GUILTY FL - Fred Laster, 16, found dismembered, Lake City, 5 June 1994 *youth pastor arrest*

[Jaxbeach]

Suppose by some fluke the lab results were tossed out of the case, and the remains had been cremated for example.

After all these years, I would not be risking anything if I thought RH was guilty
Or if some other individual became known as a participant and the evidence was no longer available.

I understand the families desire for closure, but I imagine my desire for a prosecution would outweigh it in the short run

 

[carbuff]

The defense has the right to do its own testing at its own expense, so if there are forensic issues involved, as it sounds like there might be, they might not have any choice but to hold onto it.

Though I am seriously wigged out at the thought that it's been stored somewhere for years...

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

The defense has the right to do its own testing at its own expense, so if there are forensic issues involved, as it sounds like there might be, they might not have any choice but to hold onto it.

Though I am seriously wigged out at the thought that it's been stored somewhere for years...

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

It wigs me out too! But at the same time, I think 23 years is long enough. I feel like if Hyde's defense orders that testing, it will be a waste of everyone's time.

I'm my opinion, Freddy needs to go home. Nothing will change my mind on that as long as I'm advocating for this family.

 

[Jaxbeach]

Protecting all evidence at this point is advocating for justice.

The cause of justice and truth may be bigger than the issue of expediating the disposition of the remains now instead of later.

This case is the state of Florida vs Hyde. The state is representing the people of the state and their interest in a fair trial and justice for murder.

My opinion aside, the facts are such that the Fla State Attorney has file a document requesting that a deadline be set for the return of the remains. I believe this means they are requesting that the defence complete their analysis of evidence or set a deadline for such so the remains can be returned to the family. This document is dated 7-17

 

[Jaxbeach]

Anyone know of a place to download a copy or a link to read the lengthy search warrant that preceeded the arrest of RH.

There was recent news footage and online coverage displaying photographs the press had taken of this apparently public doc.

On another note, it seems that a known (on FDLE list) sex offender in Jax Beach was a youth pastor in the beaches area. Some rumor and others suspect RH was in this other sex offender's youth group.

What a sick thing this would be. Makes one think hard about how churches are targets.

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

Anyone know of a place to download a copy or a link to read the lengthy search warrant that preceeded the arrest of RH.

There was recent news footage and online coverage displaying photographs the press had taken of this apparently public doc.

On another note, it seems that a known (on FDLE list) sex offender in Jax Beach was a youth pastor in the beaches area. Some rumor and others suspect RH was in this other sex offender's youth group.

What a sick thing this would be. Makes one think hard about how churches are targets.

I have a copy of the arrest affidavit if thats what you need. I would be more than happy to send it to you if you can inbox me your email.

I would like to get a copy of the court files about the evidence and info on the other potential victims so I can study it. The same document that the news stations have been talking about the last couple of days.

 

[Jaxbeach]

It's the one you mention not having yet I was asking about.

Its my understanding from various news media accounts that the documentation given to the judge to procure a search warrant indicates identification of and perhaps interviews with other victims prior to the arrest of RH of course the details of that document we're used in deciding the scope of the search warrant.

This means these other victims we're located and interviewed prior to the billboards also.

The FBI put info in the news in NC as a result of travels to that area. I wonder if any other states were included.

Internet searches on Google show the Asheville area news covering RH. It would seem his travels to Ms to visit friends close to this case would have caused similar search results in that state.

Did they run billboards in the cities where he attended college and possibly interned etc??

This case could be geographically widespread in scope.

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

It's the one you mention not having yet I was asking about.

Its my understanding from various news media accounts that the documentation given to the judge to procure a search warrant indicates identification of and perhaps interviews with other victims prior to the arrest of RH of course the details of that document we're used in deciding the scope of the search warrant.

This means these other victims we're located and interviewed prior to the billboards also.

The FBI put info in the news in NC as a result of travels to that area. I wonder if any other states were included.

Internet searches on Google show the Asheville area news covering RH. It would seem his travels to Ms to visit friends close to this case would have caused similar search results in that state.

Did they run billboards in the cities where he attended college and possibly interned etc??

This case could be geographically widespread in scope.

Hey Jaxbeach I just obtained the court document and am currently reading it. I have to wait till I get home so that way I can send it to you. The file I got is not very iPhone friendly so I'll send it to you. I think I can attach docs on here. In any case I'll fool with it when I get home.

So far, this story gets real intense....

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

So I wasn't able to download the file as a PDF, so I'm not able to do a direct link. However if you go to the Duval Clerk of Courts website (CORE), create an account and when you do, search for Hyde, Ronnie and it will give you available docs on his case.

