Fallen Angel - A True Story

This father had made a few mistakes in his life but he loved and nurtured his daughter. One night, he put the pretty little girl to bed and that was the last time he ever saw her. He and his daughter lived in a run-down trailer on the west coast of Florida where he eked a living as best he could. There was no mother in the picture.

Imagine his horror, when he found his child missing the next morning. He called the police immediately and of course, they accused him of being responsible for whatever had happened to her. He was absolutely devastated and insisted that the authorities expand their net to search the immediate area to try and find his daughter. This tragedy had immense media coverage with the father pleading for the return of his daughter. Finally, they investigated a neighbor who had a record of being a sex offender. It turned out that he had dragged the child to his own trailer where he abused her and then buried her in his yard.

The overcome father spent time grieving for his tremendous loss and then began to campaign for children’s rights against sex offenders. He was on all the national shows pleading for help in his campaign to rid the country of these heinous individuals.

I watched the tragedy unfold and felt such grief for this unfortunate father who was only guilty of loving his child. Because of this, I began painting a portrait of the man and his child and sent the painting to him. He was so happy to receive this remembrance of his little girl. I painted this not only for him but for me because I had incorporated his loss so deeply into my heart. His story faded into the background but I have never forgotten the crushing events. I hope that he cherishes the portrait of his little angel.