real case

the son of the famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, was kidnapped in 1932 and later found dead. analysis of the homemade ladder used by the kidnapper to gain entry to the house traced the wood to a particular lumber mill but then the trail went cold. later, a suspect, Bruno Hauptmann [right] was found with some of the paid ransom money. analysis showed that a missing wooden floorboard in his house had been used to make part of the ladder and that a plane tool in his garage had been used to smooth the ladder. Hauptmann was convicted of the crime in 1936.