farmgirl
01-04-2004, 12:08 AM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=817&ncid=757&e=10&u=/ap/20040103/ap_on_fe_st/glass_eye_theft
Woman Charged With Stealing 50 Glass Eyes
OWENSBORO, Ky. - Police charged a woman Friday with stealing 50 antique glass eyes from a hospital display case on Christmas Eve.
Melissa Jane Wink, 36, of Owensboro, was charged with theft by unlawful taking over $300.
A surveillance camera recorded the theft from an exhibit of medical artifacts at Owensboro Medical Health System. A picture of the suspect was publicly released several days later.
The eyes were valued at $2,500. The hospital had mistakenly reported the eyes were worth $100,000, which was actually the value of the exhibit collection. The eyes were recovered at a house Wink was staying in.
Police Detective Ed Krahwinkel said he wasn't sure why someone would steal the eyes; there isn't high demand on the black market for them.
"Honestly, I don't think she knew what to do with them," Krahwinkel said. "Being a high profile case — and a used item — I think she was stuck with them."
The glass eyes were a gift to the hospital from Owensboro physician Barney Elliott, who bought the glass eyes from a dealer in South Carolina about 10 years ago. He said they were most likely made at the beginning of the 20th century or earlier. The eyes came in a variety of colors and even included bloodshot or jaundiced tints so they would match the wearer's other eye.
"I'm glad to hear they're back," Elliott said. "It's a good display, and I think the public will enjoy them."
Woman Charged With Stealing 50 Glass Eyes
OWENSBORO, Ky. - Police charged a woman Friday with stealing 50 antique glass eyes from a hospital display case on Christmas Eve.
Melissa Jane Wink, 36, of Owensboro, was charged with theft by unlawful taking over $300.
A surveillance camera recorded the theft from an exhibit of medical artifacts at Owensboro Medical Health System. A picture of the suspect was publicly released several days later.
The eyes were valued at $2,500. The hospital had mistakenly reported the eyes were worth $100,000, which was actually the value of the exhibit collection. The eyes were recovered at a house Wink was staying in.
Police Detective Ed Krahwinkel said he wasn't sure why someone would steal the eyes; there isn't high demand on the black market for them.
"Honestly, I don't think she knew what to do with them," Krahwinkel said. "Being a high profile case — and a used item — I think she was stuck with them."
The glass eyes were a gift to the hospital from Owensboro physician Barney Elliott, who bought the glass eyes from a dealer in South Carolina about 10 years ago. He said they were most likely made at the beginning of the 20th century or earlier. The eyes came in a variety of colors and even included bloodshot or jaundiced tints so they would match the wearer's other eye.
"I'm glad to hear they're back," Elliott said. "It's a good display, and I think the public will enjoy them."