David Rothenberg, burned by father as a boy in 1983, has died.

[edbermac]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Dave Dave, a respected Las Vegas artist who was badly scarred as a boy when his father tried to burn him to death in Southern California, has died. He was 42.

Dave, who was born David Rothenberg, died on July 15 at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said Wednesday.

The cause of his death awaited results of toxicology and other tests and a police investigation, the coroner said.

Dave was a close friend of Michael Jackson, who met him after the boy survived a 1983 attack that left him with burns over 90 percent of his body.

Dave was 6 years old when his father, Charles Rothenberg, gave him a sleeping pill, doused his bed with kerosene and lit it in a Buena Park motel room near Disneyland during a bitter custody fight. The father fled.

The boy underwent numerous skin grafts and was left disfigured but refused to define himself as a victim.

"There is a lot that happens in people's lives, but that doesn't define them as a human being, it makes them stronger," Dave told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2016.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/28bef6e3-7714-31fb-a4db-933d304b9dbd/ss_dave-dave%2C-whose-father-set.html

I remember this incident from back then.

RIP

[hlthe2b]

1. He was certainly a brave boy and man...

Reading the article, his father only got 13 years for that and served only 7 before eventually being returned to jail 25 to life for a series of robberies. What the hell? Heavens.

But the focus rightfully is on commemorating this man and his successful life.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I am so sorry to hear this sad news.

I remember when this story came out. I could not believe how cruel his father was to his son! Awful, horrifying time.

May this gentle soul rest in peace.

[oasis]

3. Hopefully, Dave found some happiness and love in his life after

a cruel and senseless childhood incident.

Rest in Peace.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

4. RIP, Dave. Here's his web site....

Link: http://davedavehq.com/

One can review some of his art there and see the disfigurement he suffered in the "Photos" section, or read more about events in his life in the "Press" section.

....... .........

[LittleGirl]

5. I remember and I believe I saw him once out west

RIP Dave. I hope you are at peace.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. I recall that incident. R.I.P. Dave.

[Catherine Vincent]

7. No more suffering. Rest in paradise.

What an evil father he had.

[Raine]

8. I remember when this happened too

it was so awful, so sad. I'm glad that he didn't let it define him ... R-I-P David

[SunSeeker]

9. His dad spent only 7 years in jail for what he did to his son.

Charles Rothenberg spent less than seven years of a 13-year sentence in prison for attempted murder. He went on to amass a criminal record for robbery and other crimes, eventually being sentenced in 2007 to 25 years to life in prison in California.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/nevada/articles/2018-08-15/dave-dave-whose-father-set-him-on-fire-in-1983-dies-at-42

I seem to recall reading David suffered from skin cancer because of the burns. If that is what took his life then his father committed murder and should never be let out of jail.

[mountain grammy]

10. Rest in peace, Dave.

The most brave child and honorable man.