BESSIE MOWAT GOW called as a witness in behalf of the State, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
Direct examination by Mr. Wilentz:
Q. I think you just stated, Madam, that your name was Bessie –
is it Mowat, M-o-w-a-t?
A. Yes.
Q. Now residing in Scotland, are you not?
A. I am now residing in Englewood, New Jersey.
Q. Well, you are visiting Englewood?
A. Yes.
Q. You are living in Scotland?
A. Yes.
Q. You had been in the Colonel's employ how long?
A. Since February 25, 1931.
Q. In what capacity were you employed by the Lindbergh family?
A. As a nurse maid.
Q. How old was he {Charles, Jr.} when you came to work there?
A. Eight months, I believe.
{Miss Gow had remained at Englewood, as she normally did, when the
Lindberghs went to Hopewell for their weekends. She was called on March
1st at 11:00 a.m. to come down; after arriving, she assumed her regular
duties of caring for the baby.}
Mr. Wilentz: Just a minute, Miss Gow. If your Honor please, do you suppose
we would be imposing very much if we attempted to get a little less noise
outside? I don't know as the jurisdiction extends to the sidewalk, but
we –
The Court: Well, we will try, we will certainly try, Mr. Attorney General.
{The judge sends a deputy out with a message for the Sheriff to quiet the crowd outside.}
Q. ... from that time on, will you please recount the events?
A. About quarter of six, I should say, the baby came running
into the kitchen, ran around the table several times and spoke to Elsie.
I took his hand then, took him upstairs for supper. I left him in his room
for, oh, one minute, not as long as it took me to get his cereal from the
kitchen. Came upstairs again; gave him his supper....Mrs. Lindbergh came
into the nursery...We undressed him and just as he was about ready for
bed I decided to give him some physic. In taking this he spilt some over
his nightclothes. I undressed him again and decided that I would have time
to make him a proper little flannel shirt to put on next his skin.... Mrs.
Lindbergh played with the baby while I cut this little shirt out. I stitched
it up very hurriedly and put it on the baby after having rubbed him with
Vicks.
Q. And can you tell from this piece of clothing which I give
you whether or not any of this was the garment that you used by looking
at it?
A. Yes, this is the exact garment that I used.
Q. When you say this is the exact garment that you used, do you
mean that that is a part of the cloth that you used?
A. Yes.
Q. The rest of it you used for the baby's shirt?
A. Yes.
Q. Now I show you Exhibit S-13 and ask you whether or not you
have seen this since the finding of the child's body?
A. I have.
Q. And what is S-13?
A. This is the exact little shirt I made for the baby that night.
Q. And this was the shirt worn by that child that night when
it was taken out of that house?
A. It was.
{Mr. Wilentz then has Miss Gow affirm the thread used in the shirt,
a matching piece of seam trimmed off, and a thumb protector and the method
of affixing it to the bed clothes.}
Q. Well, finally the child was ready for bed, I take it, and
you left the room?
A. Yes, the child was ready for bed, I put him in his bed, Mrs.
Lindbergh and I went around the windows, closed the shutters, we closed
all the shutters tight except the one at the window, the southeast window;
this one we couldn't quite close, it had evidently warped, so we closed
it as best we could and left it that way.
Q. Now, that was about what time, then, that you left?
A. This was about half past seven.
Q. Was the baby in its crib?
A. Yes.
Q. And I suppose you pinned the blanket and the upper bedclothes
to the mattress?
A. To the mattress.
Q. Now then, it was about what time that you left the room?
A. I left the baby's room for the last time at about eight o'clock;
I remember distinctly looking at my watch.
Q. ... All right, now eight o'clock and you are coming downstairs.
What happened downstairs while you were down?
A. On my way to the kitchen I passed through the living room
–
The Court: Mr. Attorney General, are you having any difficulty hearing
the witness?
Mr. Wilentz: Well, I am not having so much difficulty with the witness,
except that the noise is leaving me in an absolute fog, if your Honor please.
I am just bewildered with it.
The Court: I think these noises, the shouting that is going on under
these open windows is very detrimental to the conduct of this trial. There
ought to be some way for the local authorities here to control this situation.
Mr. Wilentz: May I suggest, if your Honor has no objection and the
defense has no objection, that we ask Colonel Schwartzkopf to have some
of his men help us?
The Court: I think that ought to be done. We will wait here and see
if conditions can't be improved.
{Miss Gow proceeded to the West wing where she, along with the Whatelys,
had their supper.}
Q. And that was until about what time?
A. That would be about half past eight. We heard Colonel Lindbergh's
car coming in; he passed through the kitchen and spoke to me in passing.
I told the condition of the baby.
Q. And how long did you remain in the dining room?
A. I imagine about twenty minutes to half an hour.
Q. Now, during that time was Mrs. Whately within your sight?
A. She was.
Q. And from time to time how about Mr. Whately?
A. I saw him also.
Q. And what time did you finally leave the downstairs quarters?
A. I believe about nine o'clock.
Q. By the way, before we get upstairs, when you were downstairs,
did you see the dog?
