Heist at the Louvre Episode 1: Inside the Glass Cases

Hi, I'm James Longman, ABC News chief. international correspondent. I want to. tell you about my new podcast, Heist at. the Louv. It's a thrilling new series. from ABC Audio, and I really think it's. unlike anything you've heard before. On. October 19th, 2025, just about a year. ago, the Louv Museum was robbed. Now, $100 million worth of jewelry, which was. once owned by French royalty, is. missing. And the most famous museum in. the world has become a crime scene. In.

this new series, I'll be looking into. the investigation of the heist. I'll be. diving deep to explore the Parisian. criminal underworld and the. international hunt for the crown jewels. Plus, I'm going to explore what this. heist has revealed about a museum and a. nation known around the world for its. priceless art. And we'll be sharing new. episodes right here in the 2020 feed. weekly on Fridays for the next few. weeks. You can also listen early by. searching for Heist at the Louv on Apple. Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you.

listen to podcasts. Or you can listen. adree on Apple Podcasts when you. subscribe to 2020 True Crime Plus. Click. the link in the description to learn. more. Now, here's episode one of Heist. at the Louv. For me, it all began with the film. Mission Impossible. [music]. In the mid '90s, when that movie first. came out, it was instantly burned into. my brain. >> Good morning, Mr. Phelps. This is your.

mission should you choose to accept it. >> Now, you might think Mission Impossible. is a spy movie, but there's this moment. where Tom Cruz kind of goes rogue. If. you've seen the movie, you know what I'm. talking about. He breaks into a locked. vault. He hacks into a CIA computer and. right then it suddenly becomes my. ultimate heist movie. And that scene. with the rope and the light up floor and. the bead of sweat. Yeah, it's just as. good today as it was then. Now, if you. haven't seen it, you kind of don't need.

to. You know the heist formula already. The good guys are the rebels forced to. steal, cheat, lie, and even kill, but. all for the right reasons. And they look. good doing it. Everyone has that one. heist movie they can watch over and over. again and never get bored. From the. Italian Job, >> you're only supposed to blow the bloody. doors off. >> To Oceans 11, we're just supposed to. walk out of there with $150 million in. cash on us without getting stopped.

>> Yeah, >> heist movies can be classic, emotional, violent, but in all of them, we get to. live a little of our Robin Hood. fantasies just for a couple of hours. >> [music]. >> But what if fantasy became an ugly. reality? [music]. >> An urgent investigation is underway in. Paris after a daring jewel heist at the. Lou earlier this morning. Authorities. say three people made. >> this story we're about to get into. It. could have been a Hollywood screenplay. On October 19th, 2025, someone broke.

into the most famous museum in the world. and stole some of the most famous jewels. in the world. We're going to tell you. how this heist happened and [music]. track down some people closest to those. suspected of being responsible. Then. we're joining the international hunt for. the jewels, [music] which takes us. closer to home than you'd think. And. we'll be exploring a whole world of. heists from real life that might help us. understand this one a little bit better. But even though this heist could have.

been created by a Hollywood. screenwriter, [music]. it was all too real for the people who. were there that day. [music] In this. episode, we'll talk to the people who. saw it all unfold in real time. [music]. Because while those characters in the. back of the shot in Oceans 11 ceased to. exist after the cameras turned off, these people didn't. And [music] what. they experienced will stay with them for. a long time. What they saw was a brazen. heist carried out in one of the busiest.

[music] museums in the world in broad. daylight. From ABC [music]. Audio, I'm James Longman and this is. Heist [music] at the Louv. Episode 1, [music] Inside the Glass. Cases. As ABC News's chief international. correspondent, I travel a lot. War. zones, international summits, sites of. natural disasters. I have more stamps in.

my passport than I can count. And I've. been to Paris many, many times. I go for. work, but I was also raised in a. French-speaking household. I've been. surrounded by French culture for as long. as I can remember. So, for me, going to. Paris kind of feels like going home. For. lots of people though, going to Paris is. the trip of a lifetime. >> Hello. >> Hi, James. >> Hi. >> Hi, everyone. >> This is Jake and Holly Barker. Holly is. a middle school Spanish teacher and Jake. is an environmental engineer. They live.

