A memorial bust of Jim Morrison, the late frontman of The Doors, has been recovered by French police 37 years after it was stolen from his grave in Paris’s famous Père-Lachaise cemetery.
🔍 Unrelated Investigation Leads to Discovery
The statue was found purely by chance in Paris by the police’s financial and anti-corruption unit while they were conducting an investigation into an unrelated fraud case, authorities announced on Instagram. No details about the fraud investigation or any suspects in the 1988 theft have been released.
⚰️ Beloved, Vandalized Memorial
Morrison’s grave remains a pilgrimage site for fans, situated in the cemetery’s “poet’s corner” alongside tombs like those of Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde. The area is known for graffiti left by fans on neighboring gravestones.
The statue was a white marble carving created by Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin for the 10th anniversary of Morrison’s death in 1971. It was installed in 1981 but vanished just seven years later. A photograph released by police shows the recovered bust with its mouth and nose already damaged, a condition it was in prior to the theft.
🤔 Uncertain Future for the Bust
Morrison’s estate is “happy to hear the news,” stating that the family hopes this “piece of history” will be returned to the grave. However, the cemetery curator informed Le Figaro that they have not yet been contacted by police and are uncertain if the bust will be returned to the site.
Morrison, who was 27 when he died suddenly in 1971 in his Paris flat (with the cause officially cited as heart failure aggravated by heavy drinking), has had a controversial presence even in death. His grave was previously the site of fan riots on the 20th anniversary of his passing.