Innocence Lost: Reclaiming The Memory Of Elisa Nelson

PALM HARBOR, FL — Dr. Donna Donati-Waddell remembers Elisa Nelson as smart, athletic and funny. She was the kind of “kid who could do anything,” she said, recalling her friend from decades ago.

Donati-Waddell grew up in Palm Harbor with Elisa and remembers her friend’s generosity, how good she was at baseball, how much she enjoyed helping others and just how much she loved riding her bike.

She also remembers all too well the events that would forever tie Elisa’s name to Larry Eugene Mann, the person convicted and eventually put to death for the 10-year-old’s abduction and murder.

Elisa was riding that bicycle she loved so much to Palm Harbor Middle School on Nov. 4, 1980, when Mann struck her with his truck, abducted and murdered her. Elisa fought back, Donati-Waddell said, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Mann. “Elisa wasn’t singled out,” she said. “This was a crime of opportunity.”

That crime of opportunity took a little girl away from her family and ended the innocence of many who called Elisa their friend, Donati-Waddell said.

“Back then we didn’t have school counselors,” she explained. “What happened to Elisa changed our lives immensely. Everyone of us carries around a memory of this. We’re very aware that monsters are real.”

Donati-Waddell went on to become a clinical psychologist, driven to understand the minds of people like Mann. For years, she specialized in criminal psychology, even visiting the prison where Mann was housed on Death Row during her college days.

When Mann was put to death in April 2013, it “was the end of a very long chapter,” she said. “It kind of allowed us to breathe a little sigh of relief.”

Yet, the emotional scars remained.

Shortly after Mann’s execution, Donati-Waddell and about a dozen women who once called Elisa their friend met up at a Girl Scout memorial in her honor.

“We came together and it was a very strange event,” she said. “A dozen of us girls … it felt like we were 10 again.”

That’s when the idea to write the next chapter – a happier one – in Elisa’s story was born. Not wanting to let their friend’s memory forever be tarnished by her tragic end, the women, along with Elisa’s brother, Jeff Nelson set out to create Elisa’s Greatest Wishes. The nonprofit operates with assistance from the Pinellas Education Foundation, donating money to other charities in Elisa’s name.

An upcoming 5k run and 1-mile fun run is the second of its kind. Last year’s event raised more than $50,000 to benefit a scholarship program for at-risk youth at Palm Harbor Middle School where Elisa attended. Money raised also helped sick children, animal charities, Girl Scouts, youth athletics “and anything else that was in Elisa’s nature to help,” the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an email announcing its support for the April 2 event.

The idea behind it all, Donati-Waddell said, is to make sure people remember Elisa for who she was — not what happened to her. That person was a “little bit of a tomboy, but she was girly, too. She was a neat kid.”

"We're trying to do something to change the way she's remembered," Jeff Nelson explained.

“Internet searches for ‘Elisa Nelson Palm Harbor’ produce over 30,000 results about how she died but there are very few articles discussing how she lived,” the Elisa’s Greatest Wishes website adds. “We would like people to remember her for the dynamic, loving, generous and talented person she was.”

Anyone who wants to help in the mission is invited to take part in the upcoming 5k at Wall Springs Park, 3725 Desoto Blvd., in Palm Harbor. The 5k gets under way at 8 a.m. April 2 and the 1-mile run starts at 9. The cost to participate is $30 in advance for the 5k and $35 on the day of the event. The 1-mile run costs $18 in advance and $20 on race day.

To learn more about Elisa’s Greatest Wishes, visit it online or on Facebook.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Nelson

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