The Disappearance of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman

I tend to stay away from unsolved cases for the most part simply because I like to blog about cases that have reached their conclusion in one way or another. But, not only is this cases the unsolved murder of at least two people (Danny and Kathy Freeman), the fact that neither Lauria Bible nor Ashley Freeman have been seen or found since December of 1999 adds to the mystery. That being said I have decided to do this case for two reasons. The first is that I find it interesting and fascinating and despite the “unsolved” or “cold” titles the case has been given there are still plenty of twists and turns. Secondly, it has been said that in all cases, but particularly this one, when a case is brought to the attention of others authorities tend to get tips or leads on the case to follow. So maybe, just maybe, someone with some information will stumble across this blog and either remember something they think is important or their conscious will be struck.

About 5:30 in the morning on December 30, 1999 a person called 911 to report that their neighbors mobile home was on fire. The home belonged to Danny and Kathy Freeman. They lived in the mobile home near Welch Oklahoma with their daughter Ashley who had just celebrated her sixteenth birthday the night before. Ashley's best friend, Lauria Bible had spent the night there to partake in the celebration. Ashley's boyfriend, Jeremy Hurst had also been at the home the day before and would later tell authorities that he had left around 9:30 that evening.

The Craig County Sheriffs department knew the Freeman's, maybe a little too well according to some. Danny was considered to possibly be a small town drug dealer, apparently growing marijuana on his property, but that is not why the department was familiar with the family. The familiarity came from an incident involving the Freeman's son, Shane, almost a year before. Shane, it appears, had minor run ins with the authorities. On January 8, 1999 he had stolen a truck and a rifle from a neighbor. An officer had found Shane on the side of the road by the broken down truck and would later say that when confronted Shane had pulled a gun on him. The officer would claim that he had shot Shane in self defense. A court would later rule the shooting justified but most of the Freeman family, especially his parents, did not believe this to be true. One relative stated that Shane had a history of running from officers when in pursuit, whether on foot or in a vehicle. The family also claimed that according to the autopsy report Shane had his back to the officer when he was shot, disproving the officer's account. Danny's brother would claim that Danny had recently told him that if anything happened to him that the Craig County Sheriff's Department would be involved. It was rumored that the family was planning to file a wrongful death suit against the county. It was also said that the Freeman's had claimed, and apparently was backed up by other witnesses, that it appeared that officer's were casing the Freeman home not long after Shane's death.

Soon after the fire at the Freeman home was extinguished authorities recovered the body of Kathy Freeman. Her body would be taken to the morgue for autopsy but authorities stood by the fact that her body was the only one in the home. Initially it was just assumed that for whatever reason Danny, Ashley and Lauria simply were not there. It did not take long before the coroner ruled that Kathy had not died in the fire but had been shot in the head prior to the fire being set. At that point it seems that authorities put out a new belief. They determined that Danny Freeman must have killed his wife and then took off with the teenage girls. One of the sad parts about this was that there was no evidence of this, but the saddest part would be revealed the following day.

Lauria's parents were obviously distraught. First, their daughter was missing, but secondly, they just did not feel that the story the authorities were giving made any sense. On December 31^st they went to the Freeman property to look around. They have said they just wanted to see if they found anything that authorities may have missed. They thought it odd that all of the Freeman vehicle's as well as Lauria's car were still at the residence and yet authorities believed that Danny Freeman had left with the girls, likely as kidnap victims. Something just simply did not sit well with this theory for them. It has been said that they were not there but just a few minutes going through the debris from the fire, that apparently had not been secured when they came across the remains of another body. The body was badly burnt but the Bible's have stated that the upper remains of the victim's face seemed to be especially damaged. The authorities were called and it was plainly obvious that they had not adequately searched the area. The body was removed and the area was searched once again, presumably better than the day before.

The body that was found would later be identified as belonging to Danny Freeman. And, like his wife, it was determined that he had been shot in the face prior to the fire being set. At that point the Craig County Sheriff's Department voluntarily allowed the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations take over the case due to their history with Danny Freeman, as well as how it was obvious they had already screwed up the case. In fairness it should be said that officers that could have been involved in the shooting of Shane Freeman, a cover up or any harassment of the couple were given polygraph tests and passed, clearing them as suspects in the murders.

