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Slain Mother, 2 Children Mourned At Service

Tribune photo by KELVIN MA

Keith and Barbara Freiburg stand over the caskets of their daughter, Lisa, and grandchildren Zachary Joachim and Heather Savannah, at Lutz Cemetery.

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By RICH SHOPES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 18, 2008

TAMPA A light rain had started to fall Sunday afternoon as three white caskets – one for Lisa Freiberg and two smaller ones for her young children – were brought out of the church and taken toward a black hearse.

About 500 people came to the Gateway Christian Center Assembly of God church in Tampa to say goodbye to Freiberg, Zachary, 7, and Savannah, 2, who were killed in their Lutz home on Mother's Day. More than 50 of the mourners were from the Wal-Mart on North Dale Mabry Highway, where Freiberg, 26, was employee of the month in March.

Authorities say Freiberg's live-in boyfriend, Edward Covington, choked, beat, stabbed, dismembered and mutilated the family, along with killing the family dog.

He was arrested Wednesday on three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of abuse of dead human bodies, one count of cruelty to animals and one count of violating probation.

Since then, family and friends have struggled to make sense of their deaths. Many seemed drained during Sunday's two-hour service, which included a DVD presentation of family photos – the kids opening Christmas presents, Lisa cooking dinner, the children posing with Easter baskets and pictures showing Lisa holding her children and as a girl.

Photos of the children were propped up behind their closed caskets, and there was one behind their mother's casket, which sat in the middle. About two dozen bouquets of flowers flanked the coffins. Two white teddy bears sat immediately behind Savannah's coffin.

Mourners filed past for nearly a half-hour, some pausing to say a prayer, nearly all offering their condolences to Freiberg's parents, Keith and Barbara Freiberg, who sat in the front, tearfully embracing one another.

The two were married in the church. Their daughter was a regular, and their grandson participated in the Royal Rangers, a kind of scouting organization at the church.

In his half-hour eulogy, the Rev. Don Evans recalled a loving family, particularly the children.

"Savannah would smile at everything," he said. "All you had to do was say her name, and she would light up and blow kisses."

Eliciting a few chuckles, he added, "Zachary's favorite hero was SpongeBob, but he couldn't say SpongeBob, so he just said, 'Bob.'"

There was no mention of how the children and their mother died, nor did Covington's name come up, but the pastor did reference the tragic nature of their deaths. He also spoke about healing and how hope can spring from such sorrow.

"There is a hope in tragedy," he told the crowd. "We won't let the jaws of evil take that hope from us. Evil cannot touch eternity."

Later, talking about the wider effect on the community, he said, "Everyone I've met in this crisis has said, 'I want to love my children more.' They'll be more patient."

Afterward, as mourners left the church, some of Freiberg's Wal-Mart colleagues recalled her as a devoted mother and warm-hearted co-worker willing to assist any new employee.

"She always talked about her kids. Her kids were her life," said Elizabeth Pentecost of Northdale, who started working at the store 10 months ago. "She was very helpful to people and very patient."

Another worker, Samantha Pedroza of Tampa, said Freiberg didn't deserve to die the way she did.

"She didn't pass away," Pedroza said. "She was taken from us."

The bodies of Freibergand her children were found on Mother's Day inside their home on South Mobile Villa Drive. The family dog, a white German shepherd, was killed, too.

Covington was found hiding in one of the children's closets. Later, he tested positive for cocaine. Sheriff David Gee called the crime scene "the most horrific" he'd ever come across.

Freiberg, who had a fondness for animals, was never known to drink alcohol or take drugs. She grew up a mile away on East Lake Burrell Drive, the oldest of three children.

Sunday, she and her children were buried at Lutz Cemetery, where people said their final goodbyes. At the end, her mother, Barbara, who had cried throughout the gravesite service, released a handful of balloons, smiled and tried to comfort other mourners.

By then, the rain had stopped.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or at rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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