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

As I was reading the document, it makes more sense to keep the charges together because it looks like Ron Hyde committed sexual abuse on others in that time frame and also produced child too. And the thing that I was talking about that I couldn't talk a lot about was mentioned too, so I may as well say it: it was brought to my attention a couple months ago that Hyde may have committed sexual abuse on a brother of Fred's. On top of that, it was suspected the brother was also in some of the child that Hyde produced. And it apparently took place prior to the disappearance of Fred.

I can see this case progressively making sense to keep the charges together, not separate.

 

[Jaxbeach]

I have a hard time believing one of the brothers was not involved in FL's disappearance. Or at least he was not TOO uncomfortable with the idea RH was a highly suspected person by the rest of family.

If some images or video found were/was made at the time of the victim's disappearance, or if it contains images of victims or relevant parties then is should, of course, be linked to the murder case. But I would reserve some of the dozen charges just in case.

It would be interesting to know the juvenile records of these siblings. Rumors have it that RH was working in various places where he was coming into contact with juvenile sex offender's during those years.

It is my understanding he was not a full time employee of SFL ministries at the SFL church, despite having toured with them full time years earlier, when they were a traveling ministry.

 

[Jaxbeach]

Just read the document that is 32 pages long. It is the one with the blacked out areas that the media had photos of recently. Much of the document is a recap of or is inclusive of other documents.

It seems one does not have to be registered to view it. However registration is a matter of full name and an email address verification link.

There was no real surprising information in the document, however a couple of details seem anachronistic in the interviews with FL siblings.

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

I have a hard time believing one of the brothers was not involved in FL's disappearance. Or at least he was not TOO uncomfortable with the idea RH was a highly suspected person by the rest of family.

If some images or video found were/was made at the time of the victim's disappearance, or if it contains images of victims or relevant parties then is should, of course, be linked to the murder case. But I would reserve some of the dozen charges just in case.

It would be interesting to know the juvenile records of these siblings. Rumors have it that RH was working in various places where he was coming into contact with juvenile sex offender's during those years.

It is my understanding he was not a full time employee of SFL ministries at the SFL church, despite having toured with them full time years earlier, when they were a traveling ministry.

I spoke with the Laster brother I am in regular contact with (mind you not the one that lived with Hyde). All of the Laster children were well behaved and really had no legal problems except for Fred, who did have some problems with truancy but was resolved. Most of the problems he dealt with had to do with the passing of his mother, which is understandable for someone his age at the time.

The brother that lived with Hyde experienced sexual abuse from Hyde for many years leading up to the disappearance of Fred. He was also photographed and videotaped in some of Hyde's child according to the 32-page document recently revealed. The brother I spoke with also confirmed this, and also noting that when he left Hyde's home, it was to enlist in the military. It does appear however that him and Hyde maintained contact on and off through the years as recent as a couple years ago.

Right now I can't confirm if Freddy was a victim of Hyde's sexual abuse or if he was forced to be recorded, either by photo or video, for Hyde's deviant purposes. I am certain this will come out in the next few months or sooner.

Simply put, this family was taken advantage of by Hyde because of their financial and family situation. Hyde knew he could get his way if he threw perks at these children for "something" in exchange. That saddest thing is that he also took advantage of a child with autism, the boy named Joey mentioned in the recent report. It just makes my skin crawl that Hyde was this sick.

 

[Jaxbeach]

The brother that lived with RH returned to the RH home after his military school and lived there for years more while stationed in the area. He was stationed elsewhere and returned to the 4th Ave. house again on more than one occasion. Even after marrying his and his wife's voter ID show the Hyde residence. This is easily found with a Google search.

It is rumored that this same brother regularly drove the car in question regarding this case. It was typical of RH to let others drive his cars. Likely another grooming technique. Later military salary allowed the brother to purchase a new truck that used to park in front of the high hedges which were not so high in those days.

It is rumored that Hyde traveled to visit this brother in various states where he served and lived even after he was married with children.

Despite having the Camaro type car, RH it seems, drove a mini van during those years. The van was later replaced with a small SUV.

Despite news coverage and a cousin interview saying otherwise, RH was not a loner and stayed in contact with many people he had known for decades who had or still live in the beaches area.

Some of these would be people from his churches, people he was in youth group with, attend school with, had ministered to and mentored in ministry, people he had traveled with on mission/chior tours, and had attended college and seminary with. Co-workers, singing groups, etc etc.

It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall and hear what they would say when RH came up now.

Working with the non profs that we're mentioned in the document was likely another avenue to access vulnerable kids.

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

The brother that lived with RH returned to the RH home after his military school and lived there for years more while stationed in the area. He was stationed elsewhere and returned to the 4th Ave. house again on more than one occasion. Even after marrying his and his wife's voter ID show the Hyde residence. This is easily found with a Google search.