with their two dogs in Indianapolis, Indiana. >> How would you describe Indiana in one. sentence? >> It's a great place to live if you love. to travel. >> That's so funny. I've never heard. anywhere described like that. It's the. best place to live if you want to leave. quickly. This. >> you you understood it exactly as I. intended. >> Jake and Holly have been together for. around 12 years. And it was Holly who. gave Jake the travel bug. >> I really outkicked my coverage when I.

started dating and and married Holly. She introduced me to this whole world of. of travel and having experiences. uh that I never dreamed I would ever. have. And so she's my best friend and I. get to explore this whole new world with. her. >> Holly's family had taken her abroad when. she was a kid, including to Paris. And. last year, Holly's 70some yearear-old. parents decided they wanted to go to. France again. They dreamed of visiting. World War II historical sites and they.

wanted company. When they asked if we. would have any interest of going with. them and kind of being the chaperones. essentially, you know, driving them. around, I was uh I hopped on board and I. said, you know, I will plan everything. I love to plan vacations, trips. I just. I love it. >> Holly planned a vacation for the four of. them for the middle of October 2025. They would drive around Normandy, see. the famous Mosa Michelle, and at the.

end, Holly and Jake would have a few. days in Paris just for them. >> Jake had never seen Paris before. So. that's why I allotted like 4 days for. the two of us to go do all the, you. know, the Paris things. >> When they got there, they spent a few. days working their way down a list of. Paris mustos. You know the kind of. thing. A boat tour of the Sen River, seeing the Eiffel Tower. And on their. last full day, Sunday, October 19th, they planned to spend all day at a. museum, the Louv. Holly again was the.

one who figured it all out. >> I was like, we are getting a 9:00 a.m. tour and booked on our little itinerary. You know, at least. four to 5 hours there. I know you cannot. see everything in the Lou in one in one. trip, let alone one day. So, so yeah, I. was like, "Well, we'll do what we can in. the 4 to 5 hours that I allotted for.". >> Now, Holly's right. The L is enormous.

The main building is arranged around. three sides of an interior courtyard. where a large glass pyramid juts out of. the ground. This pyramid now rivals the. Eiffel Tower as a must-see tourist photo. opportunity. But it's also a [music]. skylight, revealing that the museum. stretches two stories underground. It's. a warren of galleries and escalators. [music]. The museum has been described as a city. within a city [music] with nearly 9. miles of exhibition rooms and 35,000.

objects of art on display. [music]. Everything from Renaissance paintings to. stone age carvings. [music] It's got it. all. According to their own figures, the. Louv had just under 9 million visitors. in [music] 2024. For comparison, the. Metropolitan Museum in New York says. they pulled in around 6 million visitors. in 2025. [music]. On busy days at the Louv, the lines can. be so long that they extend out of the. building and around that glass pyramid.

One of [music] the reasons the weight. can be so long, security. Every visitor goes through a metal. detector. Big bags have to be left. [music] in lockers while you walk. around. According to their 2024 report, over a [music] thousand security staff. guard the Louv 24 hours a day. They. watch the entrances and galleries for. visitors [music] suspicious behavior. But on Sunday, October 19th, as Jake and. Holly arrived at the Louv, neither they. nor the security [music] staff working.

that morning had any idea that a heist. [music] had already begun. So, what did your family think when you. said you got a job at the L? >> Oh, it was awful. >> Oh, >> because Yes. Yes. Because uh it was. awful. Uh because um my parents probably were. dreaming something. better for me.

