Lindbergh’s key case, containing the keys to his car, was found in his pocket. It was pointed out that the ignition switch on the 1951 Buick makes it possible to drive the car without keys.
Positive identification of Lindbergh was made that Saturday by Sheriff Rambeck and Police Chief Cummings of Thief River Falls. They appeared at the Dare’s Funeral home in Elk River, the seat of Sherbourne County, 25 miles from Clear Lake, to view their friend’s remains.
An autopsy performed by Dr. James McCartney, head of the University of Minnesota Pathology Department, that day disclosed that Lindbergh was bludgeoned to death by repeated blows of the heavy, sharp weapon. Dr. Tesch, the coroner, said no bullet hole was found and withdrew his earlier guess. He said the death weapon could have been a hatchet or machete; that there were eight or 10 cuts on the top, back and side of the head, four to 5 inches long, all of which penetrated the skull.
Clear Lake is about 11 miles south of St. Cloud, Minnesota and about 50 miles northwest of Minneapolis, located on Highway 10, the busiest highway between the two cities.
Authorities put out a plea for motorists and residents to make a report if they saw a discarded brown topcoat anywhere along the highway. Witnesses in Thief River Falls said Herbert Johnson had such a coat when he came to their town, the witnesses in Minneapolis said he wore a gray coat when he checked out of the hotel. It was therefore believed that he had discarded the brown garment because it was bloodstain.
The state and federal authorities were now able to put together a pattern that fit the time elements. They knew that Kenneth Lindbergh had phoned his home from Detroit Lakes at 11:20 p.m. that Saturday night. Detroit Lakes is due south of Thief River Falls on Highway 59. Highway 10 cuts in at Detroit Lakes, leading south east to Clear Lake and Minneapolis, 197 miles away.
“He could have easily driven the Buick into Minneapolis in time to make that call to room service for ice at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday,” an officer said. “Looks to me like he killed Lindbergh, dumped the body, then came into Minneapolis, probably entering the city on Highway 169 which swings off Highway 10. This would bring him into Washington Avenue, heading for the hotel. He must have parked near the hotel, then returned to his room. After ordering the ice, and later the coffee, he left the hotel, got back into the car and drove it to the dark side street on the north side, parking it in front of the deserted house. Then he walked toward all night café on fourth and Broadway, called for a cab, rode to the hotel, held the cab, checked out, and then was gone.”
It was a good reconstruction, but there were still a lot of pieces missing to the puzzle. Dr. Orin D. Beich, Mayor elect a Thief River Falls brought the amount in a newspaper interview.
Stating that citizens of the town were puzzled as well as shocked by the slaying, Beich added that the elaborate maneuverings of the mystery killer before it after coming to Thief River Falls were difficult to fit into a pattern.
There were the calls to Lindbergh, the links the meeting at the bank, the phone call Lindbergh made to his wife, and the loot the killer got away with -- coins, that he discarded; travelers checks, most of which he had been unable to cash.
And why did he pick Thief River Falls? Questions fell almost as thick as snowflakes in northern Minnesota.
In the days that followed, several suspects were arrested, been released. A St. Paul man and his girlfriend were arrested in Munroe, Michigan held for several days, found innocent. Other suspects were picked up, none were considered suspicious enough to hold.
On Wednesday, December 30, Kenneth was buried in Thief River Falls. A loudspeaker system carried the service to more than 1000 people who crowded the chapel, Boy Scout room, recreation room, basement, as well as the main church. All the banks in town shut their doors at noon. Stores and businesses were closed from two to 3 p.m.
Sherburne County authorities issued a John Doe warrant for the slayer, but for a week after the funeral no developments were made public.
The FBI, meanwhile, had uncovered a hot lead and was following it through with the nationwide undercover manhunt. A fingerprint was found on one of the travelers checks left at the Detroit Bank. It matched the prints of an ex-con named James P. Taylor.
