Romanian Woman Claims She Burned Stolen Masterpieces to Destroy Evidence

In October 2012, seven masterpieces were stolen from the Kunsthal Rotterdam during an exhibition of the Triton Collection, which featured works by Picasso, Freud, Matisse, Van Gogh, Mondrian, Dalí, Monet, Gauguin, and de Haan. The thieves entered through a window and bypassed the alarm system. Dutch police arrested a Romanian suspect, Radu Dogaru, who implicated six others. The suspects were detained in Romania, where authorities believed they sought buyers. The Netherlands did not request extradition. Dogaru allegedly gave the paintings to his mother, Olga Dogaru, for safekeeping. She first hid them in an abandoned farmhouse, then, under pressure from investigators, claimed she burned them in a stove to destroy evidence. The estimated value of the works is between €50 and €100 million. The veracity of her claim remains unconfirmed, and investigations continue.