Garden of Angels Murder Memorial
At their trial, Carolyn Barker was horrified to hear two men not only confess to killing her granddaughter, but remark that they hoped to get famous for the deed. That’s when she decided something is wrong with society’s glorification of murderers, and that it is their victims who should be celebrated and remembered.
Barker placed a small white cross in memory of Amy Robinson, her 19-year-old granddaughter, in the area where her body was discovered by police. Soon, other crosses appeared. As of 2013, 102 white crosses stand in memory of Texas murder victims.
Different than a Cemetery
As someone who enjoys perusing historic cemeteries, of which Texas has many, I must say that The Garden of Angels Murder Memorial (Address: 11271 Mossier Valley Road, Euless, Texas 76040) feels very different. I found it sobering and emotional. It was jarring to realize that while I know the names of many famous murderers, from Jack the Ripper to John Wayne Gacey, I know very little about their victims.
Annual Charity Events
Since The Garden of Angels is a non-profit memorial park for murder victims, they occasionally host charity events such as toy drives at Christmas, memorial services, and even up-beat get togethers with live music and snacks.
While I wouldn’t call a trip to The Garden of Angels entertaining, it is a beautiful setting, and I could see and feel how it can provides solace for those who have lost loved ones through violence. I found it serene and meditative, and walked away feeling very fortunate. [The previous description is an shortened excerpt from my Amazon Best Selling offbeat travel guide Unexpected Texas]
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I’ve gone from turning up my nose at the idea of cell phone pictures, to being an avid iPhone photographer, which is why my theme for the 2014 A to Z blog challenge is Instagram Travel Photos. If you are on Instagram, I’d be delighted to follow you. Simply follow my photo feed (@TuiSnider) on Instagram and I’ll follow you back!
For more, check out my collaboration with Morgan Dragonwillow. Morgan used my iPhone photos to accompany her poems in a book called Wild Woman Waking. Check it out!
What is the April A to Z Blog Challenge?
Each April, people from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a great way to meet other bloggers. To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then use the blog hop linky to visit as many other bloggers as you can.
My A to Z Inspired Book: Unexpected Texas
I’d like to thank everyone who commented on my blog during the A to Z Challenge last year, because it convinced me to take the self-publishing plunge. On March 2, 2014, I released Unexpected Texas as a paperback and eBook and it quickly became an Amazon Best Seller!
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Tui Snider is an author, speaker, and photographer who specializes in North Texas travel, cemetery symbols, and haunted lore. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction – but then, I moved to Texas!”
Snider’s best-selling books include Paranormal Texas , Understanding Cemetery Symbols, and 100 Things to Do in Dallas - Fort Worth Before You Die.
Snider has several more books in progress, and enjoys connecting with writers and readers all over the globe through social media, her newsletter and her website: TuiSnider.com.
Hi, Tui–Just followed the link from your guest post on Shelley’s blog to read this and will read the others, too. And, of course, couldn’t resist adding your book to my Kindle. I wish I could be in Denton on June 8, but I won’t visit again until late October when I plan to stay two weeks to research and write. However, I sent the info to a friend there, so maybe she’ll be able to come. I’m a native Texan and anxious to find out from your book all I don’t know!!
I travel all over the state of Texas and I knew nothing about this. Will have to think about making a stop there this summer.
I linked to your #AtoZ participation on <a href="http://www.e-bookbuilders.com/2014/04/one-sheet-for-book/"my post for 'O'
Hi Deena, I love it when people discover new things from my blog & my book (from which this was excerpted.) I did my best to dig up things that aren’t represented in every other travel guide out there. Thank you so much for linking to me on your blog & for stopping by! I’ve fallen quite behind with my A to Z comments and am binge-blog-hopping now to catch up! :D
This is kind of a sad story, but interesting.
Hi Corinne, I had a real mixture of feelings at the Garden of Angels. Thanks for commenting! :D
Very sad but true. I try to always remember the names of the victims. Unfortunately, there are so, so many.
Hi Holli, I’m glad, at least, that there is this memorial garden. Seems like there should be more of them, actually. Thanks for dropping by! :D
In Chile we have something typical called “animitas” (little ghosts) that are built over places where someone was killed by a car or in an accident… the pictures and the story reminded me of that
Hi Frandal, Even here in Texas, people often mark the spot where someone died in a car crash with a little cross. If you didn’t know better, a person could mistake this murder memorial for the site of a huge vehicle accident! Thank you for stopping by! :D
Hi Tui! Interesting extract…cementeries can even get to be a touristic place when they have history and art in them…
Hi again, Yes – I really enjoy the historic cemeteries here in north Texas. I don’t much like visiting modern cemeteries, though. :D
What a great idea. It is true that murderers are sometimes remembered while their victims are not. I would love to visit this someday. I can imagine it would have a somber feel to it, though, thinking of what each cross or marker represents.
Hi Chuck! This place really feels different than a cemetery. It’s peaceful and sobering.
Hi Tui. Returning the visit.
This sounds like a place I would like to visit some day. As you said, I know a lot about the killers but not as much about their victims. To see such a place, to feel the loss and yet the peace, I think it would be an amazing experience. Perhaps it would also help open my eyes, and the eyes of others, to the fact that there are names behind the killings not just the names of the killers.
Hi Annika, I hadn’t thought much about how I knew the names of so many killers before I visited the Garden of Angels. It was a real eye opener, and rather unsettling. Thank you for visiting my blog! :D
Dear Tui;
Cemetaries tell so much about history and relationships and life…
Thank you,
Susan
Garden of Eden Blog
Hi Susan, They certainly do! This Murder Memorial was quite a moving experience. Very different than I had experienced elsewhere. I’m glad I went, but I’m not in a hurry to return. Thank you for you comment! :D
What a nice memorial for those who are affected by violent deaths. I had never heard of it but it was interesting to learn about it.
Sean at His and Her Hobbies
Hi Sean! Even people I’ve met around here are generally unaware of this unusual memorial. Thank you for dropping by! :D
What an intense place to go. Youch. Scary. Not so fun. And yet intriguing. I love cemeteries, but murder… not so much.
Thanks for always surprising me, Tui!
Julie Jordan Scott
The Bold Writer from A to Z
Hi Julie! I’m glad you saw this post. I was curious what you would think. I find this murder memorial very sobering! It really made me realize how much attention the perpetrators of crimes get versus their victims. It really stirred me up when I visited… It’s hard to explain, actually. I’m glad I went, though. Thank you for dropping by and leaving a comment! :D
I wasn’t expecting this at all – I guess that’s what makes it so great. I lived in Texas for a time (5 years) and never knew this was there. I just google mapped it and it looks like it’s smack in the middle of Dallas and Ft. Worth. I was in Denton and Wichita Falls. Can’t believe I missed it!
Hi Cristina, I have to say that every single “native Texan” to whom I have shown my book has later admitted that it’s full of places they have never heard of before. Glad you enjoyed this post! :D
I was just reading about this bit in your book last night. =D
Hooray for synchronicity! What did you think, Patty? I found it creepy and sobering, yet fascinating, too. :D