In desperate times, these real-life Bonnies ditched their Clydes to pull off their dream heists. Here’s why they made the history books:
1. Les Amazones
In France, a group of female bank robbers made headlines during the late 1980s and became known as Les Amazones. Their story is scheduled to hit the big screen later this year. The five working-class women, who grew up together. Came up with the idea of robbing banks as they faced hard times. Laurence Foucrier, Helene Trinidad, Carole Toucourt, Fatija Maamar and her sister Malika were single mothers with low-paid jobs and were doing it tough.
“We thought about the banks over a cup of coffee – we had serious financial problems,” said Trinidad, years later.
During their 18-month spree, they stole around $141,000. Which was split five ways and used to buy groceries, toys and a used car. When they were caught in 1991, the women were found guilty of armed robbery but avoided jail because of their impoverished circumstances.
2. Jane Gibson
Jane Gibson was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to robbery and attempted robbery. New to the world of crime, the then-52-year-old Adelaide woman walked into two banks in October 2013 and handed over a note demanding money.
One note said Gibson was an Al-Qaeda terrorist armed with a bomb, but there was no bomb and she left each bank empty-handed. She also tried to steal from three service stations but escaped with only $250.
She later wrote to her victims to apologise and the sentencing judge said her offending had been triggered by divorce, depression and alcohol. Outside court, one of her friends said Gibson regretted every moment of her crimes.
“She realises the victims would have thought it was real and the terror they went through – she is so sorry,” she said.
3. Katherine Power
She was a high-achieving university student who made the FBI’s Most Wanted List. Bespectacled Katherine Power didn’t fit the image of someone capable of robbing a government weapons armoury and a bank.
But in the spring of 1970, in downtown Boston, Power, a fellow student and three ex-criminals. One of whom was Power’s boyfriend – stole weapons and held up a bank. They were against America’s involvement in the Vietnam war at that time and planned to donate the weapons and $40,000 of stolen cash to anti-government activists. But during the bank heist, a police officer, who was a father of nine, was killed.
The rest of the gang was caught, but Power went on the run for 23 years. She created a new identity and became Alice Metzinger – a wife and mother in Oregon. “Alice” taught cooking at a local college and raised a son. Neighbours called her ordinary. But she was haunted by the death of the policeman and in 1993, she handed herself in. She was briefly reunited with her parents before pleading guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery.
Her husband told reporters, “When she would be asked about her past, she would just not talk about it.” She spent six years in jail.
4. The Barbie Bandits
The bank-robbing careers of Heather Johnston, 19, and Ashley Miller, 18, were short-lived. The two teenagers – who earned the Barbie Bandit name because of their blonde hair and designer sunglasses – walked into a bank in Georgia, handed a teller a note demanding money and walked out with their stash.
They’d become friends while working at a strip club and decided to rob a bank to fund the lifestyle they craved. Using their looks and charm, they recruited a bank teller who was willing to be part of the
plot and split the profits.
But things nearly went awry when the two women walked into the wrong bank. A quick call to the crooked teller directed them to the right bank and they handed over their note, walking away with around $20,000.
But the day after the heist, the teens went on a Gucci shopping spree, which led police to their door. Miller spent two years in jail, while Johnston was put on probation. She later told reporters the robbery had started as a prank – her father said she had “lost her way from the Lord”.
