Thief caught on camera stealing Halloween decorations

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- A thief was caught red-handed swiping Halloween decorations in South Philadelphia. Now the victims want your help finding the bandit responsible for this cruel crime just days ahead of Halloween.

People in the neighborhood take great pride in decorating for the holidays. That's the case for one woman who lives on the 1100 block of Fitzgerald Street.

But now she's had her holiday decorations stolen from the front of her row home - not once but twice!

Both times captured by her son's surveillance camera.

"When I woke up in the morning, my monster was gone that I have here."

As always, the front of Josephine's home is decked out for the holiday. But her newest decoration, a spooky monster butler, is now missing - stolen right off her front step.

"It was a butler. He had a big bird on its shoulder that talked and you walked by and it could talk," she said.

Josephine's son lives across the street and his surveillance camera captured the thief in action.

It was October 23rd at 3:24 a.m. when cameras captured the woman get out of a car and walk right up to the front of Josephine's rowhome.

She took her time carefully unscrewing the wire that attached the ghoulish guy to the front of the house.

"It was all wired... really wired - a lot. The legs were wired. The neck was wired. She actually sat on the step. 3:30 am. Took her time."

It wasn't the first time Josephine's home has been targeted by suspects in search of seasonal dcor - not the first time they've been caught on camera either.

On November 26th of last year, two suspects - a man and a woman made off with two Santas from her sidewalk.

"I feel like, take everything down now 'cause this is the second time this has happened," she said.

Her neighbors feel for Josephine. First grinches steal Christmas, now this witch makes off with her monster.

Madeline Caputo says, "This is just cruel and that's not nice but I feel the way the world is there is going to be a lot more of that."

Michael Caroselli tells us, "I think it's horrible because this is a nice neighborhood. It's a quiet, peaceful neighborhood, and it's a sad thing to happen around the holidays for people."

Now, the two suspects who made off with the two Santas were caught not longer after the theft, when the two detectives on the case spotted the stolen Santas in the front window of a home just a few blocks away.

VIDEO: Click here to watch the surveillance video