Erica Green or Precious Doe Memorial Park?

The Precious Doe Memorial Committee is going to have a press conference today. They’re going to announce a special day of events on April 25 — the day Erica Michelle Green’s headless body was found at 59th and Kensington. The city knew the girl as Precious Doe for several years, and the dedication of Precious Doe Memorial Park and a day of events is to raise awareness about child abuse.

That’s all good, but every time I see the name “Precious Doe Memorial Park,” I can’t help but think of the headless 3-year-old girl. Why not name the park “Erica Michelle Green Memorial Park”? Figuring out the little girl’s identity was a big deal for this community. Do we really honor her by keeping the Precious Doe name? 

I called Tim Dollar, the assistant prosecutor in the murder case and co-chair of the event, to find out what was up with the name. Dollar explained that the name hasn’t been finalized, yet. “No one intends to exclude the name Erica Green,” he said.

Dollar added that there are two reasons they’re tentatively calling it Precious Doe Memorial Park.

“One, the name Precious Doe is the name that captivated the attention of the entire community. So that is the name that currently resonates with folks. If we get this project to completion, Erica Michelle Green’s name will be on this memorial underneath, or ahead of, or in connection with, the name Precious Doe.” For example, the memorial might read: Erica Michelle Green otherwise known as Precious Doe.

The second reason: “The best way to pay tribute to her is to raise awareness about the need for folks to be attentive and call the police when things are seen. So the name Precious Doe is a representative name of all of the remaining children who have been or might be abused and who are yet unidentified or missing.”

I understand, and I know “Precious Doe” has a lot of meaning in the community. But I’d still rather have the park named for Erica Green.