It is rumored that this same brother regularly drove the car in question regarding this case. It was typical of RH to let others drive his cars. Likely another grooming technique. Later military salary allowed the brother to purchase a new truck that used to park in front of the high hedges which were not so high in those days.

It is rumored that Hyde traveled to visit this brother in various states where he served and lived even after he was married with children.

Despite having the Camaro type car, RH it seems, drove a mini van during those years. The van was later replaced with a small SUV.

Despite news coverage and a cousin interview saying otherwise, RH was not a loner and stayed in contact with many people he had known for decades who had or still live in the beaches area.

Some of these would be people from his churches, people he was in youth group with, attend school with, had ministered to and mentored in ministry, people he had traveled with on mission/chior tours, and had attended college and seminary with. Co-workers, singing groups, etc etc.

It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall and hear what they would say when RH came up now.

Working with the non profs that we're mentioned in the document was likely another avenue to access vulnerable kids.

Jaxbeach, I must ask you about something and it slightly concerns me as our exchanges continue.

First, I want to say that I appreciate the dialog that we have been having the last few months and can appreciate the 'devils advocate' point of view. However, I would like to know how you knew the name of the brother that lived with Hyde when my articles nor news media have not identified any members of the Laster family other than the cousins that were openly interviewed?

Second, where do you get these so-called rumors from? Did you happen to personally know Ron Hyde or live near him? I would love to know the story behind all of this.

In response to the coverage of his associations, I completely agree with you on that. Ron Hyde was anything but a loner. It looked like he traveled to Ocala quite a bit to perform in the band according to his Facebook page and the news reports on his activities. I am certain he had a close relationship with members of the Crosswater Community Church, the community and also had close friends (who at this point has yet to come forward other than a cousin and a former patient). It was perhaps through this, as you mention, he was able to have access to underage boys and groom them; as he did with Freddy's brother and "Joey".

I wasn't able to find any information on a mini van registered to Hyde yet, but I am certain if this is the case, I will stumble among it.

My question is which groups did he volunteer with and what was his wxtent with these groups? We must recall that some serial killers were members of public organizations so they could mask their transgressions. For instance: John Wayne Gacy was a shriner and had political ties. Dennis Rader was a member of the Lions Club, based on an email conversation I had with one of Rader's daughters in 2012. Ted Bundy for a while had ties to active work within the Republican Party, though it was very brief work.

I apologize for this late response. I had a long Canadian Rockies tour at work and I followed it with a weekend of camping. Better to do it now before the rains come back to the Northwest!

 

[Jaxbeach]

I lived in close enough proximity to the RH house that I passed it regularly. Still pass on those streets occasionally when bycicling around the beach. (Beach refers to the community not the ocean I'd you live here, Ias in Beach versus Jax.). By chance I happened to be in the area the day they knocked the place down. That was a quick job, btw.

If you Google search the victims last name and the address of the house you can see the brothers voter registration in the search results, as well as his wife's. I have mentioned my source on more than one occasion in this thread.

Additionally there was a failure to redact/black out the name in the 32 page doc, which confirms the name.

This is a forum called WEBsleuths, you should not be surprised by data readily obtained with simple Google searches.

The church that RH spent his high school years and college age years attending had around 375-450 active membersvat that time. There was a Jr.-Sr. youth group and choir with as many as 30-40 active kids in it. Additionally there was a children's church service on Sundays. RH was the music leader for children's church. He worked with sound and lighting when the group toured, and was active in the ministries and activities of the church. There is only one highschool at the beach so people pretty much know everyone, or at least did before the large population increase of recent decades.

Interestingly and perhaps not a coincidence, another nearby church had a youth leader who was conficted as a sex offender when RH was young. This man is still living at the beach last I knew and was in the offender's registry. Last time I looked. He was very possibly a youth leader at a time when RH may have attended that other church as a Jr High aged student and/or younger.

There are many publically available searches for sex offender's. Google FDLE and sex offender's and you will be able to find them.

They are likely available for where you live, of you have kids it is recommended that you take a look on occasion to see which known criminals are living near you.

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

I lived in close enough proximity to the RH house that I passed it regularly. Still pass on those streets occasionally when bycicling around the beach. (Beach refers to the community not the ocean I'd you live here, Ias in Beach versus Jax.). By chance I happened to be in the area the day they knocked the place down. That was a quick job, btw.

If you Google search the victims last name and the address of the house you can see the brothers voter registration in the search results, as well as his wife's. I have mentioned my source on more than one occasion in this thread.

