" RAVEN "
Was one of the youngest and toughest runaways homeless that lived on the mean Hollywood Street. " Raven, " what it seemed almost inevitable when actress Dyan Cannon, stumbled across the 12-year-old brunette four years ago and chose to make her a key figure in a yet-to-be-completed documentary. The last time Cannon taped Raven, the teen prophesied her own death — in a dark, gotic poem that was a trademark of her writings.
Raven's last log posting is dated July 11, 2007. As if putting one final flourish on the nihilistic existence she chose, her post appeared more than a month after her June 4 death.
To those who look back,none of what happened to Raven really made much sense. For reasons her surviving sister cannot explain, Raven's mother, an alleged longtime 18th Street gang member turned drug addict, and her alcoholic Mexican-immigrant father, were obsessed with fighting in children's court to get custody of Raven. Family members say her parents never stayed clean long enough to get back control of Raven and her younger sister.
Raven proved to be a handful and things grew worse. She ended up a ward of the county, spending time in the Hollygrove Home for Children. The system failed her miserably: By 12, she was a chronic runaway, seeking out the streets at a time when most kids are in the seventh-grade. She tossed away her pink princess dresses for black gothic attire.
In the months since her murder, Raven's MySpace page has become a cyber memorial to the lost teen, and to hundreds of children for whom the streets of Hollywood and Los Angeles seem no different from Third World Sao Paulo or Calcutta, gritty urban places that lure children into a game of survival that they may not win.
" Update "
Raven's photo courtesy of Samantha Osbourne. Thank you so much.
" I found Raven's grave at Rose Hills in Whittier. She's in the Monte Vista Terrace, section 2, lot 728, grave 1. Please update her memorial page including her birthday which is July 6, 1991. Louis Mata.
" I saw her story on TV last night and immediately recognized the cemetery, so I went there today and found her.
" Memorial Grave Marker Photo, Cemetery location and other information courtesy of Louis Mata. Thank you for your kindness.
Was one of the youngest and toughest runaways homeless that lived on the mean Hollywood Street. " Raven, " what it seemed almost inevitable when actress Dyan Cannon, stumbled across the 12-year-old brunette four years ago and chose to make her a key figure in a yet-to-be-completed documentary. The last time Cannon taped Raven, the teen prophesied her own death — in a dark, gotic poem that was a trademark of her writings.
Raven's last log posting is dated July 11, 2007. As if putting one final flourish on the nihilistic existence she chose, her post appeared more than a month after her June 4 death.
To those who look back,none of what happened to Raven really made much sense. For reasons her surviving sister cannot explain, Raven's mother, an alleged longtime 18th Street gang member turned drug addict, and her alcoholic Mexican-immigrant father, were obsessed with fighting in children's court to get custody of Raven. Family members say her parents never stayed clean long enough to get back control of Raven and her younger sister.
Raven proved to be a handful and things grew worse. She ended up a ward of the county, spending time in the Hollygrove Home for Children. The system failed her miserably: By 12, she was a chronic runaway, seeking out the streets at a time when most kids are in the seventh-grade. She tossed away her pink princess dresses for black gothic attire.
In the months since her murder, Raven's MySpace page has become a cyber memorial to the lost teen, and to hundreds of children for whom the streets of Hollywood and Los Angeles seem no different from Third World Sao Paulo or Calcutta, gritty urban places that lure children into a game of survival that they may not win.
" Update "
Raven's photo courtesy of Samantha Osbourne. Thank you so much.
" I found Raven's grave at Rose Hills in Whittier. She's in the Monte Vista Terrace, section 2, lot 728, grave 1. Please update her memorial page including her birthday which is July 6, 1991. Louis Mata.
" I saw her story on TV last night and immediately recognized the cemetery, so I went there today and found her.
" Memorial Grave Marker Photo, Cemetery location and other information courtesy of Louis Mata. Thank you for your kindness.
