Woman Charged With Stealing 50 Glass Eyes

OWENSBORO, Ky. (Jan. 3) - Police charged a woman Friday with stealing 50 antique glass eyes from a hospital display case on Christmas Eve.

Melissa Jane Wink, 36, of Owensboro, was charged with theft by unlawful taking over $300.

A surveillance camera recorded the theft from an exhibit of medical artifacts at Owensboro Medical Health System. A picture of the suspect was publicly released several days later.

The eyes were valued at $2,500. The hospital had mistakenly reported the eyes were worth $100,000, which was actually the value of the exhibit collection. The eyes were recovered at a house Wink was staying in.

Police Detective Ed Krahwinkel said he wasn't sure why someone would steal the eyes; there isn't high demand on the black market for them.

"Honestly, I don't think she knew what to do with them," Krahwinkel said. "Being a high profile case - and a used item - I think she was stuck with them."

The glass eyes were a gift to the hospital from Owensboro physician Barney Elliott, who bought the glass eyes from a dealer in South Carolina about 10 years ago. He said they were most likely made at the beginning of the 20th century or earlier. The eyes came in a variety of colors and even included bloodshot or jaundiced tints so they would match the wearer's other eye.

"I'm glad to hear they're back," Elliott said. "It's a good display, and I think the public will enjoy them."