Bayou La Batre – Funeral services are planned Saturday morning for four children whose bodies were recovered from coastal waters after they were allegedly thrown from the Dauphin Island bridge by their father.
A public memorial at noon at the Bayou La Batre Community Center is planned for 3-year-old Ryan Phan, 2-year-old Hannah Luong, 1-year-old Lindsey Luong and 4-month-old Danny Luong, all of Irvington.
A graveside service will be held at Oddfellows Cemetery.
Family members have also organized an appreciation dinner Saturday evening at 7 p.m. for the people who searched the Alabama and Mississippi waterways during the past two weeks for the children's bodies.
Police said 37-year-old Lam Luong confessed to throwing the children from the 80-foot-tall bridge on January 7th, following an argument with his wife. Luong later recanted that confession.
Luong, a native of Vietnam, has been charged with capital murder.
A preliminary hearing in Mobile County Circuit Court is set for March 5th.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)