This day in history: On this day in 1978, Charlie Chaplin's wife Oona got a call from the local police.
Three months earlier, her husband Charlie Chaplin—the British star of silent films and early “talkies”—had died peacefully at their home near Corsier-sur-Vevey, by Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
That is what the police called about.
"'They said, look, somebody dug up the grave and he's gone,' Chaplin’s son, Eugene, later recalled to the Independent.
That was the beginning of one of the most spectacularly unsuccessful body snatchings in history. The thieves soon called the home with their terms. They wanted the equivalent of about $600,000 for the safe return of Chaplin’s body and threatened the lives of the couple’s young children should their demands not be met." Source
The kidnapper contacted the family using phone booths, so the police assigned officers to watch as many as 200 phone booths throughout the area.
"When the call from the robbers came in, it was traced back to the originating booth, and two men, Roman Wardas and Gantscho Ganev, both auto mechanics, were arrested. The men led police to Chaplin's remains, buried in a cornfield about 10 miles from the graveyard." Source
No comments:
Post a Comment