>> This is Frederick Ser. He's part of the. security team at the Louv, one of the. many uniformed agents standing watch. Frederick's in his early 40s now, and as. far back as he can remember, his parents. were always taking him to museums and. exhibitions. They're both doctors. They. raised their kids with a knowledge of. high culture. And in fact, Frederick. studied history at the Sorbon, which is. a prestigious Parisian university. >> But I was a very very very bad student. So uh that's why I I didn't get any.

diploma. >> Around the time that Frederick was. dropping out of the Saon, he had a. friend working at the Louv. He helped. Frederick find a job there, just. something temporary until he figured out. his next steps. Frederick became a. security guard. >> It was 70 17 years before and I'm still. there. >> On the morning of October 19th, 2025, Frederick was working the opening shift. >> [music]. >> I like working on Sundays because it's.

uh it's very peaceful. >> Frederick's day starts long before the. visitors arrive. At the start of his. shift, he grabs his radio and keys and. starts walking those hallowed halls. He's alone, but he's surrounded by. famous faces. The Venus Demo, a painted. Napoleon on horseback, an ancient. Egyptian sphinx. It was an honor to walk. in the in the museum in in the morning. Uh especially in the morning. So you you.

you walking alone. You feel the the the. weight of history on you when you're. alone in the galleries of the museum. when you're in the front of Mona alone. in the in this room. Uh yes is that's. something that's. >> I can see you're smiling wide smile. thinking about that. because uh [music]. that's history.

>> Talking to Frederick, you can see how. important the Louv is to him. Even if he. says his parents don't approve, this is. more than just a job. >> I have a lot of sympathy for for the. building because uh it's so familiar to. me. It's uh it's part of my family. [laughter]. >> It's like an old grandmother. >> Yes, exactly. It is exactly. >> Frederick used to be a gallery guard in. the individual rooms where the art is. displayed. He says he likes watching the.

visitors, seeing how different. nationalities interact with the museum. in different ways, like the grand rooms. that Napoleon used to live in. >> It's the oh my god rooms because you can. you can you can hear all the Americans. say oh my god, oh [laughter] my god. That's very funny. That's very funny. Frederick isn't mocking. He loves it. He. loves the enthusiasm. He loves to see. people engaging with the building that. he is so fond of. He's not in the.

galleries anymore, though. He works at. the entrance to the Louv, that same. entrance that Holly and Jake arrived at. that Sunday morning in October of 2025. [music]. We can place all three of them there. just after 9:00 a.m. [music] But by the. time Jake and Holly got there, it was. quickly becoming less peaceful. >> It went from three people standing in. line, quiet. I got a picture, we each. got a picture in front of the pyramid,

you know, by ourselves, no one else, and. then the line that just started wrapping. around. >> So it was it was buzzing at that. entrance. I mean, there were just masses. of people. So it was Sunday, it was. raining in Paris. Uh on that particular. morning, it was a perfect morning for. visiting the museum. Still, thanks to. Holly's organizing, they got through. security in a matter of minutes. And. once they got inside, Jake says they had. their route all figured out. From where.

they entered under the pyramid, they. planned to turn south, heading up two. flights of stairs until they reached the. second floor. They were headed for the. Deno wing where some of the most famous. works of art live in adjoining rooms. And Jake wants people to know he had. been doing some research for the trip, too. >> I don't just sit around here on my hands. all day. [laughter] You know what I. mean? >> He'd been listening to a podcast made by. a local tour guide about what to do in. Paris.

>> And he had a few episodes about the. Apollo room specifically [snorts] at the. Louv. And and that was that's what I was. most excited about. So. >> really. >> exactly. Yeah. >> Because that is not normally what people. are most excited about. >> Yeah. >> It's time to talk about the most famous. item in the most famous museum in the. world. A portrait of a woman not much. bigger than a kitchen cutting board. As. Jake and Holly entered the Denon wing, they arrived at the Louv's largest.

gallery where she lives. probably had been to the Lou. She'd seen. the Mona Lisa and the whole time she's. like, "You're gonna you're not gonna be. impressed.". >> Yeah. I mean, it's is it's impressive, but like everybody it's not nearly as. big, you know, as people make it out to. be, >> but the the that's we're joking a little. bit because obviously the first place we. stopped was. >> the Mona. >> 80% of the visitors of the Lou want to. see the Mona.

