31 Aug “The Welch Girls” Criminal Case Ends, the Search For Ashley and Lauria Continues
Ronnie Busick Sentenced to Prison for His Part in Four Murders, Two Kidnappings and Arson
Vinita, OKLA August 31, 2020,
CF-2018-56
Craig County Judge Shawn Taylor handed down a 15-year sentence to Ronnie Busick on one count of accessory to murder. Busick has a ten-year prison sentence followed by another five years on a suspended sentence with credit for time served. Busick has been in the Craig County Jail since late April, 2018.
Craig County Chief of Prosecution Isaac Shields says “We’ll keep looking for Ashley and Lauria. If we had offered Busick 20-30 years in prison that would have been a death sentence. We had to balance a prison term that gets a measure of justice for the families and the community while offering an incentive for his cooperation.”
If Busick’s information resulted in investigators and search team members finding the girls his sentence would have been halved to five years in prison.
Lauria’s mother Lorene Bible gave a victim impact statement in court just before the judge pronounced the sentence.
Reading from her two-page statement Lorene told Busick “You have no power over us. We give you grace so that we may feel peace… We will find (Lauria and Ashely) no matter what. They will forever be remembered as two beautiful angels. You will always be remembered as a kidnapper, a murderer, and an evil man.”
Busick’s Information Fails to Lead Investigators to the Bodies of Lauria and Ashely
On Tuesday, August 18, 2020, search team members excavated two sites in Picher, Oklahoma looking for a root cellar where the bodies were dumped according to Busick.
Angela Berg
Anthropologist Angela Berg from the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office headed up search efforts. The location which, when Picher was still inhabited, would have faced Ethel Street between 6th and 7th was provided by Busick both during interviews and a visit with investigators to the site.
The first location Busick said was the root cellar containing the girls had never been a root cellar at all. So a second nearby site was excavated because it looked more likely it had been a root cellar at some point but the girls were not found.
Investigators Release Horrifying New Details About the Days Leading to Ashley and Laura’s Murders
After Busick’s sentence the lead detectives on the case, OSBI Special Agent Tammy Ferrari and District Attorney Investigator Gary Stansill, spoke to the media about some information they’ve gathered in recent years since they took the lead but could not previously make public.
The original reason for Phil Welch, David Pennington, and Ronnie Busick’s visit to the Freeman’s mobile home that December 30, 1999, night was to get drug money and marijuana.
Over the course of many interviews with Busick, he told investigators the three men didn’t know the two girls were there at first. The 16-year-olds had gotten out of the mobile home during the murders of Ashley’s parents Danny and Kathy Freeman and were hiding outside. Once the mobile home was set on fire the girls tried to run away and that’s when Welch, Pennington, and Busick snatched them.
Busick also told investigators that Pennington told him they held the girls for two weeks before their murders. Multiple witnesses told investigators through the years Welch showed them Polaroid pictures of the girls bound, facing each other on a bed which was identified as matching Welch’s. Investigators found even after his death, multiple witnesses remained afraid of Welch. Pennington also died before Busick was arrested.
OSBI Special Agent Tammy Ferarri has been living with the terrible information for a long time now and says “Being a mom it tears at your heartstrings. It makes you think about your own children and you just want to go home and hug them.”
Investigators: Someone Knows Where to Find Lauria and Ashley
District Attorney Investigator Gary Stansill says he believes Busick tried to provide good information. And Busick heading to prison doesn’t end the search. Only bringing the girls home will do that.
Investigator Stansill and Special Agent Ferrari released some specific location information believed to tie into where the girls are and while the Welch area is not out-of-the-questions it’s most likely:
* The west side area of Picher, Oklahoma
* An abandoned mine is still a possibility
* A former root cellar is considered most likely at this point
* A significant landmark someone may remember from early 2000: An abandoned school bus in the neighborhood on Ethel Street
* A place Phil Welch was known to live or make drugs
* Or a place frequented by Welch and Pennington, especially one with a root cellar in 2000
Anyone with information is urged to call the OSBI’s toll-free tip line:
1-800-522-8017
Or by email: tips@osbi.ok.us
People with information may also reach out directly to the Bible family via Facebook Messenger: https://www.facebook.com/Find-Lauria-Bible-BBI-211300375881207
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