NATION : Heiress’ Uninsured Gems Stolen
An oil heiress who says insurance for her jewelry costs too much was robbed last week for the fourth time in eight years.
Thieves broke into her mansion in affluent Newport early Friday and stole more than $1-million worth of diamonds and pearls as Carolyn Skelly slept nearby, police said.
“I didn’t hear a thing,” Skelly said.
None of the stolen items was insured, Skelly said. She told the Providence Journal-Bulletin she stopped insuring jewelry years ago because it became too expensive.
“I have nothing left. I’m going down to the five-and-dime store to get a little costume jewelry until I get this other stuff back,” Skelly said with a laugh.
The total take in the previous thefts was as much as $7 million. In 1982, Skelly was robbed in New York at gunpoint of $1-million worth of jewels.
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