Unhoused Central Park Artist Known for Bird Watercolors Found Fatally Beaten

Francis Lee Rogers, also known as Elise Bainbridge Hill, a 63-year-old unhoused artist celebrated for her watercolor studies of Central Park’s birds, was found beaten to death in the park on Monday, September 28. Rogers was a familiar figure to local bird-watchers and artists who frequented the park.

Authorities said Rogers was discovered near East Drive and East 74th Street with blunt-force trauma to the head and cuts to her hands and head. NBC4 reported that 36-year-old Jonathan Robles allegedly confessed to the attack, telling investigators that Rogers struck him with a stick and that he hit her in response.

"She hit me on my body with a stick, so I took the stick from her. I hit her with it more than 20 times," Robles allegedly told police, according to the broadcast. "I did it until she couldn't hit me anymore."

Robles has been charged with second-degree murder, according to NBC4. Police and prosecutors continue to investigate the circumstances of the encounter; those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Francis Lee Rogers/Facebook

Her Life and Work

Rogers was widely known in the Central Park community for her watercolor paintings of the park’s birdlife. The New York Post described her as a prolific local artist, and nature-walk guide Robert DeCandido told the paper she was "like the Grandma Moses of Central Park." Because she lived in and around the park and spent much of her time feeding, observing and painting birds, some outlets compared her to the "Pigeon Lady" character from the film Home Alone 2, played by the late Brenda Fricker.

She was also the subject of the 2007 documentary Begging Naked, filmed by her friend Karen Gehres over roughly a decade. The documentary traces Rogers’s life from a teenage runaway to her arrival in New York City and her subsequent struggles with addiction, mental illness and homelessness.

Community Reaction and Next Steps

The killing has drawn attention from local media and Central Park regulars because of Rogers’s visibility and artistic presence in the park. Police say the investigation remains active; officials have not released a detailed timeline of events leading up to the assault.

Note: Media reports quote an alleged confession; all legal determinations are pending and the accused is entitled to due process.