Uh and that's. >> you look very upset about that. >> Yes. Yes. Because. >> the whole body has just shrunk the. mention of the Mona Lisa. [laughter]. >> Yes. Because uh no the problem is uh. it's it creates um how can you say that. uh in English? >> It's unbalanced. >> Yes. Exactly. Because of the number of. visitors, the security of the Mona Lisa. compared to the rest of the Lure is also.

unbalanced. She's a target for environmental. activists, terrorists, and thieves. She's guarded by climate control glass. Tiny sensors monitor any movement of her. frame. Thousands of visitors crowd her. room, but can't get too close. Multiple. cameras watch for anyone who breaches. the barrier that surrounds her. She is. in some ways a perfect diversion. Everyone watches her while other parts.

of the museum are far less noticed. [music]. Holly and Jake grabbed a quick selfie in. front of the portrait, but were eager to. get to their planned destination just a. short distance away. They moved away. from the Mona Lisa room through a. gallery and up a grand staircase guarded. by the winged statue of Samothras, a. 2,000-year-old marble figure bathed in. light from a window above. Within. minutes, they were at the entrance to.

the Apollo Gallery. >> Jake kept saying like, "If we can't go. to Versailles, we have to go to this. room because it's supposed to be like he. called it like a mini Versail.". >> Did it live up to expectation? >> Oh, yeah. I mean, it is absolutely. stunning of a room. [music]. >> The Apollo Gallery is long and narrow. and sits in total contrast with the Mona. Lisa room in several ways. For one,

[music] it attracts a fraction of the. visitors. For another, there are far. fewer security measures. [music] But the. decor, that's what really sets it apart. 400 years ago, it was designed to show. off the wealth and power of France. It. still does. Every surface of the walls. and ceilings are either covered in shiny. gold leaf or panled in the kind of. murals you might see in the cyine. chapel. It's gorgeous. It's this. gorgeous room full of these glass cases,

right? Like anything in a glass case is. special. And so this room is just lined. with glass cases. >> Inside each of those glass cases were. jewels, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds. arranged in different ornate jewelry. pieces. Many were owned by French. royalty. And even in a room made of. gold, these jewels cannot be upstaged. There was just one problem.

It is um in the front of the San River. with five or seven windows in the uh in. the front of the street. Yes, that's. that's a bad choice. Yes, of course. >> The room that held some of the most. precious jewels in France faces a busy. street and it has big windows. When. Holly and Jake arrived shortly after. 9:30 in the morning, they began making. their way along the display cases. running down the center line of the.

room. And at 9:32, I'm at the very front. glass case staring at this teapot with a. horse unicorn mermaid body kind of. thing, jewels. And I'm and I take a. picture of it and I'm trying to get. Holly to like come look at this silly. like teapot thing. And she's already. looking at the crown jewels which are in. the middle of the room. >> Yeah, I'm halfway down by now. >> When do you notice something's up? >> So, I'm looking at the the green emerald.

necklace. I remember. >> Holly's talking about a necklace from. the 1800s that once belonged to. Napoleon's wife. It's dripping with 10. huge green gems. It is beautiful. But. Holly's gaze was interrupted. I hear these bangs and my first instinct. is it's got to be construction. So I. look kind of in the direction of where. the noise came from and it's down the.

end of the room and it looked like the. windows. it looked like they were kind of. starting to be like shoved open like. forcefully. And that's when during those. bangs, I think on like by the third one, I'm kind of looking around like where's. [music] Jake? Then like after those. three bangs, it was the saw sound. >> Mhm. >> And that's when it was just like I don't. think this is construction.

>> When I heard that saw, I knew nothing. good was going to come from that. I I. wasn't sure if somebody at that point. was trying to bust out of the Apollo. room or bust in, but I knew that it. wasn't well-intentioned. And I knew if. we didn't act fast and, you know, leave. that it would it would not be in our. best interest. >> According to investigators, at 9:30. a.m., thieves arrived on the busy street.

outside the Apollo Gallery in a flatbed. truck. On the back was a furniture lift. [music] It kind of looks like a. motorized ladder. Investigators say that. after parking [music] outside, the. thieves used the lift to go up to the. second floor window and began trying to. break in. Holly told me she remembered. that there was a security guard in the. Apollo gallery and that as the banging. noise continued, she saw that security. guard run down the length of the room. toward the windows where the noise.

