Removal and reappearance of the bust of Jim Morrison: troubles from beyond the grave at Père-Lachaise

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On May 14, the statue stolen thirty-seven years ago from the Doors singer's grave in Père-Lachaise Cemetery was discovered by chance during a search of a business owner's home. From Croatia to the Parisian punk scene of the 1990s, "Libé" traces the sculpture's crazy journey.

X and Y, the alleged thieves of the bust of Jim Morrison, photographed some time after the theft, on May 10, 1988. (Antoine Legrand)

This must be graveyard irony. May 19, 2025, begins like an ordinary workday in the life of Benoît Gallot , 44, curator of Père-Lachaise. On the agenda: selling concessions, organizing religious ceremonies, administrative paperwork... and launching the project to improve access to Jim Morrison's grave. But late in the morning, when he returns to the curator's office, Benoît Gallot discovers with astonishment that journalists are trying to talk to him: after thirty-seven years of disappearance, the bust of the Doors singer has just been found, by chance, during a fraud investigation. In the early afternoon, the financial brigade contacts him. A few days later, he responds to the investigators and discovers the famous bust, covered in graffiti, worn by time, missing its nose and mouth, just as it was when it vanished. "Quite moving..." he admits laconic.

The judicial police published a photo of the bust on their Instagram account. Within days, the news made the rounds in the media – from