Wedding Dress Thief Tries On Dress, Walks Out of Bridal Store – 09-28-2012
The ‘Bridal Bandit’, her three-year-old daughter and six friends went into a New Jersey boutique where they pretended they were there to try on a number of gowns.
Police say that the woman then suddenly walked out whilst clutching one of the most expensive in the store: a Ysa Makino designed strapless, floor-length gown with beading along the chest.
CCTV pictures showed the bizarre scene as the woman walked along the street in Fanwood, New Jersey, with the white dress tucked under her arm.
Trailing behind her was her daughter who struggled to keep up as the woman marched as fast as she could to get away.
Police say that the little girl could even have been used as a distraction by the woman as when they were in the store she asked if staff could go out and get some pizza for her.
When they refused, the woman’s friends are said to have stood in the way of staff whilst the bride made her getaway which wasn’t noticed until two days later.
Chamroen Seng, the owner of the Seng Couture wedding dress shop, said that all of the group who came into her store were in on it.
She said: ‘We put them in the fitting room to try on. They had a kid. They had a teenager try on, to distract us.
‘The kid asked my wife to go buy pizza and go buy drink and we said, “This is a boutique store; this is not a restaurant”.
‘Six of them were back there and blocked my wife.’
Ms Seng added that even though she was insured, she wants the thief to be caught before she strikes again.
Fanwood Police Chief Richard Trigo said that perhaps the most disturbing aspect of all was that the bride paid so little attention to her daughter.
He said: ‘I guess she was more worried about stealing the dress than watching out for the child or whomever the child was’.
Anybody who knows the bride has been urged to call Fanwood police on 908 322 5000. The theft took place at 2pm on September 28.
