By day, Jack Murphy, known as “Murph the Surf,” along with his accomplices Allan Kuhn and Roger Clark, were the epitome of the carefree surfer lifestyle. This well-dressed trio of twenty-somethings from Miami enjoyed the luxuries of a Manhattan hotel penthouse suite. However, on the night of October 29, 1964, they transformed from beach bums into audacious criminals, executing a meticulously planned heist that would go down in history as one of New York City's most notorious jewel thefts.
With weeks of preparation culminating in this fateful night, the trio was ready to put their plan into action. While Clark kept watch below, Murphy and Kuhn made their way to the American Museum of Natural History. They scaled a fence, navigated a fire escape, and carefully inched along a narrow ledge. Using a rope, they swung themselves through an open fourth-floor window, entering the museum’s J.P. Morgan Hall of Gems and Minerals.
The conditions were fortuitous: the windows had been left open for ventilation, the display case alarms were non-functional, and only one security guard was on duty. This lack of oversight allowed them to enter the Hall of Gems undetected. Armed with a glass cutter and duct tape, they set to work, stealing an astonishing $410,000 worth of rare jewels—equivalent to approximately $3.9 million today.
Among their prized haul were the legendary 563-carat Star of India sapphire, the 100-carat DeLong Star Ruby, and the 116-carat Midnight Star black sapphire, along with a collection of other invaluable gems.
However, their triumph was short-lived. Just two days later, police, acting on a tip-off, arrested Murphy, Kuhn, and Clark. While most of the stolen gems were eventually recovered, the heist had already captured the public's imagination.
The media portrayed the trio as celebrity folk heroes, and their audacious crime became the subject of fascination. Despite their newfound notoriety, the thieves each served about two years in prison for their audacious caper.
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