Crime | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/crime/RSS feed for CrimeenWed, 02 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000Before Vegas Became Vegas, Hot Springs Was America's Sin City. Now the Arkansas Spa Town Embraces Its Colorful and Seedy Historyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/before-vegas-hot-springs-americas-sin-city-arkansas-spa-town-embraces-colorful-seedy-history-180989288/A life-size statue of Al Capone greets downtown visitors, and you can stay in his hotel suite. The town where gangsters once vacationed with movie stars and athletes is still open for a getawayWed, 02 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/before-vegas-hot-springs-americas-sin-city-arkansas-spa-town-embraces-colorful-seedy-history-180989288/Thieves Steal 3,000-Year-Old Treasure in a 'Super-Professional' Museum Heist That Took Only Four Minuteshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thieves-steal-3000-year-old-treasure-in-a-super-professional-museum-heist-that-took-only-four-minutes-180989418/Officials were shaken after dozens of ancient artifacts vanished from the local archaeological museum in Villena, Spain. The thieves left only a few pieces from the Bronze Age treasure behindMon, 31 Aug 2026 17:11:11 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thieves-steal-3000-year-old-treasure-in-a-super-professional-museum-heist-that-took-only-four-minutes-180989418/A Landlord Found a Peculiar Print Hanging in a Vacant Apartment. It Turned Out to Be an Original Picasso That Had Been Missing for Eight Yearshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-landlord-found-a-peculiar-print-hanging-in-a-vacant-apartment-it-turned-out-to-be-an-original-picasso-print-that-had-been-missing-for-eight-years-180989417/When "Torero" vanished from a Milwaukee art gallery in 2018, the owners didn't know whether they'd ever see it again. The man who found the etching turned it over to the police earlier this monthFri, 28 Aug 2026 15:37:31 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-landlord-found-a-peculiar-print-hanging-in-a-vacant-apartment-it-turned-out-to-be-an-original-picasso-print-that-had-been-missing-for-eight-years-180989417/Stolen Masterpieces Worth $10 Million Discovered in a Cardboard Box, Months After Thieves Snuck Into a Museum and Whisked Them Away Into the Nighthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stolen-masterpieces-worth-10-million-discovered-in-a-cardboard-box-months-after-thieves-snuck-into-a-museum-and-whisked-them-away-into-the-night-180989358/The artworks by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse disappeared in a three-minute heist earlier this year. Now, police have arrested five suspects in connection with the burglary in northern ItalyTue, 18 Aug 2026 15:24:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stolen-masterpieces-worth-10-million-discovered-in-a-cardboard-box-months-after-thieves-snuck-into-a-museum-and-whisked-them-away-into-the-night-180989358/As Sicilians Flocked to a Religious Festival, Thieves Broke Into a Nearby Museum and Stole Four Renaissance Paintingshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/as-sicilians-flocked-to-religious-festival-thieves-broke-into-nearby-museum-stole-four-renaissance-paintings-180989352/The missing works include three panels from a 15th-century altarpiece by Antonello da Messina, as well as a two-sided devotional painting by the artistMon, 17 Aug 2026 19:36:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/as-sicilians-flocked-to-religious-festival-thieves-broke-into-nearby-museum-stole-four-renaissance-paintings-180989352/Stanford University's Founding Matriarch Was a Travel-Loving Philanthropist Who Met a Tragic End. A New Exhibition Explores Her Life, Grief and Death by Poisonhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/stanford-universitys-founding-matriarch-was-a-travel-loving-philanthropist-who-met-a-tragic-end-a-new-exhibition-explores-her-life-grief-and-death-by-poison-180989211/Jane Stanford's legacy is the focus of a new showcase at the California university. The display features artifacts that have never previously been exhibitedThu, 30 Jul 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/stanford-universitys-founding-matriarch-was-a-travel-loving-philanthropist-who-met-a-tragic-end-a-new-exhibition-explores-her-life-grief-and-death-by-poison-180989211/Australia’s Most Notorious Shipwreck Tells a Story of Murder, Slavery, Mutiny—and, Now, ‘Surprisingly Sophisticated’ Trade in the 17th Centuryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-most-notorious-shipwreck-tells-a-story-of-murder-slavery-mutiny-and-now-surprisingly-sophisticated-trade-in-the-17th-century-180989227/When the Dutch East India Company’s flagship "Batavia" sank in 1629, it went down with large, carved sandstone blocks in its hold. The stones are now shedding light on trade at the dawn of global capitalismThu, 30 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-most-notorious-shipwreck-tells-a-story-of-murder-slavery-mutiny-and-now-surprisingly-sophisticated-trade-in-the-17th-century-180989227/TSA Officers Found Five Cannonballs Stolen From a Civil War Fort in a Checked Suitcase at an Alabama Airporthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tsa-officers-found-five-cannonballs-stolen-from-a-civil-war-fort-in-a-checked-suitcase-at-an-alabama-airport-180989212/The inert artifacts gave security officers in Gulf Shores a good scare. Investigators say the weapons came from Fort Morgan, which guards Mobile BayTue, 28 Jul 2026 19:42:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tsa-officers-found-five-cannonballs-stolen-from-a-civil-war-fort-in-a-checked-suitcase-at-an-alabama-airport-180989212/Thousands of Kidnapped Africans Died on an Island in the Atlantic After Being Rescued From Slave Ships. Evidence in Their Teeth Traces Their Journeyshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thousands-of-kidnapped-africans-died-on-an-island-in-the-atlantic-after-being-rescued-from-slave-ships-evidence-in-their-teeth-traces-their-journeys-180989145/Remains in the graves of St. Helena, where the British military housed "liberated" enslaved Africans, contain isotopes from inland Angola and ZimbabweMon, 20 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thousands-of-kidnapped-africans-died-on-an-island-in-the-atlantic-after-being-rescued-from-slave-ships-evidence-in-their-teeth-traces-their-journeys-180989145/Man Sentenced for Stealing 'Rare and Unique' Chinese Texts, Valued at More Than $200,000, by Using Aliases, Fake IDs and Dummy Manuscriptshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/man-sentenced-for-stealing-rare-and-unique-chinese-texts-valued-at-more-than-200000-by-using-aliases-fake-ids-and-dummy-manuscripts-180989134/The works were stolen from the University of California, Los Angeles, over the course of several yearsThu, 16 Jul 2026 15:18:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/man-sentenced-for-stealing-rare-and-unique-chinese-texts-valued-at-more-than-200000-by-using-aliases-fake-ids-and-dummy-manuscripts-180989134/In the Latest Brazen Heist, Jewelry and Artworks Worth $5 Million Were Stolen From a Famed French Designer's Museumhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-the-latest-brazen-heist-jewelry-and-artworks-worth-5-million-were-stolen-from-famed-french-designer-lalique-museum-180989105/A trio of burglars stole 27 pieces, including a dragonfly pendant, from the Lalique Museum in eastern FranceFri, 10 Jul 2026 17:57:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-the-latest-brazen-heist-jewelry-and-artworks-worth-5-million-were-stolen-from-famed-french-designer-lalique-museum-180989105/