Emc senatra gang1/24/2024 ![]() ![]() Meanwhile, investigators interviewed Nash and Durant’s families, searched their homes, and the home of Nash’s former assistant. Durant was taken into custody the following day, though he was not held. When asked about taking jewels from Kronberg Castle, Nash “failed” the test. Nash was immediately taken into custody and subjected to a polygraph test. As they were filling their glasses there was a knock on the door, a CID arrest team was moving in. At two in the morning, the pair returned to their room and ordered champagne. After depositing their luggage in their room and changing, Nash and Durant left for the evening, unaware that CID men would be waiting for them in the room next door. There, they checked into the luxurious La Salle hotel on June 2. Nash and Durant chose to ignore the orders and visited her sister in Wisconsin before traveling to Chicago. The possibility of a coincidence was too slim. A couple of days later, Durant received notice that his leave was cancelled, and he was to report to the same location. On May 29, she received a telegram ordering her to report to Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Four days before their marriage, Nash’s terminal leave was canceled. They also had reason to believe their situation was in jeopardy. But Durant had been a lawyer before joining the US Army Air Forces, and no doubt knew that were they caught and tried, neither could be forced to testify against the other if they were married. They had not known each other for very long, and Durant had been seeing other women. The motive behind their nuptials can be questioned. On May 28, 1946, Nash and Durant married. ![]() In addition to selling jewels, Durant had his brother help him bury loose stones in jars in numerous locations in Virginia. At that time, it was valued at $7,500, today that amount would be $110,000. Dining with friends in Chicago, Nash wore a platinum watch with 606 diamonds that had belonged to Mafalda. Durant replied, “Get into trouble? I’m already up to my neck in it now.”Īlthough Durant was feeling the heat, he and Nash occasionally flaunted their loot. ![]() When Durant visited his former secretary to pick up more stolen items which she had brought back for him, she asked him if he was concerned about getting into trouble over the stolen goods. Durant then forged paperwork which claimed he was being separated from active duty. From there, the situation began to decline quickly for Nash and Durant.Ī customs agent contacted Durant, who was forced to surrender 102 loose diamonds he had not declared upon returning to the United States. The jeweler called the police, providing an important tip to investigators. There, they tried to sell more gems, but the jeweler refused as none of the gems had the required customs documents. Nash, on terminal leave (leave taken before discharge from the military) prior to her discharge, was out in California, but traveled to Chicago in March to meet up with Durant. He even used a diamond to help buy a car. It was difficult to sell gems without paperwork, but Durant managed to unload several large ones, using a fake name at times. By April, when Sophie went to the CID, Nash and Durant had already returned to the United States, but Watson was still in Frankfurt, so the investigators had an easy time keeping track of him.īack in the United States, Durant was on leave on the East Coast, trying to either sell or hide everything he had brought back. The three had stolen the jewels, broken many up, and begun selling them off, confident that they were getting away with it. Princess Sophia was correct, and it did not take long for the investigation to land on Captain Nash, Colonel Jack Durant, and Major David Watson. ![]() Sophia was convinced the jewels had been stolen. Her attempts had been rebuffed by WAC Captain Kathleen Nash, and in April, Sophia finally managed to convince the US Army CID (Criminal Investigation Division) to launch an investigation. Her mother-in-law, Princess Margarethe von Hessen, had already attempted to retrieve from US Army personnel the box of jewels hidden in the cellar of the family home. Image courtesy of the National Archives.īy early 1946, Princess Sophia von Hessen, widow of Prince Christoph, was preparing to remarry. Top Image: Jewels and other items are on display during the court martial of Colonel Jack. ![]()
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