Woman Killed In Central Park Was Beloved Bird Artist, Friends Say

CENTRAL PARK, NY — The 63-year-old woman who was beaten to death in Central Park on Sunday was a beloved artist who regularly made art focusing on the natural beauty of the park.

Francis Lee Rogers, also known as Elise Bainbridge Hill, was a longtime Central Park artist known for painting birds and other wildlife, according to CBS News.

According to the New York City Police Department, the victim was found unconscious with head trauma near East Drive and East 74th Street in a gazebo near the Central Park Boathouse on Sunday at 9:43 a.m. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene.

Homeless, she often slept in the gazebo where she was found, and she was well known by the birding community in Central Park, who bought her detailed paintings of birds, according to the New York Times.

"For years, she was the only person maintaining those bird feeders in the Ramble," Lincoln Karim, a wildlife photographer, told the New York Times. "She would spend hundreds of dollars on birdseed and suet."

The victim was also the subject of the 2007 documentary, Begging Naked. The documentary captures her story as a talented artist who fled an abusive father as a teen and cycled through addiction, mental illness and homelessness.

Murders are rare in Central Park. According to NYPD data, this is the only murder in Central Park this year.

Police arrested 36-year-old Jonathan Robles and accused him of murder and criminal possession of a weapon, officials said Monday.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.