Sen. Bergstrom calls pending release of inmate in case of missing Welch teens a ‘travesty’

OKLAHOMA CITY- Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, responded to the pending release of Ronnie Busick, who was convicted of accessory to felony murder in a case involving two missing Welch teenagers.

Busick was sentenced in 2020 to 10 years in prison and five years’ probation, one supervised, for his involvement with the disappearance and presumed deaths of 16-year-olds Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman and the deaths of Ashley’s parents, Danny, and Kathy Freeman, who were fatally shot in the head and whose remains were discovered in a mobile home that had been set on fire. The crime happened Dec. 30, 1999.

“Lauria Bible was a student of mine at Bluejacket High School where I was the English teacher. The murder of the Freeman’s and kidnapping of the girls shocked the school and the community,” Bergstrom said. “I saw how the community pulled together for the family. I saw how Lauria’s mother struggled to cope, always hoping that her daughter was still alive somewhere, and I am sure dreading the possibility of the worst.”

According to the Department of Corrections, Busick was credited with three years of time served in a county jail and subsequent good days earned while incarcerated, leading to his release date of May 19. He will have 24 hours after his release to report for supervised probation, which will last for one year.

Court documents show the teens were taken to a mobile home in Picher, where they were bound, tortured, raped, and killed, and their bodies thrown into a Picher-area mine pit.

“Now the family must suffer the injustice of seeing this individual who has admitted involvement being released from prison after little more than two years in prison. This is a travesty, and my prayers go out to the family,” Bergstrom said. “Unfortunately, the agreement reached with Busick in this case resulted in him getting a ridiculously small prison sentence, even though he has yet to help law enforcement recover the girls’ bodies. It’s outrageous.”

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For more information, contact: Sen. Micheal Bergstrom at 405-521-5561 or email Micheal.Bergstrom@oksenate.gov