New Hampshire Union Leader

December 7, 2005

Mother set to bring children's bodies home

By Associated Press

Manchester -- The mother of two children whose bodies were discovered in Ohio last week said yesterday she is looking forward to meeting the woman who found her son and daughter.

Teri Knight said she will head to Ohio sometime this week to bring home the remains of Philip, 11, and Sarah Gehring, 14, killed by their father on July 4, 2003. A private funeral will be held Sunday in Hillsborough.

Manuel Gehring, 44, Knight's ex-husband, told police he killed the children somewhere in southern New Hampshire, then drove west until he buried them off Interstate 80 in the Midwest. He later killed himself in prison while awaiting trial.

Teri Knight, 44, a nurse, hasn't spoken yet with Stephanie Dietrich, the grocery cashier who found the children while walking her dog. Knight has Dietrich's phone number, but said she prefers a face-to-face meeting.

"If I'm going to go out there, let's have our first conversation in person," Knight said. "I'm anxious to meet her and the dog," she told WMUR-TV.

Dietrich, 44, lives in Akron, Ohio, about 15 miles from the spot in Hudson, Ohio, where she found the bodies.

Knight's husband, Jim Knight, said moving past the loss of Philip and Sarah has been easier by moving forward with their 2-year-old twin girls.

"We just get through it," he said. "Our twins help us a lot. They keep us busy. They've just been a godsend."

The Knights said they want to help other families search for missing loved ones in return for the generosity of the strangers who helped look for Sarah and Philip.

"It's helped us a great deal," Jim Knight said. "Now, we hope we can help others find their missing kids."

They specifically mentioned the case of Maura Murray, who disappeared in February 2004 after a single-car crash in Haverhill. No trace of the 21-year-old college student has been found.