Authorities in Paris are still on the hunt for thieves who broke into one of the most famous museums in the world before running off with more than $102 million worth of jewels. The Louvre museum continues to deal with the fallout of the heist, as ABC News reported, but it’s time we talk about the most notorious and successful jewelry thief in modern history, a Black woman from rural West Virginia.
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“Diamond” Doris Payne is now 94 years old, but before settling in Atlanta, she lived a life of crime for nearly seven decades. Hitting jewelry stores across the world, her impressive one-woman show kept authorities on their toes and resulted in her allegedly stealing millions of dollars worth of jewelry. She’s a notorious figure, but somehow, she’s always slipped through the cracks for her most outrageous crimes. To really get how she pulled it off, you gotta go back to the very beginning.
Payne’s Knack for ‘Nice Things’
Even during her childhood, Payne knew she liked nice things. “I liked to dress up. I had my purse and my hat,” she said in the documentary “The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne.” She continued, “I played a game by myself called Ms. Lady.”
Growing Up in West Virginia
She was raised in rural West Virginia with her Black father and Native American mother. She was the youngest of five and repeatedly witnessed her parents’ abusive relationship, the New York Post reported. Payne said seeing her parents’ failing marriage made her never want to be dependent on a man. “I would always make my own money,” she said. “And I was going to have to take care of me and mine.” So, she turned to a life of crime.
Doris’ First Jewelry Heist
The first time Payne ever successfully stole from a jewelry store, she panicked and almost gave the goods back. In 1952, she walked into a Pittsburgh jewelry store and snagged a $20,000 ring. Paranoia led her to spending the night inside a Greyhound bathroom stall, she recalled in her book. The next day, the then-23-year-old decided to return the ring, but on the way, she stumbled into a resale jewelry store and offloaded the stolen ring for a $7,000 profit– a $65,000 profit today– The Post reported.
Her Own Motto
The key to Payne’s success boils down to one motto. “Make people forget,” she said in “Diamond Doris,” her tell-all memoir. “If they could forget, then I could get money.”
Lessons Learned During Heists
From then on, Payne began her career as a criminal. She hit up jewelry stores across the country and Canada and continued learning trade secrets. She realized that if she could convince jewelers to bring multiple pieces at a time to show her, then they’ll be less likely to go to the police. “They were shy about reporting that to the police, who would send a report of the store’s negligence to their insurance company,” she wrote. “I had to practice making it their fault.”
Doris and ‘Babe’
Payne began dating a man named Harold “Babe” Bronfield, who had deep ties to the criminal underground. Babe often accompanied Payne on his “business trips” for protection. His attorneys were even able to negotiate with a judge after Payne was named as a suspect in a Philadelphia heist, she wrote.
Traveling to Europe
By the ’70s, Payne’s face had hit the news in the U.S., forcing her to travel to Europe in order to score big. But her first trip got here in more trouble than you could imagine…
The Infamous Monte Carlo Job Gone Wrong
After leaving a Monte Carlo jewelry store with a $550,000 ring in 1974, Payne became a prime suspect. Police eventually caught up with her, but they never found the ring. Still, they kept her in custody at a hotel. “I used the toenail clippers to pry the diamond out of the mounting,” she said the missing ring. “I threw the mounting in the Mediterranean.” The next day, she sold it in New York City, she told WSB-TV.
Escaping Custody
One night in 1980, Payne made the big mistake of going out to celebrate after another big heist. But little did she know that the club she spent the night drinking and dancing at also broadcasted the party. Authorities were able to identify Payne from the footage and soon arrested her, she recalled. While on a train bound for the embassy in French Switzerland, Payne said she asked to use the bathroom and jumped off the train during a stop, getting away.
Serving Prison Time
Throughout her career, Payne has been arrested several times, but you’d be shocked to find out just how little time she’s actually spent behind bars. In 1999, she was sentenced to 12 years after stealing a $57,000 ring, 11Alive reported. She only served five years in prison. She’s never served time for any of the heists that made her famous.
7 Decades of Heists
Payne spoke on her motivation behind taking the jewels. “It was a challenge,” she said. “The finer the heist, the greater the challenge.” She also pointed to racism she experienced as a child as reason for her pay back. “It was punishment” to the stores, she added. “In the back of my head, I was saying, ‘Take that.’”
Settling in Atlanta
Now in her mid-nineties, Payne lives in Atlanta. She was last arrested back in 2017 after she allegedly stole more than $80 worth of goods from Walmart. She has since been released from jail, CBS reported. When asks why she did it, Payne denied ever stealing from the store. “If I come to Atlanta, I might get a book deal. I might get a movie deal,” she told WSB-TV.
Books and Movies About Diamond Doris
In 2019, Payne got her wish. Her memoir, “Diamond Doris: The True Story of the World’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief” was released detailing her life and an insider look into her crimes. Several documentaries have also been created about the woman, including “The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne.”
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