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Kenosha father distraught over daughter's murder
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Keller Russell reports Video by 620wtmj.com
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TOWN OF SOMERS - Authorities Monday morning were investigating after a woman's body was found in a Kenosha County cemetery.
During a press conference Monday, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said "(26-year-old Lisa Marie Mezera) was killed with a blunt trauma to the head and she also died of strangulation."
The cemetery is not far from Carthage College in Kenosha.
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A Kenosha police officer found 26-year-old Lisa Mezera's body inside B'nai Zedek Cemetery around 10:00 a.m. Sunday.
"Our caretaker went to do some work at the cemetery and he called me and said he couldn't get in," said Ronald Sanders, who manages the cemetery.
"There were a whole bunch of police cars there...people drop bodies in parks, people put bodies by the river. They happened to pick us this time."
Officials spent a good six hours there looking for clues.
"The body is currently up in Milwaukee, going through an eight to 10 hour autopsy," said Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth.
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Sheriff's investigators would not say if the woman was killed at the cemetery or elsewhere.
In the meantime, neighbors' concerns grew.
"It's so close, it's just terrifying," Shakita Williams says. "I saw all the detectives walking back and forth like they were looking for something."
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According to the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department, "this incident was targeted and isolated. There is no reason for the community to be fearful of random violent acts."
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"It's pretty private," Williams says. "It's not like people go over there all the time."
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"We're afraid to go out at night by ourselves."
"I don't want to leave (my family) alone here. It's kind of freaky," said Rob Ladwig.
The cemetery remains roped off and guarded by a single deputy.
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KENOSHA- Police and the family of 26-year-old Lisa Mezera want to know who killed her over the weekend.
Her body was dumped inside the B'nai Zedek Cemetery around 10:00 a.m. Sunday.
Now the search is on for her murderer.
As the investigation unfolds, TODAY'S TMJ4's Keller Russell spoke with Lisa's heartbroken father.
Lisa Mezera's father ultimately helped authorities identify her. He called police Monday morning after seeing news coverage of the case.
"She was loving, she was caring, she loved the hell out of her nieces and nephews," described Lisa Mezera's father Ron.
It's exactly why Ron Mezera knew something was wrong when his daughter never showed for her nephew's first birthday.
Lisa left her father's Kenosha home Saturday afternoon with friends.
She never came back.
Instead, a gruesome discovery Sunday morning less than a mile from her home.
An on-duty police officer was doing his routine check of the B'nai Zedek Cemetery when he found Lisa's body. An autopsy determined that she died of strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head.
"I can't believe somebody would be that cruel. It's just cruelness. Who would do that?" said Ron Mezera.
Investigators aren't sure yet if Lisa was murdered in the cemetery, or just dumped there. "We are currently talking to her friends and people that we believe saw her Saturday afternoon," said Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth.
Sheriff Beth believes Lisa knew the killer. A sickening thought for her heartbroken father.
"Damn... it's so hard. It really is. I cried my eyes out earlier today. I don't have any tears left right now," explained Ron Mezera.
As of Monday evening, no one is in custody.
Authorities are talking to several people of interest.
Anyone who may have seen Lisa between Saturday and Sunday is asked to call the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department at (262) 605-5100.
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