Family Court Crisis-Abusers Getting Custody!: Children's artwork tells story of Collins case -

Reporter's Notebook: Children's artwork tells story of Collins case - City Pages - The Blotter

Reporter's Notebook: Children's artwork tells story of Collins case

Filed under: Women's Issues

Also see:
The feature article
Interview with Jennifer Collins
Photo slideshow with more artwork Jennifer and Zachary drew as children

When Zachary Collins was 8 years old,he would bang his head on the floor after getting off the phone with his father, mother Holly Collins says. Holly sought the help of outpatient family therapist Fred Emilianowicz in Salem, Massachusetts.

Zachary had told the therapist that he would run away before going back to Minnesota. He told of having recurring nightmares of his father chasing him and said he believed that if his father caught him, he would be killed. During therapy, the child drew an 8-page depiction of his life. On paper he penciled his father slamming his mother into a wall while he and Jennifer hid in a nearby closet. The story, "The Tale of Mark," ends when the children are rescued and taken to safety in New England and Mark is decapitated by a guillotine at a nearby castle. “If I could get rid of Mark this is where I would do it,” the child wrote at the bottom of the page.

Zachary wrote and drew two complete stories which were supplied to City Pages by Jennifer Collins. They are reproduced in full after the jump. Click on each image for a larger version.

THE TALE OF MARK