Deceased/Not Found OK - Lauria Bible & Ashley Freeman, both 16, Welch, 30 Dec 1999 *GUILTY* *released from prison 2023* #2

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They dug the root cellar where they thought was the place Ronnie said to go. The town was flattened in most of the area by a tornado several years ago too. But something that had me scratching my head was I read that Ronnie had said this root cellar was on Phil Welch's property where his mobile home had been. OK that was on College street, This dig yesterday was on Ethel street. I'll have to check and see how close this was to the other.But why wasn't it dug there where the trailer sat?
There was an archaeologist there and and so on who tested the ground to see if it had been touched over the years so they knew where to dig but to most everyone who saw this, it seems like it wasn't big or deep enough to even be a root cellar. I just hope they are trying to DNA some of the soil there. Ronnie only has til the 31st of this month to come up with the place the girls were placed. I can't see him trying to give them another runaround, but then again, maybe they should take him with them so he can actually show them where he thinks they are at. It's so disheartening for everyone, especially the family. I know everyone was so sure that probably yesterday would have been the day the girls were found.
 
Monday, August 31st:
*Sentencing Hearing (@ 9am CT) - OK – Danny (40) & Kathy Freeman (37), their daughter Ashley (16) & her friend Lauria Bible (16) (Dec. 29-30, 1999, Welch; girls have not been found) - *Ronnie Dean Busick (37 @ time of crime/68/now 70) was arrested (4/22/18) & official charged (4/30/18) with 2 counts of first-degree murder with malice aforethought or accessory to 1st degree murder, 2 additional counts of 1st degree murder, 2 counts of kidnapping, and 1 count of first-degree arson or accessory to 1st degree arson. Plead not guilty. $1M bond.
Two other men, Warren Philip "Phil" Welch II (61) died in 2007 & David A. Pennington (56) died in 2015, are implicated in the deaths but have themselves died.
Jury Trial began on 12/13/19 re competency. Jury: 3 men & 3 women, with 2 alternates. 12/18/19: Found Busick competent to stand trial.
Court info from 5/11/18 thru 6/22/20 reference post #43 here:
Still Missing - OK - Lauria Bible, 16, & Ashley Freeman, 16, Welch, 30 December 1999 *GUILTY* #2
7/15/20 Update: Busick plead guilty in Craig County District Court in Vinita to accessory to murder; remaining charges were dropped per the agreement and he will be sentenced to 15 years, serving 10 years in Oklahoma Dept. of Corrections custody & five years under supervised release. An alternative sentence would leave Busick serving five years in prison if information he provides leads to the recovery of Ashley's & Lauria's remains. He would also serve five years of supervised release. Sentencing on 8/31/20.
8/17/20 Update: District Attorney Matt Ballard & prosecutor Isaac Shields said after the July 15 hearing at which Busick pleaded guilty that he already has provided some information & that there may be a provision for him to lead investigators to a location. Based on information from the only still-living suspect, authorities will be excavating an abandoned root cellar in the Tar Creek area of Ottawa County on Tuesday (8/18/20), searching for the remains of two Craig County teenagers who have been missing for 20 years & are presumed dead. He was sentenced to 15 years, to serve 10 years in Oklahoma Dept. of Corrections custody & five years on supervised release. His formal sentencing is set for Aug. 31, and his sentence is to be slashed in half if Busick provides information leading to the recovery of the girls’ remains. 8/18/20 Update: Nothing was found.
 
VINITA, Okla. — A judge sentenced a man Monday to 10 years in prison, with five years of probation, for his involvement in the disappearance of two girls from Welch in 1999.

Ronnie Busick pleaded guilty to accessory to murder on July 15 and his sentence depended on whether or not the remains of Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible were found before Aug. 31.

Busick could have been sentenced to five years in prison and five years of probation if the remains were found, but was instead sentenced to 10 years in prison including the two years he had already served in jail.

Missing Welch Girls: Man sentenced to 10 years in prison in girls’ disappearance
 
Long article with timeline etc.
______

"The good lord is going to bring our girls home someday," Jay Bible said after the sentencing. "We don't have to worry about Ronnie Busick; we just have to go forward and find the girls."

Lorene Bible, in a victim impact statement, said in court: "And we, the family of Lauria Bible, are faced with a choice of forgiveness. That's a tough place to be, because forgiving you would mean betraying her. Would she forgive you? The answer is yes. She would have forgiven you if she had the chance."

Lorene, continuing to look at Busick as she spoke in court, quoted Romans 13:19 "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. The Scripture says 'I will take revenge. I will pay them back, says the Lord."

Justice after decades: Bible family sees suspect sentenced after Lorene's 'relentless' fight
 
from docket:

08/31/2020 CM: CR: L. GRIFFIN, JUDGE TAYLOR PRESIDING, STATE BY ISAAC SHIELDS. DEFENDANT PRESENT WITH ATTY GRETCHEN MOSLEY, MATTER COMES ON FOR SENTENCING. DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 15 YRS IN DOC WITH 5 YRS SUSPENDED. DEFENDANT GIVEN CREDIT FOR TIME SERVED BEGINNING WITH DATE OF 4/23/2018. DEFENDANT ADVISED OF HIS RIGHT TO WITHDRAW PLEA. DEFENDANT REQUEST IMMEDIATE TRANSPORT TO DOC AND WAVIES THE 10 DAYS TO REMAIN IN CCJ. DEFENDANT REMANDED TO CCJ UNTIL TRANSPORT TO DOC. VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT READ BY LORENE BIBLE IN OPEN COURT.

link: "STATE OF OKLAHOMA vs. BUSICK, RONNIE DEAN " (CF-2018-00056) | On Demand Court Records
 
I REALLY hate sharing this , but not sure a family member is on WS ?

