A COUPLE’S WEIRD BEHAVIOR MADE PEOPLE QUESTION THEIR SANITY BUT THE MYSTERIOUS PAINTING FOUND IN THEIR HOUSE EXPLAINED IT ALL!!

 

Jerry Alter and Rita Alter were made for each other. The couple’s love story is perfect in its own unique way, however, that’s not what we would focus upon today. Besides the couple’s love story, there’s something else that brought the world’s attention towards their house.

When this couple moved to New Mexico, they were called weirdos by their neighbors for their strange lifestyle. Nobody knew anything about their past as Jerry and Rita never believed in interacting with their neighbors. People assumed that the couple might have had some bitter experiences in the past that turned made them this reserved but they were not even close. The reality was far from all the assumptions of people as the couple was living with a secret. After the couple met their end, their extraordinary secret was going to astound the whole country.

Early Beginnings

Jerry and Rita made a decision of moving to a new place during the last years of the 1970s. They chose a small town, Cliff, Grant County, New Mexico. The two of them had all they required to live a happy and peaceful life. After living in New York for most of their lives, they moved to Cliff in search of an easy and slow moving life that one can never experience in NY.

Jerry used to be a teacher but he retired before moving to the new town. Back in his teaching days, he used to be the most famous of all the professors. He was students’ favorite and the credit goes to his immense knowledge in the field of art, culture, and travel. He was an adventurous soul and his stories used to amuse students and inspire them.

A Pair Of Travellers

Jerry was a passionate guy and he always kept his dreams above monetary goals. the fulfillment he got by traveling was in no other thing. His interest in arts made his books more interesting. The man had a way of keeping his different perspective about things in front of the world in a convincing manner.

Before he could turn eighty, Jerry had been to all the continents and more than 140 countries. People who met him even once use to praise him for his etiquettes and generosity towards everyone. But the question being was he actually the same person that the world thought him to be or was it all just a part of a much more bigger and complicated plot?

Better Half

Rita, on the other hand, was no behind in the race. She wasn’t ready to retire even after moving to New Mexico worked as a speech pathologist in a nearby school. Jerry and Rita never even went out for walks or anything that can allow them to get in touch with people. They kept everything to themselves within the walls of their home mysterious home. Things became suspicious when neighbors noticed that Jerry and Rita didn’t even allow people to walk into their house. Even though they were curious they could have done nothing to know what was going on inside that house.

Gone Past

When someone finally got into a conversation with the couple once in a while, the chat used to get strange anytime the question of past popped up. Jerry and Rita never answered any questions related to their past. They never even revealed the real reason behind leaving New York. They always said that they wanted to live a simpler life when even a kid could have said that they were lying.

Well, not to anyone’s surprise they were indeed lying. But the strange secret they were hiding will be just too much for anyone to take.

Kept To Themselves

Jerry and Rita had two kids named, Barbara and Joseph. The kids were no different from their parents. The siblings used to play in their own front yard instead of the nearby park where other society children used to go daily. As per the neighbors’ theory, the kids followed their parent’s orders but what they were never able to understand was the reason behind such an overly reserved lifestyle… It wasn’t that the neighbors would harm them, then why?

Socializing

The couple never threw a house warming party. For years, there was not even a single get together. They were not financially struggling rather earned a decent amount of money, it was just a choice to not let anyone in their place. This confusion was just so much for the neighbors. Jerry and Rita were always a topic of discussion when their neighbors used to meet up.

Globe-Trotting

They used to spend a nice time of their holidays traveling. Whenever they got time, they packed their stuff and hit the road. What was surprising was the fact that the couple never even thought of leaving a spare key with any one of the neighbors.  Something was certainly in there that Jerry and Rita didn’t want anyone else to see.

The Last Breath

Jerry and Rita lived a lavishing life with all the expensive things present in their house. However, it always seemed a little too much for a regular teacher to earn enough to live such an enriched life. Once their kids grew up, they moved out and the couple still stayed in the same beautiful house in Cliff. Everything worked as always until at the age of 81, Jerry took his last breath in 2012.

Putting Things In Light

Rita lived the next five years in complete isolation and finally followed her husband’s footsteps in 2017. The secret that the couple kept within the boundaries of their house was now left in an empty house with no one to look after.

After Rita was gone, the responsibility of all their assets fell on Ron Roseman’s shoulders. Ron was clueless about what was hidden in his relative’s house and he decided to sell their house. Before the house could be sold, Ron did something that unraveled all the odds.

