Still Missing OK - Lauria Bible, 16, & Ashley Freeman, 16, Welch, 30 December 1999 *ARREST*

[Dixie811]

Fox 23 is reporting that the affidavit says multiple people have said that Pennington and Welch were dealing meth and one person said that Ashley and Lauria walked into a room where Ashley's parents were buying meth the night of the crime.

Oh dear. This is all awful.

 

[Mel 1303]

Obit for David A Pennington

https://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/obituary/3192672?fh_id=10680

 

[Audrey Horne]

Oh don't you worry. A few days ago, I went down to the OKC Murrah Building for the anniversary. We still have the grief of Timothy McVeigh. We take care of our own monsters.

McVeigh was a federal inmate executed at a federal prison. But yeah, Oklahoma is a death penalty state. They're known for botching it horribly, but they do execute.

 

[iluvmua]

Oh dear. This is all awful.

I should have mention that the one person who stated this said this is what Pennington told them.

 

[iluvmua]

I really wish they would have died by smoke inhalation instead of having to be
kidnapped, held captive for days, drugged, raped etc.

They must have been so scared!!!

 

[Mel 1303]

Warren Phillip Welch:

https://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/obituary/3192672?fh_id=10680

 

[Deleted member 221026]

McVeigh was a federal inmate executed at a federal prison. But yeah, Oklahoma is a death penalty state. They're known for botching it horribly, but they do execute.

Please forgive my clumsy words. Thank you all for help in clarification re: McVeigh misunderstanding.

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Suspect in custody in Ashley Freeman, Laura Bible case

http://www.fox23.com/www.fox23.com/...-in-ashley-freeman-laura-bible-case/736951734

From the link (no suspect names as of yet):

One person is in custody for crimes related to their disappearance

2 other people were possibly involved; those suspects are deceased

Investigators still want information, in case there are clues about where the victims may be buried
Investigators told families they believe Freeman and Bible were kept alive but are likely dead
An announcement is expected today about the suspect in custody

This link’s being updated, too:

Officials said they charged Busick Sunday in connection to the case. He faces four charges of first degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and a final count of arson.

Busick is currently in custody in Newston, Kansas, according to investigators.

snip

A newly-released affidavit claimed Welch kept photographs in a leather brief case that showed the girls bound and gagged at his Picher home during their last days.

According to the affidavit, multiple people said they had seen the pictures, but the suspects reportedly threatened them.

 

[thefragile7393]

This link’s being updated, too:

Officials said they charged Busick Sunday in connection to the case. He faces four charges of first degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and a final count of arson.

Busick is currently in custody in Newston, Kansas, according to investigators.

snip

A newly-released affidavit claimed Welch kept photographs in a leather brief case that showed the girls bound and gagged at his Picher home during their last days.

According to the affidavit, multiple people said they had seen the pictures, but the suspects reportedly threatened them.

Excuses. I know I’m not in the situation but come on.....they were kids. You can’t just turn your back on a kid

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Yes, I know. Oklahoma fought for that right but federal jurisdiction ruled. It still resulted in the everlasting support for OK death penalty for those of us that were affected.

I was affected. I’m still affected to this day. I won’t share my opinion here of how Oklahoma has chosen to carry out its executions because it’s probably off-topic. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ed-oklahoma-execution/?utm_term=.dbb755e62098

I’m thankful that these families could finally see some justice in this case, and these girls might finally rest in peace. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m grateful LE eventually followed every lead.

 

[Carolina Girl]

I pray we never find out the police were told anything while they were still alive. Rest easy Girls. Death penalty for sure.

 

[marsyao]

I was affected. I’m still affected to this day. I won’t share my opinion here of how Oklahoma has chosen to carry out its executions because it’s probably off-topic. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ed-oklahoma-execution/?utm_term=.dbb755e62098
.

Nah, if the suffering of the victims did not bother their killers, then the suffering of these scum at their execution would not bother me

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

OMG Pitcher is nothing but lead mines !!!! or shale or whatever that stuff is they will never find anything.

Yeah, iirc, they’ve searched some of those sinkholes/mines.

For anyone unfamiliar with Picher, it’s literally a poisoned ghost town, a federal superfund site unfit for habitation, destroyed by toxic lead and zinc that blows off and seeps from dune-like hills of strip-mining waste. It was judged a superfund site in 1980. Its sole remaining, hold-out inhabitant died in 2015 at age 60.

Sinkholes also swallow structures, homes, roads, etc. as the mines below them eventually collapse.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picher,_Oklahoma

(Irrelevant-ish factoid: The guitarist for country band Rascal Flatts, Joe Don Rooney, grew up in Picher. His childhood home was destroyed by a devastating tornado in 2008, and he returned to help the remaining community salvage what little it could. The band donated proceeds from part of its tour to help, too.)

All that said, Picher is a toxic, post-apocalyptic wasteland. I hope this guy directs LE to these girls, wherever they are. If they’re somewhere in Picher, it could be a rather perilous search. [emoji32][emoji22]

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Teen girls abducted: Arrest made in 19-year-old cold case

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aj...old-cold-case/1U8n59I2yevcZW9JXdhJbP/amp.html

From the link:

The affidavit said an insurance card found near the scene connected to a car that investigators believed to be connected to a vehicle in Welch's possession helped them in the case.

 

[Fairy1]

Well, this information is just heartbreaking to know. Poor little girls. They must have been so terrified. Has it been reported that Ashley and Lauria were the actual targets? Sounds like perhaps they'd been spotted earlier in the evening when the drug deal went down and these *******s came back later for the girls.

I want to know what kind of "notes" were discovered back in December that ultimately led to these monsters. It sounds like these guys must have been on LE's radar fairly early on. Or should have been. That's infuriating. That, and the fact that other people had seen the pictures and KNEW. May they all rot in hell.

I hope Ashley and Lauria can be found and laid to rest. My heart goes out to their families.

 

[kbug]

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.tow...-5d30-afef-9c543c9c1e99/5ade5b977275a.pdf.pdf

 

[HoneyWest]

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.tow...-5d30-afef-9c543c9c1e99/5ade5b977275a.pdf.pdf

Thanks for posting this. I am sitting in disbelief that so many people saw these pictures and knew these guys had done these things yet kept quiet. I'd also like to know why these interview notes and info about the insurance card were just left with no follow-up. I'm glad they were eventually found, but this case could have been solved long ago.

 

[Dixie811]

I can’t remember if it was here on WS that I read it but IIRC there have been rumors along these lines for years. Granted, there were also other rumors. But as horrible as this is it makes sense that people knew because I could swear this closely aligns with one of the rumors that’s been out there for a long time.

 

[Audrey Horne]

Please forgive my clumsy words. Thank you all for help in clarification re: McVeigh misunderstanding.

I didn't mean to pile on or anything. I didn't see that someone else had clarified the status of McVeigh before I posted. I thought I had the most recent postings refreshed, but apparently I did not. My apologies if you felt attacked or ganged up on.

 

[Fairy1]

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.tow...-5d30-afef-9c543c9c1e99/5ade5b977275a.pdf.pdf

Thank you. This answers a lot of questions. I'm only sorry the other two have died.