We haven’t talked about this publicly, but the time has come that we need to. Lorene Bible is very sick. She is in stage 4 liver failure. Along with everything else that’s been going on, we have been taking her to see multiple dr’s. She is in desperate need of a liver transplant. We have taken all the proper steps and she is now on that transplant list. So we wait. If this life we live has taught us anything, it’s to wait patiently. And so here we are, with our backbone of the BBI, waiting again.


I’m sure you all have lots of questions. We will answer what we can. She cannot have a living donor, so unfortunately, someone else losing their life will have to give her the gift of life. We are already praying for that donor and their family. Many of you noticed the bruising on her face a few weeks ago. That was from all the dental work she had had that week preparing her body for transplant. She’s had many, many appointments. She’s ready and must have this transplant soon.


She is currently in the hospital for the second time in 3 months. She will be there for several days as they remove the fluid from her body that her liver can no longer filter. Her body no longer makes protein either so that’s an issue.


Time is certainly of the essence now more than ever. We are so desperate to find the girls. I write this fighting more tears than usual today.


We have had to rely on God all these years and we will continue to do exactly that. Will you continue to help us? We need your prayer more than ever for Lorene’s health! We need to bring the girls home! Our family needs strength!


Please, if you know anything that would help us lead to the girls bodies, we are desperate for that information. Don’t be selfish anymore. Please give Lorene this peace so she can fight for her health. Please give us this information so we can focus our attention on her health instead of the search for the girls.
 
Welch girls' case gets new attention via book

A recently released book, “Hell in the Heartland,” by author Jax Miller is about the “stranger-than-fiction” cold case from rural Welch and the disappearance of two teenage girls and the much larger mystery of murder, possible police cover-up, and an unimaginable truth, that has stumped authorities for two decades.
 
Investigator in Welch murder case says Ronnie Busick is incapable of giving up more tips

"MIAMI, Okla. (KTUL) -- Investigators into the search in Welch murder case believe Ronnie Busick is incapable of providing additional information.

This comes nearly a month after Bucisk’s plea deal ended.

Yet investigators are not giving up and now have a sense of urgency with family members falling sick.

It’s been a 20-year search for answers, 10 of which investigator Gary Stansill has spent on the trail..."
 
UPDATE : !!
Lorene Bible update. So sorry I haven’t gotten to it. She’s doing SO GOOD!!! “REMARKABLE” is the word! We will see how her blood work comes out tomorrow. Based on the results, the dr may release her to a local place to stay!

I’ve literally called every rental place in Oklahoma City to find us a place to land. Kids....it’s HARD!!! I have 3 appointments tomorrow so pray one is the perfect fit for us. The best case it’s going to cost us about $2700 a month and we have to stay for 3-6 months. Thank you SOOOO MUCH for helping us!!!

The is still up. We have an account open at First National in Vinita (Lorene Bible Benefit) where you can make a local deposit. You can also Venmo me (Lisa-Brodrick) or send PayPal to lisabrodrick@yahoo.com
 
Crews plan to return to Picher, the site of previous searches, to look again for the remains of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman.

Tuesday’s search is expected to begin at 9 a.m.
Missing Welch Girls: Crews returning to Picher in new search for girls’ remains



Based on information given to authorities by relatives of a now deceased suspect in the kidnapping and presumed deaths of two Craig County teens, authorities will search two lots in Picher on Tuesday, concentrating on finding an abandoned root cellar.

“It maybe our most promising lead,” said Gary Stansill, Craig County District Attorney’s office investigator, referring to the whereabout of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman’s remains.

Lorene Bible, Lauria’s mother, who is just a month post surgery with a liver transplant, said she plans to be there at the dig site.

“We are just praying this is it,” Bible said.

Authorities believe Phil Welch, David Pennington and Ronnie Busick were involved in the Dec. 30, 1999 arson and fatal shooting deaths of Danny and Kathy Freeman, Ashley’s parents and kidnapping and subsequent deaths of the 16-year-old best friends. Welch and Pennington have since died and Busick was sentenced to a 10-year prison term on a reduced charge of accessory to murder.

Stansill said his office has received information from several sources, including Pennington’s family membersand former tenants of adjoining properties of the “possibility of a cellar type structure” on or near the property at 629 S. Ottawa, Pennington’s former residence, and the adjoining property located at 627 S. Ottawa.

Another search planned Tuesday for missing Welch girls

*I just heard about this on my local news. Walking by the tv I heard their names and it was almost like a jolt. These girls are so... well, their Okies just like me. Please let these sweeties be found. Their families deserve answers. I just said a prayer. I do believe in miracles. ❤️
 
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Please excuse me ! We waited so long do this ! They are looking in okc near drs and hospital ! So glad to see this if you don't know it's history please search picher prayers Please MOO
 
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