Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman

Case background and investigation

On the night of December 29, 1999, 16-year-old Lauria Bible stayed over at the rural home of her best friend, 16-year-old Ashley Freeman, near Welch in Craig County, Oklahoma. The visit was in part a celebration of Ashley's birthday, which fell on December 29. Sometime overnight, catastrophe struck the household.

Early on the morning of December 30, 1999, firefighters responded to a blaze at the Freeman mobile home. After extinguishing the fire, investigators found the body of Ashley's mother, Kathy Freeman, who had been shot in the head. The following day, the body of Ashley's father, Danny Freeman, was discovered in the debris; he too had been fatally shot. Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman were nowhere to be found. Investigators concluded the girls had been abducted from the scene, and the case became one of Oklahoma's most notorious mysteries.

The investigation stretched on for years amid competing theories and false leads. Eventually, attention focused on three men associated with the local drug world. According to court filings, Warren Phillip 'Phil' Welch II and David Pennington were implicated in kidnapping and killing the girls; both men died before they could be charged, Welch in 2007 and Pennington in 2015. A third man, Ronnie Dean Busick, was arrested in April 2018 and charged in connection with the murders and abductions.

In July 2020, Ronnie Busick pleaded guilty to being an accessory to first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 15 years, with 10 years to serve and the remainder suspended, and he was released in 2023 after receiving credit for time served and good behavior. Statements associated with the case indicated the girls had been held, abused, and killed, with their bodies disposed of in a remote location, but no confession produced their remains.

Despite the guilty plea and the identification of the men believed responsible, Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman have never been recovered. Lauria's mother, Lorene Bible, spent decades searching and pressing investigators, becoming a well-known advocate in the case. Authorities continue to seek the girls' remains and any additional information, and while the murders are considered largely accounted for, the case is not fully closed.