" RAVEN "
Was one of the youngest and toughest runaways homeless that lived on the mean Hollywood Street. " Raven, " what it seemed almost inevitable when actress Dyan Cannon, stumbled across the 12-year-old brunette four years ago and chose to make her a key figure in a yet-to-be-completed documentary. The last time Cannon taped Raven, the teen prophesied her own death — in a dark, gotic poem that was a trademark of her writings.
Raven's last log posting is dated July 11, 2007. As if putting one final flourish on the nihilistic existence she chose, her post appeared more than a month after her June 4 death.
To those who look back,none of what happened to Raven really made much sense. For reasons her surviving sister cannot explain, Raven's mother, an alleged longtime 18th Street gang member turned drug addict, and her alcoholic Mexican-immigrant father, were obsessed with fighting in children's court to get custody of Raven. Family members say her parents never stayed clean long enough to get back control of Raven and her younger sister.
Raven proved to be a handful and things grew worse. She ended up a ward of the county, spending time in the Hollygrove Home for Children. The system failed her miserably: By 12, she was a chronic runaway, seeking out the streets at a time when most kids are in the seventh-grade. She tossed away her pink princess dresses for black gothic attire.
In the months since her murder, Raven's MySpace page has become a cyber memorial to the lost teen, and to hundreds of children for whom the streets of Hollywood and Los Angeles seem no different from Third World Sao Paulo or Calcutta, gritty urban places that lure children into a game of survival that they may not win.
" Update "
Raven's photo courtesy of Samantha Osbourne. Thank you so much.
" I found Raven's grave at Rose Hills in Whittier. She's in the Monte Vista Terrace, section 2, lot 728, grave 1. Please update her memorial page including her birthday which is July 6, 1991. Louis Mata.
" I saw her story on TV last night and immediately recognized the cemetery, so I went there today and found her.
" Memorial Grave Marker Photo, Cemetery location and other information courtesy of Louis Mata. Thank you for your kindness.
Was one of the youngest and toughest runaways homeless that lived on the mean Hollywood Street. " Raven, " what it seemed almost inevitable when actress Dyan Cannon, stumbled across the 12-year-old brunette four years ago and chose to make her a key figure in a yet-to-be-completed documentary. The last time Cannon taped Raven, the teen prophesied her own death — in a dark, gotic poem that was a trademark of her writings.
Raven's last log posting is dated July 11, 2007. As if putting one final flourish on the nihilistic existence she chose, her post appeared more than a month after her June 4 death.
To those who look back,none of what happened to Raven really made much sense. For reasons her surviving sister cannot explain, Raven's mother, an alleged longtime 18th Street gang member turned drug addict, and her alcoholic Mexican-immigrant father, were obsessed with fighting in children's court to get custody of Raven. Family members say her parents never stayed clean long enough to get back control of Raven and her younger sister.
Raven proved to be a handful and things grew worse. She ended up a ward of the county, spending time in the Hollygrove Home for Children. The system failed her miserably: By 12, she was a chronic runaway, seeking out the streets at a time when most kids are in the seventh-grade. She tossed away her pink princess dresses for black gothic attire.
In the months since her murder, Raven's MySpace page has become a cyber memorial to the lost teen, and to hundreds of children for whom the streets of Hollywood and Los Angeles seem no different from Third World Sao Paulo or Calcutta, gritty urban places that lure children into a game of survival that they may not win.
" Update "
Raven's photo courtesy of Samantha Osbourne. Thank you so much.
" I found Raven's grave at Rose Hills in Whittier. She's in the Monte Vista Terrace, section 2, lot 728, grave 1. Please update her memorial page including her birthday which is July 6, 1991. Louis Mata.
" I saw her story on TV last night and immediately recognized the cemetery, so I went there today and found her.
" Memorial Grave Marker Photo, Cemetery location and other information courtesy of Louis Mata. Thank you for your kindness.
