The gang of thieves went to the Museum of Natural History in New York many times, learning about the guards’ habits and the building’s entrances and exits before starting to commit crimes.
On the winter evening of October 29, 1964, two thieves dressed in black, covered their bodies like in Hollywood movies, crossed the back fence into the yard and climbed up the fire escape ladder to the 5th floor, gradually inching along. a thin ledge, trying not to slip on the wet granite.
The two thieves tied a rope to the pole, lowered themselves and reached down to the unlocked downstairs window. In the quiet space, they entered the museum’s Morgan Gem and Mineral Memorial Hall and stared at dozens of rare jewelry in glass cases. Among these is the 563-carat Star of India, which looks like a brilliant blue sphere the size of a golf ball, and is known as the world’s largest sapphire.
Using a glass cutter, they cut holes in the glass display case. The Star of India, believed to be more than 2 billion years old, is not the only famous stone to be stolen. The group of thieves also took a 100-carat Sao DeLong ruby and nearly two dozen other precious jewelry items.
Star of India sapphire. Photo: AP
The shocking theft made the front pages of famous newspapers around the world. The Daily News of October 31, 1964, said that the theft “sparked an international manhunt for a master thief who has written a new chapter in the history of crime that rivals the characters of fiction.” “. Museum officials were forced to admit that the alarm system was broken and was under repair.
The number of exhibits was determined to be about 3 million USD, although their real value cannot be measured in money. Because many of the gems are easy to identify, officials fear they are smuggled abroad, cut up and sold.
The day after the burglary, an employee at a bellhop in a Manhattan hotel told police that three surfers were found throwing lavish parties on Miami Beach and using drugs while on vacation. room. They hadn’t checked out yet, but he saw two of them leave the day after the robbery.
Police immediately searched the room and found theft tools and photos of gems taken at the museum.
A call to Florida police identified two of the guests as Jack Murphy, 27, and Allen Kuhn, 26. They are suspected of being jewelry thieves and have been tracked for a long time.
Jack Murphy with his Cadillac, 2006. Photo: AP
A third man, Roger Clark, 29, was arrested in Manhattan and quickly confessed to being the driver of this gang of thieves. Investigators immediately arrested Jack and Allen at the house behind Miami Beach, where they were enjoying a luxurious life with girls.
The three suspects testified that after many times of surveillance, they learned that the museum had a poor security system and only had a few guards. “Museum officials might think why should there be an alarm? These jewels have been here for 70 years and no one can steal them,” Jack told The Times.
Jack and Allen took all 22 items. Holding the Indian Star in their hands, they saw that its alarm battery had been corroded and there was no alarm sound. An elderly security guard occasionally shined a flashlight into the room but did not detect them.
Three months after the theft that shook New York City, the jewelry still has not been found. While waiting to go to trial, the thieves reached an agreement with prosecutors to return the evidence in exchange for a light sentence.
After much effort, the Star of India and most of the other gems were found in a bus station locker in Miami, the Star DeLong ruby under a board behind a public telephone booth.
In 1965, three thieves were sentenced to three years in prison each and sent to a brothel on Rikers Island. However, they were pardoned after two years.
Jack returned to Miami and made friends with two young secretaries at the brokerage company. One beautiful sunny day, these women put on bikinis and went sailing with Jack but they never returned.
The bodies of the two girls were found in a canal, tied tightly to concrete blocks. Jack was later sentenced to life in prison despite refusing to plead guilty to murder.
Released in 1986 after serving 19 years, Jack worked as an ideological missionary to prisoners across the country, passing away in Florida at the age of 83.