Additionally there was a failure to redact/black out the name in the 32 page doc, which confirms the name.

This is a forum called WEBsleuths, you should not be surprised by data readily obtained with simple Google searches.

The church that RH spent his high school years and college age years attending had around 375-450 active membersvat that time. There was a Jr.-Sr. youth group and choir with as many as 30-40 active kids in it. Additionally there was a children's church service on Sundays. RH was the music leader for children's church. He worked with sound and lighting when the group toured, and was active in the ministries and activities of the church. There is only one highschool at the beach so people pretty much know everyone, or at least did before the large population increase of recent decades.

Interestingly and perhaps not a coincidence, another nearby church had a youth leader who was conficted as a sex offender when RH was young. This man is still living at the beach last I knew and was in the offender's registry. Last time I looked. He was very possibly a youth leader at a time when RH may have attended that other church as a Jr High aged student and/or younger.

There are many publically available searches for sex offender's. Google FDLE and sex offender's and you will be able to find them.

They are likely available for where you live, of you have kids it is recommended that you take a look on occasion to see which known criminals are living near you.

I am very familiar with the FDLE Sex Offenders website as well as the Missing Persons Clearinghouse website for the State of Florida. When I was going to school at Florida Gateway College in Lake City, Mr. Steve Anderson taught us how to use it (in 2010). It was this class that I found out about the Lake City John Doe through a Unidentified Persons search of the clearinghouse. It was that day that I became locked on to the case and it became my pet case, as they call it on Websleuths. However, I will say compared to Florida's, Oregon's is pretty piss poor and really not sophisticated.

Please don't take offense to the question I posed early in the last posting. It was just based on how things have been written that I was just concerned about, as well as the brother of Fred Laster (who thinks you are on a witch hunt; but I've been having to explain to him that its completely okay, this form of discussion, considering you aren't related to Hyde and that you are a resident of Jax Beach). I'm certain if you are interested and if I can come down for the holidays, we can meet over something and talk more

I used to live in Nassau County, FL as well as Jacksonville for about a year. Its crazy how the whole time I lived in Fernandina Beach, that I was perhaps yards away from the Laster family and didn't even know it, even at the height of my private investigation, which escalated while living in Fernandina.

Since you mentioned the pastor who was a sex offender, that poses a question of whether or not he was in cahoots with Hyde. BTW would you mind sending me the information on that sex offender. I would like to delve more into that and see what I can conjure up.

Im working on some other information that I won't be able to discuss about for sometime; but when the time comes, I will release it. I was also very surprised that Hyde was not involved in Operation Playpen. I was almost certain (and perhaps so were you Jaxbeach) that Hyde was involved. However I am glad it was Spade because I was able to uncover tons of stats on that particular case.

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

Hey Folks,

As an exclusive to Websleuths, I'd like to release the official email that the late Rebecca Hunt sent to then moderator of the Lake City John Doe Group, Shea Brown, in 2012. This was something I had to really think about before doing, as I wanted to respect the privacy of Ms. Hunt. However, given the circumstances, now is the right time to do it. I want to keep everyone mindful that the email began as a handwritten letter Shea sent to Rebecca early November. We had obtained her home address based on thorough research, so that way we would be able to send the letter. In the letter, Shea had explained our cause to Rebecca and wanted to hear her side of the story: no cops, no reporters, nothing. Just her official comments to the group.

Keep in mind that Rebecca Hunt (Rebecca Fee Hunt) was the woman who had come across Fred Laster's remains in June, 1994 at the BP gas station in Lake City.

Rebecca responded to us a few days later via email; something we did not expect, especially Shea! We figured that Rebecca was well into her 80's and was probably not handy when it came to technology (boy did she prove us wrong!). After the email was received, we had to figure our next steps, and that was to continue to pursue the real story; which we feel like we did.

Without further to do, the emails! They are PDF file, so make sure you have the right tools on your phone or laptop to read it!

View attachment Rebecca Hunt Email 2.pdf View attachment Rebecca Hunt Email.pdf

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

Ronnie Hyde has a court appearance tomorrow! I will keep everyone posted on that.

In the meantime, I have a new article coming out soon based on the recent court report. It will be the 5 facts we learned from this report. Stay tuned!

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

I am happy to report that the family will soon be able to claim Freddy's remains! The prosecution and defense mutually agreed that the remains should be handed over to the family soon. This is the moment the family has been waiting for, and with them, I am anticipating that this happens really soon. So far, memorial arrangements haven't been made; but a victims advocacy group for the state has stepped forward to cover the funeral costs. It is likely Freddy's final resting place will be beside his mother in Yulee, FL. Please stay tuned to this important information.

Also, new article for the website will be coming out.