Monday, March 10, 2008

Lauren Burk laid to rest, arrest made in her murder

A rabbi asked more than 500 people who gathered for the funeral of Auburn University freshman Lauren Burk to turn their anger at her senseless slaying into something positive and let the justice system handle her killer.
Rabbi Steven Lebow spoke this afternoon at Temple Kol Emeth and said that Burk's mourners should all look to do something good for somebody else, like give blood or donate to charity in the victim's memory.
Eighteen-year-old Burk was a freshman at Auburn and graduate of Marietta's Walton High School.
She was found Tuesday night on the side of a road about five miles from campus, suffering from a gunshot wound. She died later at a hospital.
Her 2001 Honda Civic was found that night burning in a campus parking lot. On Friday, Phenix City, Alabama, police arrested 23-year-old Courtney Lockhart, who has been charged with murder, along with kidnapping, robbery and attempted rape -- although authorities said Burk was not sexually assaulted.
Auburn will hold a campus-wide memorial service in Burk's honor Monday, to include school President Jay Gogue and Alison Penuel, president of her sorority, Delta Gamma.
Chase Aertker, a friend from high school, remembered Burk for how friendly she was. He said that a number of friends of hers, including him, spent the last couple of days reminiscing about their high school days.
Burk's father, James Burk, is Jewish. Her mother, Viviane Guerchon, is Baptist. A memorial service for Burk was held yesterday at a Baptist church in Marietta. She also is survived by a sister and a brother. Her maternal grandparents live in Brazil.

I had a chance to read her facebook this weekend and read some of the comments her friends left and many had the same common thread that they wished they could have talked to their friend just one more time, many hadn't spoken to Lauren in awhile because they were at a different college or they knew they would see her this summer or they just got busy. So take the time, call your friends, don't assume you will have the chance tomorrow or the next day. I feel really, truly sad for her friends, family and boyfriend. Hopefully, the boyfriend can find some solace that he did have the chance to spend more time with her that night and hopefully tell her he loved her.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

^^ Spammer!

Anonymous said...

Its in really poor taste to spam on a story about a girl that was murdered.