Missing Children's Remains Buried

A standing-room-only crowd of classmates, friends and relatives finally had the chance to say farewell Sunday to two children whose bodies were found in Ohio 2 1/2 years after their father killed them.

The remains of Sarah Gehring, 14, and her brother Philip, 11, were discovered Dec. 1 in a shallow grave near Hudson, Ohio, about 25 miles southeast of Cleveland.

"People often say that we can now find closure. Well, there really isn't closure when you are dealing with the senseless murder of your children," their mother, Teri Knight, said in a statement read to reporters after the memorial service.

"Finding their bodies and bringing them home has allowed us to have a more acceptable ending to this part of the journey," she said.

The siblings disappeared on July 3, 2003, after attending a Fourth of a July fireworks display in Concord with their father, Manuel Gehring. He later was arrested in California and admitted killing, then driving for hours with their bodies in his van before burying them somewhere off Interstate 80.

He gave authorities details about the burial site, but said he couldn't remember the exact place. Gehring committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial. The bodies were eventually found by a woman walking her dog.

"They are home and now our family can start the next chapter — living our lives, moving forward and bringing along all that Sarah and Philip meant to us," said Knight, 44, who is remarried and has twin daughters.

Before the service, Sharon Randall, a longtime friend of Knight, said she felt relief for the family. "I don't think it ever will be over, but this will help," she said.