Family Furious After Man Convicted In Welch Girls' Disappearance Gets Early Prison Release

A Green County family is furious after finding out a man who pleaded guilty in the disappearance of two Welch girls is being released from prison.

Ronnie Busick served two years and four months of his ten year sentence.

In 2020, Busick was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but will be released from prison in May.

Lorene Bible said it feels like her opinion and everything she's been through doesn't matter. Her daughter and Ashley Freeman have been missing and presumed dead since 1999.

Their bodies have never been found, yet the only man convicted for the crime is about to be free.

The last living suspect in a case involving the disappearance and likely death of the two teenage girls is getting out of prison and Lauria Bible's mother will be waiting.

"Sitting outside the prison the moment he walks out. It's only a 3.5 hour drive," said Lorene. "You need to look behind you everyday for the rest of your life. You get to come out. You get to be free. You get to walk around. You get to celebrate birthdays and stuff. Those girls stopped when they were 16. They don't get to do any of that. We as families don't get to do that. But he gets to, so he's gonna have to worry about everyday, 'who's watching me,' because he will be watched."

Busick pleaded guilty in 2020 to accessory to murder in the 1999 disappearance and presumed murders of 16-year-olds, Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman.

"At 16, you're on the road to becoming a little girl to a young woman. Your whole life left ahead of you and they took that away. They decided 'your life stops now,'" said Lorene.

"If he was in our place, whether it's his a family member and they were missing, how would he feel about that? If it was his sister, brother, a child, anything," said Lindey Leforce, Uncle.

"We missed the weddings, we missed the proms, we missed the graduations, we missed them having their children. We missed seeing what their careers were gonna be," said Lisa Brodrick, Cousin.

Lauria's family just honored what would have been her 40th birthday in early April.

"Our birthdays are four days apart and we did a lot of celebrating together," said Melissa Dixon, Cousin.

Busick will be released May 19, with credit for time served after serving less than three years. His actual release date is May 21, but that is a Sunday.

DOC said part of the reason, is because Busick was "a model prisoner."

Lauria's family said to call him a model inmate is an oxymoron; a joke. They said it's like a slap in the face and a punch to the gut.

"Good behavior? What does that even mean? How do you put his name and good behavior in the same sentence? And then he's let out to walk the streets? It's not right," said Lisa. "Men like this or women, whatever the case may be, cannot go be a part of murdering four people, abducting, raping, killing two teenage girls and get a slap on the wrist. Something has to change. If we have to now start knocking on doors of senators and legislators and whoever we have to, to make a change, then that's what we need to do."

"What's he going to do? He's in prison. There's not a whole lot to do there but eat and sleep," said Bettena Leforce, Aunt.

Lorene said she'll never stop searching for the girls' bodies.

"I was told early on, we have to be her voice. [Y]ou have to decide today, are you gonna go hide in a closest and in five years nobody will ever know who Lauria Bible was, or are you gonna be a voice? Hopefully in five years we'll have answers. But if not, how will it still be known and there are people, there are young people graduating college that use this, that are into criminal justice system, that are going so this doesn't happen to other families," said Lorene.

And she'll never stop fighting for justice.

"Not only be the voice for Lauria and Ashley, but for other people in other places that keep searching," said Lindey.

Lorene said she knows that someone knows something, and that keeps her motivated.

"That's how you can go through something like this and still keep going, is that gives you the hope that eventually you're gonna turn over a rock, whatever leaf, pick up a phone, somebody's gonna call you. That's gonna give you that piece of information. That's the only way you go from day to day," said Lorene.

DOC said Busick has been a level 4 prisoner, which means he was respectful to the staff, didn't get into trouble, followed orders and didn't have an extensive criminal history. So he gets 60 credits per month, or two days credit for every day served, plus the credit for the time he served in jail.

He has five, full years probation once he's released. However, only one of those years is supervised where he has to check in.

The Bible family is currently offering a $70,000 reward for anyone who finds the girls and is asking anyone with information to please come forward.