A beloved Central Park artist whose unusual life drew comparisons to the famous “Pigeon Lady” from Home Alone 2 was found beaten to death inside a park gazebo, leaving the tight-knit community that knew her stunned.
Francis Lee Rogers, 63, who was also known as Elise Bainbridge Hill, was discovered unconscious and suffering from severe head injuries near East Drive and East 74th Street in Central Park on the morning of Sept. 27.
Rogers, who was homeless and had spent years living in and around the park, was pronounced dead at the scene.
She was well known among Central Park birdwatchers and nature lovers for her intricate paintings of birds and other wildlife. With her long gray hair, unconventional life and close connection to the park’s birds, Rogers was sometimes compared by those who knew her story to the reclusive Pigeon Lady played by Brenda Fricker in the 1992 holiday favorite Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
There is no indication Rogers had any connection to the creation of the fictional character. Instead, the similarities between their lives became especially striking years later as Rogers became one of Central Park’s recognizable fixtures.
Now, prosecutors say the man accused of killing her admitted striking Rogers more than 20 times with a stick.
Jonathan Robles, 36, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon after surrendering to authorities following Rogers’ death.
According to statements prosecutors said Robles made to investigators, he claimed Rogers struck him first during an argument.
“She hit me on my body with a stick, so I took the stick from her,” Robles allegedly told police, according to court documents described during his arraignment.
He allegedly admitted that he then struck Rogers repeatedly, telling investigators he hit her more than 20 times.
The account is an allegation contained in the criminal case and has not been proven in court.
Robles appeared virtually for his arraignment while hospitalized for treatment of an injury to his hand.
A judge ordered him held without bail and directed that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he is mentally fit to proceed with the criminal case.
His attorney, Mitchell Schuman of New York County Defender Services, said the evaluation would address what the defense described as serious mental-health concerns.
Prosecutors have said a grand jury returned an indictment against Robles. He is expected back in court Oct. 13.
Police believe Rogers and Robles may have encountered one another before the deadly confrontation.
But exactly what happened immediately before Rogers was killed remains an issue investigators and prosecutors will have to establish as the case moves forward.
Rogers was reportedly found barefoot and covered in dirt. A bloodied piece of wood was discovered nearby.
Reports also said her distinctive long gray hair had been cut or shaved away, exposing the devastating injuries to her head.
The killing marked a rare homicide inside Central Park, one of the most heavily visited public spaces in the country. Police statistics showed no other murders had been recorded in the park earlier in 2026.
For those who regularly crossed paths with Rogers, however, the story is about far more than another crime statistic.
She had spent years creating artwork inspired by the wildlife surrounding her, particularly the birds that inhabit Central Park’s wooded areas.
Nature guide Robert DeCandido recalled that Rogers had become so closely associated with the park’s wildlife that some regulars nicknamed her the “Grandma Moses of Central Park,” a reference to celebrated American folk artist Anna Mary Robertson Moses.
Rogers was also known for tending bird feeders in the park.
People who knew her said birdwatchers would purchase her paintings, giving her an audience for artwork she continued producing despite years of homelessness.
“For many years I was homeless,” Rogers once wrote on her own website. “I worked on my paintings at the Central Park boathouse.”
Her artistic life was only one chapter of a far more complicated personal story.
Years before her death, Rogers was the subject of the 2007 documentary Begging Naked, filmed by her longtime friend Karen Gehres over the course of nearly a decade.
In the film, Rogers described leaving home as a teenager and making her way to New York City. The documentary chronicled periods of prostitution, heroin addiction and stripping as well as her continuing effort to make art.
She eventually lost stable housing and began spending much of her time in Central Park.
Yet even as her circumstances deteriorated, she continued painting.
Her surroundings increasingly became her subject matter. Birds, trees and other pieces of the natural world that millions of visitors pass every year became the focus of her watercolors and other artwork.
Rogers was known simply as “Lee” to some of the people who regularly saw her.
Wildlife photographer Lincoln Karim recalled that she once took responsibility for maintaining bird feeders in the Ramble, Central Park’s famous wooded sanctuary.
Friends and acquaintances have since returned to the area where Rogers was found to remember a woman whose unconventional life made her unforgettable to many of the people who frequented the park.
Her death has also highlighted the vulnerability of people who live outdoors even in extremely busy public spaces.
The gazebo and surrounding parkland where Rogers spent so much of her life ultimately became the scene of her death.
The criminal case against Robles is now moving through Manhattan court.
Robles is accused of murder, but like all criminal defendants, he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Leave a Reply