Paris jewel thief betrayed by a kiss

Police arrest man with the help of DNA he left on shop owner’s face

Traces of DNA were left by a thief after he kissed the owner of a Paris jewellery shop. Photograph: Getty Images
Traces of DNA were left by a thief after he kissed the owner of a Paris jewellery shop. Photograph: Getty Images

A thief who kissed the owner of a Paris jewellery shop he was robbing was arrested with the help of the DNA he left on her face, a French newspaper reported yesterday.

Last April, two masked men tied the jeweller up in her apartment, poured what they said was petrol over her head and threatened to ignite it if she did not tell them the codes for the alarm in her shop, Le Parisien said.

One of the thieves then headed to the store, stealing cash and jewels, while the other guarded the 56-year-old jeweller, identified only as Anne. Before letting her go, he kissed her on the cheek.

Police extracted DNA from the kiss and it later led them to a man who was detained in the south of France on suspicion of another crime.

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The man (20) has said he was just a lookout and that he kissed the jeweller to “allay her trauma”. – (Reuters)