Turning Angel is back intact

From: Natchez Democrat

The Turning Angel memorial is back intact at the Natchez City Cemetery after Emily Ford of Oak and Laurel Cemetery Preservation in New Orleans completed repairs Monday that had begun last weekend.

The Turning Angel was damaged in an act of vandalism in June when it was toppled from its pedestal.

Natchez Police arrested Austin Petty, 20, of Crosby soon after the incident. Petty had reportedly climbed onto the statue at night and rocked it back and forth when it fell over onto its wings, breaking the statue’s right wing off.

Ford had said the repair process went smoothly last weekend when they drilled pinholes to secure the pieces of the Angel’s wings back in place. They returned this weekend to complete the work.

The angel’s repaired wing was covered with a plastic tarp until approximately noon Monday when the tarp was removed to reveal the completed work. Only a small fracture line is visible on the back of the angel’s right wing where it was repaired.

Ford has said a color differentiation will be visible for a while, and the body of the Angel was washed clean but the part of the wings that broke off has not been cleaned and appears darker.