Posted on 12/03/2005 4:41:58 PM PST by Nothometoday
Authorities confirm bodies are missing Concord children By ASSOCIATED PRESS
6 minutes ago
Hudson, Ohio — Authorities have identified two bodies found off Interstate 80 as those of Philip and Sarah Gehring, a brother and sister from New Hampshire who were killed by their father 2½ years ago.
Autopsies using dental records Saturday confirmed the bodies were those of the Sarah, 14, and Philip, 11. Summit County Medical Examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler said the children died of multiple gunshot wounds.
“It’s been an emotional case from the start. It’s hard to not to be angry at a father who takes the lives of two children,” said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin of New Hampshire.The children's mother said the discovery of their bodies is a great relief.
“It’s just been truly this unbelievable burden not having them found and so that does feel like somewhat of a relief,” said Teri Knight, who has led a massive search for the bodies of her children, 14-year-old Sarah Gehring and 11-year-old Philip Gehring.
“It’s tough, but it’s better than not knowing where they are,” Knight said during a news conference at her home Saturday night.
A dog on a walk with its owner Thursday found the bodies in a shallow grave off an access road near Hudson, about halfway between Cleveland and Akron.
The children last were seen in 2003 with their father, Manuel Gehring, at a July Fourth fireworks show in Concord, N.H. Gehring told authorities he pulled off the highway later that night and shot the children, then drove for hours with their bodies in his van before he buried them.
He was arrested in California a week later and committed suicide before being tried.
Gehring told police he couldn’t remember where he dumped the bodies. He did, however, give them tantalizing but vague clues that led to appeals for help and repeated searches along a 700-mile stretch of Interstate 80 from Pennsylvania to Nebraska.
In 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey did a pollen analysis on soil found under Gehring’s minivan and near the shovel used to bury the children. It concluded that the soil most likely came from northeastern Ohio, where Interstate 80 is the Ohio Turnpike. The children’s mother, Teri Knight, said she and her second husband searched within five miles of Hudson last summer.
The bodies were found well outside Hudson proper, in a desolate wooded area close to upscale, modern housing developments that are evidence of the bedroom community’s growth.
Rick Brower, 46, took a hike Saturday with his son Mark, 12, through the woods to the burial site from their home in the Bridgewater Place housing development a quarter mile away.
“I’ve walked through here before, just looking around,” Brower said. “I brought Mark down just to show him how close it was. My 14-year-old daughter is pretty creeped out about it. People do some really bizarre things.”
Hudson resident Heidi Mocas took a bouquet Saturday to the spot where the bodies where found.
“It’s a grave site, and to have had two children there very close in age to my own children, I just thought it was absolutely necessary to put some flowers down,” said Mocas, the mother of two teens. “If something like that were to happen to my children, I would hope somebody would do something like this for them
Prayers for the mom. At least she can lay her children to rest.
I wish these jerks would committ suicide BEFORE killing their family...
Agreed. There's way too many murder/suicides. Just off yourself if you want to but leave the others, especially kids, out of it.
And will have a place to go to when she needs to "visit" them. I won't ever understand how parent's can kill their own children to be hateful to spouses or ex spouses.
In 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey did a pollen analysis on soil found under Gehring’s minivan and near the shovel used to bury the children. It concluded that the soil most likely came from northeastern Ohio...
It's such good news, as I'm sure this will bring relief to the family and allow some closure, although it will likely reopen some reminders, too.
It's such good news, as I'm sure this will bring relief to the family and allow some closure, although it will likely reopen some reminders, too.
My first thoughts were a prayer for the mourning and sorrow for the senseless, cruel execution of these children by their father. The monster would not even reveal where the bodies were buried..
May the children rest in God's arms.
May the family be comforted that at least they have been found.
Amen!
Tragic, but at least now their mother knows where they are. Not knowing would take its toll. God Bless the mother.
Prayers for this woman. What heartache she must have.
I can not imagine the pain this woman feels...
It has been a big case here in NH.
I also think the " Father" took the cowards way out.
I so hope that the mom, and the babies can have some rest now.
He took the cowards way out, but think of where he is now.
You did fine.
*sigh* Those poor babies... to think what they went through at the hands of the man who should have protected them with his life. My prayers for that poor mother. She should have the priveledge of throwing the switch herself, IMO.
oops, forgot about the suicide part. It's been that long?? Wow.
When they have marital problems, these characters want to give the wife a hard time. The best way to do that is kill the kids, right? What an a$$hole!
Then he offs himself. That at least probably gave the wife some comfort.
There was a mention in the Cleveland Pain Dealer that the woman who found the kids was looking for them. The description of the burial place he gave possibly gave her some idea of where to look. Unsubstantiated so far. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.218372,-81.470382&spn=0.006900,0.013902&t=k&hl=en
but they weren't really babies......imagine turning around and shooting one kid....and then the other....both kids KNEW what was coming ......
how could he do it?
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