[music] was coming from. She knew something that this was not. construction. And so when she ran that. way, that's when I started to double. back. Holly went to find Jake, who was. standing closer to the entrance of the. room, still [music]. next to the jewel encrusted teapot. >> We immediately. came together, grasped hands, and. [music] kind of waited for for. instruction. >> Jake and Holly think there were around. 15 people inside the gallery at that.

moment. No one [music] seemed to know. what was happening, but a horrible. thought crossed Jake's mind. >> I I thought that it was probably [music]. a terrorist attack. And I and I know. that's sad and I think it's very. American of us to to jump to that. conclusion. We we we were we were. waiting for the gunshots. [music] That's. that's what we were thinking was once. the gunshots start happening, how do we how do we get. >> How do we get out of here? [music]. >> Holly and Jake didn't stay to find out. So they didn't see what investigators.

later described. Two men standing on the. balcony outside the gallery windows. using an angle grinder to cut into the. glass. And those men, according to. authorities, would soon be inside. Within moments, the security staff in. the gallery put a call out over the. radio.

And in English, insurgent insurgent. It's in the Apollo gallery. Somebody's. trying to get into the gallery from the. window. [music]. >> Frederick said that like Holly and Jake, many of his colleagues also assumed it. was a terrorist attack, but not. Frederick. There'd recently been a theft. at the science museum in Paris and for. some reason it had been playing on his. mind just the day before. >> and I was thinking yes it's possible. it's possible to happen in the in the.

lof so I have to be to to be ready for. that psychologically. >> psychologically he was when the call. came over the radio somehow Frederick. knew exactly what to do [music]. >> when I heard that I I run like I've. never run. [laughter]. >> You ran? >> Uh, yes. Yes, I ran. >> It's important to say here, Frederick. has no weapons. [music]. Security guards at the Louv are unarmed.

Now, he's a big guy, tall and serious. looking, but he's more [music] of a. gentle giant. And he told me he is. always watching for security lapses, but. a lot of what he does is just help. tourists, [music] welcome them in, find. their spouses who've gotten lost in the. galleries. And he says there's an order. of what guards are [music] supposed to. protect in situations like this. Visitors and staff first building and. the art only [music] if they can. >> really we are not we are not police.

officers. We are we are. >> and yet [music] you felt this kind of. urge to go towards it. >> Why? [music]. >> I think it was my duty. >> Frederick didn't run towards the Apollo. gallery. He ran towards where the. thieves had come from outside the. windows. But remember, the [music] Louv. is huge. To get from where he was to the. street outside the Apollo gallery, Frederick ran about a quarter of a mile.

All he had on him was his flashlight, which [music] he thought could come in. handy if he needed to defend himself, and his phone. Maybe I won't stop the the thieves, but. uh I will have to to take a photo of. them uh for for the investigations. later. >> Uh um but I was too late. [music]. The thieves had entered the gallery at. 9:34 a.m. By the time the radio call. went out and Frederick had raced around. to the street, it was 9:38 and they were.

already gone. All that was left were the devastating. after effects of the biggest heist that. had ever happened at the Louv. [music]. Between the call going out over the. radio and Frederick's arrival outside. the gallery windows, a lot had happened. According to investigators, the thieves.

entered the gallery and used their angle. grinders to cut into the glass display. cases. Authorities said they managed to. grab nine pieces of Napoleonic era. jewelry. And investigators would later. place the value of what was stolen at. over $100 million. By the time Frederick arrived, he said. he saw the truck and the ladder still. extended toward the gallery windows, but. the thieves were gone. I was I don't. know, like 10 seconds too late.

