David Wilentz; Lindbergh Case Prosecutor

David Wilentz, 93, who gained worldwide attention in 1935 when he prosecuted Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnaping and murder of the Lindbergh baby. Wilentz, the father of New Jersey Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz, was the architect of his family’s role as a powerful force in state Democratic politics. As a young state attorney general, he handled his first criminal trial when he prosecuted what has since become known as “the trial of the century.” Hauptmann was convicted of kidnaping and killing the 20-month-old son of aviator Charles Lindbergh, and executed April 3, 1936, at Trenton State Prison. Some students of the case and Hauptmann’s widow, Anna, continue to claim that Hauptmann was innocent and was railroaded during the trial. Despite his advancing age, Wilentz frequently showed up at the family’s law firm to do legal work, and had spent some time Tuesday working at the firm. Tuesday night at his home in Long Branch, N.J.