Ice Queen: The Story of the Notorious Jewel Thief Doris Payne

She then sewed the ring into her girdle. Nobody ever found the diamond, which Payne later sold in New York City. “I’ve been a jewel thief for many many years,” Payne says. “I am exceptionally proud of my being the very opposite of what is expected.” The daughter of a Black father and Cherokee mother, Payne grew up impoverished in Slab Fork, West Virginia. Now 92, she taught herself the skills that she would use throughout her life to pilfer jewels. “From a little girl, I liked to dress up. I had my purse and my hat,” she says. “I… Read Full Article