Ranyi Sesyk
Ranyi Sesyk | |
|---|---|
 Portrait attached to the first Ice Cream Bandit letter, 1964 | |
| Born | Ranyi Sesyk 1 June 1940 Ḑaral, Free Territories |
| Died | 12 April 2005 (aged 64) |
| Other names | Ice Cream Bandit |
| Motive | Fame and enjoyment |
| Criminal charge | Bank robbery and burglary |
| Penalty | Amende and probation |
Ranyi Sesyk (1 June 1940 – 12 April 2005), also known as the Ice Cream Bandit, was a Gylian thief, whose exploits brought her fame as a modern-day romantic outlaw figure. Between 1964 and 1976, she committed a string of bank robberies, making her one of Gylias' most successful criminals.
She committed robberies for fame and enjoyment, and was known for her non-violent approach, treating her robberies as performances and returning what she'd stolen afterwards without being detected. She left teasing letters to the police and media under the alias "Ice Cream Bandit". She gained media notoriety as a glamorous and charismatic thief, and became a popular figure even as a fugitive.
She was arrested in 1976 and tried the next year, receiving a lenient sentence due to attenuating circumstances. She spent the remainder of her life as a popular offbeat figure in Lakşas, and is considered a cultural icon of the city.
Early life
Ranyi Sesyk was born on 1 June 1940 in Ḑaral, a village near the modern Kausania–Salxar border. She came from a poor family, and both her parents worked odd jobs to support themselves. She attended volunteer classes in the Free Territories, but was a mediocre student. Diagnosed with dyslexia, she was moved to special education services.
She moved with her family to Lakşas, and later drifted out of education and entered the workforce, taking generally unskilled or manual work. She worked as a bicycle messenger, and was fired for reckless cycling, and a cashier in a clothes store.
Starting in childhood, she was an avid filmgoer, frequently attending the cinema and cinemathèque. She was fascinated by old crime films, and one of her childhood friends testified that she would "completely ignore the violent and grisly parts and just fixate entirely on the parts that could give a rosy image of the outlaw lifestyle."
She similarly read much crime and adventure fiction, and had a habit of vandalising works she bought to remove violent parts — cutting them out with scissors, scribbling over them with pencils, or tearing out the pages by hand.
Criminal career
Ranyi began to plan her "criminal life" sometime in her twenties. She started keeping a diary and filled notebooks with ideas and scribbles — more concerned with making a strong impression on the public than the actual details of robbery.
First robbery
She committed her first robbery on 4 September 1964, at the Lakşas Municipal Bank. She arrived at the bank wearing a red skirt suit with high pantyhose, carrying her prop guns in a violin case. She suddenly pulled them out and held up the front counter. One bank teller recalled that she was "grinning broadly and enjoying herself" during the robbery. Asked how much money she wanted, she laughed and replied, "Any amount above zero is fine."
Before the police arrived, she took Ŧ50.000 in her violin case and fled through the rear exit. She stopped at one point to change clothes and put on a wig, allowing her to avoid pursuit and return to her apartment.
At home, she dressed in her robbery outfit and took several photos with an instant camera, posing with her prop guns and eating ice cream. She wrote her first Ice Cream Bandit letter, attaching the photograph to it. That night, she left her apartment in disguise and returned to the Municipal Bank, leaving a sack with the Ŧ50.000 and the letter on its front entrance.
Police were confused by both the crime report and the return of the stolen money. Her fingerprints did not match any in their database, as she had no criminal record. They released the letter to the media in hopes of further information. It was published in The Lakşas Spectator, using its original Gylic transcriptions — the concluding phrase "Yours truly, the Ice Cream Bandit" was written "iárys t'ryle, Daisykim Bandit". Ranyi saved a copy of the story, and wrote approvingly of her coverage in her diary.
Fame and fugitive
The Lakşas robbery established Ranyi's modus operandi. She would commit a string of further robberies from 1964 to 1976, and was charged with over 1.000 counts of robbery at her trial. She would lay low for months between robberies, and travelled extensively through Gylias, striking at least once in all regions.
