Ohio River Report #159, Today is Thursday, April 3, 2014. 🌟In 1882, one of Americas most famous criminals, Jesse James, is shot in the back by fellow gang member Bob Ford, who betrayed James for reward money. For 16 years, Jesse and his brother, Frank, committed robberies and murders throughout the Midwest. Detective magazines and pulp novels glamorized the James gang, turning them into mythical Robin Hoods who were driven to crime by unethical landowners and bankers. In reality, Jesse James was a ruthless killer who stole only for himself. His tombstone reads, Jesse W. James, Died April 3, 1882, Aged 34 years, 6 months, 28 days, Murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.🌟Richard Bruno Hauptmann, convicted in the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the 20-month-old son of Charles A. Lindbergh, is executed by electrocution. On March 1, 1932, Charles Lindbergh Jr., the son of the famous American aviator who made the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight in 1927, was kidnapped from the nursery of the Lindbergh home in Hopewell, New Jersey. A ransom note was found on the scene of the crime demanding $50,000 in payment for the return of Charles Jr. Three days later, the Lindberghs involved the authorities against the kidnappers advice, and the ransom was increased to $70,000. On April 2, at New Jerseys St. Raymonds Cemetery, John F. Condon, a friend of the Lindberghs, handed over the $70,000. The Lindbergh baby was not returned, however, and nearly six weeks later the infants battered and mostly decomposed body was found in the woods just a few miles from the Lindbergh home. The cause of death was determined to be a massive fracture of the skull occurring roughly two to three months before. Following the tragic discovery, the Lindbergh kidnapping case became a sensational media event, and authorities launched an extensive manhunt for the guilty party. Using the serial numbers of the ransom money as a guide, investigators in September traced more than $11,000 of the ransom money to the Bronx, New York, apartment of Richard Bruno Hauptmann, a German carpenter. During the subsequent criminal trial, Hauptmann maintained his innocence, claiming that a business partner, Isador Fisch, gave him the money before returning to Germany, where he died in 1934. However, other evidence also implicated him, such as the discovery of Condons telephone number on a closet wall in Hauptmanns home and eyewitness testimony from the night of the kidnapping. In February 1935, Hauptmann was convicted and on April 3, 1936, after a series of appeals, executed by electrocution. In the years following the kidnapping, a number of people began to question Hauptmanns guilt and the quality of the criminal investigation; however, much of this criticism was likely motivated by opposition to Lindbergh following the public revelations of his Nazi sympathies.🌟On this day in 1974, 148 tornadoes hit the United States heartland within 16 hours. By the time the deadly storm ended, 330 people had died. This was the largest grouping of tornadoes recorded in its time, affecting 11 states and Ontario, Canada. At any one moment during the storm, there were as many as 15 separate tornadoes touching the ground. The time is 6:25 AM our temperature right now is 47° heading to a high of 63°. Winds are registering in at 5-7 mph from the ENE. Humidity is 73% with visibility at 6 miles. The barometer is showing 30.03. Pollen count is currently 9.80 out of 12.00. Remember Ft. Hood in your prayers today. 😢 -with Roy Clouston
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 10:33:03 +0000
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