On this day (May 12) in the year 1932, the body of a little boy was discovered less than three miles from the home he’d been kidnapped from just two months before. The whole country had been following the case since the evening he disappeared, because he happened to be the son of America’s “golden boy,” Charles Lindbergh. Personally, I don’t believe Lindbergh was as golden as the country believed at the time, because after reading extensively about the case, I believe there’s a strong case to suggest he was involved in his own child’s death. The book Crime of the Century: The Lindbergh Kidnapping Hoax deep dives into this controversial theory and presents overwhelming evidence against Lindbergh.

Lindbergh gained fame and status for becoming the first person to solo fly nonstop across the Atlantic. He’s been heralded as an American hero ever since, but having read more about him and his background, I came away feeling he fit more into the stereotype of an emotionally detached (possibly even sociopathic) WASP celebrity of the early 20th century. He seemed intensely concerned with image and control, while insecurity and fragile masculinity simmered beneath the surface.

His wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was by many accounts extraordinarily intelligent and intellectually accomplished in her own right. She was easily her husband’s intellectual superior. The book details alleged encounters the couple had with Amelia Earhart before the kidnapping, during which Earhart reportedly witnessed troubling, toxic behavior toward Anne on Charles’s part. I’ve previously reviewed Anne’s own writing, Gift from the Sea, which remains one of the more thoughtful and impressive books I’ve come across.

Any true crime fan will tell you that this is one of the most famous cases of all time, and this book has received criticism from some historians because they don’t believe the theory is plausible. However, anyone looking into the evidence provided can tell you that Lindbergh is consistently the most obvious suspect, and this really feels more like a case of older historians preferring to bury the story so as not to tarnish the name of a “great American hero.” Ironically, Lindbergh was criticized by the president at the time for his public support of Nazi Germany and Hitler. He was also known for views on race and gender that many people found deeply disturbing, even back in his day.

I’d be interested to know what surviving members of the Lindbergh family honestly think about the case, though they understandably seem reluctant to discuss it publicly. More than anything, what unsettles me is the possibility that fame and public admiration definitely seems to have influenced how the investigation unfolded.

This case has everything a true crime reader could imagine: accusations of a framed suspect, sensational media coverage, disputed evidence, mysterious deaths surrounding witnesses and persons of interest, and decades of lingering conspiracy theories. It’s a heavy read, but an undeniably fascinating one for anyone interested in historical true crime. While I understand that many disagree, I personally believe Lindbergh’s involvement is far more plausible (and even glaringly obvious) than the official story suggests.