The theft of the Halloween skeleton darkens the holiday for Simi Valley residents

A Simi Valley resident’s Halloween spirit was dampened by the recent theft of a giant skeleton that adorned her yard.

Jennifer Ross said she heard thieves in her front yard on Rambling Road in the Bridle Path community around 11:30 p.m. Monday, where the skeleton appeared to be crawling out of the ground among her Halloween decorations. The suspects ran away when she came out of her house, she said. They fell over her fence and broke pieces of the skeleton’s torso. The figure was 6 feet high and 40 feet wide.

Ross said she saw the thieves’ taillight as they drove away in what appeared to be a dark 2000s Buick, but did not see the thieves or the license plate. She reported the theft to Simi Valley police Tuesday morning and wrote about it on social media.

Ross paid $300 for the skeleton at Party City in Simi Valley. She spent another $100 to $150 on paint.

It took several days for her to paint the figure fluorescent yellow, with black eyes and ribs, Ross said. Under a black light, the paint glowed green.

Ross named the skeleton “Morris” after a colleague’s grandfather.

Morris wasn’t hard to steal, Ross said. The skeleton weighed less than 50 pounds and required no tools to assemble.

A similar Halloween skeleton was also stolen from a neighbor’s house, Ross said. Surveillance footage of the neighbor’s theft shows a man easily lifting the skeleton’s main body from the yard and then returning to get the arms.

Ross, a Royal High School graduate who grew up in the city, believes the thefts indicate Simi Valley has changed from a time when there was less crime.

“Overall, it seems like we need more funding for our police,” she said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Simi Valley Police Officer James Meija at 805-583-6950.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at [email protected] or 805-437-0232.