Thursday, May 3, 2018

Murders of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman

i've heard about this case and i'm shocked since they were my age when i 1st heard about it. Laura Jaylene Bible and Ashley Renae Freeman disappeared between the evening of December 29 and early morning hours of December 30, 1999, from Freeman's home in Welch, Oklahoma. Firefighters arrived at the Freeman home shortly after 5:30 am on December 30 when a passerby reported a house fire at the residence. After the fire had been extinguished, the bodies of Freeman's parents, Danny and Kathy, were recovered. Both had been shot to death. However, law enforcement was unable to find any trace of Lauria Bible or Ashley Freeman in the rubble of the home. On April 26, 2018, it was reported that Ronald "Ronnie" Dean Busick had been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the killings of Bible and of Danny, Kathy, and Ashley Freeman. Disappearance of the girls: On December 29, 1999, high school friends Lauria Jaylene Bible and Ashley Renae Freeman spent the evening together celebrating Freeman's sixteenth birthday. Bible received permission from her parents to spend the night at Freeman's home. Earlier that day, the girls had spent time at a local pizza restaurant with Kathy Freeman. At approximately 5:30 am on December 30, 1999, a passerby called 911 reporting that the Freeman home was engulfed in flames. Law enforcement determined the fire had been an arson. Inside the home, the charred remains of Kathy Freeman were discovered lying on the floor of her bedroom; she had been shot in the head. Initially, no other remains were relocated, leading local law enforcement to believe Dan Freeman had killed his wife and fled with both teenage girls. Lauria's parked car was in the driveway of the home with the keys in the ignition. On December 31, Lauria's parents Lorene and Jay Bible returned to the scene, hoping to find additional clues law enforcement may have missed. While walking around the rubble, they discovered what appeared to be another body, and called police. The second body was determined to be that of Dan Freeman, Ashley's father; like his wife, he had also been shot in the head. After this discovery, the scene was reexamined, but no sign of Lauria Bible or Ashley Freeman was found. In 2010, the Freeman family initiated court proceedings to have Ashley declared legally dead. Investigation prior till 6 weeks ago- Suspects and confessions: In the decade following the disappearance of Bible of Freeman, two convicted killer—Tommy Lynn Sells and Jeremy Jones—confessed to murdering them, but subsequently recanted their admissions. Jones had claimed that he murdered Dan and Kathy Freeman as a favor for a friend over drug debt, then took the girls to Kansas, where he sot them and threw their bodies into an abandoned mine. Searches of the mine Jones identified proved unfruitful, however, and Jones subsequently admitted he had fabricated the story in order to get better food and additional phone privileges in prison. In a 2001 profile on Unsolved Mysteries, it was mentioned that rumors had circulated among locals that the Craig County Police Department had been feuding with the Freemans at the time over the death of their son, Shane, who was shot by a deputy after stealing a car. While his death was ruled justifiable, the Freemans had threatened to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Dan Freeman's brother, Dwayne, claimed that Dan had confided that deputies had tried to intimidate him. 2018 arrest of Ronnie Busick: In April 2018, it was reported that Ronald "Ronnie" James Busick, age 66, had been arrested and charged with four counts first-degree murder for the deaths of Lauria Bible, Ashley Freeman, Kathy Freeman, and Danny Freeman. Two other suspects—Warren Phillip “Phil” Welch II and David Pennington—were also identified. According to The Washington Post, "at least a dozen" witnesses claimed all three men bragged about raping and murdering Bible and Freeman, and went so far as taking Polaroid photographs of them. Several witnesses alleged that the three men killed the Freemans over drug money, and that Bible and Freeman were held captive in Welch's trailer for several days before being murdered. A female witnesses who lived with Welch a short time after the disappearances of Bible and Freeman stated in a provided a sworn affidavit that "she heard conversations between the three men where they disclosed that the murder victims had owed them money," and that Welch kept a briefcase containing the Polaroid photos which showed both girls "bound and gagged with duct tape and lying on a bed," with Welch lying next to the girls in some of the photographs. According to the affidavit, Welch, Pennington, and Busick had claimed to have raped and tortured the girls before disposing of their remains "in a pit" or mine shaft in Picher, Oklahoma. Law enforcement also stated they believed the girls' remains could have been "dumped in a cellar that was later covered in concrete." In a public address, the Bible family issued a statement in which they stated they had been aware of the alleged Polaroid photographs "for years": "At this time all focus is on finding Lauria and Ashley. We welcome all information leading to their recovery. Until they are home with us, this will never be over." After his arrest, Busick told reporters he wished to speak to the Bible family. On April 26, 2018, Lauria Bible's mother, Lorene, confirmed she spoke with Busick, but that he denied knowing the whereabouts of her daughter or Freeman. Media coverage: The disappearances of Bible and Freeman were profiled in 2000 on America's Most Wanted, and in a July 3, 2001 segment of Unsolved Mysteries. The case was later featured on the series Vanished with Beth Holloway. In 2013, it was profiled on the documentary series Disappeared on Investigation Discovery.

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