A woman was mugged by a man who stole her diamond encrusted wedding band worth $120,000 late Tuesday in the Uptown neighborhood on the North Side.
At 11:30 p.m. the woman had parked her car behind her residence in the 4800 block of North Winthrop Avenue and was carrying bags of groceries in the alley when a man confronted her, according to Lincoln District police Sgt. Patrick Barker.
Read the rest of the article here; and some additional details from the Chicago Tribune.
I feel terrible, but I'm finding the story kind of hard to believe.
ReplyDeleteI'm with CTA here. I'm glad -- really -- that no one was hurt, but the $120K part is too much for my imagination. There are a handful of places in Chicago where someone could safely walk around with that kind of bling at 11:30p.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Something's off
ReplyDeleteI live in the building next door to her and came out when I heard her scream. While I agree that the ring seems a bit excessive, she definitely was mugged and totally freaked out - as was I. And that is what we should really be concerned about and hope he gets caught.
ReplyDeleteIf you can afford a $120k ring, you are not living in Uptown.
ReplyDeletemaybe it was an heirloom?
ReplyDeleteI love how perverse this online community is - someone gets robbed of $20, and we're all up in arms. But a really expensive engagement ring? Well, they're rich, so what's the big deal...
ReplyDeleteBesides, the ring could be an heirloom. My family owns a really expensive ring that we've had for generations.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad that she got mugged, but with a $124K ring, I'm surprised she was able to both wear it and carry grocery bags at the same time. That's quite a rock!
ReplyDeleteShe was mugged and that's awful. I don't care how much the ring cost.
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much that "Oh, she's rich she can afford it" but rather I'm coming from the mindset that this person actually lost the ring somewhere else and needed a story to make up on why/how she lost it so she could file an insurance claim.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure "perverse" is an accurate description of this on-line community. Maybe "cynical?" Unless of course you are talking about The Pirate, then "perverse" just might work.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, when I moved to Uptown 7 years ago I stopped wearing my watch and stopped giving people a reason to think I may have something of value. Yeah it sucks, but it is what it is right now.
Does this woman have the right to wear expensive jewelry and live in Uptown? Damn straight. Should she? Probably not. Very expensive lesson learned by her, but free education to the rest of us.
I'm more interested in what it says about a couple's values that they need a $100,000+ publicly displayed object to validate their relationship. Just, eww.
ReplyDelete"someone gets robbed of $20, and we're all up in arms. But a really expensive engagement ring? Well, they're rich, so what's the big deal..."
ReplyDeletestrawman
glad she was not physically hurt, a rock like that is more than likely insured. hope they catch the creep.
ReplyDeleteWow. Is that picture actual size? :) I feel very sorry for the victim but a $120,000 ring draws the wrong kind of attention even in places much safer than an Uptown alleyway at 11:30pm...
ReplyDeleteSo it would be awful if she had a diamond ring YOU could afford, but since it's more than YOU judge prudent, she's asking for it and is shallow for needing to "validate" her marriage?
ReplyDeleteSheesh. What a bunch of judgmental comments.
Blame the crime victim. Once again.
I can go and get a piece of jewelry appraised for just about any price which is usually 100% to 150% over the real price that was paid. It`s all about insurance purposes which in the end I hope she has a orginal receipt of sales because in the end the insurance will usally pay out far below what was paid in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBe aware of your surroundings at all times. Specially in a alley at night.
Woman robbed of purse and ring in her gated parking area and somehow it's her fault because of the size of her ring. Mugger probably dropped the purse because she screamed loud enough to raise the attention of her neighbors. When did you become so immune to crime that you blame the victim for wearing jewelry? Are you going to blame a rape victim next for her clothing choices?
ReplyDeleteTime to carry some pepper spray. It does work.
ReplyDeleteI don't interpret any of these comments as blaming the victim, but a $124,000 piece of jewelry is going to be a bit ostentatious, don't you think? People who wear showy jewelry do it to be showy. If I walk through a bad neighborhood with $100 bills taped to my clothing and get mugged, it's the mugger's fault, but I could have used better judgement to keep it from happening. Don't flaunt your valuables in public, period.
ReplyDeleteTotaly agree Kelly.
ReplyDeleteFor a little perspective on what 11 carats actually looks like, check it out here: http://lockerz.com/s/69619179
ReplyDeleteThat's a whole lotta rock!
She was in her own enclosed, fenced back parking area. On her own property.
ReplyDeleteI can't get over the judgmental aspect of these comments. This woman was a crime victim. Perhaps if she had been robbed of a ring from Target, there would be more sympathy.
Blaming the victim is simply a form of denial... of distancing oneself from the oh-so-scary possibility that something bad might happen to lil ol' you. Because crime is never random, right? The reason it happens is that it must be the fault of the victim. Her ring was too big, her clothes were too tight, she should have known better than to be in her secure back yard, she must be covering up the fact that she lost it somewhere else.
Well, here's news, folks: crime happens to everyone. If it makes you feel safer to sit in your ivory tower and look down your nose and say that this crime victim was asking for it, so be it. Wrap yourself in that comforting thought and feel safe and secure. But at some point, whether you live in Uptown or Lincoln Park, whether you have a nice ring or a beater car, you will become a crime victim. Crime and bad things happen to everyone, "asking for it" or not.
I certainly hope that when it happens to you, other people have compassion and sympathy for you, and that you remember your harsh judgments on your fellow crime victim.
Quit putting words in my mouth - I never said she was asking for it. I know better than to say somebody was asking for it.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, whatever. Carry on.
