True crime investigative author J.T. Townsend joined guest host Dave Schrader (email) to discuss a new perspective on the notorious Lindbergh baby kidnapping case of 1932 (related article). Townsend described Charles Lindbergh as a social misfit who was catapulted into instantaneous fame by his successful nonstop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. Townsend provided details of the case, in particular the fact Lindbergh made a last-minute decision to stay at the family's country estate instead of returning to the Morrow mansion in the city. "Everything about this case filters through the fact that they weren't supposed to be there that night and only a handful of people knew they would be," he said.

Townsend noted several other unusual behaviors which cast suspicion on Charles Lindbergh as the perpetrator of this heinous crime. Lindbergh was scheduled to speak at the New York University alumni dinner that evening and blew it off without notifying them, he revealed. Lindbergh claimed to hear a snapping sound outside which no one else heard, and gave explicit orders the child not be disturbed between 8:00 - 10:00 PM (when he was taken), Townsend continued. When the baby was discovered missing the first words Lindbergh exclaims are, "They have stolen our baby!" even though at that point there is no evidence to support that conclusion, he explained.

According to Townsend, the nursery had no fingerprints, as if it had been wiped down, there were no muddy footprints one would expect to find if a kidnapper had come from the ground below via ladder into the room, and Lindbergh alone found the ransom note which no one else saw. Townsend questioned Lindbergh being in charge of the investigation, turning away the FBI's help, and giving the ransom note — the most vital piece of evidence — to a notorious gangster to circulate throughout the underworld. Townsend also thought it curious Lindbergh took his family to Europe "for their safety" a few years later just as Governor Hoffman re-opened the investigation into the case.

Paranormal Detection

In the first hour, detective Greg Lawson talked about the paranormal, and how from childhood we are conditioned to explain away the unusual and, in so many cases, overlook the truly extraordinary. Lawson suggested human eyesight is flawed as the brain merely interprets electromagnetic radiation and reforms it into something that can be understood. In addition, the brain gets better at things which are practiced, such as excluding certain kinds of information as possible, he added. "We think that we live in a three dimensional world... we automatically try to fit everything into that and when something is missing our brain will actually search through the rest of its memory banks and go ahead and throw the answer in there," Lawson continued. Memories are malleable and the brain's ability to try to make sense of something, such as a paranormal event, can actually change the memory itself, he explained.