DNA and vehicle-tracking help French investigators recover stolen Renoirs and makes arrests
Police say DNA and phone tracking linked the suspects to the theft and helped recover two Renoir paintings valued at 4.2 million euros.
- On Thursday, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone announced that two stolen Pierre-Auguste Renoir paintings were recovered hidden behind a solid cinder block wall in Clermont-l'Herault after their September theft from the Renoir Museum.
- The discovery followed the arrest of six people last Wednesday, as DNA evidence linked a 29-year-old suspect to the theft and interrogation work led authorities to identify the receiver of the stolen works.
- Bessone estimated the paintings' combined value at $4.7 million; while recovered in 'relatively good condition,' "Young Woman at the Well" sustained slight frame damage and "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano" had a tear in its canvas.
- Four men face preliminary charges of 'theft committed by an organized gang' and 'criminal association,' while two additional suspects were charged with 'concealment' of stolen goods; the suspects have denied wrongdoing, Bessone said.
- National director of judicial police Christian Sainte warned on Monday that the country "is repeatedly targeted by organized criminal groups" in museums and cultural sites, with French museums recording about 10 such thefts this year.
59 Articles
59 Articles
How French Investigators Found Suspects in Renoir Heist
DNA left on a protective painting cover helped investigators recover two stolen Renoirs and uncover what they suspected were preparations for another art heist, a French prosecutor said Monday. Four men were given preliminary charges in the investigation into the Sept. 8 theft from the small Renoir Museum in the...
A month after the break-up of the Renoir Museum, the two stolen paintings were found in a "false wall" made "full parpaings and placo" in a house in Occitanie.
The paintings recovered last Friday have been damaged and will need to be restored.
This Monday we learned new details about the theft of two paintings from Auguste Renoir a month ago in Cagnes-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes), and about how the investigators went back to the burglars. Look at this report of the JT of TF1. - "totally invisible" mask, the sword saw used... New details revealed on the stolen and found Renoir paintings (Police, justice and various facts).
The Independent
The Independent (US)Inside the French police operation to rescue stolen Renoirs
One of the two works, ‘Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano’, suffered a tear
The Manila Times
rtl.luStolen Renoir paintings found behind wall in France
PARIS, France — Two paintings by impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, stolen from a museum in southern France and later discovered hidden behind a wall, have sustained slight damage, prosecutors said on Monday.
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