 4%
visible, respectively – in other words, no moon. A dark moonless night is just what the kidnappers would want for
the night of the ransom drop. But there
is a problem. Lindbergh did not follow
instructions and he called the police!
“We have warned you note to make anyding Public also
notify the Police now you have to take the consequences. ths means we will holt the baby untill
everyding is quiet.”
The kidnappers need to come up with another plan. Suddenly, on March 9th Doctor
John Condon is on the scene as the go-between.
A meeting is arranged with him and one of the kidnappers in Woodlawn
Cemetery on March 12th. The
kidnappers are expecting the ransom to be paid. The phase of the moon is now a “waxing crescent” – it’s getting
brighter – but it is still, at this point, only 23% visible. It would still make for a very dark
cemetery. But there is now another
problem. Condon refuses to pay the
ransom that night!
It is three
weeks before Lindbergh is given new
instructions for paying the ransom. The
sleeping suit does not arrive until March 16th. Now the moon is working against the
kidnappers. Each night, it is getting
brighter as it approaches the Full Moon.
Eventually, the kidnappers tell Lindbergh the ransom must be paid by
April 8th and arrangements are made for it to be paid on April 2nd. Why those two dates? The moon on April 2nd is once
again a waning crescent and only 12% visible.
On April 8th, it is a “waxing crescent” (that is, getting
fuller) but still only 6% visible. Both
are very dark moons, and therefore very dark nights. After April 8th, the next opportunity for a “dark
night” is not until the end of the month, around April 29th or 30th
and after that, not until the middle of May.
The kidnappers must get the ransom no later than April 8th,
hence the threat that Lindbergh would have to shell out $100,000 – twice the
original ransom – if he doesn’t do what he is told.
Of course, the
kidnapping could have occurred before March 1st. Nevertheless, if the kidnappers were waiting
for a dark, moonless night to kidnap the child from Hopewell with a dark
moonless night 3-4 days later, they had a limited number of opportunities to do
so. The Lindberghs only began staying
in Hopewell on the weekend of October 31, 1931. They stayed twelve weekends, and of those twelve, only six had a
dark moon. Of those, only four were
ideal: November 7, 1931, December 5, 1931, February 6th, 1932 and
February 27th, the weekend of the kidnapping.[2]
While
the phase of the moon would have been known to anyone with access to the
Farmer’s Almanac, the “moon phase theory” shows that the kidnapping of the
Lindbergh Baby took forethought and careful planning and could not have been
pulled off on a whim. 
[3]
[2] The other
weekends would not work. November 14th
and January 6th, the moon was too close to entering the full moon phase, so
there would be no time for a ransom drop.
January 2nd would have worked, except that the house was too
crowded – Betty Gow and Red Johnson joined the Lindberghs and the Whateleys in
Hopewell. For almost the entire month
of December 1931, Anne was ill so they stayed in Englewood.
[3] Moon calendar: www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/1932/march and www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/1932/april
