kidnapper/assault trooper

[Thomas W]

I have a photo of a German soldier named Wilhelm Jakob Muhlenbroich. I bought the photo because it showed some interesting uniform and weapon details. I recently discovered that in 1940 Muhlenbroich pleaded guilty to kidnapping the three-year-old child of a wealthy California family and holding him for ransom. He was sentenced to life in prison. Apparently it was big news here in California when it happened.

Is there any way I can find out which unit Muhlenbroich served in during the war?

[Naxos]

Thomas, are there any clues in or on the picture that could help answering your question?

Is it Muhlenbroich or Mühlenbroich?

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[Thomas W]

Thomas, are there any clues in or on the picture that could help answering your question?

Is it Muhlenbroich or Mühlenbroich?

I thought he was a member of the Marinekorps, because he wears an M1915 Bluse with no shoulder straps. There are also no buttons for shoulder straps.

All the California legal documents I've seen, as well as the caption on the back of the photo (it's from a newspaper photo morgue), spell it "Muhlenbroich."

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/...028419/00103/1x

[Thomas W]

Here's a newspaper clip.

[Thomas W]

The Bluse.

[Naxos]

If you search his name on Ancesrty.com you might find him on a transatlantic passenger list, it will provide his hometown in Germany.

Edited February 7, 2011 by Naxos

[Naxos]

No one by his name is registered in a transatlantic passenger or immigration list.

I found this - he died in 1967

[Thomas W]

No one by his name is registered in a transatlantic passenger or immigration list.

If he was a kidnapper he may have been a career criminal. Maybe he came to the U.S. illegally.