Verified overview
Fire reported at the Freeman home
At approximately 5:30 a.m., the Welch Fire Department was called to the Freeman family’s mobile home near Welch, Oklahoma.
Danny and Kathy Freeman found dead; girls missing
Investigators determined that Danny and Kathy Freeman had been killed by gunshot wounds. Their daughter Ashley and her friend Lauria were not found at the scene and were reported missing.
New investigative leads identified three men
The Craig County Sheriff’s Office says leads developed in 2017 and early 2018 indicated that Ronnie Busick, Warren Phillip Welch II, and David Pennington were involved. Welch and Pennington were deceased by then.
Ronnie Busick arrested
Busick was arrested and booked in Craig County on murder, kidnapping, and arson charges connected to the Freeman deaths and the girls’ disappearance.
Accessory-to-murder plea and sentence
Court records show that Busick pleaded guilty to one count of accessory to murder on July 15 and was sentenced on August 31. The remaining counts were dismissed under the plea agreement.
Lauria and Ashley’s Law signed
Oklahoma enacted House Bill 1001, named for Lauria and Ashley, adding accessory to first- or second-degree murder to offenses subject to an 85-percent minimum-service rule.
Lauria and Ashley remain unrecovered
NCMEC continues to list both girls as missing, and the Craig County Sheriff’s Office continues to request information from the public.