Family of Kenosha homicide victim struggling to pay for funeral
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Keller Russell reports Video by tmj4.com
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KENOSHA - A family makes a passionate plea, just days after their loved one was found murdered in a cemetery.
It's been more than a week since Lisa Mezera was found strangled and beaten to death.
As the reality sinks in, her family has an even greater struggle -- paying for her burial.
"I mean, I never thought of it. And why should have I?
Ron Mezera never imagined he'd be planning a funeral -- for one of his daughters.
"No one plans for a 26-year-old you know?" said Mezera to TODAY'S TMJ4's Keller Russell. "Why would I have to think of where I am going to put her before I even know what the heck I was going to do?"
His middle daughter, Lisa Mezera, left home on a Saturday afternoon and never returned.
A Kenosha police officer found her body dumped in a cemetery in the Town of Somers on August 19.
"We haven't had the opportunity to view or to even touch or just to say goodbye yet and that's really tough," her father said.
"Its not real yet. We understand that she hasn't come home but there's no closure," added Lisa's sister, Patty Hove.
Authorities haven't released Lisa's body to her family yet; they're still trying to nail down who killed her.
Investigators have a person of interest in custody and have been holding him on a probation violation for about a week. The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department said it is waiting on results from the crime lab before they can move forward.
On top of the mental burden, Lisa's family is left in a financial bind with her burial.
"We just cant do it by ourselves," said Hove. "We are...at the mercy of help."
They're trying to get her body to Prairie du Chien where their father's family is. A place of peace far away from the violence that stole Lisa far too soon.
"Especially considering the way she left us, it's very important to our family that she go to heaven with dignity."
Lisa's family has set up a memorial fund in her name: Lisa M. Mezera Memorial Fund.
You can donate to at any Associated Bank.
Also, the family is planning a fundraiser at Coin's Sports Bar in Kenosha on October 6 at 5 p.m.
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