Source: Electronic Telegraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk

THE killing was as brutal as it was unexpected. Police found the body of Harry Simmons, a security guard, at a timber yard in Elkins, West Virginia, and hours later surrounded the house of his colleague, Jeffrey White.

Under interrogation, Mr White provided the motive for the murder. Mr Simmons had failed to pay him for some Beanie Babies. Police chiefs across America now say that they fear the worldwide demand for the soft toys is about to spark a crime wave.

Passions have been running high since the manufacturer of the Beanie Baby range announced last month that it was ending production of the toys on New Year's Eve. With collectors already scrambling to snap up the remaining pocket-sized toy animals - whose rarer editions can fetch hundreds of dollars - many seem willing to go beyond the law.

The death of the 63-year-old Mr Simmons 10 days ago is the most violent manifestation yet of an increasingly feverish atmosphere surrounding what may be the last weeks of the Beanie Baby craze. Police in the small Appalachian mountain town say that the security guard appeared to have been forced to kneel before being shot, execution style, in the back of the head.

His wallet with £125 was missing. The 23-year-old accused first vowed that he would never be taken alive but later offered the motive that shooting was punishment for an unpaid Beanie Baby debt. Elsewhere, detectives in Illinois have uncovered an organised gang who have been robbing shops and warehouses of Beanie Babies - within a week of the news that the toy was to be killed off.

Similar cases have been reported in Florida and New York State, where the Niagara County Sheriff's Department is investigating the second large theft of the cuddly animals in months. It believes that the robbers may have been inspired by seeing queues of collectors waiting outside shops for new deliveries.

While the animals, with names such as Squealer the pig and Pinchers the lobster, are sold in shops for about £4, rarer versions can fetch up to £1,250. The manufacturers have fuelled the market by regularly "retiring" older animals. Both collectors and criminals are betting that the remaining toys will become lucrative collectors' items after New Year.

Beanie Babies are the invention of Ty Warner, the billionaire recluse sometimes known as "The Howard Hughes of the toy industry". Mr Warner, 55, is the sole owner of his company, which sold more than 250 million animals last year. He is obsessive about privacy, refusing to list the telephone number or address of his company's headquarters in Chicago. The success of the Beanie Baby has made him the wealthiest toy-maker in the world.

At the end of August, Mr Warner stunned the industry with a brief announcement that he would be ending production of Beanie Babies on December 31. The news was broken, without explanation, on the company's web site.

While Mr Warner has refused to elaborate on the future of his company, his official spokesman, Anne Nickels, admitted that the firm was monitoring the internet for reports of crimes involving Beanie Babies, including forgery and thefts, and had noticed an increase in recent weeks.

The frenzy for toys even appears to be testing the loyalty of Warner's staff, who must sign a pledge of secrecy before joining the company. A new bear called Spangles was recently sold by the internet auction house eBay before it had been officially released to shops.

Speculation has been growing over why Mr Warner would kill a product that has earned him between £1.25 billion and £2.5 billion. The Beanie Baby name's marketing power is immense, with the fast food chain McDonald's recently announcing a 12 per cent growth in third-quarter earnings largely on the back of a promotion that gave away miniature versions of the toy. A "Princess Bear" named after the late Diana, Princess of Wales has so far earned £6.88 million for her memorial fund.

There is little evidence, however, that Mr Warner is leaving the toy business. The company which distributes Beanie Babies in Britain, was recently said to have won a 10-year contract worth £22 million, while Warner Inc has increased the space it will take at the 2000 toy fair at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

Many suspect that the company will repackage the toy under a new name. Mr Warner recently issued a brief statement on his web site saying that all the rumours were incorrect and that, referring to himself: "Believe me, only one person knows what will happen at the start of the new Millennium." At the same time, the company is believed to be ready to start production of the last Beanie Baby - a small black bear known as "The End".