California Man Arrested After Leaving 'Human Skin' Teddy Bear Outside a Convenience Store in Prank Gone Wrong

A California man was arrested after a prank that went very wrong. He claimed to have left a "human skin teddy bear" outside of a convenience store on Sunday, July 13, 2025. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was called to the scene to investigate the teddy bear.

California man arrested after claiming to leave a human skin teddy bear outside a convenience store

'Human Skin Teddy Bear' was a 'Macabre Prank' Outside Convenience Store

ABC7 News reported that a California man left a "human skin teddy bear" outside of an AMPM convenience store on Bear Valley Road in Victorville on Sunday, July 13, 2025. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was called to the scene to investigate the strange teddy bear that was left on the ground outside the convenience store.

A zoomed-in image of the bear can be seen below.

Human skin teddy bear outside Victorville convenience store

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department: 'No Human Remains' Found on Teddy Bear

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department determined that there was not actually any "human remains" or "human skin" on the teddy bear. The claim was utterly false, and the police arrested 23-year-old Hector Corona Villanueva, and booked him for a report of an emergency while knowing that it was intentionally false and for planting evidence under the pretense that it was real. 

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department issued a statement about this incident, stating:

"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."

What was the 'Human Skin' Teddy Bear covered with?

The teddy bear was not made out of human skin. It was made out of latex.

ABC7 Eyewitness News spoke to Robert Kelly of Dark Seed Creations, an artist from South Carolina, who said that he made the teddy bear, and it was not made out of human skin, but out of latex. He confirmed that he did ship one of the bears he made out of latex to Victorville. He assumed it was just a routine order; however, he started to receive many calls when fans of his work started calling him on Sunday after recognizing one of his bears.

Kelly said:

"I guess I'd probably be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it a little bit. You know, I'm an independent artist, so you know, I know what starving artist life feels like. So, a little attention is sometimes good regardless of not being able to condone whatever. I mean, I don't know if the guy broke any laws or it was just a prank, but it looks like he definitely got some people riled up." -Robert Kelly, Dark Seed Creations artist

His human skin teddy bear normally retails for $165 on his Etsy website. 

As of the date of publication, the human skin teddy bear was sold out.

Another True Story about a Teddy Bear Containing Ashes

An Alabama woman was driving around and saw a teddy bear on a garbage pile. She stops and grabs it to bring it home to her dog as a chew toy. When she and her daughter get home, they discover the teddy bear has ashes inside of it along with a secret note.

Read the full story here.

An Alabama Woman Sees a Teddy Bear in a Garbage Pile. She Grabs it for a Dog Toy, and Inside of it She Discovers Ashes and a Note

A woman from Lauderdale County was driving through Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with her daughter and happened to see a stuffed teddy bear in a garbage pile. She thought it might make a good chew toy for her dog, so she stopped to grab it from the trash. When she opens a secret pouch in the teddy bear, she finds ashes inside the bear along with a note.

An Alabama Woman and Daughter Find a Teddy Bear on a Garbage Pile

WHNT News 19 reported that Vicki Wise and her daughter were just driving through a random Muscle Shoals neighborhood when her daughter saw a teddy bear in someone's garbage pile. They decided to stop and grab it as a chew toy for their dog.

When they got home, Vicki inspected the teddy bear closer and saw the embroidered words "Forever in My Heart" on the bear's left foot. She then found a secret pouch inside the teddy bear, which "held a little heart-shaped box with a person's ashes inside." 

On the front of the bear's foot are the words "Forever in My Heart" embroidered and "Barry Freed" on the back. A note attached to the back of the box read: "Barry Freed passed away on May 20, 2020."

Many people have wondered if Barry Freed was a human baby or even a pet. That is something that Vicki would sure like to know.

Vicki Wise speaking to WHNT News 19

No Information Found Online on Barry Freed

WHNT News 19 reported that Vicki Wise tried to do an internet search on the name Barry Freed, but she did not find any information about Barry Freed or the family.

She said:

"I don't know who he is. All I know is his name and the date he passed away," Wise said. "I don't know where he is from. I don't know anything about him, but I do know that he had to be loved, and I know that the person he belongs to is missing him." -Vicki Wise

If anyone has any information about Barry Freed, please contact WHNT News 19. 

Do you think the ashes of Barry Freed were from a baby, a child, or an adult?

Source

Willmon, Addison. "Alabama woman finds trashed teddy bear with human ashes inside." WHNT News 19. Published: 4 January 2023. Updated: 5 January 2023.

*My original article was first published on Newsbreak on January 15, 2023, and received over 1,000,000 views.