Taylor had been released from a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, on October 29 after completing a sentence for interstate transportation of a stolen car.
His record also showed conviction on a charge of impersonating an FBI agent, which resulted in a 15 month sentence in a federal reformatory.
Taylor was described as 30 years old, medium-height, slender, handsome, dark hair, and able to put forth a suave, glib front.
A host of federal agents were placed on Taylor’s trail. The leads ran from Minneapolis to Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, and then to Joplin, in southwest Missouri.
On Tuesday, December 6, a complaint was issued in Detroit against Taylor, charging him with interstate transportation of cashiers checks taken from the Northern State Bank at the Thief River Falls.
Down in Joplin, federal agents were checking on a man who called himself Kenneth McKinney. They heard that McKinney, had registered at the Connor Hotel on November 1, three days after James P. Taylor was released from prison. He had been seen frequently until November 8, when he suddenly dropped out of sight.
On Saturday, December 3, he suddenly return to Joplin.
It was 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 8, when federal agents surrounded a stately two-story house on N. Jackson Avenue. It was the residence of a distinguished Joplin family. The family was shocked when the officers closed in and arrested their house guest, Kenneth McKinney.
Members of the Joplin family were in for quite a surprise. Their acquaintance with McKinney started on November 3, when he walked into a travel agency operated in a hotel lobby by two women, members of the family. Striking up a conversation with the younger woman, he asked for various travel schedules, telling her he was a writer who had come to Joplin to collect material for a story.
On following visits he stopped to chat with the young woman, and met other members of the family. They were impressed with his charm and gracious manners, and invited him to their home for a birthday celebration.
Before he left town on November 8, he remarked that he was planning a trip to Philadelphia for a few days and would drop them a line. He never did.
When he returned to Joplin on December 3, he contacted the young travel agent again, and she and her mother invited him to be their house guest. He said he intended staying in Joplin only a few days.
On his first visit to Joplin and he did not have a car. When he returned he had a Pontiac with Michigan license plates. He also had a new automatic rifle on his return, which he showed to the travel agents family. He did not show them the .22 caliber snub nose pistol, which agents found in the second-floor guest room that he occupied.
Agents also reported finding a $20 Bank of America travelers check among his possessions, which had a serial number corresponding to the check taken from the bank in Thief River Falls. And Detroit Bank books showing $3500 in a savings account and $2600 and a checking account, both in the name of Charles B. Kenwell. Add $801 in cash.
Reporters questioning members of the travel agent’s family received such a responses as:
“He was such a nice young man with the most gracious manners.”
“He had us all fooled.”
“He seemed like such a clean-cut proper person.”
The FBI clamped down on information. Anything of secrecy on the investigation, and removal the suspect to the Newton County Jail about 15 miles south of Joplin was secret.
Officers reported again he acknowledged he was Taylor, but maintained he had not broken the law since his release from prison. He refused to talk about how he came into possession of a stolen traveler’s check, a large sum of cash, the Detroit bank pass books and his whereabouts the day that Herbert Johnson left Thief River Falls with the bank cashier.
Pictures of Taylor were reportedly identified by employees of the Detroit bank as Charles B. Kenwell who’d been there.
Photos of the slender, well-dressed suspect were shown to persons in Minneapolis and Thief River Falls. They were reported to resemble Herbert Johnson.
The following week, James P. Taylor was transferred to Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis. He was viewed in the lineup by witnesses from Minneapolis and Thief River Falls, who were instructed by federal officers not to talk to newsmen. However, it has been learned that Taylor was identified by the witnesses.
On December 20, Taylor wavered preliminary hearing on the check transportation charge against him.
At this writing he is awaiting action on this federal charge, but federal and state authorities are still investigating the murder of Kenneth Lindbergh.
There is believe in some quarters that more than one man might be involved in the crime.
In the meantime, the citizenry of Thief River Falls anxiously wait for missing pieces of the puzzle fit together and solve a murder of Kenneth Lindbergh.
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