HAUPTMANN’S TRIAL

Taranaki Daily News, 14 January 1935, Page 5

HAUPTMANN’S TRIAL

HANDWRITING EVIDENCE GIVEN. VITAL POINT IN STATE’S CASE. By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Rec. 5.5 p.m. Flemington, Jan. 11. A vital point in the State’s case against Bernard Richard Hauptmann is the authorship of 11 ransom notes that Colonel Lindbergh and Dr. Condon received during the negotiations for the return of the Lindbergh child. This held the attention of the court to-day. Albert Osborn, a veteran handwriting expert and the prosecution's star witness, declared that by every test he knew Hauptmann wrote all the notes. The walls of the courtroom to-day were covered with charts of enlargements of three specimens of the writing, ransom notes, Hauptmann’s “admitted writings 1 ’ (including an automobile operator’s license) and his “request writings" made when arrested. .('.I.’JI Osborn expressed the opinion that both the ransom notes and request writings were disguised. However, the writer had but one disguise. . 1 •_ The testimony to-day gave the first complete figures of the amount of the ransom recovered. Of the 50.000 dollars Dr. Condon paid, 3980 dollars were recovered at intervals, chiefly from .New York trades people. Hauptmann- held 18,580 dollars. The remaining 31,420 dollars have not yet been accounted for.