World News
Man Arrested After ‘Macabre Teddy Bear’ Prank at California Petrol Station
Hector Corona Villanueva, 23, was taken into custody after police said he staged a “macabre teddy bear” that appeared to be constructed from human flesh at an AMPM service station in Victorville, California.
The disturbing discovery on Sunday afternoon led to a police probe and a coroner’s examination of the item, while the petrol station was closed amid growing unease in the local community.
On Monday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office confirmed that the bear was not made from any human body parts and labelled the item a “prank”.
Mr Villanueva was identified and arrested on Monday, although it remains unclear whether he has retained a lawyer who can comment on his behalf.
The grisly find, in Victorville—approximately 80 miles (130 kilometres) northeast of Los Angeles—had residents fearing a potential serial killer was at large.
The item was discovered around midday on Sunday at the filling station on Bear Valley Road after a witness alerted police that “a teddy bear made of what looked like human flesh was left in front of the business”
A video posted online showed police arriving at the scene as a coroner’s official, wearing gloves, examined the object and placed it into an evidence bag.
The sheriff’s office statement on Monday did not specify any motive but said the “investigation into who left the teddy bear at the business is continuing”.
They added: “Incidents such as this take up valuable emergency resources and put the public at risk, possibly delaying response time to legitimate calls for service.”
“We would like to thank those that reported information that was helpful during the investigation of this case.”
South Carolina artist Robert Kelly has since claimed credit for creating the bear, telling US media that he had recently sold the figure to a buyer in Victorville.
“Our work is pretty easily recognisable, and people were sending the articles (about the petrol station) left and right. I looked, and sure enough it was the bear I sent out last week,” Mr Kelly told *People* magazine.
“Every artist wants credit [for] their work, so I said ‘I made that’, and haven’t been able to catch up with messages since.”
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Mr Kelly denied any knowledge of the buyer’s intentions or involvement in any prank: “No I did not have any knowledge of the [buyer’s] intentions nor was I involved in a prank on the other side of the nation from me.”
Mr Kelly, who sells his creations via Etsy, specialises in horror-themed art for Halloween displays and films.
Other works by him are similarly crafted to resemble constructions made from human body parts, like the teddy bear.