So now it is plainly obvious that Danny Freeman at the very least had not abducted or left with the teenage girls and highly less probable that he had been involved in the death of his wife. I think most would argue to say definitively that he was not involved in Kathy's murder and I would agree with that statement but I cannot say that on December 31^st they could say that. But, since after the second search was made and the girls were still not found it did throw the theory out the window that he was involved in their disappearance. At this point new rumors came around.

One of those rumors involved drugs. As I stated earlier, it was apparently known that Danny grew marijuana and it was believed or said that he was a “small time dealer.” Some theorized that the deaths and the fire could have been from a debt owed or some sort of drug deal gone bad. Authorities do not believe this theory however. They theorize that the last thing anyone involved in a drug hit would want to do is be “saddled” with two teenage girls or go to the trouble of abducting them after just killing two people. This theory has also lost steam as time has gone on.

Another discovery at the scene has made two other rumored theories seem unreasonable. Lauria Bible's purse, containing her driver's license and nearly $200 was found in the debris. Due to the damage of the home, it was difficult to determine if there had been anything else taken from the home. There had been a theory of a robbery but since the money in Lauria's purse was found the idea of a robbery now seems unlikely. The second theory revolved around the possibility that Ashley, maybe with the help of Lauria, killed her parents and then the girls just left. Well aside from the fact that neither girl seemed to have behavior issues and despite the fact it was rumored Ashley and her father did not get along very well, the known facts of the case do not fit. First, it seems highly unlikely that if this were to happen that Lauria would not have a) taken her purse with her ID and money, or b) taken her car. It also does not seem likely that two teenage girls could have committed such a crime and eluded the police for very long, let alone at this point spanning decades.

Over the years tips have come into the investigators. In fact, two people have even confessed. One confession came from serial killer, Tommy Lynn Sells. He would confess to many crimes, and while he was a vicious man who did commit murders, many of his confessions have been proven to be false. In his confession he would tell investigators that on the night of the murders he was high on drugs and had drove through the Welch area. The problem was that he could not “remember” many of the details that went with the facts of the case, nor could he tell investigators where he had taken the teenage girls. Tommy Lynn Sells was executed in 2014 and while his involvement does not seem probable some still consider him a possible suspect.

The second confession came from a man named Jeremy Jones. He is also sitting in prison on death row for murder. He would tell investigators that he too committed the murders, he confessed to all four. He told them that he had gone to the home as a favor to a friend (it is unclear if he named who the “friend” was) to settle a drug deal. He confessed to killing Danny and Kathy in the home and setting it on fire and then taking the girls, killing them and dumping their bodies in a mine shaft. The mine was searched but nothing was found. Investigators also discovered that on the night prior to the fire Jones had been in a county jail some distance away and was not released until 10:30 that night. There has been questions as to whether he had the time to get to Welch and commit the murders. Jones has since recanted his confession saying that he only did so for better food and privileges in prison. Like Sells, while it seems unlikely Jones committed the crime, it is not completely certain.

In 2016 a well on the property once occupied by another killer in Chetopa Kansas, Charles Kinder was searched after a “tip” had come in. Once again nothing was found but it did bring more attention to the case after seventeen years. Investigators have said they do not mind these tips since they can eliminate some possibilities and the more attention the case makes the more opportunity they have to getting the right tip that will solve the case.

In 2010 Ashley Freeman was legally declared dead by her family. As I recall the Bible family has not done the same due to the fear that to do so would prevent some exposure to find out what has happened. Lauria's mother makes a Facebook plea every six months in what she calls “stirring the pot” hoping one day to find answers. At this point it is highly unlikely that the girls are alive. It is more likely that if they were not already dead when taken from the Freeman home that they were killed soon after. I have always wondered if the fact that the initial crime scene was obviously poorly investigated has played any role in this. I understand that the police department has been cleared of any wrong doing not just in the death of Shane Freeman but also in the incident of December 30^th, but their lack of due diligence at the scene does still leave a mar considering they clearly missed a body. The fact the Bible's were able to enter the crime scene alone indicates that anyone could have done the same and if they did not check the immediate area carefully, what about the surrounding area? Another thing that has stuck out with me is that while neighbors called the fire department due to the fire I found nothing in my research that indicated that any of the neighbors heard a gun shot of any kind. Now, this could be a very rural area in which the sound of a gun shot was not unusual and may have not in and of itself prompted a phone call but I would think that someone would have remembered hearing something after realizing the fire and murders had occurred.

This seems to be one of those cases that may go down in history as never being solved.