Weird And Old

When Ron looked at the house, he noticed all the luring showpieces and knowing his relatives love for travel, he wanted to know if these were antiques or just souvenirs. So, he called a couple of antique specialists to tell him about all these pieces of art. Not even in his wildest of dreams, he could have imagined what happened next.

Checking That Up

So, a month after Rita passed away, several dealers were looking at each and every corner of their room which they kept hidden from everyone throughout their lives. Every room of the house was decorated amazingly but nothing was of so much worth, just beautiful pieces that’s all. It was until one of the antique dealers named David Van Auker walked in the Alter’s bedroom. 

David Van Auker

David Van Auker is a known antique dealer who worked in Silver City. The man has got decades of experience in the field and he was so expert in it that now he could just look at things to tell its worth. But David wasn’t expecting anything great out of his visit to the Alters’ place.

Luxurious Bedroom

The bedroom setup was totally different from the rest of the house. In fact, it was hard to say that it was part of the same house. The bedroom was full of all the modern types of equipment and this made David, the antique dealer wonder as of how can a teacher live such a high-tech life. They had it all, everything a normal person can think of putting in his/her house. The next thing that caught David’s attention was even more extraordinary.

Attraction

What he noticed next was a painting that was hanging on the wall next to the cupboard. There was something about this painting that lured David towards the picture. And when he walked close to the painting a thought crossed by his mind which was enough to make him curious. Because it could be greater than anyone thought, it can be huge! If David’s assumptions were right.

Taking It Up

David didn’t let his excitement reflect on his face. He didn’t want anyone else to know about it. So, he made a deal and bought all the goods in $2000 and made sure that the painting was included in it. All the assets were taken to Silver City, a place where several famous artists reside. Most of these artists used to visit David’s antique store from time to time.

Center Of Attraction

When one regular antique enthusiast visited David’s store, he was not expecting this painting to be there. He said that it might be an artwork of a prominent Dutch artist Willem de Kooning who was a resident of Netherland. He was an expert in abstract expressionism. The customer went on telling David that if this was an original piece than its cost is more than tens of millions of dollars. David didn’t believe him thinking that there was no way that Jerry and Rita could have to afford such a masterpiece.

The Prominent Painter

Willem De Kooning’s masterpieces were the reason behind the mid-century abstract expressionist movement. His art form was so famous among the people that he inspired artists around the world. The great talented artist died in 1997. In 2006, his “Woman-Ochre” from the series of “Woman III,” was purchased for $137.5 million. As a matter of fact, to date, Willem’s work has been among the most profitable on the planet.

The Search For The Truth

Although David didn’t believe the claims, every day there were more people saying the same thing. when a bunch of people said the same thing, David thought what if this painting actually worth so much? So, David started his search from the internet. What information he got to know was way more than money, there was a story hidden behind it.

Highly Expensive

The painting was indeed expensive but the original piece was stolen in 1985 during an exhibition in the University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson, AZ. When the painting was stolen, it stole the limelight as it was everywhere on the news channel. So, if this painting was stolen then what was it doing in the house of the middle-class teachers? Soon there was an answer to this as well.

Early Hours Of The Morning

When he researched more he got to know that the painting was stolen in the morning of November 29th. The first people to enter the museum were a couple when the doors opened in the morning they were standing first in the queue. When the guard was about to unlock the door, the crowd grew out of control.

A Quick Distraction

Around 60 to 70 people entered the museum right away and so did this couple. At the same time, the guard was distracted by an old lady who was pushed by someone and had fallen near the door. While the guard was helping the old lady, he was completely unaware that the couple will take advantage of this moment.

Distracted

At this time, the couple who was first one to enter got separated in the museum and the woman started a conversation with the guard. The woman was doing it on purpose to buy some time to the man with her. The couple looked like they were in their twenties and were quite active. Seeing that the woman has kept the guard occupied, the man ran straight to the third floor. What were they up to?

The Steal

The man came downstairs within a few minutes, asked the guard to excuse his wife to talk. They walked out of the museum and the guard who kept staring at them was alarmed. So, he ran inside to check if all the things were at its place or not. At that time, there was no other security personnel assigned at the place.

No Surveillance Cameras Jerome Jacobson

All the things were in favor of the thieves that day as there were no cameras in the museum to look. Other than that, there were no fingerprints either. So, the cops had no clues to start their investigation just one thing that the couple came in a rust-colored sports car but the police didn’t even have the license number. 

