Branden MorganHost
There are certain things you expect to find at a gas station in the California desert.

High-priced gasoline, bad coffee, and the occasional individual who appears to have spent the better part of a decade surviving exclusively on energy drinks and conspiracy theories.

What you don't generally expect to find is a teddy bear that looks as though it was stitched together from human skin.

And yet, that's precisely what somebody discovered outside an AM PM convenience store in Victorville, California last summer.

The grotesque little creature appeared to be fashioned from patches of human flesh, complete with stitching, discoloration, and reddish stains.

It looked less like something you'd give a child for Christmas and more like something that Buffalo Bill might have assembled during arts and crafts hour.

So naturally, someone called the police and deputies from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department arrived, and the object was sufficiently disturbing enough that the county coroner's office was brought in to examine it.

And for a moment, investigators faced the possibility that somebody had constructed a stuffed animal from actual human remains, which would suggest a criminal investigation considerably more complicated than your average gas station disturbance.

Fortunately, the truth turned out to be considerably less horrifying, although arguably even more ridiculous.

The bear was a handmade horror prop constructed from latex and other artificial materials by South Carolina artist Robert Kelly, whose business, Dark Seed Creations, specializes in precisely this sort of nightmare fuel.

Kelly had reportedly sold the bear online for a hundred and sixty-five dollars and shipped it to a customer in California, unaware that his creation was about to become the centerpiece of a police investigation.

Authorities subsequently arrested twenty-three-year-old Victorville resident Hector Corona Villanueva on suspicion of deliberately planting the bear to create a false emergency.

The stunt consumed law enforcement resources and caused considerable alarm, although investigators confirmed that no actual human remains were involved.

So in the end, there was no serial killer, no underground workshop filled with human body parts, and no evidence that somebody had decided to open a boutique specializing in anatomically questionable children's toys.

Just a remarkably convincing horror prop, an extraordinarily ill-conceived prank, and a police department with considerably better things to do.

Still, there's something unsettling about living in a world where you can order a teddy bear that resembles a collection of human remains, have it delivered to your doorstep, and subsequently trigger a coroner's investigation simply by leaving it outside a convenience store.

There are certain things you expect to find at a gas station in the California desert.

High-priced gasoline, bad coffee, and the occasional individual who appears to have spent the better part of a decade surviving exclusively on energy drinks and conspiracy theories.

What you don't generally expect to find is a teddy bear that looks as though it was stitched together from human skin.

And yet, that's precisely what somebody discovered outside an AM PM convenience store in Victorville, California last summer.

The grotesque little creature appeared to be fashioned from patches of human flesh, complete with stitching, discoloration, and reddish stains.

It looked less like something you'd give a child for Christmas and more like something that Buffalo Bill might have assembled during arts and crafts hour.

So naturally, someone called the police and deputies from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department arrived, and the object was sufficiently disturbing enough that the county coroner's office was brought in to examine it.

And for a moment, investigators faced the possibility that somebody had constructed a stuffed animal from actual human remains, which would suggest a criminal investigation considerably more complicated than your average gas station disturbance.

Fortunately, the truth turned out to be considerably less horrifying, although arguably even more ridiculous.

The bear was a handmade horror prop constructed from latex and other artificial materials by South Carolina artist Robert Kelly, whose business, Dark Seed Creations, specializes in precisely this sort of nightmare fuel.

Kelly had reportedly sold the bear online for a hundred and sixty-five dollars and shipped it to a customer in California, unaware that his creation was about to become the centerpiece of a police investigation.

Authorities subsequently arrested twenty-three-year-old Victorville resident Hector Corona Villanueva on suspicion of deliberately planting the bear to create a false emergency.

The stunt consumed law enforcement resources and caused considerable alarm, although investigators confirmed that no actual human remains were involved.

So in the end, there was no serial killer, no underground workshop filled with human body parts, and no evidence that somebody had decided to open a boutique specializing in anatomically questionable children's toys.

Just a remarkably convincing horror prop, an extraordinarily ill-conceived prank, and a police department with considerably better things to do.

Still, there's something unsettling about living in a world where you can order a teddy bear that resembles a collection of human remains, have it delivered to your doorstep, and subsequently trigger a coroner's investigation simply by leaving it outside a convenience store.
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