Her methods remained the same: she would sneak into banks in the day, change into her typical outfit, demand money and make certain quips, flee the scene and disguise herself to escape. In several instances she ran empty-handed to avoid capture, and when she did receive usually small amounts of money, she would return them under cover of dark. Her demeanour was consistently noted by eyewitnesses as being lighthearted, mischievous, and boisterous.
Several notable incidents occurred during her spree. During a robbery in Nyretak, she shot a water gun at police while escaping. This inspired her to outfit her prop guns to squirt water. When a cashier fainted during a robbery in Arnak, she sent a bouquet of flowers with an apologetic note attached.
The Gylian Police were initially confounded by her activities. Since she didn't physically threaten people and seemed to care little about material gain, they were unwilling to use force to apprehend her. In her third robbery, a constable wrestled one of her guns away and discovered it was plastic. After several more incidents and increased publicity, police came to see her as a harmless prankster rather than a danger to the public.
Ranyi gained media notoriety for her antics, and was viewed positively by the public as a "wicked" figure. She courted publicity and cultivated a charismatic image, photographing herself with particular attention to detail. She wrote letters directly to the media, boasting about her exploits in tongue-in-cheek fashion, and portrayed herself as a dashing outlaw with a secret identity.
She became one of Gylias' most famous criminals. She was profiled sympathetically by Esua Nadel in several of her columns, the two becoming close friends, gave interviews to the media, was photographed and portrayed by famous artists like Annemarie Beaulieu, and appeared in person on The Beaties' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. She also attended Sibylla on several occasions when she was in Mişeyáke.
While she boasted of her talent for disguise and evading police, the truth was more prosaic: as her fame grew, she developed a relationship of reciprocal respect with the police, who concentrated their efforts on severe crimes. Although the police interviewed those who interacted with her, they got no useful information about her whereabouts.
Many famous friends and associates later openly admitted they withheld information from the police, maintaining a code of silence. Mava Organisation founder Valeria Maneva, robbed by her on one occasion, remarked, "What sort of sadistic psychopath would grass on the Ice Cream Bandit?". Sári Gábor, robbed by her on multiple occasions, let her live in her mansion for a period to avoid police attention.
Although Ranyi never expressed any political sentiments, she was adopted as a symbol by various individualist anarchists, seen as part of the illegalist tradition of resistance to Xevden and the Free Territories. Anarchist newspapers such as The Social Times and Free Gylias covered her favourably to express frustration with the continued existence of law enforcement agencies. The LSDP promised during the 1969 federal election campaign to appoint Ranyi minister of justice.
Capture
While the police developed a certain recognition of Ranyi's conduct, the investigation of her continued. She was apprehended on 12 October 1976, while trying to rob a bank in Lakşas. The police blocked off all routes to the building, leaving her unable to escape. She announced her surrender, put her plastic guns back in her violin case, and offered to voluntarily go without being handcuffed, remarking, "A lady couldn't ask for a finer escort to the police station!"
In a later interview, the constable who arrested Ranyi stated, "I felt awful about it — like I was the one who had to break up a party."
The police searched her apartment after she was taken into custody. They found her copious notebooks, diary, and numerous home movies and photos. The home movies depicted her working on her "lines and entrances", like an actor rehearsing for a film, and speaking candidly about her intentions. The walls of her apartment were decorated with film posters, and she possessed a large collection of books and magazines, many defaced or vandalised.
While in custody, she underwent a mandatory psychological evaluation. The psychiatric report concluded that she suffered from delusional disorder, describing her as having a fantasy prone personality with tendencies towards grandiose delusions. Nevertheless, she was found accountable for her actions, as she was fully conscious of their illegality.
Trial
Ranyi's trial began on 16 January 1977, presided by judge Marcelo de Freitas. She had a calm and cheerful demeanour throughout the trial, and appeared indifferent to her arrest. She freely admitted to her robberies and provided details. On one occasion, she questioned why she'd been assigned a public defender, "since I'm not trying to defend myself from anything."
Her sole request, at the start of the trial, was to be allowed to wear her outfit in court. The court constable, confused, replied there were no rules against it.