It Had Vanished

The painting that was stolen was Woman-Ochre, an art piece of Willem de  Kooning. As there were no clues, the case seemed close before it could even open. For the next three decades, the case remained inactive. And it was yet to be sure whether the painting that David bought was the original piece or not.

Huge Mystery

The mystery continued for over 32 years. And this became one of the most extended cases in the creative art world. But now with David’s doubts the decade’s old burglary case was going to take a steep turn.

The Investigation Continues

In August 2017, David called the Tucson museum and informed them about the painting he had and the assumptions that people had made about it. The museum was interested in knowing the truth behind this painting and they asked David to help them in their investigation. David was so careful with the painting that he stayed in his store that night guarding the painting with a gun until the museum team arrived.

Verifying The Painting

The next morning, A team of specialized antique department people visited David’s store to verify the painting’s reality. They did several tests on the painting to know how old it was and a writing expert also accompanied them to check Willem de Kooning’s signature. Wondering what were the results?

The Unbelievable Truth

The painting passed all the tests and even the signature was verified. This meant that the painting was original and the Alter’s were the couple who stole it 32 years ago. Hence, this painting was the reason why the couple didn’t let anyone in their house. The worth of this painting that David thought was just another painting turned everything around.

Accidental Discovery

The abstract painting’s worth was $160 million. David was in luck and the experts too. David unknowingly discovered the most precious thing and the experts got something to investigate about. They wanted to know about the duration when this painting remained missing. 

Not What It Seemed

The investigation suddenly reached to its heights just to know more about Jerry and Rita. The investigators were intrigued by the fact that the Alters managed to live such a luxurious life. Ideally, it is not possible for a regular income teacher to live so lavishly. Even the Alters relatives weren’t aware that they had so much money until they died. So how did they do it?

Thieves In Disguise

Ron Roseman too was unaware that his aunt and uncle held so much money. At first, he was impressed by thinking that the Alters knew how to invest and save. But soon his point of view changed when he got to know that his aunt and uncle were involved in the robbery. Also, it was right that the Alters were in Tucson in 1985 when the robbery took place for celebrating Thanksgiving.

Strange Outcome

Roseman said, “I guess I figured they were very frugal. They were just nice people.” But this was surprising that the Alters managed to live a dual life. One that Roseman was aware of and the other that was only known to the couple.

The Mystery Unfolds

The New York Times reporter came up with a photo of a red sports car. Remember we told that the thieves who stole the painting took off in a red sports car. This brought Jerry and Rita closer to be the couple who stole the painting in the first place.

Was It Them?

There was something strange. The sketches did seem a lot similar to the Alters but the woman looked in her sixties and the man in twenties as per the sketches. So, did they switch roles or tried to look different to keep themselves safe? People have their theories about it.

Psychologically Disturbed

Jerry and Rita’s son Joseph suffered from a psychological problem according to that doctors and he has been in and out of the mental institutions. He was quite tall at a young age and investigators suggested that it might be their son who accompanied them for the theft.

Art Imitating Life

The investigation took an interesting turn when a short story written by Jerry. This story was published in 2011. The storyline was that a woman and her granddaughter distracts the security guard as they were planning to steal a precious piece of jewelry. In the end, they place the jewelry at a place where no one else can reach but themselves.

Ongoing Investigation

Even though all the evidence points on the Alters being the culprits, the investigation is not over yet. The museum’s marketing manager, Gina Compitello-Moore stated, “It’s an ongoing FBI investigation; the case is still open.”    

Possibly Innocent

Jerry and Rita were able to amaze everyone including the neighbors, family members, and their co-workers. Mark Shay who taught at the same school as Rita said, “I can’t believe Rita would be involved in anything like that.” 

No Idea

People even looked at it from a different perspective. As a stranger kept his point of view forward that maybe the couple just bought this painting from someone without knowing that it was stolen. But so far, no one can say what is the truth and what’s not with surety.

Deny Deny Deny

Many people say that the sketches don’t even match Jerry and Rita. Also, their reputation was too good to be destroyed. Many well-wishers of the altar say that they could have never been a part of such a huge plot.

Still A Mystery

Eventually, the painting reached the place where it belongs, ie, the University of Arizona Museum of Art. The cops never took an action against anyone because of uncertainty. Hence, how did this painting ended up in the Alters’ bedroom is still a mystery?