>> The entire thing from beginning to end. took 7 minutes. Authorities said that. after leaving the gallery through the. same window they'd arrived through, the. thieves had shimmyed back down to the. street and escaped on motorized. scooters. The act was clearly premeditated and it. seemed like everything had gone. according to plan. Almost everything. They'd left in a hurry. >> They had left everything. The the tools,

their helmets, uh everything. >> And that wasn't all. Frederick says the. thieves had poured gasoline all over the. furniture lift. uh was feeling a little. bit dizzy at the time because yes, it. was very very a strong smell, a very. strong smell. >> The thieves had likely intended to set. fire to the furniture lift, according to. investigators, along with all the other. equipment, but they were seemingly. interrupted by the arrival of Louv.

staff. If they'd been successful, it. could have made a bad day even worse. Frederick told me, "The Apollo gallery. is made of wood. If the thieves had. flung a lit match, the entire room could. have caught the blaze. Instead, the. thieves had left behind crucial clues. for investigators. Because of the quick. thinking of Frederick's colleagues, there was something to look for. Fingerprints and DNA. Police arrived moments after Frederick. did. Sirens blared. Frederick stood on.

the street trying to stop members of the. public getting too close to the crime. scene when something caught his eye. >> On the pavements, uh, I saw something. shiny. >> That shiny object was in a light well. below street level and Frederick took a. closer look. >> I realized that uh it was um a piece of. jewelry. >> Wasn't just any piece of jewelry. It was.

a crown once worn by Princess Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. Encrusted with over a thousand diamonds. and eight solid gold [music] eagles, the. crown was lying crushed and deformed in. the corner of a Parisian [music]. sidewalk. It seemed that the thieves had dropped. it on the way down from the balcony. It. meant that investigators were now. looking for eight items [music] stolen. from the Apollo gallery by thieves who. seemed like they knew exactly what they.

had gone there to steal. The crown. jewels of France. Now, this is where the movie normally. ends. We cut to our handsome heisters on. the motorbikes, speeding away from the. Parisian police. The sirens fade, the. guy gets the girl, and the credits roll. But what we call a heist in a movie has. another name, theft. [music] Heists are exciting, thrilling, made for the screen. Theft has lasting.

consequences. Holly and Jake Barker. aren't actors, [music] and the day. wasn't nearly over for them. While the. investigators began to piece together. what had happened outside, Holly and. Jake were trapped inside. Not knowing. what exactly [music] they just. witnessed, they watched as panic spread. through the crowded halls. [music]. >> I tend to freak out easily on things and. not like again just waiting for that. sound of a gunshot when you're not quite.

sure what was going on or where to go. And also just the like 15 people [music]. in that room are running. But then when. you get out of the Apollo room and into. like another little area, now hundreds. of people are running. [music]. >> There was nowhere to go. And over an. hour later, Holly and Jake said they. still hadn't been told anything apart. from to stay [music] where they were. At. around 11:00 a.m., Jake said he spotted.

something. An open door and other. [music] tourists escaping through it. They joined a crowd that was pushing out. into the museum courtyard, not knowing. if they were supposed to or not. As they. left, they overheard some American. [music] tourists talking about a robbery. in the Apollo Gallery. And that was how. they learned that the crown jewels had. been stolen. And soon that news would [music] spread. all over the world. Crowns, necklaces, earrings, and more.

estimated to be worth more than $100. million. We have learned a short time. ago that officials did recover one. piece. Investigators say they're still. trying to determine if a source inside. one of the world's most popular [music]. was involved. >> Now we join [music] the investigation. tracing the journey of the thieves from. the moment they left the Louv. >> I said, "How in the world did the. thieves [music] get into these cases?".

And he said, "Well, it was easy." And. the hunt for what they took with them. some of the most dazzling pieces of. jewelry in the Western [music] world. And later, we'll find out what happened. inside the gallery from the perspective. of one of the suspected thieves. >> Is there anything you think your client, if he was here now, what would he like. us to know? >> Believe me, I guess. [music]. Heist at the Louv is a production of ABC.

audio hosted by me, James Longman. [music] Produced by Meline Wood, Emily. Schutz, and Aisha Elhhamar Castano, edited by Norah Richie. Our supervising. producer is Susie Louu. Mixing by Evan. Viola. Special thanks to Katie Dendas, John Capidus, Indra Dele Sahan, Iman. Veroa, Michelle Margulus, and Suzanne. Danto. Josh Kohhan is our director of. podcast programming. Aean Mcniff is our. executive [music] producer.