|
Post by Sue on Mar 24, 2024 1:16:08 GMT -5
Dr. Gina Lombroso said Violet Sharpe was responsible for the Lindbergh baby's demise. Lombroso was the daughter of Cesare Lombroso, who is considered to be the father of modern-day criminology. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gina_LombrosoThe only copy of I delitti femminili: Miss Violet Sharpe e il ratto del bambino Lindberg is at Brown University in Rhode Island. Although, copies may exist in Turin, Italy. By appointment to read Lombroso's 7-page view of the LKC, I never got around to it though I have known about its existence for a long time. I thought maybe Lombroso just repeated more of the same old, same old about Violet -- that she was a maid in the Morrow household, that she was questioned mercilessly by the police, that she drank cyanide, etc. Through Google Translate, I've gotten a better grasp on how Lombroso understood the LKC. There seems to have been bad blood between Violet Sharpe and Betty Gow. Sharpe wanted the Lindberghs to see Gow as a negligent and irresponsible nanny, and hopefully get her fired. Kidnapping the baby would accomplish this. Sharpe intended to return the baby, but there was a fall. She enlisted the help of her sister Edna and her lover to cover her crimes. (Was Sharpe's lover Septimus Banks? One review says his name was Erric.) Lombroso says Violet was the criminal in the Lindbergh case, but affords her some sympathy because her misdeeds were motivated by jealousy, not money. Sharpe was envious because the Lindbergh/Morrow family treated Gow better, and Gow got paid more.
|
|
|
Post by xjd on Mar 24, 2024 7:47:45 GMT -5
very interesting, sue! i have always wondered about Violet. admittedly there are certain sensitive personalities that might choose suicide rather than more questioning by police, they just want the pressure to be over with. but it seems very extreme to me in this case, especially after Lindbergh's appeared to shelter the staff from questioning. did he permit police to question Violet specifically to distract from the real perpetrators (himself, etc.)?
|
|
Joe
Lt. Colonel
Posts: 2,653
|
Post by Joe on Mar 24, 2024 8:16:27 GMT -5
It seems a very thin theory, not unlike that of Elisabeth Morrow having been the instigator of Charlie's demise, due to her jealously over sister Anne having married Charles Lindbergh.
Violet Sharp was friendly with reporter Tom McKelvie of the Daily News and had been out with him a number of times. Allegedly, she passed along the sex of the Lindbergh baby before it was released to the press, which allowed McKelvie to score a news beat over his competitors. Ultimately, she probably had nothing to do with Charlie's kidnapping, but given her high strung personality, I believe it's reasonable that she would have felt increasingly guilty over providing 'secrets of the household' to a member of the press, something that was definitely taboo for any of the servants at Next Day Hill. When investigators detected and then latched onto her obstinacy and negative attitude to their questioning, she of course had a chance to clear the air, but it appears her fear of being fired by Mrs. Morrow and rejected by her love interest, Septimus Banks, overrode any path of redemption she could have taken. As a result, she dug in deeper as suspicion and the intensity of the questioning increased, until she could take no more. She probably felt by that time that suicide was her only way out of the mess her interrogation had become. I don't believe Inspector Harry Walsh ever backed down from his stance that she was a guilty participant in the kidnapping.
