Story

Happy life 

Conor Loren Clapton was born on 21 august 1986 in St Mary's hospital London. He was born to musician Eric Clapton and Italian model Lory del Santo. 

Happy times: Lory, Eric and baby Conor

Eric let Lory raise Conor, because he didn't really know where to begin with him. Three years after Conor was born, Lory decided she wanted another baby, but Eric was insecure. They had to go their separate ways.  Conor moved with his mother to Milan, Italy and met up with his father time to time.

Conor grew up as a happy, healthy 4 year old boy. He loved listening to his fathers music and had dreams of being like him. 

Final days

In march 1991, 4 year old Conor and Lory had come to New York for Easter to spend time with Eric and he had taken Conor to the circus on Long Island. They had such a great time. When Eric got back he looked at Lory and said, "I now understand what it means to have a child and be a father." He was so happy. That day Lory saw a new future for them as a family. It was the first time that Eric had ever had Conor on his own. Eric was so happy and said from then on when he had Conor he wanted to look after him without any help. He wanted Conor to come to London where he could take care of him." He had finally discovered what is meant to be a father, then fate broke this.'

That night Lory put Conor to bed. He was pretending to be asleep but when she went to bed, he jumped in with her - he was so excited about the day he'd had with his Daddy. 

March, 20 1991

They began the next day with the same excitement. Conor was full of talk about the elephants he had seen with his Daddy at the circus the day before. Eric was coming to collect Conor and Lory and take them to Central Zoo. Conor was in his room still wearing his pyjamas - he wouldn't go to sleep in any others. He was playing with his nanny and Lory heard him talking and shouting happily. She was having a bath and getting changed ready to go to the zoo. It was 11am and she shouted to him from the bathroom to hurry up and he shouted happily back, "In a minute,"'

'That day the apartment block janitor was in the apartment cleaning. Lory told the nanny and the maid not to leave Conor alone for one second. Lory came out of the bathroom and heard the fax ring. She stopped to check it and after discovering that it was an estimate for some repair work, she started to compare it with others. Lory was there for 15 minutes, during which time she heard Conor suddenly start running as he decided to play hide and seek. Lory:
''I heard the nanny and she was running right behind him. But as Conor run into the room where the janitor was cleaning, the janitor stopped her to tell here that he had slid open the window - a huge wall of glass. In the second she stopped to listen to what he was saying, Conor ran straight through the window. I heard a dreadful scream but it wasn't Conor. It was the nanny, I ran into the room, shouting more and more hysterically, "Where's Conor, where's Conor?" Then I saw the open window and I understood at once. I felt all my strength leave me and I collapsed on the floor.''

Eric arrived five minutes later, not realising Conor had fallen to the street below. He came into the bedroom and Lory screamed, "He's dead." His eyes went dark and he said, "Dead, he's dead. It's impossible." He found it hard to believe at first. Then his face turned to stone. 

Lory: '''The glass was about 4ft by 6ft tall and as we were staying there temporarily, I never knew it was even possible to open it. It wasn't a window, but like a glass wall which was never, even meant to be opened. It was kept permanently locked, but the lock was broken and for some incomprehensible reason, janitor swung it open to let in some fresh air. It had a wooden ledge a foot off the ground. Our son much have thought the glass was still there when he jumped on to the low ledge a foot of the gound. At first first I wanted to kill the janitor. He had no common sense. He never even asked for forgiveness later.
I kept thinking of ifs... if I hadn't stopped to read the fax, I would have seen the window open and closed it. From that moment on I ceased to live. The concierge called the ambulance but obviously there was no hope. Eric went to see him at the mortuary, but I just couldn't.''

Galleria condominiums- Conor fell to his death from the 53rd floor,
landing on the roof of a four-story building  

Lory discovered shortly after Conor's death that she was three months pregnant by her partner, Milanese businessman Silvio Sardi. Lory: ''At my darkest moments there was this light of the new baby to get my through. When Devin, now eight was born on August 23, just two days after what would have been Conor's fifth birthday, I was laughing and crying at the same time. I was conscious not to overburden Devin with love to fill the vacuum left by Conor, and I had to learn to stop searching for the ghost of Conor in him. ''

Conor's funeral was held at St Mary Magdelene's Church in Clapton's home village in Ripley, Surrey, attended by celebrity friends including Phil Collins, George Harrison and even Patti Boyd. Lory: ''It seemed unreal seeing that little wooden box. People were supportive, but nothing can help. I never saw Eric cry, but people grieve in different ways. I cried every day for four years and there's not a day goes by when I don't think, talk to or pray for Conor. On the night of the funeral I stayed with Eric in his house - the same place where we first all lived happily together - and we prayed and prayed all night.
I had nightmares for years, when I heard my son's voice calling for help and I'd run to save him. Eric prays, but he's a very introspective person. To this day we have never ever spoken a word about what happened. We haven't even mentioned Conor's name. We don't need to because there are no words - we just both know. He wrote a song, Tears in Heaven, about it which was his way of dealing with the grief, but I have never heard this song, nor do I ever want to. Once in Amsterdam, I heard it announced on the radio and heard the first few bars, but I just ran away.''

''I can't even have a picture of Conor in my house to remind me because it's too painful. Years ago I locked all the pictures of him away. I don't even know where they are anymore. I stayed in the apartment where he fell for a week, unable to do anything. After that I never went back. I never kept any of my son's clothes or toys. I can't bear to see any picture of Conor but his faces is clearly visible in my head.''