1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi everyone, I'm Eves and welcome to This 3 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:09,959 Speaker 1: Day and History Class, a podcast where we dust off 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: a little piece of history and place it, ever so 5 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: gently on your brainshelf every day. Today is October. The 6 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: day was October four. The Star of India, a five 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,159 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty three point thirty five carrots sapphire, was 8 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in New 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: York City, along with twenty three other valuable gems. The 10 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: JP Morgan Hall of Gyms and Minerals at the museum 11 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: was home to a collection of many notable gyms. At 12 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: the time, jules were the object of many heists. After 13 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: seeing a heist movie called Top Cope, Jack Rolin Murphy 14 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: decided he could break into Morgan Hall at the American 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: Museum of Natural History and commit his own heist. Murphy, 16 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: also known as a Murf the Surf, teamed up with 17 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: Roger Clark and Allen Dale Coon to steal the gyms. 18 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: On the night of October twenty nine, nineteen sixty four. 19 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: Clark drove up to the back of the museum with 20 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: Coon and Murphy and a Cadillac. Coon and Murphy climbed defense, 21 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,039 Speaker 1: ascended a fire escape, and used a rope to swing 22 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: into a fourth floor window at the museum. The windows 23 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: were not connected to an alarm system, and the museum 24 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: had stopped putting a guard in the gym room. The 25 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: thieves used a glass cutter, a squeegee they got from 26 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: an employee's locker, and duct tape to break into three 27 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: display cases and collect the gyms. They skipped over one 28 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: display case that contained sapphires, but they took plenty of 29 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: expensive gems, including the Star of India, the DeLong Star Ruby, 30 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: the Shettler Emerald, and the Midnight Star, a one hundred 31 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: and sixteen Carrott black stapphire. The case the sapphire was 32 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: in was protected by an alarm, but the batteries were 33 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: in the Next day, Coon and Murphy left New York 34 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: on a flight to Miami was a nineteen year old 35 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: named Janet floor Kovich. As the thieves were on their 36 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,079 Speaker 1: way to Miami, a museum guard discovered that the gym's 37 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 1: had been stolen and called the police. The stolen gyms 38 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: were valued at four and ten thousand dollars, but none 39 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:23,959 Speaker 1: of them were insured since premiums were high. In a 40 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: press conference, the museum director pinned the bad security on 41 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,359 Speaker 1: budget cuts. It only took two days for detectives to 42 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: check the thieves down. Detectives got tips that led them 43 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: to Cambridge House Hotel, where the thieves were staying in 44 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: hosting parties. In their hotel suite, detectives found sneakers with 45 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: glass in them, photos of museums, books about precious stones, 46 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: and burglary tools. One of the detectives stayed in the 47 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: hotel suite overnight, and when Clark returned the next morning, 48 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: he was arrested. Murphy and Coon were soon arrested in Miami, 49 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: but the police did not find the hidden gems. The 50 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: pair were extradited to New York facing charges of first 51 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: degree burglary and possession of burglary tools. The public impress 52 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: largely treated them like celebrities, but law enforcement still needed 53 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: to find the gem's assistant district at her name, Maurice 54 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: net Jarry agreed to take Coon to Miami to lead 55 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: him to the gyms, accompanied by three detectives. After run 56 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: ins with the press and Coon going back and forth 57 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: on calls with contacts, detectives found two wet bags filled 58 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: with some of the gems in a bus station locker. 59 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: The bags contained the Star of India, the Midnight Star, 60 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: a sapphire, five emeralds, and two aquamarines, but the DeLong 61 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: Star Ruby wasn't recovered until September of nineteen sixty five. 62 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty five, con Murphy and Clark pled guilty 63 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: to burglary and grand larceny, and we're all sentenced to 64 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: three years at Riker's Island, New York's American Museum of 65 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: Natural History is still home to thousand of minerals and gyms, 66 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: including the Star of India and the DeLong Star Ruby. 67 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Jeff cot and hopefully you know a little 68 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. Have a 69 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: hard time staying present as you mindlessly scrolled through social media. 70 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: Lucky for you were stuck in the past at t 71 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: D I h C podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 72 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: If you prefer something a little bit more formal, then 73 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: you can write us at this day at I heart 74 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks for listening, Mary History to all, 75 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: and to all a good night. For more podcasts from 76 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app Apple podcasts, 77 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.