Stolen baby Jesuses replaced with pigs' heads
Pastor Dale Morgan
Stolen baby Jesuses replaced with pigs' heads*
'To have something like that left in its place was not nice, to say the
least'
By Greg Bolt --Eugene Register-Guard, Oregon
Published: December 21, 2007 05:02AM
Vandals stole baby Jesus figures from two west Eugene nativity scenes
early Thursday and left severed pigs’ heads in their places. Police are
calling it a possible bias crime.
Both incidents occurred sometime during the night at residences within a
few doors of each other on Elmira Street.
The homeowners discovered the vandalism later Thursday and reported it
to city police.
David Stahl, one of the two homeowners, said he’s had various lawn
ornaments stolen or vandalized in the past few years but said the latest
incident went too far.
“To have something stolen is one thing, but to have something like that
left in its place was not nice, to say the least,” he said.
Stahl said it was apparent the act was intended to offend. The vandals
didn’t disturb anything else in the yard.
“They just took the baby Jesus and left the pig’s head,” he said.
Jennifer Cooper, the daughter of the other couple whose nativity scene
was defaced, said a neighbor told her what was in the display as she was
on her way outside with her 18-month-old cousin to visit the scene.
The child likes to kiss the baby Jesus before going home.
“I told her it was too wet,” Cooper said.
But Cooper said several neighborhood children saw the nativity scene
before she knew what had happened and were very upset by the sight.
Initially, police took the reports over the phone and did not respond in
person. Later, however, the department announced the cases were being
investigated as “a possible bias crime” because the vandalism was aimed
at a religious icon.