Murders of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman

In the decade following the disappearance of Bible and Freeman, two convicted killers—Tommy Lynn Sells and Jeremy Jones—confessed to murdering them, but subsequently recanted their admissions.[8] Jones had claimed that he murdered Freeman's parents as a favor for a friend over drug debt, then took the girls to Kansas, where he shot them and threw their bodies into an abandoned mine.[7] 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.[7]

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.[7] While his death was ruled justifiable, the Freemans had threatened to file a wrongful death lawsuit.[7] Danny's brother, Dwayne, claimed that Danny had confided that deputies had tried to intimidate him.[7]

In April 2018, it was reported that Ronnie Dean Busick, age 66, had been arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Bible and the Freeman family.[8] Two other suspects—Warren Phillip "Phil" Welch II (died 2007) and David Pennington (died 2015)—were also identified.[14] 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.[14] Several witnesses alleged that the three men killed the Freemans over drug money,[14] and that the girls were held captive in Welch's trailer for several days before being murdered.[14]

A female witness who lived with Welch a short time after the disappearances 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.[14] 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.[11][15] Law enforcement also stated they believed the girls' remains could have been "dumped in a cellar that was later covered in concrete."[16]

In a public address, the Bible family issued a statement in which they stated they had been aware of the alleged photographs "for years," and that "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."[14] After his arrest, Busick told reporters he wished to speak to the Bibles.[17] On April 26, 2018, Bible's mother, Lorene, confirmed she spoke with Busick, but that he denied knowing the whereabouts of her daughter or Freeman.[18]

Busick pleaded guilty July 15, 2020 to being an accessory to first-degree murder in the deaths of Danny and Kathy Freeman, the torching of their home near Welch, Oklahoma, and the abduction and presumed slayings of the two girls.[9] He admitted having withheld information about the involvement of Welch and Pennington.[9] He was sentenced to 15 years for the crime, with 10 of the years to be spent in lockup.[9]