A $33,000 diamond engagement ring went missing from a David Yurman store in North Carolina recently and the police believe Doris Payne is responsible, People reports. Payne is an 84-year-old woman and one of the most infamous jewel thieves in the world.
After the diamond went missing, local authorities sent out an e-mail to stores preparing them for the possibility that Payne would make them her next target. The e-mail detailed that Payne uses a "sleight of hand tactic," according to People. After asking the employee to show her the jewelry, Payne waits for them to be distracted before concealing it and walking off. "She is very good," the e-mail reads. "She fooled the manager at David Yurman."
An employee at a nearby Tiffany's even recognized Payne and tried to warn the David Yurman store, but it was too late. It is thought that Payne has stolen over $2 million worth of diamonds in places like Greece, Switzerland, Britain, and France over the past 60 years. Last year, she was arrested in Riverside, CA and was sentenced to four years in prison after stealing a ring worth $22.5k. However, she was released just three months in due to overcrowding.
"Doris Payne is certainly infamous and she is a fascinating woman" said Dovy Karberg, the vice president of Charlotte's Diamonds Direct, another nearby jewelry store. "It's outstanding that in her 80s she is charismatic enough to continue to pull this off. The way she carries herself, you would never assume she'd pulled off this level of heist." She's so well-known, Halle Berry was once set to star in a movie about her life.
