Murph The Surf

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Discover how 22 gems were stolen from New York City's Museum of Natural History in October 1964 and how, within 48 hours, information from confidential police sources led to the arrest of four men.

Biography

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Murph the Surf

The Crimes
The Star of India, one of the most precious jewels in the world, was exhibited along with other valuable gems in what was known as the J.P. Morgan Collection in New York’s Museum of Natural History.

On the evening of October 29, 1964, Murphy and his cohorts climbed through a bathroom window they had unlocked during opening hours. The Star sapphire was the only gem in the collection protected by an alarm. Luckily for them the battery operating the alarm was dead. Murphy managed to steal stones, including the sapphire worth around $400,000.

The high he must have experienced from such an audacious robbery that involved no violence, was short lived when Murphy was arrested along with his accomplices just two days later. The Star of India was recovered in a Miami bus station locker. Most of the other gems were also found.

The one thing that gave them away was the lavish parties they had held at the Cambridge Hotel while planning the heist.

Murphy received 21 months in jail. When he came out it appeared that his experiences had hardened him for he is quoted as saying that when he came out of New York’s Rikers Island prison he didn’t give a ‘damn’ about ‘anything or anyone’.

Murder
Relating to the next crimes committed by Murphy, that statement certainly appeared prophetic.

1968 was to see a turning point in Murphy’s style and image as a glamorous cat burglar. For he was to become involved in crimes of violence that led to several deaths.

Murphy acted as look-out and getaway driver when he and two partners broke into the huge mansion of Olive Wofford, a Miami Beach socialite. Wofford later told police, the thieves held a pistol to her and also threatened to pour boiling water over her eight year-old niece if she didn't co-operate and open the safe.

Murphy was later tracked down by the police which involved a high-powered chase where he drove his vehicle through a pair of French doors. When apprehended and found to be swathed in bandages Murphy quipped "I cut myself shaving."

But worse to come was the discovery that two Californian secretaries had died at his hands in 1967 despite Murphy denying he had anything to do with the killings. Later to be known as the Whiskey Creek murders, the two women had been shot, bludgeoned to death and then dumped in a creek near Hollywood, Florida.

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