No, CTA, you didn't say she was asking for it. You said she was a liar.
ReplyDelete"I'm finding the story kind of hard to believe."
"this person actually lost the ring somewhere else and needed a story to make up on why/how she lost it so she could file an insurance claim."
Carry on, yourself. Again, I hope when you are a crime victim, people have more compassion for you.
The crime is horrible. I can feel badly for the victim and, at the same time, have my mind blown at the fact that she was walking around with one piece of jewelry that cost more than my parents' house is worth. I find that excessive flaunting of wealth kinda gross. She didn't deserve to be mugged, but it might have been wiser for her to leave something that valuable and flashy out of sight.
ReplyDeleteTSN, I think the point a few of us were making is that reducing your likelihood as a victim means thinking like the criminal.
ReplyDeleteThat criminal weighed risk and reward of someone who was alone, distracted, at night, with 124 thousand dollars of jewelry glimmering in the streetlight.
That absolutely does not mean the victim "deserves what she got". But it does mean people who are aware of the crime in this area and take precautions accordingly are going to say "maybe this could have been avoided"
Look folks, this crime, much like all crimes in our neighborhood are very sad and frustrating and unfortunate. HOWEVER, it is a little hard to feel sorry for someone who walks around with a ring, that is undoubtedly insured, that is worth more than alot of the condos in our neighborhood. It is absurd to have a ring that valuable, end of story.
ReplyDeleteThat does not mean this woman is not a victim. It does not mean this woman should be scorned. It just means its absolutely friggin absurd to have a ring that expensive in this day.
I'm a bachelor, so forgive me my ignorance, but when the hell did the rules change? All the women on here are wearing rubberbands and twisted paper clips on their fingers?
ReplyDeleteHere's what little I know about jewelry - it is not utilititarian at all - by definition it consists of shiny, sparkly, showy bits of metal and crystal.
Anything that has a cost measured in "X month's salary" is expensive. And if it's a wedding band, belongs on your finger. And sparkles under a streetlight.
Spinner can rest assured that his parents house, which they leave in plain view of the street, even when they are not at home, is an inviting crime target to someone.
Think like a criminal, Bryce? Everyone wearing jewelry that even appears to be worth $10 can be certain that they are no safer than the victim in this case. A mugger is not lurking in the shadows with a gun to do drive-by appraisals, and pass on the C.Z.'s
But by all means, stop wearing your wedding bands. Throw them away. If you are planning to purchase one, get the smallest, cloudiest stone that you dare. If you have given a nice one, take it back.
Then we can all post about the recent uptick in domestic disturbances in Uptown.
That ring was already sold to some crackhead for 20 bucks so the thief could get a bottle of mad dog.
ReplyDeleteI don't care about the ring. I wish I could find the guy and pound his head for assaulting a defenseless woman.
THANK YOU Eat The Rich! My, my... the comments on this blog have turned so negative now that no one can complain about Shiller anymore! I've been meaning to post about the negativity for so long, but today's comments take the cake.
ReplyDelete@ Eat the Rich: right on.
ReplyDeleteI was going to write something similar, thanks for saving me some time.
People have a right to own nice things. Why is it the victims fault for being robbed? I feel badly for this person and to conclude that the story is a scam really isn't fair. We should be ashamed that these crimes happen period. You can't place yourseld if that persons shoes and monday morning quarterback what they should have done. Comments here again blame the victim and thatis backward thinking. Crime is always wrong. The fact that we have to act to always prevent crime is one putting the responsibility of preventing a crime before a criminial choosing to commit a crime. Talk about civil rights..
ReplyDeleteAgain, these comments are just nasty. if she has a rind worth that much money, good for her. we dont kow how she obtained it. frankly, this ticks me off when judgement is
ReplyDeletepassed based on what someone owns. Can we unite against one thing in this neighborhood. Crime is WRONG! big or small. Secondly, we need people with money in this ward to balance out those that dont. Thirdly, youncant have a community thriving solely on mom and pop joints without chains. Lastly, you need gentriication to help. You dont need to be Lincoln Park or Bucktown, but you have to be something. Like it or not
+1 Eat the Rich.
ReplyDeleteCriminal behavior is about a lot of things, but one component is setting the social norms. Too many good people in Uptown have succumbed to the social norms imposed by gangsters, drug dealers and drug addicts.
The people that care about this community need to start establishing the social norms. It's the first phase in taking back Uptown. Show these punks that what THEY are doing is wrong and abnormal.
I'm stunned by some of the responses here. I hope those of you who had the audacity to blame or at least criticized the victim have taken a few minutes to think this through and no longer feel the way you did when you wrote your post.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best things about UU is its ability to foster community among neighbors and strangers. I'm really disappointed that some people chose to condemn the victim and/or the value of the ring instead of the crime committed.
I won't blame the person for wearing the jewelry, but if you're wearing something of that value you should probably be more aware of your surroundings and more cautious. Shoot when I was moving into my place I was hardcore on the lookout for people...Nor do I walk in the alley in broad daylight... Poor judgement, but sad regardless
ReplyDeletePatrick, I 2nd that. If any of you have ever been mugged, it's terrifying! Show some compassion--who cares about the ring!
ReplyDeleteEat the Rich, GREAT response! Thumbs up.
ReplyDeleteI see Many, many people going in and out of the alley. I can't figure out what's going on with that? Is it a short cut ? Is it a thrill? To be aware may help you in the long run, and awareness includes staying out of alleys.
ReplyDeleteEat the Rich, you're very right.
ReplyDelete