FBI looks into thrill-seeking teachers alleged to have been global art thieves

Jerry and Rita Alter, now deceased, are suspected of having stolen artworks in the 80s, including Willem de Kooning's Woman-Ochre

The mystery of a nondescript, middle-aged couple who hung a stolen $150m Willem de Kooning painting behind a bedroom door in their Cliff, New Mexico, home may be closer to being resolved after the FBI agreed to assist in tracking down two other paintings that had been in the couple's possession.

A new twist to the story of Jerry and Rita Alter, a pair of New Mexico teachers who somehow funded a life of travel and adventure to the point that they are suspected international art thieves, emerged recently when the US's top federal law enforcement agency confirmed it was getting involved in the case.