Kathy Boudin, '81 heist participant and Weather Underground member, dies at 78

Kathy Boudin, a participant in the 1981 robbery, died on Sunday in New York. She was 78 and died due to cancer. Kathy had served more than two decades of prison term for the 1981 Brink's armoured truck heist that killed two police officers and a security guard. She associated with the militant group Weather Underground.

The robbery had occurred in the month of October 1981, when members of Weather Underground, including Kathy Boudin, joined hands with the Black Liberation Army to pull off a heist. They had planned to rob an armoured truck that was carrying cash. They intended to use the money for their campaigns against the government.

Robbers first killed the driver of the Brink's armoured truck, Peter Paige. After that, they transferred the cash worth $1.6 million to a U-Haul truck stationed just a mile away. However, the U-Haul vehicle, which Boudin was driving, was stopped by a police roadblock in transit.


Soon after running into the roadblock, while unarmed Boudin immediately surrendered to the police, her associates openly fired on security personnel. During the exchange of fire, two police officers - Officer Waverly Brown and Sgt. Edward O'Grady - had lost their life.

In 1984, Boudin had pleaded guilty to all the charges against her and spent 22-year in jail. She received parole in 2003 based on her good behaviour. Notably, Boudin was only 38 years old at the time of the crime.

After being paroled, Boudin pursued a doctorate. She hit the headlines when the Columbia School of Social Work roped her in as an adjunct professor in 2008 before giving her a full-time role in 2013. Boudin later co-founded the Center for Justice of Columbia University. She taught about the issues which a convict, along with their families, faces after their release from jail.

Boudin is survived by her son Chesa Boudin, the district attorney of San Francisco. Chesa was less than two years old at the time of the robbery.