Lise Pearlman, a retired judge and crime novel author, claims that the famous pilot is mainly responsible for the death of her 20-month-old son. The little boy, 20 months old, disappeared on March 1, 1932 from the crib in which he slept at the family residence in Hopewell, New Jersey.

Bruno Hauptmann, a New York carpenter who was executed by electric chair for the crime in 1936, is innocent, says Pearlman. The former judge, who lives in Oakland, published her book Suspect No.1 in 2020.