A. I did.
Q. Where was it?
A. He was with me, in our sitting room.
Q. And he was there when you left?
A. Yes, as I recall he was.
Q. So that he was there during the entire period that you were
there that hour or so?
A. Yes.
{Upon going back upstairs, Miss Gow and Mrs. Whately went to Mrs. Whately's
room to look at a new dress and to gossip.}
Q. How long did you remain up there?
A. Until a few minutes before ten o'clock.
Q. And then what happened?
A. I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost ten o'clock.
I said, "I must go to the baby." I immediately got up and walked along
the upper passage to the baby's bathroom.
Q. Well, you went into that bathroom and from there into the
child's nursery?
A. Yes.
Q. When you got in there, what did you find?
A. I didn't put any light up but let the door of the room open
so that the light from the hall would come in. I crossed to the French
window and closed it, plugged in the electric heater and stood for about
one minute waiting for the room to lose its chill. I then crossed to the
cot and bent over with my hands on the rail and discovered I couldn't hear
the baby breathe. I bent down, felt all over him and discovered he wasn't
there. I thought that Mrs. Lindbergh may have him. I went out of the baby's
room into the hallway and into Mrs. Lindbergh's room. I met her or saw
her coming out of the bathroom and asked her if she had the baby. She looked
surprised and said no, she didn't. I said, "Well, where is the Colonel,
he may have him." I said, "Where is he?" She said, "Downstairs in the library."
I turned quickly and ran downstairs to the library where I saw the Colonel
sitting at his desk reading. I said, "Colonel, do you have the baby?" He
said, "No. Isn't he in his crib?" I said, "No." He ran past me upstairs
and into the baby's room. I followed him and from there entered Mrs. Lindbergh's
room. He didn't say anything. He ran into his closet, came out again with
a rifle and all three of us went into the baby's room. He said, "Anne,
they have stolen our baby."
Mr. Wilentz: Would you like to have a glass of water, Miss Gow?
Q.... Now, Madam, then the Officers Wolfe and Williamson came
in and what did you and the other, the ladies of the household do, while
the officers were there?
A. We sat in the sitting room downstairs. {Miss Gow, Mrs. Whately
and Mrs. Lindbergh.}
Q. Doing what?
A. We didn't speak.
Q. And for how long a period did that continue?
A. Until Mrs. Lindbergh's friend arrived from New York, about
an hour.
Q. And all that time you mean that you ladies sat there in that
room in silence?
A. Certainly.
{Miss Gow, upon being summoned back to the child's room, saw the note being examined and also a dirty smudge on the sheets of the crib.}
Q. Was the impression or the smudge of such a nature as to indicate
what it was?
A. A brownish muddy color.
Q... And from that time on there were a great number of police
officers and newspapermen and photographers and others in and about the
premises; isn't that so?
A. Yes.
Q. And during one of those days, Miss Gow, did you find the thumb
guard?
A. I did.
Q. Will you please tell us the circumstances of that discovery?
A. I believe it was May 12th – Oh, no, it was not – about one
month after the baby was stolen. It would be in the afternoon after lunch,
Mrs. Whately and I were in the habit of taking walks down the driveway.
Q. On the premises?
A. On the premises. We walked down to the gate where the police
were stationed, talked to them for a little while and on the way back I
should say about one hundred yards from the gate we both noticed this object
on the road. I recognized it immediately and picked it up.
Q. Was it then in the same condition as it is today in this courtroom?
Still knotted?
A. Still knotted.
Q... Well, finally, after April 1st, we get to May, and on the
12th day of May, 1932, Miss Gow, I take it you were still in the employ
of Colonel and Mrs. Lindbergh and a member of the household?
A. Yes.
Q. And while there, as the result of information given to you,
did you go to some place to see the child?
A. Yes.
Q. Where did you go and with whom?
A. I went to Trenton, I believe with, as I recall it, Detective
Coar and Leon.
Q. And when you got to Trenton, did you go to the morgue?
A. I did.
Q. Did you see a body there?
A. I did.
Q. Whose body was it?
A. Charles Lindbergh, Jr.'s.
Q. About how much did the baby weigh, if you will remember, about
that time?
A. As I recall, about twenty-six and a half pounds.
Q. And about how tall?
A. I should say about thirty-three inches.
Q. That is as to his weight and height about the 1st day of March,
1932?
A. Yes.
Q. Thank you, Miss Gow, and that is all, except for the question
that you came here from Scotland to testify, did you not?
A. I did.
Cross examination by Mr. Reilly:
Mr. Reilly: Miss Gow, do you prefer to rest a minute?
A. No, I am alright.
{The defense questions Miss Gow's credibility due to the State of New Jersey's paying her expenses to return for the trial. Mr. Reilly infers that she was paid above and beyond the costs of travel.}
{The defense also attempts, unsuccessfully, to link Miss Gow with a
number of different people in an effort to infer her assistance in the
disappearance of the baby.}