Frank Bender facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frank Bender
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| Born |
Francis Augustus Bender
June 16, 1941 |
| Died | July 28, 2011 (aged 70) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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| Occupation | Forensic artist, sculptor |
Francis Augustus Bender (June 16, 1941 – July 28, 2011) was a self-taught forensic artist and fine artist. A forensic artist helps solve crimes using art. Bender created faces of people based on their skeletons. He also drew or sculpted how people who were hiding might look today, even if their last known photos were old.
He often worked with clay to make sculptures. He would then make plaster copies and paint them. Bender also used pastels (a type of crayon) to draw how a person's face might change over time. One of his most famous cases involved John Emil List. List had been hiding for many years. After Bender's sculpture of List was shown on a TV show called America's Most Wanted, List was caught just a few days later.
Frank Bender's Work
Bender created large bronze statues for important places. These included the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York. He also made a monument in New Jersey for police officers who died while on duty. Another one of his works was an obelisk (a tall, thin monument) for the Holocaust.
Helping Solve Cold Cases
Frank Bender was a key member of a group called the Vidocq Society. He helped start this group with William Fleisher and Richard Walter. The Vidocq Society is named after Eugène François Vidocq, a famous French detective.
This group meets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their main goal is to help solve "cold cases." Cold cases are crimes that have not been solved for a long time. The Vidocq Society uses their skills to look at old evidence and try to find new clues.