|
|
|
Post by Michael on Mar 24, 2024 9:27:47 GMT -5
Dr. Gina Lombroso said Violet Sharpe was responsible for the Lindbergh baby's demise. Lombroso was the daughter of Cesare Lombroso, who is considered to be the father of modern-day criminology. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gina_LombrosoThe only copy of I delitti femminili: Miss Violet Sharpe e il ratto del bambino Lindberg is at Brown University in Rhode Island. Although, copies may exist in Turin, Italy. By appointment to read Lombroso's 7-page view of the LKC, I never got around to it though I have known about its existence for a long time. Good work Sue! I originally found a reference to this in the PsycINFO database - I wonder if they have a copy? It also credits the author as "G. L. Ferrero," clearly the same person, who wrote a lot about criminals and their behavior in various journals. Adding to your translation a bit, the abstract claims the " ransom was an afterthought and the baby's death was purely accidental, not part of the original plan, as proved by her suicide prior to her arrest." www.apa.org/pubs/databases/psycinfoAnyway, I find the idea that she and Gow were having issues quite interesting. I wonder what her source for this was? It seems a very thin theory, not unlike that of Elisabeth Morrow having been the instigator of Charlie's demise, due to her jealously over sister Anne having married Charles Lindbergh. When investigators detected and then latched onto her obstinacy and negative attitude to their questioning, she of course had a chance to clear the air, but it appears her fear of being fired by Mrs. Morrow and rejected by her love interest, Septimus Banks, overrode any path of redemption she could have taken. As a result, she dug in deeper as suspicion and the intensity of the questioning increased, until she could take no more. She probably felt by that time that suicide was her only way out of the mess her interrogation had become. I don't believe Inspector Harry Walsh ever backed down from his stance that she was a guilty participant in the kidnapping. She wasn't afraid of being fired and wanted to return to England according to her sister Edna. The reason she did not was because she thought it would make her look guilty. ( TDC, V4, P521). Next, Sharp claimed Banks proposed marriage. Joe, what is your source that she was being rejected by Banks? I'd like to look this up.
|
|
|
Post by Sue on Mar 24, 2024 12:04:49 GMT -5
xjd,
I have also always wondered about Violet Sharpe! I wonder if it WAS true, that she had ill feelings toward Gow? Perhaps it was one-sided, and Betty had no animosity toward Violet? Was it ever confirmed that Violet had an abortion, and was she suffering psychologically from that event?
Lindbergh sheltering the staff from questioning may have been to control the gossip, rumors, and household secrets. Oh, the stories that they could have told! True or false!
Yes. I wonder why Lindbergh had no qualms about exposing Violet to the badgering, while Betty was more or less protected!
|
|
|
Post by Sue on Mar 24, 2024 12:34:33 GMT -5
Joe,
This 7-page article written by Gina Lombroso was published in 1932. Where do you think she got her sources so early on to come up with this theory? Like her father, Gina was known as a criminologist. Was she just theorizing from newspaper accounts, or did she in fact have inside knowledge of what was going on in the Lindbergh/Morrow households?
It may just be the article's translation, but the name Morton replaces the name Morrow, and the name Erric Brinker is used to refer to Ernie Brinkert. (Erric is known as Violet's lover.)
Actually, Lombroso's explanation could fit into and explain many of the theories out there, including that Hauptmann was largely responsible for the crime!
|
|
|
Post by Sue on Mar 24, 2024 17:36:41 GMT -5
Michael,
Thanks for the link. Maybe the PsycINFO website has more information on her.
Yes. Gina was married to Guglielmo Ferrro, a famous Italian historian.
I wonder if someone could look into reading the actual text of what Lombroso wrote about the Lindbergh kidnapping and Violet's involvement. Many places are unwilling to loan these rare items, and I can't say that I blame them! If someone gets the opportunity to read this article, would they kindly share their thoughts? Thank you.
I know there is a discussion about Lombroso's research in a publication called La Grande Revue -- 1933, Volume 142, pages 242-246. I think the author's name is Madeleine Barre.
Also, Archivio di antropologia criminale psichiatria e medicina legale is an Italian medical journal that discusses Lombroso's take on Violet Sharpe's involvement.
And L'Opinion is a journal from 1933 that deals with Lombroso's article.
Lombroso's area of expertise was female crime. I guest she felt well-qualified to offer her opinions.
But nothing matters until we can actually read what she wrote...and pick it apart!
Remember, Schwarzkopf saying that Sharpe had "guilty knowledge" of the kidnapping?
I can't let that phrase go!
"Delitti femminili: Miss Violet Sharpe e il ratto del bambino Lindberg"
Vide: ARCHIVIO di Antropol. Crim. Psichiat. e Medic Legale, 52, 1932, p 403.
Torino: Fratelli Bocca, editori 1932.
Author: Lombroso, Gina 1872-1944 Torino: Fratelli
I, like you, wonder, if true, what was going on with Sharpe and Gow, that they did not like each other.
|
|
|
Post by stella7 on Mar 25, 2024 7:39:58 GMT -5
Violet wasn't the only one who didn't like Betty Gow, Ollie Whately did as well.
|
|
|
Post by Sue on Mar 25, 2024 11:53:21 GMT -5
|
|