Bruno Richard Hauptmann was born in 1899 in Kamenz, a town in Saxony, Germany. He became a carpenter's appentice after grade school. Bruno's brothers died in World War I. His father died in 1917. At the young age of seventeen, Hauptmann spent a year and a half in the German army as a machine gunner. In 1918, he was discharged because of a wound. He didn't make an easy transition back into society after he left the army. Hauptmann and an accomplice robbed the Mayor of Kamenz's house. They used a ladder to get to the second story window. For this and other crimes, Hauptmann spent three years in jail. A month after Hauptmann was released, he was found with stolen tools and was arrested. Hauptmann was able to escape before his case went to trial. Hauptmann came to the United States, but had some difficulty adjusting. He married Anna Schoeffler in October,1925. He made his living as a carpenter and a small time stock speculator. Hauptmann's stock investment grew in size and he quit his job as a carpenter soon after the Lindbergh ransom was paid.

On September 19, 1934, Hauptmann was arrested after passing one of the Lindbergh's ransom bills. Hauptmann claimed to be holding the money for a recently dead associate and denied any involvement in the kidnapping. This case became known as the"Trial of the Century" and the jury convicted Bruno Hauptmann. Even though with the chance to save his life, he refused to confess. Despite his pleas of innocence, he was executed on April 3, 1934.

To hear Bruno proclaim his innocence click below.

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