Ranyi was charged with over 1.000 counts of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and several counts of identity document forgery. She benefited from significant attenuating circumstances, mainly her consistent pursuit of fame rather than material gain. The defense argued that since she returned the stolen goods afterwards, her actions fell short of Penal Code's definition of robbery as "the purpose of unfair appropriation", and emphasised her non-violent conduct.
During one courtroom session, she caused reporters to laugh by saying she committed her robberies "to afford ice cream".
The trial ended on 14 April 1977, and she was found guilty on all counts. Marcelo sentenced her to pay an amende of Ŧ1.000.000 and 2 years of probation.
Later life
Ranyi had become famous from media coverage of her robberies and trial, and was particularly well-recognised in Lakşas. Her conviction ended her criminal career. She served out her probation without incident, took on work to pay off her amende, and abandoned criminal activity for the rest of her life.
The terms of her probation required her to perform community service, and undergo psychiatric treatment. The latter was discontinued early after the court concluded she did not suffer from a mental illness.
With her diaries and notebooks returned to her after the trial, she published her autobiography At Large in 1977. Her earnings from the book went to pay her amende. Once it was fully paid, she renounced copyright and put the book in the public domain.
The conviction allowed Ranyi to embrace her fame. She carried on socialising with artists and civic figures of all stripes. Her friendship with Esua Nadel helped her refine her more explicitly "wicked" public image.
She bore no grudge against Marcelo for presiding over her trial, and in fact befriended him and his family after completing her sentence.
Ranyi led a bohemian existence in Lakşas. She frequented certain locales and loitered on the streets, regaling passersby with anecdotes and tall tales. She particularly enjoyed playing with children and participated in amateur theatre. The public accepted her persona with amusement, and played along with her fantasies.
She worked as a photographic model and occasionally dated and entertained clients for money. She was a presence in the local media, appearing in public information films, and occasionally writing columns, humorously credited as a "criminal expert".
Although she led a modest lifestyle with little income, she fastidiously maintained her glamorous image in public. She always appeared in her neatly-pressed outfit with one or two equally attractive companions. Several local clothesmakers honoured her by donating replicas of her outfit so that she would never look shabby. Esua wrote that she possessed "a beautifully Gylian abhorrence of the idea of trading her good name as a charming rascal for monetary gain."
Ranyi gradually cut down her public appearances as she aged, wishing to preserve an "unblemished" public image. She still posed for portraits, and sometimes collaborated with Gylian musicians.
One of her last high-profile actions was speaking to Marius Lauritzen by phone during the Siege of Gothendral. She gave him encouraging advice and told him, "Darling, you're doing everything perfectly. I wouldn't do a single thing differently."
She was interviewed by Rasa Ḑeşéy, with footage appearing in her documentaries Nation Building (1999) and Beloved Rascals (2017).
Death
Ranyi died on 12 April 2005 of a heart attack.
In pop culture
Ranyi's 12-year crime spree succeeded in bringing her the fame she sought. The public was fascinated by the glamorous and charismatic "gentlewoman thief", who seemingly committed crimes for the platonic ideal of "wickedness" rather than a desire to harm others.
Ranyi became a folk heroine and a style icon in Gylian popular culture. Her personality and exploits became the archetype for fictional "wicked" characters such as Kleptechne's Aurelia Nyşel, Carmen Silva, and the Kasagi sisters — charming cat burglars living by their own code of honour. Kleptechne creator Genďe Éyrek explicitly acknowledged modeling Aurelia after Ranyi, joking that the only difference is "Aurelia doesn't get arrested."
She has been mentioned in other crime fiction-related pop culture, and her image has been used by various musicians, artists, and writers. She has been a significant inspiration for "wicked" pornography and has often been depicted in it.
The Darnan Cyras government and police saw her celebrity as constructive, in its own way. Interior minister Akane Tsunemori reflected that: "People have a remarkable capacity to empathise or identify with the illicit, so it's best to make sure that sentiment is channelled into a harmless and admirable example like the Ice Cream Bandit." The Gylian Police similarly highlight their handling of the case with pride, as it was resolved peacefully and without excessive use of force.
Both the police and prosecution's desire to avoid looking vindictive during her trial inspired a Gylian idiom: "to want to jail the Ice Cream Bandit", representing somebody excessively fanatical and brutally obsessed with punishing someone.